Ari Goldwag - Yisro - Godly Essence

you're listening to the weekly paraa podcast recorded with hashem's never ending assistance in R Israel 5776 2016 this week's para is par in this week's paraa we have the amazing revelation God revealed himself openly and clearly to at least 1 and a half million people at harini at Mount Si I'd like to share with you some MIM a few beautiful midashim that speak about how Hashem did this the very beginning of the relationship of Hashem with the Jewish people is right here I am hasem your God God says to the Jewish people and it's done in a very specific and unique way when it comes as we read the verses when it comes the first of the Ten Commandments and the second one as well Hashem openly reveals himself and directly speaks to the Jewish people unlike the rest of the Torah the rest of the Torah the rest of the Ten Commandments also are not spoken directly by God to the Jewish people but rather are spoken by God to Moser Renu to Moses who relays the Commandments to the Jewish people indeed the Jewish people hear Moser receiving these words from God they hear God speaking to Moshe but the revelation of God openly to to the entire nation as kazal just tell us is too much for the Jewish people and therefore the the vast majority of The Commandments are given through MOS through Moses but the first of the Ten Commandments and the second are both given directly by God to the Jewish people it's very interesting as we read the M speak about this so we come across something unusual in the description of it there are a few things that I want to share about it but I like to focus specifically and mainly on the following me that says like this the verse says that God spoke all of these matters as follows the verse goes on this say in chapter 20 verse1 verse goes on to speak about the Ten Commandments that God gave spoke to the Jewish people says an amazing thing the normal way of a king is that he doesn't speak directly to the people the king issues an edict issues a command he gives it to his officers the officers write it up the the officers send out the command on Scrolls perhaps to the entire Kingdom and they're able to receive those commands but ordinarily the king himself doesn't get up and and gather the entire nation his entire King Kingdom to his Palace and say here I want to tell you something all and he you know announces with a loud voice and and everyone hears him that's not usually what's done that's not how a king behaves but Hashem God when it came to revealing himself revealing the Torah revealing specifically the first two of The Ten Commandments God himself revealed it in a way which is unusual for Kings God behaved with the Jewish people and the mes brings a that you are with me from Lebanon my dear bride so what's this a reference to as we know shashir in the song of songs which is a verse from chapter 4:8 the song of songs is is a song of love between God and the Jewish people and this particular verse speaks about the fact that God is revealing himself to his Kal to the Jewish people who are his bride and they are with Him explains to what is this word Lebanon what is the idea of Lebanon Leon so the idea of Lebanon is and it's he brings it down from sh RBA from the med that talks about the fact that the Jewish people were the lowest of the low they were in the farthest reaches of slavery farthest reaches of of degradation this idea of their degrad is encapsulated in the word le because the word le at its root can also mean Le which means bricks because they were forming these bricks and building these buildings for the Egyptians at the time and hasem took them from that dirt from within the dirt and he brought them under the brought them into that relationship with him the mes points out as brings this as opposed to the story of PM so aash would bring all of these women and they would have to go through six months of a process where they became beautiful and then another six months it was a whole process before they came and they became the kala they came into a relationship with the kingas they couldn't enter into that relationship coming from their uncouth background and their their physical being not being um involved in all of the different things that make her more beautiful and make her more presentable to the king the Jewish people were not presentable when they came to Ari they came out of the filth they were still dirty they were still disgusting as it were but hasem took them and took you right out from building those bricks from building those buildings with those bricks from that filth I took you out and I spoke to you directly it you were with me my dear bride this amazing love of Hashem they had for the Jewish people says what's the reason for this it was in the Merit of the fact that they said we will do and we will listen an amazing thing Hashem wanted really not to reveal himself directly to the Jewish people as the Y explains in this m he didn't want to but because they said nishma there was a change of plan as it were things were different because they said nishma we will do and we will listen because they were so ready to do whatever it was that hasem wanted to to command them whatever it was that it meant to have a relationship with hm because they were so willing and so ready and they said we will do and we will listen they said we will do they hadn't even heard about it yet we're ready to hear we're ready to do whatever you saym and we'll find out later what that is that type of statement from the Jewish people meant that now hasem is willing because they made that statement now hashm was willing to reveal himself absolutely and openly to the Jewish people directly and not through not through any kind of intermediary and this despite the fact that they were that they were dirty they had just come out as we said of MIT of Egypt where they had been slaves now the continues and says Moshe brought back the words of the nation to God the fact