A Blueprint for Persecution By Rabbi Shmuel Goldin

good to be back I trust that uh you learned well in my absence I'm going to be sitting I usually teach standing um I've been falling and as you can see I I fell again and um we're trying to figure out why so uh I have to be very careful okay uh our Shear today is going to be somewhat sobering because as you see from the title a blueprint for persecution we're once again going to see something that we've seen often before and that is that the stories The Familiar stories in the Torah are very very relevant and not only relevant that what happens to us in our day mirrors in many ways what happened so many thousands of years ago all right we're going to begin if you take a look at the beginning of the of the shear setting the stage the Israelites confront EX this is setting the stage for the persecution that's about to come from MIT and let's take a look at our involvement in that as well the second PUK um well the whole the whole paragraph This is y speaking and he asks you what your what your job what your uh what you do what is it that you that you what is your business I want you to answer him carefully I want you to say that you are breeders or Watchers of shepherds Shepherds or mck or that you are cattle hers from When We Were Young until now and it's rooted in the family this is what we do so that you will be living in ER Goen because the Egyptians hate Shepherds and they're going to allow you to live in a separate place now let's understand who is speaking here this is Yos the Cosmopolitan Jew the one who has succeeded more than anyone else in living in an outside world and what and succeeding and rising to the top and yet what does what does yose do he orchestrates the first ghetto he basically says I want you to be a part I I I know the I know the dangers I was able to succeed but there's no guarantee you will succeed I want you to live separately I want you to maintain your traditions and and and then you will be safe do the Israelites do that let's take a look at the next line vom Al Paro these are yosef's brothers speaking I can't sit these are yose's brothers speaking and yose's brothers say to par we have come to what dwell in the land now let's remember we there are two different ways to talk the Torah talks about living in a particular place generally what's the difference between the two one is temporary and one is permanent right lore comes from the word g we're we're coming as we're we're not comfortable here we're strangers we're not settling loet means to to to live to set yourself up in the particular place now now look at what the brothers of yoseph say we have come to dwell in the land because there's no place for our sheep to to to graze where we are because of the famine so we we've come down here to [Music] dwell and now let us settle this may be a Freudian slip centuries before Freud we want to not dwell what do we want we want to live we want to settle in arid oan and that's exactly now take a look at the next next paragraph the Israelites lived in the land of Egypt in the land of Goen they held on to it they acquired it completely they that's to hold on to and they multiplied Vu they grew and and increased in in a wonderful way now what what words are extra in that line what would you say ER mitzraim right why doesn't the Torah say which we know it's in so what is the Torah telling us that they settled in the MIT that they felt that they were part of mitzraim they did not maintain their separateness and not only that they settled they this is where we're going to stay this is this is our home now uh yeah nice Aliah is a wonderful idea but we like it here in ER we want to stay in ER MIT go on to the next book of the Torah and take a look in multiplied increased became stronger and stronger and they land was filled with them it doesn't say the Eric Goan was filled with them right it says the land was filled with them and they are starting to move and the medish says what what does this mean they have the theaters became filled with them the the the bathouses became filled with them basically they were exceedingly Mighty and the circuses they they began to be part of they began to be part of mitan and assimilate to assimilate is correct and take a look now they're becoming part they're becoming part now take a look now at the hame D this is hudlin then and he is building on the text in an amazing way what does he say look at the underlined sections B made to L Bar he says so comes to teach us they did not stay in ER look at the the last line every open space they they would take they they looking for the real estate they looking for place to buy to acquire and they're moving out into MIT I'm skipping to the next underlined section hus how he makes a turn that is that is fascinating and that you and I know to be true the more we try to be like them the more what they hate us the more they push away and he says this this spreading out the erit MIM was not just not just is problematic because it we're assimilating into Egyptian culture but it's problematic because all hatred from Egypt and the edicts of the king are happening because they are trying to assimilate into into Egyptian culture look at the next they they moved away from the desire or the the plan of of Jacob of yov and yose they they broke out of M of erit Goen and now look at the last line he this is the reason this is the the the the Catalyst that causes them to work against us we feel because we don't want to live as strangers we don't want to maintain our separateness and when