“וירא מלאך יקוק אליו בלבת אש מתוך הסנה וירא והנה הסנה בער באש והסנה איננו אכל.”
רש”י: “מתוך הסנה—ולא אילן אחר, משום עמו אנכי בצרה (תהילים צא טו).”
Rashi: From within the Sneh—And not another tree, because (of the concept of) “I (Hashem) am with him (Yisroel) in his distress.” (Tehillim 91:15)
“עמו אנכי בצרה”- I am with him in his distress. We find consolation in these words today, as we have throughout the ages, during an ever so long and painful galus. Seemingly, the image of a divine fire burning from within a thorny bush would have been a most appropriate, inspiring message to have been given prior to the galus, as a chizzuk for Klal Yisroel: ‘you are not alone in your suffering’. Instead, it was with this image that Moshe Rabbeinu was introduced to his role as a redeemer. Why is “עמו אנכי בצרה” the introduction to the geulah?
The most basic implication of “עמו אנכי בצרה” is not that the Borei in some way suffers with us, but simply that He is there. That was the image Moshe Rabbeinu saw. A flame embodying the Shechina (Ramban, Medrash Raba), burning within the thorny sneh, which represents a place of pain; meaning that the Shechina can be found even in a place of pain. This is not to be taken for granted. Kedusha opposes evil, and should therefore destroy it, just as fire consumes a bush. We expect kedusha to be revealed through “ביטול הרע”—eradication of the evil. (And often it is.) Yet Hashem revealed here to Moshe that the presence of the Shechina allows for the existence even of that which stands in contradiction to it. You can find the Shechinah even in Egypt, in the galus.
The starting point of geulah is an understanding of what must be redeemed. It was necessary for Moshe Rabbeinu to be shown that there exists not only evil in the galus, but the Shechina as well. And therefore, his task was not only ביטול הרע, but also the redemption of kedusha.
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Some will have a hard time accepting the following statement, but it is the truth: the Shechina is also in America (and in Paris and Mexico and Johannesburg—wherever Klal Yisroel is found). And kedusha is to be found there, as “America”, as a Sneh; you needn’t bring Bnei Brak to America. This is a delicate, even dangerous point in Avodah. American culture stands in opposition to the Shechina, and we do not work with, or embrace American culture. Yet, with the proper Avodah, America can actually have its own unique kedusha, because the Shechina rests there as well.