Parshat Shemot: We are All Moshe's Mateh (Staff)

good morning everybody and uh thank you for to for uh setting up this session and all of the kuk sessions that she has been doing um six days a week I believe for um or five days a week excuse me Sunday through Thursday for the last many weeks that we've been having these kuk sessions um to KH and to all those from the uh that are participating in the OU um trip today to go picking um Han actually is not going to be at the Shure because she is representing the OU itself as part of the group that the OU advertis is going picking oranges today so she's off to pick oranges I hope that she enjoys I hope she gets some good juicy oranges but most importantly of course that we all just continue to help out all those that are in need in any way that we can okay once again good morning to all and it's good to see all of you um in case you were not aware this is at least at this point this is the last week of these um kuk Zoom sessions at 10:30 a.m. and uh 5:00 p.m. the schedule will take on a little bit of a Different Twist um in the ensuing weeks and of course you will find all of that information um in the Tor tidbits and elsewhere if you search accordingly it's good to see all of you this morning and we should meet under um better circumstances of course than in uh wartime and I would like um if I may to just uh dedicate uh today's Shure to all those that have um passed away since October 7th since s be they hostages be they be they others I would like to dedicate our to all of them this morning with a that indeed um he will continue to see to our long-term protection and our staying power as okay this week we are introduced of course withot to Moshe Renu the parasha begins as we know um with Moshe renu's birth and the parasha continues with Moshe and Aaron feeling dejected and to God and saying what gives you sent us to free is is and not only is that not happening it's making things much much more difficult than before we are in a much more dire predicament as I'm Israel and my brother Aon and I on a very personal level now the Egyptians and even our own people want to Stone us if that's the case we're worse off than we were before so God as it were what gives what's going on here and God's response is and this is the last of the is don't worry you will see or maybe worry but you'll see and then in we continue with how intended to implement the the you will see piece of it with the of course culminating in the actual as we find in what I would like to do this morning is to take us on a short tour from the moment that introduces himself to mosu throughout Moser ru's time period as a leader of am Isel or at least up until we have left MIT to be sure this is a short version of a shur that I've given in the past at the U Center Live in the past and then I titled it moshe's Majestic M and we are going to take a look and Survey different sources that discuss MOS M M's handheld staff and see the direction in which the Torah through its text is taking us let's begin witho when he comes across the when he comes across the burning bush at some point in that convers says to what is that that you are holding in your hand of course knows the answer he's simply trying to get Moshe to direct his attention to his answer which is M said it is M it is my staff many many beautiful mid behind the staff what the sources of that particular M that we're not going to get into this morning as we know tells to take his M and the M turns into aash the M turns into a snake if you will then tells M to grab a hold once again of his M and miraculously it turns back into a an inanimate M to an inanimate staff from inanity to having enmity to going back to being an inanimate object at that particular juncture Moshe M which to him was his Shepherd's staff now suddenly also takes on a new dimension and that is the dimension ofad performing miracles in this particular case performed a miracle for mosu perhaps and I'm saying perhaps because there are different ideas and reasonings suggested here but perhaps in order to prove to Moshe that it is actually I God that is talking to you that has met you here in Theo and not some other unseen individual hiding behind the bush or whatever it may be not some other entity it really is me God aside from that we will then see the transition from VI Moshe M performing miracles for Moshe on a personal level of course to continue going into the future performing miracles for is mosu now takes his M he I don't want to or I hesitate to say he was convinced to go after arguing back and forth and again we all know the story but after arguing back and forth with none other than H himself I don't know that he's necessarily convinced but he goes he doesn't really have a choice basically after the give and take God loses his temper and he said excuse me Moshe I told you to go I'm the boss you're not you answer to me now get going mhe goes he takes his M with him the next time that we find mosenu using his m is performing these OT performing these signs before the before Isel parenthetically and not so parenthetically we are not discussing moson M this morning we are only referring to moshe's M therefore when it comes time for theod for the 10 plagues we will not be uh discussing at all the Mak of dam and those two makot were performed by Aaron instead we are going to go right to the next excuse me to the first ma in which we find mos ru's usage of his M because until