we break out it causes problems it gets worse and that's set so that's what we're doing to set the stage for persecution what we're doing to set the stage persecution is what is we're trying to be like them moving into the circuses moving into the theaters breaking out of Goen filling every empty space and it doesn't work it's not good for us that's well that's correct whe all right to repeat because the camera's on me whether or not they assimilate they assimilate we they hate us correct but their hatred increases when we try to break out their hatred increases says the NIV when we try to be like them if we are proud of what we are and we maintain our Traditions then they will hate us but a bit less a bit less all right now setting the stage now let's take a look at the next setting the stage right we're setting the stage through the actions of Ben Israel of the Israelites then the Torah tells us in what else sets the stage a new king arises a new parro arises shal yose who didn't know Joseph and and doesn't feel that he owes anything to Joseph even though the last king loved Joseph and made made him particularly powerful Along Comes the gamarra however and it brings down a mes a dispute between two famous rabbis RAV and schmuel who were ma major figures in the tulic era and are always very often arguing with each other they're contemporaries they're colleagues and they often have varing views karos m one of the rabbis said and it doesn't tell us what who said what that King was actually a new king the other one said no it's the same King he just flipped changed his mind became better for him to hate the Jews than to love the Jews now why does why does the to would bring that why are the rabbis arguing about this it says clearly in the text M why don't they accept the of the text so clearly what kazal are telling us is that both of these things happen and will happen right your friends quickly will become your enemies when it suits them be careful don't assume just yes there will also be a m there will also be a new president and a new this and a new that but there will also be those who you thought were your friends and who were your friends for a particular period of time can easily become your enemies okay so that all that has set the stage our breaking out increases the hatred and a new king or the king who is changing flipping on a turning on a dime changing his changing his particular um love of the Jews to hatred now we turn to to the actual blueprint itself all right now what happens here so I we have the whole section the blueprint in front of us on page number three but we're going to dissect it Case by case and I'll repeat that are critical for us so you just have that that's the blueprint and now we turn to the ramb what are the goals what are parro and his henchmen and trying to do what is their desire says the the ran parro and his yat and his advisers and his wise men could not immediately destroy the rise up against the Jewish people and kill them couldn't be done you had to to to do it slowly it had to be step by step even from the Egyptian perspective from the Egyptian perspective he could not rise up and say okay the Jews are our Ines let's kill them the mstre wouldn't allow it the Jews came the Israelites came and again they're not Jews yet Jews are from Yehuda right um they're not not Jews yet they're Israelites the same will be acquired in the same its vot let us be wise to them let's go step by step let's make them think we're we're we're we're we're doing certain things but we're not really going to the full extent and then we will be able say the Yim our nation will be prepared to hit them then after we go step by step then the MIT will will agree with us and we'll will be able to do what's necessary so what's the first step turn to the next page he says to his Nation behold the Israelites the children of Israel are greater in number and stronger than we are let's go and we had this just a moment ago pen lest he lest they become even War if there is a battle against an enemy what they're going to do is they're going to be a third column they're going to join the enemy B inits and there are various interpretations of that last phrase they will by force leave us or what what what go up from the land means but they're going to become on they're going to they're going to take advantage of our good hospitality and they are going to allow they are going to allow themselves to become part of the enemy now let me ask you a question is it possible that Israel were that that the Israelites were greater in number and stronger than the great Egyptian Empire so what's he doing propaganda that's the first step that's the first step you have to set the stage you have to have textbooks that demean the Jews right you have to have uh the the Nazis who say outright lies and say that if you say the LIE often enough and strong enough what people will believe it and that's what's happening now in our world is it not right the genocide genocide right over and over and over again and all these different places and all these different universities and all these different schools that's setting the stage you've got to start with propaganda and and what about and what are we going to do we're they are third column Among Us right they are they are they they are people that will rise against us when when we allow them to so let's let's plan to to take care of that potential Danger as P Pon V ranes he placed they placed upon them specific tax collectors and not only Tax Collectors but officers to watch them work and