A Brief History Of Jewish Pride

This Torah class is brought to [music] you by torahanytime.com. A Torah anytime original series. The single biggest prerequisite is are you proud to be an Hashem's team or not? If you take a bird's eye view of Jewish history, you will notice that every single time we were about to be annihilated, the reason given by Hazal has nothing to do with black and white sin. Never. Did you know that? 600,000 Jews left Mitzrayim. How many did not leave Mitzrayim? Anyone know? 1/5 of the Jews that were in Mitzrayim left. So, if 600,000 Jews left and only 1/5 left, that means how many did not leave? Anyone good at math? 2.4 million Jews did not leave Mitzrayim. They were killed. What happened to those Jews? What happened to those Jews? So, we all know the Medrash that says, they dressed a little Egyptian, they spoke a little Egyptian, they had Egyptian-sounding names. You ever thought about it? Like, what? These were like, by every other metric, good Jews. They cuz they spoke a little Egyptian? Cuz they dressed a little Egyptian? That's your issue? That's how 2.4 million Jews are killed? Make any sense. The Megillah. The Gemara says, you wanted to know why we were destined to be annihilated at the times of Haman? Because we were cuz we went to Ahasuerus' party. Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Hello, we're thinking we're Nava girls. What are you talking about? We were eating kosher there. We were keeping Shulchan Aruch. Cuz we went to Ahasuerus we went to the White House at the Hanukkah menorah, the White House. That's your problem? Rebbe Akiva's told me them are killed because they didn't honor that? That's you're okay with that? Make any sense to anyone? These are Sadiqim. I'm all I'm all honoring your friend. I'm all into that. Respect your friend. To warrant the death of 24,000 people? That? The base hamikdash is destroyed. Why? Because of sinas chinam. Hello, anybody? Cuz I don't like the way you space your challahs? Cuz you're a Moroccan and and you're Yemenite or whatever I don't get you know see eye to eye? That's what destroyed the base hamikdash? Here's the story. Not long ago I was in Philadelphia with my wife in a place called Penn's Landing. >> [snorts] >> And we're staying at a hotel. And right in front of the hotel there's a battleship that's parked there. So I go check it out in the morning. We check it out. And we got a tour of this World War II battleship. I'm checking it out. All the rooms, all the different workshops in there. At the end of the tour I turn to the tour guide and I say really cool battleship. But where were the beds? They didn't sleep? So he says come here. He says look at the ceiling. If you'll notice on the ceiling there are hooks. Every 3 ft there's another hook. He says see that crate over there? He points to a crate. See that crate? In that crate there's 500 hammocks. Every night one of those all the soldiers would go to that box, take a hammock and hook it onto the hooks and that's where they would sleep. So I was amazed. But then I'm looking around I'm like what's that again? This is World War II. There was a draft. You didn't have a choice of being in the army. You had to be in the army. These were not like teenagers who couldn't make it in college so they went to the US Army. >> [clears throat] >> This is like dentists and architects. Like like radiologists. Grown men cannot have lawns that are too close to each other without getting into a fight. You're You're suspended on a boat touching each other? I said, "How did World War III not break out?" So, this guy looks at me. He says, "It's a very interesting He said, "When you deeply believe that what you're doing is saving the world, nothing bothers you. You put all petty differences aside. When you deeply believe that what you're doing is saving the world, small things don't bother you. These sailors deeply believed that what they were doing was saving the world. Should I tell you why? Because it was. So, nothing bothered them. It's the exact same way in Avodas Hashem. If you actually believe that inside of you there's a piece of Hashem that was placed into this world to bring light into some corner of this dark world that needs it, >> [clears throat] >> then you would start seeing that in other people. Hey, the same way I need you on my boat because otherwise we fail, I need you in my life cuz otherwise we fail. Your victory is my victory. Your defeat is my defeat. Sinah means I don't actually see you as like this ambassador of God. You're an enemy. You're a You're You're like a competitor in the game of life. Hashem didn't see really proud Jews who were living in Egypt who happened to have Egyptian names. No, no. He saw Jews who could care less. I'm not interested. Yeah, I'll check the boxes from social pressure. I'm not interested. Hashem said, "You're not choosing me? I'm not choosing you. Goodbye." Hashem didn't see really lame schmucky Yidden who happened to be at Ahasuerus' party. No, he saw Jews who were closet Persians. I don't care. I don't care. I'd much rather just buy into the whole Persian culture. Okay, I'll annihilate you and only because we diving I shouldn't see tell me them and Ruby Kiva who were really good smack but like happened not to get along. What do you mean you don't get along? If you don't see the godliness in your friend, you don't see it in yourself. You're just on your personal quest to become this time of life. I'm not interested in that. I want people who are on fire, who are proud. Sin of sin of is demonstrative. It's reflective that you don't actually care about the mission that you're on cuz if you did, you'd view each other as teammates and not as competitors. The single most important ingredient in rule in rule is is pride. 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