um excuse me with all the others up until this particular point that I am about to mention we don't find Moshe is using his M for these Mak but the first of the 10 plagues in which we find M using his m is the m of the it's the M of the of thead of the H and there we are told Moshe Moshe stretched out his staff that same M towards the sky and what did performed of course a like the word rain God rained down H in the next the locusts we find the same exact wording Moshe stretched forth his M his staff this time not towards the sky for the barad fell from the sky the AR locus of course they simply swarm in in the middle of from the middle of nowhere in the air itself or over the land therefore he stretched out his hand that is the only difference and then suddenly what do we find and Eastern wind carried in or carried the ARB blue as it were the AR into so we findu using his M now with a little bit of a Twist a little bit of a transition first the staff was nothing but with its very rich history according to Mid it was his personal staff that he used as a shepher then we find excuse me the added dimension of this mate becoming one that is used to perform Miracles or to demonstrate to that is performing miracles for us for am Israel this then becomes a symbol of a for is and that means whenever they see m going forward and he is about to perform some sort of sign B Isel see that visual sign and they understand that it isad who is the PO he is the one that is engaged in the proactivity here yes it is mosu but Moshe rabenu is a vehicle is a medium through together with his M through which is performing and that's going to be important to keep in mind the next time we find a mention of m m is when B is are at the the cusp of yamu they're about to cross the Red Sea and there's a transition there as well well which a reader might not pick up on the first time I think this year when we come to par in just three and a half weeks every one of us will suddenly notice this especially if you're tuning into to the shur this morning there we find something very fascinating instead of the Tor simply telling us that tells Moshe to take his staff and stretch out his staff and instead of finding that M stretch out his staff we find something very different and what we find is as follows there at the cusp of crossing the sea tells M as follows usually the word translates into lift lift up your M and stretch forth your hand hand Al Over the Sea and split it andu indeed does that however if we take a look a closer look excuse me at the wording something different seems to be emerging here the Torah does not simply say that or better yet does not simply instruct Moshe stretch out your M if we back up to the previously quoted verses that I quoted just a few moments ago to contrast when Moshe Renu performed the M excuse me the N the miracle ofad and again the Tor makes it very clear M MOS stretched out his M at M as they are about to cross as the sea is about to split that's not what we find at all instead we find that who says to him lift your M but stretch out your hand it's as if himself in his instruction to Moshe is stressing something else here some other activity than what was engaged in in the past why did say to him stretch out your hand after telling him to lift your mate and I think it's significant for us to read these words in such a way that is asking mosu to engage in two separate activities the first is the second is and stretch forth your hand minus the mate without your mate and in fact what's fascinating here is that among the parim theak says that the word har here does not even mean lift up here it has a different meaning and he brings proof texts from other sources in the Kash where that same root to lift does indeed mean lift up but in these other sources that he brings for proof text kakar demonstrates that here har does not mean simply lift up simply raise it means yes pick it up of course raise it but cast it aside we find that also by we say find the same usage by kak we find the same usage in a few other uh a few other um locations in the text as well and a few other passages where har means to cast aside so theak explains that is telling M to do here in no uncertain terms is not in the not in the in the way or in the means that we normally think of but rather take take your M yes lift it up for B is to see lift it for them but demonstrate for them that you're through with the m you are no longer using the M cast it aside they will see you placing the M down on the side and then ACC to stretch out your hand without that M what's going on here remember that we said just a few moments ago that the M was a symbol of Performing performing miracles for is they would see this m and they would understand that God is the one performing for us we do not have to engage in any of these activities for it is that is performing and that I believe and I'm not the first one to suggest this at all is what was necessary during Ben isel's sojourn in MIT they were a slave Nation they did not have the wherewithal to take initiative they were beaten down they were downtrodden they understood that in order for them to survive through mhe and through the representation of this mate or together with the visual of this mate will be the ones to provide for us and I as an Eed I'm not going to dare to speak up because an Eed a slave that speaks up will be beaten he could be killed I cannot possibly take initiative and so since B Israel