Vaera | Rabbi Baruch Taub | January 15th 2026

Okay, good morning everybody. [clears throat] [cough] So I want to start with um a beautiful uh piece of Torah from the meshma uh or mayor Simka of Dinsk. There were two rabbis in Dinsk. There were two communities in Vins. There was a community which actually was Labavich Kabad and there was a Misnagisha community. So he was he was the rabbi of um the Mishnagdim and uh the Ruggage Chaon was the rabbi of the of Kabad Kabad community and two there were two great rabbis. He also was known as the Orsame because he wrote a cafer on on the Rambam which is called Orsame. So he's known by the mesh. He's known by in fact an interesting story which you might have heard from me. I don't know but uh he wrote the meshma on kish when he was I think 16 years old and his father wouldn't let him publish it because in those days in in Leita in Lithuania even a taxi driver could write a safe everyone was so learned. So he said first let's wait write your on the Rambam on on shas and then then we'll publish it. And that's what happened. He published the orch was very quickly they saw what he was and then he published the mesh is very hard to go through but we're going to we're going to take a look at at something he says at the beginning of the para we have the four of [clears throat] right um was telling I'm God that's number one I took you out from the burdens of and I saved you from their their hard slavery. Number three, I redeemed you with an outstretched hand. Number four, I took you. I took you to be my people. and you you will know that I am God who took you out of that's number five and I will I will bring you the which I promised the I'm going to give to you One of the questions we're going to deal with at the end of this mesh, he doesn't mention there really five lean of guli is not part of the the promise of gula of redemption. It it only comes later as an afterthought, so to speak. And why isn't it included in the first four? So, we're going to see we're going to see a comment of that from someone else. Okay. So, what does he say about this the mesh? Okay. Good morning. Good morning. So we're talking about the arba l of gulah and uh and number two on the sheet the mash explains why are there four verbs four four promises of redemption that uh the makes to mosher raenu how how do we divide them up I took you out okay mik of That verb is used in the Torah when you speak about taking we the Jewish people came out when Ben Israel came out of Mit was a nation from a nation right the birth the birth of a nation right which I think was the name of the first uh talking picture right the birth of a nation okay but it goes back much further right this was the birth of Israel right and he says it like a baby coming out of a mother's womb So and that's so he he that was the we came out and we were now a new a new nation a baby born [clears throat] this is the coming out quite literally like coming out of a a womb a stomach who why is that why let's explain it he says because we were Egypt was the center of the negative universe of spirituality. It was a place of idol worship and [snorts] of of the despicable philosophies and theologies and we were taken out from there. Okay. I saved you. What's this referring to? Tom, the enu they the Egyptians persevered over us to destroy us completely destroy us. Kimo haben hay, right? They took they wanted to take like we know clearly in the Torah that every child every child that's born is going to be thrown into the sea. They're going to destroy us physically. So what what is mean? Like saving someone from a murderer. I saved you from murderous death. So is you were born you were born again now as a new nation. And is I saved you from death. So now we're seeing why there it's necessary for the Torah to speak about four different verbiages of taking us out. I redeemed you who may have evid that's from being a slave. You know, when a person comes out of out of prison, he still feels like a prisoner. He you know there's a tremendous amount of insecurity, right? He has a he has a an evid mentality, slave slave mentality. And many times you read about about convict convicts that they will purposefully commit a crime so they can get back into jail. the security of being in jail, right? A place to sleep and meals and, you know, then they're used to it, right? That's a that's terrible, right? But there has to be a time that an EVID has to has to lose his evid personality, right? And that's the that's the redemption that you're no longer a servant. you have self-esteem now that you're free without anybody telling you what to do. Right? So that's a tremendous tremendous amount section of the taking us out of number four and I took you to myself as a nation. Right? Yes, you were the nation was born, but what's going to be with them? Well, they're going to be God's people. And that's I took you to