Living on Fire

[Music] patterns in Jewish history are not just fascinating they're often our greatest teachers there's a running pattern throughout Jewish history in regards to the homes that some of our greatest leaders came from the Tyra in par told us this week's paraa stresses that Rift Came From A Home of tricksters and thieves aam Came From A Home of extreme Idol worshippers they didn't just worship idols they manufactured Idols y brother was yma the eventual father of Islam yacob's brother was the barbaric ASV Raul and Leia were children of the notorious con artist lovan YF Married An Egyptian woman and spent most of his life alone in Egypt Misha grew up in the adopt as the adopted son of parro the leader of the strongest and fiercest empire ever and ended up marrying the daughter of the local priest yro Esther was an orphan growing up raka was raised completely unaffiliated and illiterate the list goes on so why is this shouldn't Hashem want the leaders of the Jewish people growing up within the community shouldn't a great leader know what a Shalom zahar is or koule and Herring is or the Nuance differences between Gaz and or B Andi or shave naali and shave shim wouldn't it make the most sense for a leader to grow up with the people he would eventually lead so perhaps this pattern is here to teach us a powerful idea these people did not become great despite their shaky upbringings they became great precisely because of it the evil the Li the pain all around lit a fire underneath them burning in their souls determining them to correct the wrongs they were subjugated to for so long they weren't crushed by their surroundings they were empowered they were inspired they were determined who knows what our story would look like if roko had grown up in a regular normal house in Flatbush who knows what we would look like if Misha grew up amongst a regular family on a regular Block doing what everyone else does now it's not to say at all that great leaders can't come from normal homes but it does give tremendous encouragement to those who feel that greatness is beyond their grasp some some people think their family simply does not have the social class or the proper makeup that's conducive for fostering greatness people think their school or their camp or their background or their exposure straight jacketed them and prevented them from reaching their potential this pattern should teach us that perhaps Hashem put you in that that place in order to fill you with heightened passion to do good perhaps Hashem gave you divorced parents to go above and beyond in your marriage not just have a good marriage have a great one perhaps Hashem placed you in a irreligious home growing up so that you will live the rest of your life with a fire in your soul absorbing as much Holiness as you can perhaps Hashem put you in a body that has chrom's disease to give you the passion to save and encourage and Inspire thousand of others with the disease perhaps you were placed in that P specific situation and scenario and Circumstance to come out of the gate in life running instead of walking the pattern of our history tells us that we are who we are not despite our upbringing but precisely because of it our job is to never lose the passion [Music]