were in this state and Frame of Mind of being slaves let's call it a slave mentality had no choice but to have Moshe Renu use his m on the other hand once told him to take his M and and to cast it aside if the kakar is correct that then is symbolizing to Moshe excuse me symbolizing through MOS to to us that we are now entering a new phase we are leaving MIT as soon as we enter that sea game over we will then be on our way to and from this moment on we Isel must make that transition from being a slave Nation from having a slave mentality when everything is performed for us by God to taking initiative from here on in when we are no longer slaves to par and the MIT we must take initiative in order for us to be able to survive yes of course will always be there by our side just like that M was by MOS ru's side I believe that's part of the visual as well he is there literally and figuratively by our side but now no longer acts only through Moshe and his M but he acts through Us in other words wants to De wants us to demonstr r that we are in a position slowly yes to leave that slave mentality into a new mentality of a people that are free to worship aad and in order to demonstrate that we must take initiative in thear and we must take initiative once we enter erit Kanan in order to ensure our survival and if that particular text and the the push of the commentary of kakar is not enough the fact is that the torat itself actually makes it quite clear in the text when we come to the Paras or the par the peace um regarding Amal are attacked as we know and what do we find fine mosu then tells yosua you're an army General now in addition to all of your respons abilities choose men go fight and what does what does tell yahua tomorrow I will be standing on the top of a hill on a Hilltop excuse me God's staff MIM will be in my hand I'll be holding my M the T tells us did everything that excuse me that had told him to do together with they climbed up to the top of the hill then the Torah tells us something fascinating mosu obviously seeing that he's tired Aon and first of all Place MOS Ru upon a rock a beautiful midash about that as opposed to sitting on a pillow because he wanted to demonstrate that I am in this with you that I am suffering just like you are even though I seem to be safe on top of a hill at the same time they held up Moshe renu's hands and what does the Torah tell us the Torah tells us very clearly not when he lifts his M if we pay attention to the text the text makes it very clear when he lifts his hand where's his M furthermore when he places down his hand because he was fatigued because he was exhausted and he could not hold up his hands then suddenly then Amal was ahead in this war furthermore just prior to that interesting uh demonstration that visual of the the Tor tells us the day m M's hands were tired at the conclusion of that particular piece the torat tells us excuse me the Tor tells us hands the word Y is being stressed over and over and over again his hands were his hands were straight up not his M his hands whenever a word is used repeatedly it becomes a it becomes a guide word a light motif of that entire piece in this case of the entire paria that relates to us the episode of Amal so to me the torat is making it very clear that aad excuse me that mosu is telling yahushua I'm going to have my m in my hand and I will be standing there in front of or ins sight of all of Isel they will look up to me and will see me with my m and then I'm not using my M any longer I'm casting aside my M I'm putting it aside just as kakar least explains happened by yamu others will disagree but to me by Amal it's very clear and Moshe Ru is raising his hands together with the assistance of Aron and and he is no longer holding his m in order for us mosu is conveying to am Israel to be able to succeed in this we must fight for ourselves in direct sharp contrast to what we find earlier in the Torah when Moshe Renu just before the splitting of the yamu davens as it work to he cries out to and says we've got a problem here we've got the sea in front of us and we have the MIT behind us and we are trapped and my people people want to know what's going on and what does say Li why are you ding to me but then he [Music] adds God will fight for you that was true then and that was necessary then but it was also time for the transition why are you crying out to me you speak to when you tell them they must enter the sea that was the point of the transition you must do so at the same time but this is not necessarily any longer the case or it is no longer the only ingredient in seeing towards our success in the mil in seeing towards our success in the mil that m is Now cast aside by Moshe renu and it is B is that must be the ones to engage in the fight in order to ensure their in order to ensure our survival the only other time in the entire K that we find mosu using his M once again is 40 years later when a kados instructs Moshe in the second episode of The Hitting of The Rock he he instructs mosu to talk to the RO and mhe makes a fatal error what that error is is subject of course to debate that's a in of itself that I by the way have given in the past in that that is available in the OU archives but in any event Moshe makes some sort of fatal error it very well may be that he hit the rock instead of speaking to the Rock we'll leave that aside for a different time but through the rest of saer shote through saer V until we