be with them in their work V and they built AR canot they built certain cities it says the uh translation here says storage cities there are those who say that they are cities that were with suan that that actually you couldn't build them they fell down all the time you just kept trying to build them and trying to build them right with what with the tools and the and the material that's given to you one second and what what is what is parro doing here he's isolating the Jews there are special people with the Jewish problem is problem is real and we have to appoint special task Masters different task Masters different people different people to take care of them because they are they are they are different they're not quite like us and we need to isolate them and put them to work and give them labor and make sure that they are benefiting us but at the same time we're isolating them hand up they got slaves already at this stage not yet not yet yeah they are they are becoming they are becoming slaves they're they're they're but the full persecution let's understand what the ramban said is that parro's game plan is not just to make the Israelites slaves it is what he wants from the start is to kill them and these are the steps that he takes in order to get to that point so we're isolating the Jews Nazi Germany isolating ghettos places right forced forced labor next and MIM worked Ben is and here they're becoming slaves be what does mean so the rabbi so the the P shot of the word is hard backbreaking backbreaking labor however there are other interpretations that are medik which see in this word something else one is per soft right right what what were we gonna they said the medra says what what happened parro went out himself into the field and said well we're not we're not working you alone come work with me right do with me we're settling you in the East right we're not we're not and we will get them get the Israelites themselves to buy into what's happening and not revolt and in addition to that they embitter their lives and again I keep harking back just in my mind to Nazi Germany and to the to the to the concentration camps and to the work and to the labor and what what what that they made them do and the stories of you take you know you you're in the field and you take the stones from one corner of the field and you take a to the other and then put them back right work that makes no difference but more than that be also means humiliating work work that the rabbis say they gave this is not politic this is not polit politically correct but they gave man's work to women and women's work to men what what you want to do is you want to humiliate them you want the world to see them humili you want them to see themselves humiliated and you want the what the Mitre to see them humiliated take a toothbrush and clean the the street right do these things I'm I'm turning them into the other I'm turning them into the other step by step and not only the other but the other right in other words they're they're low they're not human they're they're different than us Etc so next so humiliating work backbreaking work isolation propaganda first isolation next humiliating work next what's the next stage um at this point parro turns to the Egypt Hebrew midwives right the um two different two different midwives shifra and Pua the rabbis suggest that it's really Miram and Y that it's moshe's sister and moshe's mother I I've always found it interesting that for example I have a daughter-in-law named sh I know nobody named Pua I feel bad for her is it an Israeli name okay okay so they so good I'm glad because pu deserves pu deserves her place in the what really pu and Ison okay all right okay I'm I'm glad to I'm glad to hear it because uh I was I was concerned for yeah yes that it could it's it could be it could be that they were Egyptian midwives that dealt with the Hebrews or that they were rwise from but but the pat seems to be that they are themselves Hebrews right and he turns to them he says look on the birth stool and Ben what I want you to do is I want you to look ahead look at the birthing stool see what's what's happening and if it is a male child kill it or don't let it be born or figure out what to do and if it's a female child it's okay let let them let her live because we'll use the females right for what we want to use them for now let me ask you a question why is he starting this way saw that right okay all right so that's the medic approach which is that he saw through a astrology that the savior of the Jewish of the Israelites was about to be born he didn't know whether the person would be Hebrew or Egyptian and therefore he's he's and we'll we'll we'll talk about that a little bit later even in a stronger way but I'm sorry all right the rabbis say that the midwives were able right before birth to determine the the sex of the child that's what Al N means so what par was starting with is potentially not genocide not murder right it's abortion right what I'm I'm starting in an area that is morally complex I want to bring the why why would I want to bring a male Hebrew child into this world look at look at what's happening to them so just don't let them be born take care of them before birth if you can kill them how did Hitler begin who were the first per people that he killed the handicapped the right the people right that's you begin with that you begin with mercy killing right that I don't it's you're not really murdering the child you're just aborting the child you're not really um you're not really doing something negative