Modern Masters: Coming Closer- Eternal Lessons of the First Korban Pesach | Rabbi Sam Shor

of course contains within it the instructions for the incredible Mitzvah of the carbon p and we're going to take a look at theim regarding the carbon PES or some of theim related to the carbon P this morning and then we're going to hear from a number of Modern Masters to who see encrypted within this Mitzvah incredible symbolism both for that of the time of the first carbon B as well as for all eternity for okay so we're gonna Jump Right In we're take a look at text number one on our sheets these called out to the all the Elders of Israel and said to them take draw out and take these two words seem very they're very much synonyms right Mish which means to draw out and take they seem very much synonymous okay so we're GNA come back to that that th those two synonymous words because Rashi deals with that we can actually jump right to it take a look at te text number two the famous Rashi what's someone who has their own cattle they should take four take one of their own cattle and someone who doesn't have their own cattle what's the they have to go and take one from buy one in the show so these two words that se synonymous says Rashi are actually teaching us that if we have our own cattle we should take from our own cattle if we don't have cattle to be able to offer the carbon we're not Exempted for the carbon what we have to go out and take one from the market okay and then the tar continues and you should take this bundle of of hisa branches withad and dip it in the blood that was left in the in the AA in the in the in the buckets after after the animals were sh and should place it on the doorposts of your door in order that it and no one should leave your homes until the morning meaning you off you off for the cover and then you take the blood and you surround your doorway and no one should pass through that doorway this a famous question obvious question to be asked on this p it seems to be what that the B is telling us paint the paint the blood around the doorpost there should be a sign and Hashem will pass over the Jewish households that have this Blood on the door post let me ask you does KES need a Simon okay on the door for him to know what's a Jewish doorpost what oh so we're gonna come back to that point exactly so now let's take a look at the medish the medish this version is from but it's echoed in numerous M including in the T so take a look at text number three okay what was going on at the time the Jewish people were heavily influenced by the idolatry of MIT okay and therefore they were having a hard time of letting go of that way of life as a p says as long as the Jewish people continue to be involved in any way in the idolatrous ways of M they're not GNA be redeemed go and tell them tell them to what give up their Wicked Ways and repent from the from that idolatry as the P says okay which we said before draw forth and take for yourself first take your hands away from theara draw away from the idolatrous ways of Egypt and then and only then what offer your own sacrifice and what are you doing symbol and doing that that the lamb was one of the Gods of MIT we know there are lots of gods of MIT Egypt had lots of different formats of AAR right they say the one of the reasons why the makot start in the water okay is that they used to worship the Nile so there are many forms of idolatrous ways that took place in Egyptian culture and one of the idolatries one of the AAR of of Egypt was they worship Lambs they worship livestock so therefore symbolically says the medish the first thing we have to do is we have to step away from the idolatry of MIT and then once we've done that that's M remove our hands from from the idolatrous ways of and then we're going to off offer then we can offer a carbon of our own and in so doing what are we symbolically doing or so to speak rejecting the ways of Egypt completely because not only are we worshiping God but we're worshiping God in a way in which we're sheing we're slaughtering one of the idolatries of MIT okay completely very good so the r we're just take to to emphasize this point even further Mal take a look at text number four we're gonna learn theim in English because of course the r wrote them what in Arabic so if we're already G to translate from from from the ramen's original will learn in English listen to what the ramen says in the mar the Egyptians were accustomed to worshipping the zodiacal sign of the land that was why they forbat the slaughter of cattle and despised Shepherds the text alludes to this if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their very eyes will they not Stone us for this reason we were commanded to slaughter a lamb on pesak and sprinkle its blood in Egypt on the doors outside to cleanse ourselves of these ideas and demonstrate publicly our rejection of them okay so it's not enough that it's only for us okay you suggested that the blood was a Simon for us no it's more it's a Simon what to the m to the mitz okay we are publicly rejecting the culture of MIT we're leaving that culture outside of our homes okay we're putting the blood on the doorpost to