myself. Hulimus, a nation of nimusi, a nation of morality, of in modern Hebrew, nimus manners, right? But it's it's much more, right? Um and a na a nation a real nation, right? With with a with a society, with a governance, there would be a melik, right? There'll be a bezdon visa. There'll be order. There'll be law and order. Mishtar you could perhaps say is [clears throat] law and order. Okay. Alhammlik and God will be the king. Right? That's that's now very beautiful explanation. Right? Now listen to what he does. Where do we use those four languages of gula in our practice in our mitzvah observance? Where where do they come up in a very dramatic way? >> The seder the arbosot the four cups at the seder represent each of the four languages of gaul. Okay. So the four kosi that is a gmorra Jerusalem right now you have to we have to know something we don't just drink the cups of wine right if someone the gmorrah says the says if you take drink your four cups of wine one after the other you have not really fulfilled the mitzvah of arbakosot Right? Because each one of the kosot is an introduction and to a particular mitzvah at the seder part of the seder. Each part of the seder is a reflection of this these languages right just tell you something as an aside this I saw a chuva many years ago a doctor wrote a shila to uh I thinkman or the title I don't remember who I must have been because it was in sheretic and if he's if he's going to be called to the hospital in the middle of the seder what does he do about the four kosas so there he tells him drink the four kosot right and and hopefully you'll come back later, you'll be able to to make up for it, right? Because someone who's allowed to be mal shabas to go to the hospital doctor is allowed to be brought back the same way the is so in case he would be called again, right? He's allowed to come back. But so what the lumbus was that there's two denim we're getting this is concept. There's two denim in the arbakosot. There's the amira alakose the rec recital and there's the tacos drinking the cup. So at least you will fulfill the mitzvah of drinking the four cups. You will not have done the ammira but at least do that if you're afraid you're not going to get back. Okay. So each one is attached to a cup because there's both two dimensions to the four kosot. It's not just about drinking. It's also about the Amira and the and the words that are used reflect the Amir itself. So let's see how he how he brings that out. Koson is kish. The firsti is kdish. The Israel mikim. Why? Why? What does that have to do with us? Because we we sanctify time. The Jewish people sanctify time. We make kdish on Shabbat. We make kdish on on on yum. We sanctify time as the Torah says this month month of Aviv is to you. Now what's he referring to? What's he referring to is teaching us that the Jewish people were given were gifted the the task of setting the calendar. Right? How is the calendar? How is the calendar established every year, every month? Right? It's not just buying the your your calendar from the mak or the butcher. Witnesses Adam came to bait [clears throat] and would testify on the position of the moon and one if they said it's rushkish, it's rushkish. If they didn't say it's rushkish, it's not rushkish. [clears throat] So really the Jewish people were in charge of time of sanctifying time right which is an extraordinary thing that was the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people and bezden was our representative but why was that the first mitzvah what's so significant about this right why not shabus why kash or another mitzvah stuck any mitzvah right why what's unique what's unique and singular about the mitzvah of setting the calendar of keshes. The calendar is everything. Um, you know, when you speak of a real estate, commercial real estate deal, you uh it's called a turnkey operation, right? The the the buyer, the seller gives the key to the buyer. That's why it's called a turnkey operation, right? Gave us the keys to the kingdom. The keys to the kingdom of Torah is the is the is the because we establish if Bezdon says that PES is in August PES is in August we establish the kadusha right so we are those who establish kadusha and that's why that's what now this is the first cup the Israelim so what does it have to do with taking us out you it's a good When is that? [clears throat] When do we s when do we sanctify the time? When we are holy. As we're told in the Torah, we have to be holy in order to have to have to own this central idea of sanctifying the world, right? With with kadusha. And the kadoshim tu is to be push to be holy. The bottom line of being holy is to be completely removed from sexual perversion. Right? That's that's the ultimate that your entire body not just your mind but everything you are is is pure. Wherever you see a protection against this kind of immorality that's holiness. That's