you're doing something positive because this child will have a a miserable life so we're taking care of things right and it's also pretty secret as well correct all right so but so we see that that that you're beginning step by step the bid wives by the way what what they don't listen to parro and parro then says okay we've got to go to the next step all right now we're now we're getting down to what we what we want to do every male child throw that child into the river we're we're out in the open now right and notice that parro does not say this to his army he says this in other words he's enlisting all the Egyptians to search out to find Jewish babies to make sure that they kill and to be involved in this genocide this this by the way is genocide all right uh and to ensure that no Jewish male children are born you I'm going to take the entire population of misim I'm going to put them as the individuals will take care of this they'll be it's a problem it's it's not the soldiers it's everybody I'll get to that I'll get to that I'll get to that okay all right okay so what what we're doing is we're enlisting the entire population and bringing them into so that nobody can be against us everybody's doing this and when you turn to to the world it's the whole Egyptian population is taking care of this now what are the results aside from aside from the major result which is enabling parro to get to that stage and enabling him to enslave the Israelites totally what what results how do the Israelites end up and how do the Egyptians end up so take a look at the the bottom section of page five every male son that is born you shall cast into the river what's missing right it doesn't say every Hebrew child it says every male child I'll get you in a minute and okay we're at the point where we we need that okay um so what what's missing is it doesn't say every Hebrew child it says every male child which leavs the rabbis to say that again what you said about the astrological um prediction that a male child would potentially be a Savior and he doesn't know if it's Egyptian doesn't know if it's Hebrew and therefore he's going to tell them to kill all of the male children now you say to yourself wow hold on a minute is that possible would the Egyptians really be willing to sacrifice their own children well what happens in our world what about the suicide bombers who the mothers say were wonderful and were heroic what about theas using children as as Shields right it's happening it's happening but the the most telling is the families of the terrorists who are basically saying they're Heroes they're go to heaven so what's happen then is happening now all right and I see a number of hands up yes it occs to me that it's very selfing destroy his own people is what it's not going to be continual it's it's not the the astrological period is the baby is only have to do it for now for a period of time [Music] yes that's an excellent question I don't know all right that but I'll I'll research it and probably try to get you an answer question was question was how long does it take from propaganda to genocide how long did it take this process take and uh I'm not sure I'm not sure it had to take some time it had to take some time yes it's a good point very good point the reading that says that that um the Egyptians were throw putting their own children into the Nile as well is contradicted by the fact that parro's daughter upon seeing a child in the river immediately says that's a Hebrew child so it may be it may be that it's after that period where the Egyptians were doing it or it may be that she had another way of seeing or all right maybe that the Egyptians didn't didn't listen to parro all right and it may be that that we're reading into the text uh something that really isn't right I don't know that's that's Kish study allows you to see layer upon layer and sometimes even conflicting positions but you learn from each layer and the possibility that the Egyptians would do this is a real possibility and that's something that we learn in our own day does he wasn't saw brother interesting that's very interesting that's very interesting okay so in other words I'll repeat that I'll repeat it she she says that the balim suggests based upon based upon the the the the gatria whatever that that the Nar and I would I would to support this state this you don't call the baby AAR you call Anar is a lad she heard the lad crying that doesn't refer sayal to mosha in the in the Cradle in the uh in the the Box in River it refers to Aaron haken crying for his brother and and then she knew that it was a Hebrew child so it's a lovely thought very nice very nice thought and as you said when she heard one Jew crying for another that's when when she what yeah naron would also not be called a Nar but he's more more of a n he's only a couple of years older all right okay all right so the results are that's correct that's correct the answer is through this entire process step by step they're becoming the other they they are we'll see what what what how this affects them in a moment in a moment in terms of a very powerful statement in the Torah but there's no particular point where you become the slave right that's that's part of what we're learning that basically you become the slave gradually when you get to the point finally at the end game that's that's where you are all right um now in terms of in terms of call there was something I wanted to say and I just forgot so I uh you you'll bear with me that's that's been happening uh all right let's go on so oh I know