say this idolatry stays outside of our homes okay this would lead to the conviction that what had been considered lethal was now the source of Deliverance up now it would been unfathomable right that the Jewish people would have the courage to reject the idolatry of MIT and such a strong with such a strong emphatic statement but by doing so what are we we demonstrating that we're not afraid anymore okay we know Hashem has her back we put our trust this is right we put our trust in and we're not afraid of the MIT of the MIT anymore this will lead to the conviction that what have been considered lethal was now the source of Deliverance the lore passed over the doorways and did not allow the Destroyer to enter your houses and to do you you harm and re Roar for your performance of Rights repugnant to the worshipper of Idols so I wanted there's a famous PK at the hen that's gonna serve the basis we all know this for the next two texts we're going to look at uh and that's the PK okay s first in order to to do good first you have to what remove yourself from from the from the bad from the bad influences around you we're going to learn from two important Modern Masters now in the next couple minutes we're gonna learn first from Kitz Rabbi isarin of kajit who came on Al to Israel in the 1920s he is one of three kic Masters that were fun that were fundamentally involved in founding the community ofarim in Northern Israel okay was originally founded as aidic farming Village the goal of of founding is that there were three rabes who were involved in the Enterprise and they wanted to encourage their followers to what to be able to fulfill the Mitzvah to literally get their hands dirty okay okay and work the land and keep the the the biblical obligations of of working the land of of the agrarian society of the Torah now unfortunately this Enterprise was not successful and within a year or two of of its founding there was a bailout the PO mrai the religious Zionist workers came and took over the community and today that I don't think there are any come out no that actually live today there Isa presence there and there are religious zus there but but that was the original founding I think they less than three years they they succeeded they they managed to to live there so Salazar was actually famous as the brother-in-law of of the Petna rebi okay the great rebi of Petna and unlike the reab Petna who stayed in Poland he managed to escape and made it to erel and this is what the P the uh K text number six has to say about this idea of of draw forth and take for you says the Rashi tells us in the by bringing the word words of the the that teach us first draw forth their hands from the idolatrous ways of EGP and then what take an offer a Corb not as idolatry but as what as a Mitzvah as a car so re says what we learn from this is what that always when it comes to serving Hashem it begins with what first first separating ourselves okay that's the idea of Kus K means to what to to to be distinct right so the it begins with what first removing ourselves from any outside influence and then are only then stepping into the famous right one that's someone who goes into a Mikvah okay and he's holding on to some kind of Sher some kind of impure animal or insect something some creepy crawly thing and he's holding it in his hands okay not only if he go immerses in a Mikvah has he not purified himself if he's still holding on to that sherids but even if you were to immerse in the the Waters of shil or the Waters of creation okay the ultimate you would think that would be the ultimate either of those scenarios would be the ultimate Waters of Purity okay if I'm still holding on to that Sher says the gamar then what even if I immerse myself in those Waters of creation I'm still what completely Tomy okay why because I'm holding on I'm still holding on to that to to to that creepy crawly thing okay but if you throw it out of your hands immediately what you become immediately pure okay and now the Reb is gonna explain this and therefore always the Jew has to First remove themselves from impurity and wickedness in order that what we shouldn't fall into the category of being one who's trying to immerse themselves in Holiness but still holding on with one hand to that sherids to that impurity and I think this is the dance unfortunately and the challenge of of life in the 21st century contemporary Jewish life that on one hand we want to immerse ourselves in kadua on the other hand let's be honest we all we all walk around with these these days we all can very easily fall into the category of holding on to that sherids right um I'm not not I'm probably the biggest the biggest offender in terms of not being a today I put my phone on on silent and vibrate okay it's off okay so the the re K of kaj sees in this Paradigm of what the of of how the the instructions for the carbon Pak are given that it starts with what the Eternal reminder of if we want to immerse ourselves in kadus we have to first what separate ourselves and let go okay of the shim that all of us get stuck to and hold on to and have a difficult time letting go of okay that's the first message the Waters of thean