referred to and and the Jewish people are stronger and bigger than even angels by by resisting because there's two holinesses said about the Jewish people. We have a challenge to be to be double doubly holy, right? We sanctify time. That's what we're doing. We are holy and we sanctify time. That's the duality of the kaduca that we are we are giving to the world right now. That can't be done in Egypt. And that's why they had to be taken out of Egypt. In Egypt, as bad as society was, we abstained abstained from the immorality. Therefore, we had to be taken out. If we wouldn't have been taken out, how could we? We couldn't take out a strange nation. We had to create had a plan for the world, right? He had to have a holy people and he and he had this holy people and now he had to take them out so they could sanctify the world. It was worse in Beni. It was our our sins were were pretty bad. Venic kadoshim. And the Jews in Egypt were called Kadoshim Mikadmanim. That's why we were taken out in order to fulfill this promise, this task of sanctifying the world with the calendar. Okay. Next one is well, it's not the next one. He's not going in order. Is the third language, right? No, okay. But you'll see the mitzvah. It goes on is the third mitzvah, I think. Let's see what he says. I saved you. wrote. This is like um saving someone who's being chased by a a murderer and he's saving him even from that's a a band of of marauding band of murderers and thieves, right? But but you he will not save them if they're being chased by evil people. And that's what he did in Egypt. But he would not have saved them. Zed if they were if there was in in turnide right if they were fighting each other if they were speaking hor if they were fighting if there was inner inner fighting amongst Ben Israel in mitim he would he would not save us that's not right I have to save you but not from yourselves you're you're killing yourselves right shalom because they did not they did not reveal each other's secrets They didn't talk, right? We know that that the um one of the things that Israel did not do in Egypt, they didn't speak horizing. But this goes on benching, right? What does benching have to do with this? What's the what's the what's the what leads us to decay spiritually to start speaking about other people to start being jealous of other people to start fighting with other people and to have the where this comes from comes from from an absence a vacuum of the belief in hash of God's of the fact that takes care of us. There's he's over us, right? It's the bottom line is what everybody gets is what they deserve, right? And from not having this of what's I don't have enough contentment. I don't have if a person is not personally content. First of all, it's a it's a it's a reflection on his amuna that he doesn't have enough faith in the raon. I have gives me what I have. I want to better myself. I have to better myself, but not by tearing someone else down. And but so it comes from this lack of amuna and this lack of of personal contentment. If I'm happy, right, I have to be happy for somebody else, right? If I'm happy about myself, I can't be jealous of another person, right? Right. We talked about this on Kaneka. We talked about this on the unique on Kaneka of um of lighting of of by the lighting of the of the minora that there's a a rare hala only in Kaneka that if you don't have a manora manura is for a house the real manora has to be lit in the house right lighting it on the street is a wonderful thing to encourage people to come closer to Yiddish guy but the actual mitzvah of manora has to be done in a home. What if someone doesn't have a home? So if he sees someone lighting it, he can say the second which is called the of seeing you. If you see someone doing the mitzvah of lighting the minora, you can make the braha right now. Why why Khan? is the only place that you have a mitzvah a braha for someone else doing a mitzvah that you make a braha for some well someone does shabas there's no mitzvah that a guy guy's keeping shabas you're going to make a braha for him right why why here because this really is the essential um essence this the essence of the miracle of kaneka we were fighting the Greeks the the fight between Greek philosophy and Torah is just that what is Greek philosophy about it's all about myself. It's all about competition. It's all about competitiveness, right? The only thing we have left from Greek culture is the Olympics, right? And sports. And what do we say? What do the kids say or what do sports fans say when they're watching a football game? We're going to kill them. We're going to murder them. [clears throat] Those are the verbs that are used. Now, that is a that comes that's an inherence we have from Yafa, right? because we want to destroy the other side, right? Khal Israel defeated Yavan because we have a totally different we embrace each other, right? To