that they had said nma Moshe as it were of course hasem knows what they said but it was part of this process this this kind of courting between God and the Jewish people the Jewish people said yes we're ready to do whatever you say God at that moment it was a funny thing God as it were was placed in a little bit of a predicament mosha is standing next to him as it were mosha is waiting to be the to be the the messenger of God but Hashem has already decided now because they said hasem has decided that he wants to give it directly he doesn't need mosha to be standing there says what should I do about this what should I do about mosha says this is analogous to a King he wanted to create some kind of positive edict within his within his kingdom he wanted to to to do something really good for the people of his kingdom but he wasn't interested in in taking advice from his miat and from his advisers so what he wanted to do is he wanted to like he wanted the the adviser to get you know to to remove himself from the location but he didn't want the adviser to be insulted that he wasn't ADV you know asking his advice so he says to his adviser please do a particular thing I would like you to take care of this thing for meis the adviser says oh that thing is already been done I've already taken care of that he says I want you to call to a particular officer another adviser of mine I want you to go there to him where he is and bring him back come back and then I'm going to I'm going to I'd like to be involved with you but until that moment until you bring this other adviser I don't want to talk to you in the meantime while his first adviser went to get the other adviser so the king went and did what he wanted he announced this positive edict in his kingdom in the meantime as as this adviser had left wanted to give the The Ten Commandments Moses was standing next to himem says to himself as it were I'm going to open up the Heavens I'm going to say I am your God they're going to say who said it is it God who said I am God or is it Moses that said that I don't want it to be that way says let Moses go down and then I'll say i'mm your God so this is what said to himem says I want you to make sure that they keep the edict that we said we said that there's an obligation to Jewish people we need to be very careful when it comes to Revelation in Mount Si if they get too close to the mountain they they'll be destroyed spiritually physically they'll be gone so we need to we need to make a fence around the entire the entire Mountain I want you to make sure that they do what needs to be done sanctify themselves clean off their clothes Etc say this is something that you already told me to do previously I've already taken care of that this is something that had already commanded him nowm is commanding him again so similar to that to the analogy soem says to him I want you to go down and then I want you to come back with Aaron in the meantime while M went down as it were to get Aaron so revealed himself to the Jewish people the verse says Moses goes down to the nation immediately God speaks and begins to say the Ten Commandments I amem your God Etc so there are a few questions as you read this medish that come up the first question is that what is the power why because they said nasma what is so significant about Nas isma that now because they said that so therefore hasm is going to speak to them directly that's question number one question number two is that we see that when it comes to the other Commandments other 61 commandments so Hashem doesn't seem to be concerned that they might think that mosu is saying it and not him when it comes to your God hasem doesn't want them to make any mistakes and think that it was said by Moshe has wants to be very clear that that it was only said by him what's the significance of this or what's the depth of it also very interesting is that most of the Commandments in the Torah are openly Commandments says you shall not have any other gods in front of me all of The Commandments are clear direct Commandments When God says the first of the Ten Commandments doesn't say you shall believe in me that's not what God says he says I am a your God who took you out of Egypt it's just a statement it's not a command and yet it is counted as the first of the Ten Commandments it's one of the 613 Commandments but Hashem doesn't command hashm doesn't say you shall believe in me I mean obviously we're talking about a revelation you can't you know if I'm talking to you I can't say You must believe that AR goldag exists I can't say that obviously if I'm talking to you it doesn't really make sense for me to make such a command but Hashem is saying that I am even though you're even though you see me now as it were even though you are experiencing me now there will be a time when it will not be as openly revealed so you have to still believe in me even then so if that's the case if that's the essence of what hasm is saying why does he say it in this way why does he say I am hem your god without saying openly directly You Shall Believe in Me you shall always remember that I am asem your God why didn't hasem say it that way so I think that there's an amazing depth that this Mish is coming to teach us about the idea of the the command or the fact that Hashem exists the fact that there's a revelation that hem exists and we are commanded to believe in hem to remember the fact that we know we know at our core at our Essence that Hashem exists it's not really a command because as far as a person is from God the greatest atheist in the world the one who who shes he screaming he's crying there is no God or he's saying if there is a God how could it be blah blah blah Etc even that person at the at the root of the reason why he doesn't believe in God is because he does believe in God he just can't accept the fact that God would allow a certain thing to happen etc etc but every human being every Jew at their core believes in Hashem every