the of the okay now we're gonna hear from theas of the Reb of also this this is the father-in-law his the when we think of the Rabbi we often think of Theo Shalom who was the son-in-law of this Rabbi had many many who perished in the Shah and uh he and his very distinguished son-in-law who began his career as the Rosa of slonim they came to after the war and they rebuilt the son okay and in 1981 when the passed away his son-in-law the shalam became the rebi and was the rebi for about 20 years till the year 2000 19 he died in 1981 theas so we're gonna learn from the biras right now text number seven that's our p and I was gonna quote the same the Rashi quotes the the K are quoted he says many other great righteous individuals have already taught us and he specifically cites the the re of Chernobyl so the said you know we learned the the and the the med RAB that we the version of the med that we learned together also so that what that the Jewish people were heavily influenced by Egyptian society and to the point that them the meas seems to suggest what if they were actually engaged in aara so comes along the Chernobyl rean says you can't take that medish literally and G we know that we know G is not necessarily meant to be taken literally so what does it mean that the Jewish people were involved and influenced by the idolatry idolatrous ways of Egypt listen to how the how the CH rebi explained this so he says no doesn't mean they were actually engaged in what is helically deemed a zar but rather any activity that is foreign to to you could be called a okay anything a Jew does that is not within the parameters of of doing something the shame okay could be called a any activity that a Jew does that is not could be called what if the point the if the goal of Jewish life is a if the goal Jewish is to serve so any activity that we do and it's not done for that purpose could be called what okay and that's what the he says that's the B says on the if our Focus even temporarily momentarily okay change shifts from the task of Jewish life the purpose of Jewish life is what and if we lose sight of that even momentarily any that doesn't have that that of doing ites is could be called and therefore the med this med says the based on the and thees is not meant to be taken literally that the Jews were literally involved in a but rather what they had not they were so impacted by 210 years of servitude to a foreign King to a a human King that they had to leave that mindset behind in order to what embrace the idea of serving the ultimate King The King of Kings okay so that's a very different take on this medish get it all sends back to right so R everyone hear re right in he says this beautiful again we're gonna learn R in English because rers like the ra wrote in Arabic rers wrote most of his Works in German so text number nine says the following behind the substance of the beings around you you should discern the lawgiver whose law is unchangeable because his ever present keeps it so one can reach idolatry or rather polytheism directly through the eye and the understanding of the senses if Torah does not reveal to You The One and Only God if with your eyes and understanding you only behold you behold only specific beings and activities but not the invisible one the source of all law nature in such circumstances one sees only God's not God this too is a v ref first to so powerfully in this short piece that if we go through life and we don't see the Yem in everything then we run the risk of what of falling to that same trap okay of of of falling to what could be categorized as idolatry idolatry is not solely what actively worshiping okay an idol it's falling off that path of understanding of clarity of seeing the Yem in everything refes that's a very powerful idea by the r says this also R in the beginning of the Mish Torah the ran wrote M Torah as his Layman's codex to daily Jewish conduct okay he starts that that Layman's codex the daily Jewish life with with with with with which is the the the all the fundamental beliefs in the Torah the precursor to how we conduct Our Lives day and day out is what understanding the fundamentals of and the first segment of that of is how do you come to love and show your your awe for God if God is an in in adamant presence in our lives so his answer is beautiful the Rah says beautifully that in those moments when a person contemplates nature and looks around and begins to think about like how it is that everything that exists in the world came into existence and they immediately begin to think about how deep hashem's wisdom how endless hashem's wisdom and influence and kindness is he immediately Desires in the deepest way to come close to God to feel close to God to love God and to be in awe of God that's the L of the ra and what the r is saying is something very powerful we have to condition ourselves and that's exactly what first saying here a Jew needs to condition themselves to see the Yem in everything and if we're and and first need to suggest if we have lapses in that then what maybe that's a definition of AAR that's being communicated in our medish as well I want to just reflect back now go back to