come to towards the end of the last third of sa will no longer us his M his m is no longer a part of the picture you know how he place his M we did you know what replaced demonstrating through M holding his M that we did we became a people that understood that we need to take initiative in order for us to be able to survive in order for us in the first first place to even be able to be deserving of this trip and this journey towards Isel and then survival in um excuse me in is as Israel I cannot think of a more important connection between parat shot between this journey that we went on this morning warning of M's mosu and his m to the times that we are going through now as am Israel today than this particular discussion of this morning we are an AM that has been through so much in so many ways more than any other peoples on the entire planet I don't want to say that we are once again at a transition but rather we are now finding ourselves once again as we always do but it is stressed for us even more so today during this time of War during this time of mil in which we must engage that we are now along this Continuum of at the same time of course has of course in the quoting the for the welfare of the we recite the that is used in the torat in describing a war in describing a which we are engaged that is the one fighting for us he is there by our side just like Moshe M but he cannot do the work for us we have to be the ones that are proactively engaged in the work and especially always but especially now in this time of War whether it be the that are fighting whether it be all those that are engaged in supporting theim whether it be zaka whether it be Mada whatever organization is and individuals those that are going picking for example on the OU trip today those that are simply cooking for wives or in some case husbands that are at home when suddenly a family is simply overwhelmed and can cannot simply cook seven days a week for themselves they need extra help and people are cooking for them whether it's supporting through to different organizations or individuals that need during this time of War whatever it may be all of us that are engaged in all of these activities are demonstrating that we understand the message of this transition from MOS Renu using his M to mosenu Casting aside his M and for us to replace this m m through seeing our efforts of becoming that M seeing our efforts seeing our proactivity and doing everything each of us in our own way everything in our power to ensure the future of Isel that we indeed and this is our to and with this we will close our the last of our at least for me this morning that will indeed see us through the that Israel will be ours and that we will indeed deserve it forever more I wish all of you a good day I wish all of us the best of health and I wish for all of am Israel and for the entire world a time when we will in hasem see Shalom and we will see peace thank you so much to all of you for attending and have a wonderful day feel free to unmute yourselves if you wish to share anything at this point and before you do I just want to thank um one of you Rosanne thank you thank you for thanking me for the wonderful class and yes will be there for us always and I all of you soon again in the OU Center or via [Music] another thank you very much very welcome very okay these I'm gonna miss these but I wish there hadn't been a war and we hadn't had the Shing what can you do I I agree obviously that's that's not for me to decide I'm not involved in those decisions but I can tell you that Rabbi Sam Shore together with KH and the rest of his team are working day in and day out to ensure that we can get back to the shik get back to the normal routine as soon as possible some of which of course is already taking place at OU Israel and in other locations as well um I myself by the way had the opportunity I think I mentioned to give Aur for U in um in modim as the U is indeed expanding its Horizons in person as well um though of course we all look forward to a Time able to return to the shat to the normal routine but I I assure you that that Rabbi sha and his team are working very very hard towards that end okay Rabbi will your sh there be recorded say it again will your sh modin be recorded So the sh that I gave in modin it it was the the k b of modin run by a rabbi Steven tinger um in conjunction with the OU that chigur was not recorded um the one that I gave was not recorded and the Kel Boer program normally is not recorded um if I am there myself or when I am there myself at the most it will be every other week on a Tuesday every second week at the most because the OU is has several individuals that are going there um will they be recorded or not this I do not know I can ask um the next time that I that I deliver is she or there I can't promises because that's on my control we should ask Shai what is [Music] it other the only way I can do yeah sh that's a good question all of all of my OU classes whether they are these Zoom sessions or whether they are the sessions in person like I used to give and maybe we again soon God willing um all of the OU classes they are all archive they are all Avail available to watch at a later dat all of them okay the for this week all of them are also Zoom but after that they're all available to watch at a later date you can look it up on YouTube you can look it up the address in oh tidbits but it's there and you can watch all this shim okay