the extent we demonstrate this by making a bra when someone else is doing the mitzvah of Kanek even though I can't do it right. That's a it's a statement of what Kaneka really is all about. So here back back to Pesak and back to the seder and back to the the language of um [clears throat] italti right he saved us because we we did not fall prey to this mida this ugly mida of of hating and not having contentment and not a lack of faith and what what gives me is what I have and now what's benching mommy is about the fact that God provides for everybody, right? And from the contentment the of benching is even if you only ate a little bit of a kazay the size of a kaz like we on pes we have to re eat that minimum shear of matzah you have to bench for that small amount forget about the whole five course dinner right that's you have to thank god for that right that's his stop that is uh the contentment so that's Why that that carries okay over the page and we don't we're not jealous of another person now we have right he redeemed us who as we pointed out the evid ru the evid ru is he has this he he's depressed he has no self-esteem right to the extent that he says we had that an evid can never be a free man right he has it he has it so bad he just it's total self loss of self-esteem right it's a reference to a specific gmorra which I I'm not going to go into the the direct reference, but you get the point. Why is that? Because he feels he has no pedigree. I'm all alone, right? I I'm I'm I'm a homeless person. I'm an evid, right? I have no ruin shim, right? Ev doesn't have pedigree. So here the Jewish people did not change their names. Right? They didn't feel that way. They they fought that concept. Right? So they they one of the things that the three things beneed their pedigree. They remembered their names. Ruven and Shim went in. Ruven and Shim came out. That's the second the second cup of wine, right? Because what do we what's the mitzvah attached to the second cup of wine after kdish is halal? The first half of halal. Remember we divide hal into two. What's the first half of all about? If you look at those, it is all about our pedigree to our avot. That's what David Malik was talking about. I think it's my granddaughter something she love, doesn't it? She's Yeah, Alisa come better. You can get sheets there. Okay, there. Okay. [laughter] Okay. Um, so that's what that's what the first part of Halo is all about, right? So that that gives us that's that's about, you know, plugging into who we are to having that self-esteem that we're part of Israel. We are we are children of Right. So, so that's that's why we have gi right. Okay. Now, okay. I'm sorry. Um, so now that's okay. So now I took you for my people. Now, right, we're the next the last the last one. I took you for my people. We did not change our language. We were faithful to Kesh, right? Because they were confident that we were going to be redeemed. And we were we were knew that we would have our independence. An independent people needs a language. We need a language of our own, right? Yseph. And where did they learn this from? From Yoseph. with all of his greatness and his elevation and his power. Right. Right. In in what does it say? Right. I I'm speaking I'm speaking about the future. I'm speaking to you and I'm speaking in kesh. Right. He spoke about the future. It's about the future. We have a future. He promised them. He told his brothers, he told them, which is really this is the the the key secret code of salvation of of re revelation is the phrase which is rep repeated later on in the Torah as well, right? You will surely be redeemed. A double language. I called on you from the depths of and took you out. Those are the four cups. Those are the four um psychological and physical dimensions of of of re of of of uh being being saved, right? It's not just walking out the door, right? and getting your ticket your there's it's all kinds of things that come with it. Okay? And these are the four things that come with it. Now listen to what he says. Um that's a dollar and that's why it's attached each one is attached to these mitzvah because each each mitzvah each each mitzvah represents another dimension of the freedom our emotional freedom our psychological freedom our physical freedom. All right. Now, let's go to the next the last paragraph. Uh even if you missed the first part, this is so therefore the four of gula and the on these mitzvah are on wine. Why a wine? Why drink wine? Why not have something else? Why have anything right? Why why are these mitzvah and this these four languages of gula attached to wine and why why because we were we were we separated ourselves ultimately by walking out the door and by having all of these four elements of our salvation and our freedom we separated ourselves we made havalah between us and the rest of the world. The Egyptian world is became different. We