person knows we are programmed to know by Hashem that there is Hashem that God exists exists and that's something that no matter how far a person is as as dirty spiritually as the person may be as as degraded as they may be from being a slave and and seemingly not have any not have any choice as far as they are still Hashem is there still the person knows at their Essence that they're exalted that they are a kingdom of priests a kingdom they are amazingly exalted people and that they they have that connection to Hashem who is the king of all Kings and the King himself comes down and talks to them unlike a human King unlike a human King which has to have all of these separations between himself and his and and the peasants in his kingdom Hashem for Hashem he's a different type of King he's a king who each and every one of his kingdom all of the peasants as it were of his kingdom are truly princes they are all his children and as a result of that he speaks to each one of them directly and the statement of couldn't be done through Ain it couldn't be done through any intermediary because the Jew needs to know that no matter what no matter how far they are they don't need anybody else in order to get back in touch with their spirituality to get back in touch with God they don't need a sadic they don't need a righteous one of course sadic will help them of course being connected to people who are spiritual is is vastly important but it's not a prerequisite for a person to be able to come back into a relationship with Hashem however far they areem wants them to know from the onset the foundation is it's not even a command it's a statement you know me I took you out of Egypt you know me I'm the one I'm the one that you know deep in the deepest depths of your heart no matter how far you are no matter how degraded you are spiritually no matter how far you are you know me I am your king I'm the one who loves you no matter what no matter how far you are no matter how dirty you are and you don't need and that's something you don't need to hear from somebody else you have to hear it only from Hashem but now it comes to the second part which is how does one get in there how do you access that because you don't always feel that you don't always know that I I am indeed I am I've been serving these Egyptians for so long and they are the epitome of distance from Hashem here I am so far away from Hashem so all I am is Lum all I am is building These Bricks building these buildings out of bricks making these bricks out of dirt out of mortar so how do I get back in how do I get how do I touch how do I touch the essence of who I am of my relationship with Hashem and the answer is amazingly the statement of the Jewish people isma I will do and I will hear where do they get the power to make such a statement I'm going to whatever you say I will do I I haven't even heard it yet I'm going to do whatever you say how how did they say that himself as tell us sages sayem himself God is himself as it were is he can't it's it's unbelievable to Hashem that the Jewish people have said this statement but where does it come from where does the statement come from I will do whatever you say Hashem the answer is it comes from a fact a recognition of the fact that the Jewish people had the hakar they had this recognition an open clear recognition of the fact that everything that hasem is doing for them is because he loves them all of the challenges all the difficulties the farthest depths that they've come to are all somehow they may not understand why or how but somehow they see especially in light of the amazing Miracles that they're experiencing they see that Hashem loves them so deeply and it couldn't be that Hashem who loves them so deeply would tell them to do anything that wouldn't be the best for them nishma means I recognize that you love me Hashem I recognize that you care so much about me you're willing to do miracles for me openly reveal yourself to the entire world which is against your rules against the rules that you created the world with but you're willing to do that against the rules to openly reveal yourself for me because you love me and if you love me I'll do whatever you say so when a person says Hashem I will do whatever you say I and even though it seems to be the opposite so many times so much it seems to be the opposite of that I'm willing to do whatever you say even though it seems like it doesn't seem that you love me it seems like you're so far from me it seems I'm so far from you but if I can say no matter where I amem I acknowledge that whatever you're doing for me is the best I know you love me that's where hm says I amm your God you have tapped into the truth to the true depth of the essence of who you are and no one else is going to tell you that I will tell you that myself Hashem says so I want to bless you I'm asking you to please bless me back Hashem should help us to be able to have that hakar to have that recognition of what we know to know what we know to touch on what we know and it starts with a hakara a recognition of the fact that we also know that hashm loves us should help us to recognize his unending love for us hem should help us to see it in our lives to see it in our children to see it in all of the amazing things that are there sometimes there are so many difficulties that are that are happening in our lives that we lose sight of the fact that there's so much good alongside the difficulties should help us to see the good alongside sometimes the difficulties should help us recognize and be able to say in our lives whatever you say I'm willing to do I don't know yet what it is but I'm willing to follow your lead follow your directions and by saying that Hashem should help us to be able to see to the core of who we are and hear the voice directly of Hashem I am hasm your god thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabas this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag [Music]