וַיְהִי֩ בַיָּמִ֨ים הָֽרַבִּ֜ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיָּ֙מָת֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מִן־הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ וַתַּ֧עַל שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃
A long time after that, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to Hashem.
The Ohr Hachaim explains the reason why the words “min ha’avodah” is repeated twice: The Torah stresses that despite the fact that Am Yisrael’s sighing was “min ha’avodah”, from the work and pain of their enslavement, and not an organized tefillah to Hashem, still it was accepted willingly, as we see with the words “Vata’al shavasam el ha’Elokim.”
Harav Eliezer Yitzchak Fried, one of the roshei yeshivah of Volozhin, explained the reason why in Shemoneh Esrei we ask simply “shema koleinu”, and we don’t detail “shema tefiloseinu ubakashaseinu”. This is because it is comparable to a father who hears his son’s cries; even if they are not directed to him, surely he will not stand by. Rather, he will hurry towards him to find out the reason for his screams. Likewise, we ask our Father in heaven: Even when our cries burst forth from the depths of our troubles and are not directed specifically towards You, please, “shema koleinu” – listen to the sound of our cries “kerachem av al banim” and spare us.
In contrast, Rabbi Azariah Figu learns from this passuk the opposite lesson: As long as “vayei’anchu Bnei Yisrael min ha’avodah” – their cries were not answered, but the minute “vayizaku vata’al shavasam el ha’Elokim” – when one cry was directed to Hashem, this was more effective than many sighs emitted as a result of “min ha’avodah” – and immediately “vayishma Elokim es naakosom"/