were we were the people. We are the people who make right and rights that we were going to be a pure excellent special people. So what does that have to do with wine? Because there is nothing inic practice in our daily lives in our in our experience. There's nothing that does not point to this this between us and the nations of the world more than why first of all the we make at the end of Shabas. Okay. And that we have this this unique thing called chabas but it's more than that called we're not allowed to drink or even touch if if a non-Jew touches our wine the wine cannot be drank right why wine right in fact we're coming up to pur said we got to kill these people these Jews if a fly comes into the cup of another Jew, they spill out the and they throw the fly out. If you touch their wine, they spill out the wine, right? But they have to kosher they have to kosherize their their kale from you, right? So wine that of wine is the premier which speaks about the that we are different we we separate and we have to be reminded of that. >> [clears throat] >> So in order to avoid intermarriage because social intercourse going to a cocktail party inter inter uh intermingling with with wine as the as the principal part of that party right and that's what wine does loosens a person's uh thought process and his emotions and and he could it leads to it leads to social integr leads to well there's no no one different than me. That's that's we see it today. If that's a hard for us to accept, you don't all you have to do is just take a quick look at the world today. The assimilation today, the um you know, I saw I saw two weeks ago um the conservative movement. You saw the finally they said we're now we're now we're we're responding to the times. So I I thought I actually saw a beautiful article from Rabbi Emanuel Feldman in Mishbah magazine. Rabmanuel Film was the rabbi for many years in Atlanta. Um he's retired. He lives here. He should live and be well. Brilliant creative uh RV. And he writes that when he saw this, oh finally conservative Judaism is coming to their senses. They're pulling back on certain things, right, that they've done. What was the next line? We are now encouraging intermarriage. >> Yeah. This is not the it's conservative, right? So I don't want to listen, we're not going to go there. It's a tragedy. an absolute tragedy. I mean, you know, this is how you start with we you start with you're allowed to drive on Shabas to go to shul. That's it, right? So, how many people drove on Shabas to go to shul today? How many people drive on Shabas to go to shul? I would say many conservative rabbis. That's who does it. But there's no anyway. Okay. So that's the we have this yay is the the example is the uh theic statement that we are different and that's why that was gave us our our our havdah our uniqueness our separation from the world that's why the four lon of gulah are on the the mitzvah are done on drinking wine okay we have one more piece to do and that's over the page and this is from Kaminski and um what we have in front of you is a post from last week from um from Schmote which we're going to come back to because I didn't uh I didn't make a copy of it but in our para the beginning it says that Ben Israel did not listen to Moshe because of their shortness of breath literally right so what does that mean excuse Kosuak is uh actually there's a radical interpretation which I might have mentioned to you from the Rabbug that it was Mosher Rabenu was despondent right Mosher Rabenu ran out of gas that he said I can't do this anymore right that's a very daring statement but that's one one of the rishadam says that okay but Ryakov brings a couple one of them is he says why is had they were desparing they were becoming despondent They were giving up already once they heard once they heard that parro said no more Shabas. He's going to keep us here. He's not going to let us go. Right? So they were they were kot of the Jewish people. So where did that come from? Where did that come from? So um so he he he they he took away Shabas from them right parro took away Shabas from them. So why would that create a sense of dispondency? Now let's go to back to parasmote pik says when parro punishes them and says I'm going to I'm going to squeeze the vice stronger I don't want them to get involved in looking in in these false words that they deal with now what's he referring to so there's a medish that says they had meot in mit that they learned from Shabas that they learned from Shabas to Shabas which taught them there was there was a hope of gul they were they learned Torah of redemption that God is going to save us because they were resting on Shabas they were still able to rest on Shabaso now he said, "You have to tighten the vices on these Jews. They can no longer learn these books. Take these books away. Take Shabas away. No more Shabas." That's what the Medish says. So