the beginning the first page we look at just a few other after after the description of exactly what to do for how to the car and how to paint the blood on our doorpost along kindes of and this is let start with verse 25 what polytheism belief in multiple gods okay okay text 25 it will be when you come into the land and that God will give you as we've already as he's already promised and you shall Safeguard this tradition of of the carbon and it will be when your children say to you what is this service to you now why is that P familiar to us where where specifically is this P familiar to us the Russia right the second the proverbial R Wicked son in the now it's very interesting we're GNA learn from our last modern Master this morning learn from the ohal Yakov we've learned from the Yakov before Yakov is the rebi ofat who came on in 1938 and lives the last 19 years of his life in downtown Tel Aviv from 1938 to 1957 he is lovingly and affectionately referred to as the ad he was a adore who spoke very positively about the Enterprise to build up ER Israel and again he what's amazing about his his safare is that he's living those at least the most of the stuff that makes the safare is from those 19 years who makes Aliah so you're basically getting a glimpse at the years of the shaah the years of the battle both um in terms of warfare and diplomatically the establishment of the state of Israel and then ultimately the early fundamental years of the of the state that were very very challenging you know physically and and and financially and and so spiritually right so we're going to just jump right in if you look at the yes if you look 1957 he died so if you look on your sheets okay if you look on your sheets this is the last page and we're going to begin with a section where the a is marked and he's GNA Begin by quoting our our medish and the end of our medish says that it's a good Tiding for the Jewish people at that moment when the je when the when your children ask why why why is it a good a good Tiding the first thing we learn from the p is what that even though they're asking what is this to you Torah tells us when your children ask you so it means what that they remain your children okay and then we're going to skip to where it say B he says to our great pain a large portion of the youth here [Music] in you asked them why don't they keep the shabas the Eternal Covenant that hem gave to the Jewish people why are they not careful with prohibited foods that bring impurity to our hearts why have you gone away from the ways of Holiness and and modesty that are the signposts of our people they'll answer us either out worri and said straight up or with similar language basically saying what is this to you okay L now listen to what the re does here but we have to recognize that even those who seem to re be rebellious they also have good attributes they're respectful to their parents they treat their parents nicely they have love for their fellow Jew their welcoming of guests think about during that kuf when so many refugees were coming and people had no place to live and they were taking in distant relatives and and Neighbors in the Old Country they're ready to risk their lives for the land and the people these good attributes testify the deficiencies and shortcomings he says these are just these are just this just dust that can be will be cleaned off in the words and easily cleaned off in the words of the okay as the and we'll see the Fulfillment of's promise and it will sprinkle upon them purifying Waters and they will become purified we'll see that their defects are not permanent because for most of these that have these deficiencies it's simply they don't have a true understanding of the gift and the presence of hashem's love in their lives for whatever reason they have benefited the same way to have that understanding as we have and when hem Reveals His great wonders for us when Mia comes all them will return with complete Chua just as in when Hashem revealed himself okay the Jewish people immediately left behind and rejected their idolatrous ways so too says the rabbi ofan okay when mhia comes the Jewish people will all once again experience this communal may we be blessed to experience that in our days speedily and may we take to heart this beautiful teaching from the ohal yako to see the good in one another even those who seemingly are asking questions I'll leave with one last Torah P the re we spoke about briefly he famously said that the word which means wisdom is comprised of two words the power of asking questions if we don't ask questions what happens then the questions that we have in our hearts linger and they become doubts and they become uh uh they become a short a short a short fall in faith in auna but if we express our questions and we have the Capac capity what to find answers and to be inspired and to come closer to here at may we be blessed internalize these beautiful Tas and may we speedily be able not only to G not only be able to offer the the but do it in the right Spirit not we should be able to let go of all the shim that we hold on to and be able to immerse ourselves fully in the ways of kadha shabbat shalom