what I want okay what we see here though is if we're right if we're right what has parro managed to do he's managed to engage the entire population with through this stepbystep demeaning of the Jew of the Israelites right now the now the nation sees them as bugs now the nation sees them as less than human now the nation doesn't hold back from from killing them so clearly the process worked remember we said in the beginning that the raban said parro and his Nation could could not suddenly rise and kill the Jews the Israelites here they're they're they're okay you don't see any push back from them and you don't see any push back from the Israelites either right because step by step they're being degraded in fact now take a look at a very very powerful uh paragraph in the in the Torah most I'm it's fast forwarding to the point where M and Aon have come to start being the saviors and they have come to parro and they have said you've got to let the God wants you to let the Israelites go and parro says absolutely not I don't know this God I don't know I don't know who you are I and he what does he do he increases the labor upon the juice he says in order to do what they were doing they needed to collect they needed straw collected to build it to put it into the bricks he said we've been providing the straw for you now you've got to go collect your own straw and we will not diminish the number of bricks or the number the work that that that will will be required from you right we're not going to diminish that so clearly parro is refusing and making things worse and Moshe says that to AES mosha says why did you send me here I've only made things worse but look at this paragraph This is talking about the Israelites they encounter Moshe and Aon as they are coming out from the palace V that you made our Aroma negative bad in in the eyes of in the world of parro in his eyes and in the eyes of his advisors you made us look bad parro we we we managing and you've just killed it because you made parro see us negatively now hold what's going on here parro is throwing their babies into the river right what has happened here the Israelites have been demeaned the Israelites see parro as a potential savior as someone who if our reu if our odor would be good if our Aroma would be good then then he wouldn't would do this terrible thing to us and therefore we see the result both upon the Egyptian population and the result upon the Israelites they've been beaten down they no longer searo is the enemy but what's the stock syndrome it's not quite the same but but par parro is close to it right close to it parro is really not so bad they're blaming Moshe and arrow they're blaming mosha all right and there's one last point to be made and that is if you see step by step the enslavement and the persecution of the Jews of the Israelites and again I I urge you to think up to look at this section again in the Torah and recognize how relevant it is this is amazing I mean it's happened over and over and over again the same things same things and here we are now Freedom so what what does a kesu he it says in a famous paragraph that According to some authorities is the source of the four cups of wine at the Sor he says I will save you I will redeem you with a strong arm both I actually I skipped one I skipped one start with start with the first thank you one two with great signs with great Miracles now the rabbis say that these are the four cups of wine right is the fifth oh is the fifth okay thank thank you correct correct correct and is the fifth which we say is a which only happens after we re-enter our homeland and begin to do what wants from us now what why does the Torah use these four expressions and then a fifth because according to kazal the Redemption of the Jews was also a process you couldn't take the Israelites suddenly out of Egypt and say now you're free now you're free I remember um we were we were instrumental in bringing a family from the Soviet Union out um I it's an amazing story I had I was there with some other rabbis two other rabbis and we were in the Soviet Union to meet with refusenik and on the last day of the of the trip we were in Leningrad a young man came up to me and said to me you you're Jewish I said yes he said you know I'm a I I I love music and I'm very interested in the rituals within the synagogue so I've been going a little bit to synagogue I'd like to find out more about JIS and I began to we began to to to talk that day and somehow I kept in touch with him afterwards eventually we brought him and his wife to the states and eventually now he is a leading figure in the Jewish community in Staten Island New York he has children who have gone through the the day schools and are are observant Je but when we met him there were things he couldn't believe for example he thought we had two cars he thought that it was one car and you pushed a button and became a second because you couldn't own two cars it's not not possible in his world he was paralyzed when we took him to shoppr right and saw all the boxes of cereal he didn't know what to do he didn't know what to choose and the you can't take someone from one world to the next and expect them to be able to embrace this new world immediately it's not possible so one of the commentaries says very well why do we have wine corresponding to these stages stages thank you because wine affects us incrementally all right the more wine affects us incrementally and therefore stand for these these stages which were incremental and and someone within kazal will spend time saying