Parsha Perspectives for Today (Vayechi 5784/2023) - Surpassed by Our Children

be a good morning it should be a Boer to we should hear B toos yeshu please God should hear only good news hostages be brought home and a sweeping Victory soldiers return to their families peace for our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world our para series sponsor we remain very grateful to Becky and abiat and family who've dedicated the par Series in loving memory of David Gman in memory ofas DAV Ben this morning's Shear is also sponsored by Erica and per per Galler in memory of her mother Irene marcoz is n alah in honor of the wedding of danela rose to junah Lewis dedicated by their parents Dr Jerry and eser fredman Dr mosha and Alana wenti of EK in tribute to grandmothers Natalie fredman darthy Ro and Esther weny wonderful occasion and Sim anonymously and appreciation of the weekly Shear thank you so much appreciation right back at you and by Miriam nbam on the year side of her beloved husband Alan npam Asher elzar alah thank you to all of our generous sponsors as always we encourage invite you to stay after the shear the more we stay the quicker it'll go and the more times we can complete all of saer we come not only to learn but to DAV the combination of our learning and our daving will learn this morning please God should pierce the heavens and be heard and bring only good news page 268 the last para of the book of bous this is a shab kazak and boy do we need the as we turn to one another and say Kakak and together it's only when Jews together turn to each other offer to each other can we find strength together so here we have the story line continued to unfold we know the story and yet we're at the edge of our seats what will happen next reunited long awaited with his son Yosef the brothers are back together again are they are they back together is it only during yacob's lifetime was it real and authentic was it superficial and surface we'll see more but yob comes to live in MIT and how long is he there he lives in MIT for 17 years the years of his life are 147 years the tells us The only days of his life that he lived without pain without anguish without struggle without crisis were the same as the number the numerical value the 17 years from when y was born until yose was sold those were peaceful and those were happy in the 17 years in MIT his retirement years he went to the BRS afternoon K the ker the night the scholars and residence program a little walk around the circle so wonders Dr in his beautiful sa I don't know if it's come out on the other I only have it on Braes I don't know if it came out yet onos just like T I don't know if you're listening and you know and you can send me and by next week we'd be very grateful so one why does it say not it would have been more accurate it would have been more appropriate to describe and Yakov lived and Yakov was and Yakov existed and Yakov inhabited MIM for 17 years or V he moved because M had no state income tax so he moved he moved to MIT ah he went to the DMV updated his driver's license officially changed his residence proved to the IRS more than 51% of the times of the days he had the travelog so it should just say he took up residence he existed what do you mean is an unusual word he resided he moved in so from the it seems because it seems that until now yakov's life was not life jakob's life was filled with crisis and misery and Challenge and struggle as he said about himself only those last years when he saw that y was alive the beautiful family that Yos built and the Beautiful Life that y crafted he was no longer in a Perpetual state of mourning and grieving he was no longer worried he was able to see Y and y's family and y's life and these were the only years that he was really alive the days that he was not the days that he was able to Exhale he was able to breathe he was able to have some those only numbered the same numerical value of it says with it was only 34 years those are the only years that he lived 34 years because all of his days were filled with s until then however says RR maybe you could explain alternatively maybe you could explain a little bit differently after we're told after we're told after yob was told that Yos is still alive great news you were right to be inconsolable all those years you were right Yosef is still alive and not only is he alive it's not that he's barely holding on it's not he's some homeless man on the side of the road it's not that we found him in a shelter he is the Viceroy of all of Egypt what does the Torah tell us last week's Para yov when he heard that news was kilu revived it's as if CPR was on he came back to lifeas the T there translates means thees returned Yakov became spirited alive Soulful the presence of Hashem dwelled upon him once again we spoke about last week I'm going down the himself I'm going with you said rash don't worry don't be fearful don't be stressed out about going down toob was very worried about going to he was very worried I know that my system I know that yish can Thrive where the holy religion in the holy land with the holy people that winning Triad that winning combination I know can win but can it adapt can it pivot can it survive will it Thrive yob was worried the p Isel we know the Can Only dwell Where in Israel that's why prophets only prophesized where in the land of Israel he just got the back he was just revived he just again became this instrument this medium of divine countenance divine presence he didn't want to go to grandchildren call out when they come back from the year in Israel he didn't want to go to where he would lose the don't worry I'm going with you and I'm gonna come back with you even there exception even there an exceptional circumstance I'll be with you so now we understand what does it mean because indeed word came true even in gas it wasn't a step down they didn't lose something the was present his thrived it flourished he was able to transmit his was present even so that's why it doesn't simply say he dwell he didn't just change his residence he lived with the he lived with the don't give up and don't forfeit and don't be hopeless then among non-jewish influence and non-jewish host nation we can't we can the can be found even here even here and then offers a second Insight says he has some more fundamental question the Batum asserted that the 17 years from when Yosef was born until Yosef was sold were the only peaceful 17 years of of jakob's life but let's review the 17 years of yosef's childhood where was yov when