here here is where where they they became despondent. But now he's going to go into a different very creative idea here. What were these migillas that they were learning? Right. And what happened to them? Right? Do we have them today? Well, he saidill because they're not books. Everything was in a migill form. Right? And I want to suggest if you look at the psalm of shalom there's no right at the end of the mismar and we say it three times a day on shabas mismar this is the psalm for the shabas day But there's no mention of Shabas there. So what's it all about? If you look what's what's the theme of the the purpose of this mismashem that Hashem is straight, he's righteous. He's our rock, right? He's not going to he's not going to let us go. But that's not Shabas. That's not about Shabas, right? Hashem is going to is going to redeem us. But that's not Shabas. I want to suggest that this is one of the mism that they wrote that they learned in Egypt. That's why it's called Misil Shabbat. scheme because parro agreed to Mosha's request to give us a day of rest wisely. Moshe choose Shabas chose Shabas and Mosha ra everybody has to come to bed. They have to come to yeshiva after they eat. But when Moshe came to parro Israel to send them out, so he ruled to that shabas, no more Shabas, no more Shabas, no more books that you can study these books. Now doing a little research, he says, Mosha Rabenu, Mosher Rabenu said it. Rashi Babaashra Rashi says in Baba it's a gammorra and rashi tells us this leos right it's a we say on shabas also which is to 90 y alf mism and the all the other 11 mismorim that follow they were from Moshe shall this is one of the one of the migillot which deals with what's the topic of discussion what's the highlight takeaway from misily mashab if you go through the psukim we're not going to do that but right it's about Indian shell Russia vavlo sadik veralo Why do good things happen to bad people i.e. mitim? And why do bad things happen to the Jewish people i.e. Ben Israel? We're not changing our language. We're not changing our clothing, right? We're not speaking lash. We're we're we're we're isolating ourselves from their immorality. The shoo called taka. Where in Jewish history did this become a major dynamic central theme of of survival after they saw the clouds of glory every time they sinned they were punished immediately then during the day they didn't have there was no they didn't need these memorial they didn't need a lesson of why Bad things happen to good people and good things in in the desert because they were immediately they were immediately given an answer and straightened out. When were they saw that they were in contrast to the Egyptians and and and the were the ones who were lording over them and we are the ones that are suffering. Therefore, Mosha Rabenu Lazu, he addressed himself to this this this challenge, this theological challenge, this challenge of faith that the question of faith that the Jewish people had after parro uh gave them gave them uh Shabas to uh for Yomu. He named it. What did the Jewish people do? He gave him Shabas. Gave him Shabas. Shiva. They went to the Bid. Shalomu. Bish was always with them. Ley was the Russian Shiva in Egypt. But in the sign they would they would dash. They would they would hear they would learn from Moshilabas and principally and these other about why that this ultimately there'll be a from there will be redemption that is the theme of why good things happen to bad people etc. What was the can move on to lift up their spirits? They shouldn't deal with this question of right said okay and that's why Moshe was this mis right we say in there the boer in the morning the dawn of our at night time it's darkness we we're right now in the darkness of lila but there'll bea there'll be a bokeare there'll be sunrise right even in the darkness of which is nightm his his deeds are great we don't know we don't pretend to understand why he's doing this but we're going to hold fast right and he goes on these are words from these are the words from the from the the the will will disappear etc. We're not going to just go to the final the final paragraph also want to say I want to say not only were these theot right these of the psalms that Moshe actually wrote right so when he wrote to he incorporated these right say for he added in say for the book of job right that's a big who wrote who wrote Job. One opinion in the Gomorrah is that Moshe was the author of Eio. And it makes sense in terms of what it was needed for right here, right? To lift our hopes. No one suffered more than he was he was finally redeemed from his own personal tragedy. It was written for this purpose. He wrote other poetry, other but it can very well be that all of these these uh psalms were the ones that the medish is referring to what the Jewish people learned in Egypt and that's why it's called mis. Okay. Thank you all.