what each stage what it means um with increasing power with increasing power all right uh step by step step by step and there are those who go through these four languages and say this hesi meant this and and salti meant this that each one of them meant something different in terms of the Redemption of the Israelites but what Hashem is doing according to kazal is he's trying to reverse the persecution right he's trying to reverse and to have a process of redemption is he successful this generation never makes it right this generation never makes it and the Torah is teaching us that even withes Bar's stepbystep Redemption this particular generation can't do it and what what becomes the turning point that that Dooms them it's the sin of the spies what was the sin of the spies it was the famous story of the spies going into the coming back with an evil report or a negative report except for yahushua and K but it's the last words of the spies in their in their talk to the nation we were in our own eyes as insects and so were we in theirs what what are they saying when you see yourself as an insect that's when they'll see you such when they when we lose faith in our elv that's when that's when they and we lost faith basically what they said to the to the Israelites was you think you've changed you think you've been transformed you think you're no longer that band of slaves working in Egypt that it's all been a show it's all been a you went through yamu and all of this stuff and all of these and that sound and light show at Mount Si it accomplished nothing because they saw we saw ourselves once we saw the power of the people around us we lost our selfconfidence and then that's so it's almost again another Freudian slip before Freud where they're saying when you lose faith in yourself that's when you're going to lose faith in in in that's when others will will also lose faith in you ofans right very good well that's what that that's exactly exactly in other words what you're suggesting is that the persecution process turned them into subhuman in their mind and that remained and when the Spy said to them that's you're still those subhumans you haven't changed at all that's when that generation's fate was sealed if they buy into the slaves and they did okay yes right correct the heads well said the spies were the the the upper the upper class the the leaders of the Jewish people and even they saw themselves as kagi so yes all right okay there the comment was was it not the men wasn't it only wasn't it only the men not the women the answer to that is according to medic literature you're correct it does not say it in the text but but according to mraic literature you're correct yes it reminds me but I don't know if this is your intention uh you know of the uh you you know what should we have done in the second world war should we have fought more should we D you know this is a big thing I mean right so you're saying that it brings up the question of our response to the Nazis when we were being persecuted I think what it says is that it helps us understand why we didn't fight back because we step by step were degraded in other words every step of the way you know they we believe them we believe them they're resettling Us in the in the East they're it's going to be okay there were people who escaped after total annihilation of a particular group came back you know came back from under dead bodies to the ghetto and said this is what's happening and no one believed them could be the Germans could do something something like that can't Beed over a period of time you buy into it so wasn't it selfing to send the SP because they also had that same mindset although they were the leaders of the tribes if they had that same mindset then of course that they would come to all right so I'm going to make two comments uh the question or the comment was uh wasn't it it given the fact that everyone was affected by the persecution and that's leaders saw themselves as insects why were the spies sent at all it's it's right pretty much number one I think you're right I think that this had to play out God knew what was going to happen this is always the case when it comes to these stories right didn't God know God knew that spies would be bring back an evil report if he knew that then why did why did why did he allow it to happen because we learned from it because it teaches us we learn from it over the ages so in many ways the S of the spies was inevitable and it was the turning point that this generation it teaches us that one generation can't make that leap even even with preparation the other answer is again God didn't do this they there the fact that they saw themselves as insects didn't appear until the slaves came back in other words everyone felt that but but they but they went through ramu they saw harini so they they potentially on the surface felt that change had occurred it was only when they heard the spies their leaders saying that that they said that's what we feel as well insecure was it wasn't main who told the spies to go in the original it was the people that came well all right it's okay that it's interesting there's a there there's a parent contradiction between the story of the spies when it happens in bamar and when Moser raenu repeats it right so in mosha renu's words they came to him correct that he correct in in the original story it just says Hashem commanded that they they be sent all right I see people waiting I don't want to go over our time thank you very much and I look forward to continuing to learn with you [Music]