Parashat Shemot makes us think of many issues of galut and geula (exile and redemption). -What is the nature and purpose of this exile? Is it a punishment for the selling of Yosef? But how would this explain God telling Avraham that his descendants would be enslaved for hundreds of years, after which they would leave triumphantly?

Should we really be asking why the exile happened, or what our response should be - what behavior or changes should exile prompt?