ysf was A Child and Adolescent where was Yakov he was in the house of his father-in-law L and then when yov has the courage and tells his wives we're out of here let's go it's enough what happens love un pursues love un chases and then what happens our we have that interesting language I pointed out every year it sounds like was talking about his car gave out on him on the highway my car died on me could you imagine M went up and died on Me on the way so in those 17 years he had to navigate and survive the house of his Wicked father-in-law Lan Lan runs after him and pursues him his wife dies young premature he confronts and reunites his brother as prepared for war for battle by the way he's injured in the wrestling match with the his daughter Dena is Hash me too unless you're a Jew Dena is raped and taken byov one Dr on this Batum what only the 34 year what 17 years of yose's child to those with only peaceful years of his life after that was misery those were peaceful years those were good years we just listed all kinds of debilitating difficult anxiety-ridden challenge crisis incidents of of yakov's early life of yose childhood so how could he say those 17 years war easy parts of it he tells a story the same story is told of ketki there was a tal of he didn't come to she he missed she several times so asked where have you been what's going on you've been absent what's going on so the student said Reb I'm so sorry I missed I'm so sorry I missed I missed I wasn't in the Bas Med I'm struggling what's I'm going through the pain of child rearing one child had a fever the other one had a virus the third had to run to the doctor in the middle of the night and that's why I missed all the sh but what can I do said he turned to him and he said this is you know what that's called not you know what that's called that's called gam that's called having children children get sick and children don't listen and children get in trouble and children get bad grades and children make a mess and children that's called child rearing that's not that's G that's he said the same story met asked how it's going and he said I'm struggling tell me what's the matter and he said you know this child socially with friends this one in school this one said that's not that's called gam that's gam that's built in that goes with the territory that's called raising children so what is then person invests and gives and sacrifices everything everything financially they invest in their children they give up their sleep they give up their emotion everything is invested in the child and the child chooses a different path that child makes choices that are irreparable that child disappoints that's called that's aam you put everything into the child and what you got back return is is but the daily challenges of raising children yeah this one's gonna overturn the cereal bowl this one threw up on the chair this one had a messy diaper this one got in trouble in school this one got a bad grade this one didn't do the homework that's just called G that's not called scope perspective scope we have to know I have to announce to my children also don't call me in the middle of par here turn your phones to vibrate and don't you know Tuesday Mornings 9:30 by now G that's called maybe now we can understand this why everything he had undergone until now having to navigate love on having to overcome and survive asov having to redeem and bring Dina back home all of that is not called s because that was things that you could surpass for physical challenges and crisis those are from Hashem for whatever reason and Hashem should give us the strength to overcome to navigate them but spiritual challenges spiritual 22 years that he thinks Y is gone he couldn't learn with him he couldn't model for him he couldn't transmit to him as his progeny as the Ambassador as the one who would take over his legacy that was now we can understand the years of y's childhood they were filled with difficulty and challenge but they were far from ordinary but they were surmountable one could navigate them with faith in Hashem but to lose a child to not be able to learn with a child to feel that child is is gone physically spiritually that is and that's why the according to the B that's why it is understood explained as such as such shall alter schita the rash the beautiful safer that he gave me says the following amazing idea amazing idea Rashi tells us this para between we have something unusual unusual that doesn't happen throughout the entire rest of the Torah what is this unusual thing that happens says rash this para is stum what does it mean to be stuma something is blocked off or closed off rash is making a Pun It's a play on words what does it mean this Pas is St it's stum because it's a pun that only makes sense in Hebrew in the translation it loses its meaning means closed off there's no Gap there's no space goes right into it's closed off and their eyes were closed off the at the end of T writes there are 290 paros 290 times that there's a gap and it continues the text in next line and 379 paros stos the difference between suos and stos is whether or not the next para starts on a new line or the same line psos begin on the next line and stos begin on the same line but bothos and stos have at least a little Gap nine oos away even stos where the narrative continues on the same line but there's a blank space the equivalent of emptiness of nine letters this is the one case is unique that goes right into without the nine oio Gap there is no gap of nine letters it doesn't continue on the next line continues on the same line but with no Gap and no break whatsoever it's hard to appreciate even in the art scroll they do a good job visually you can get the idea but if you look in a sa for Torah one would see it there explicitly so Rashi in a play on word says why is this the one exception not only does it not continue on the next line it continues on the same line but continues on the same line with no margin with no Gap with no empty space of nine letters it goes right into it why to teach us to teach us that yo lived another 17 years in MIT but but the eyes of the Jewish people were closed the hearts of the Jewish people were closed why because the servitude The Suffering The persecution of MIT had begun it started it started that's the is so ask all the we'll see two answers to this question let's start with how do you know that it's how do you know it's two paros with no break maybe it's all one partial how do you know it's in fact two paros says so the mar quotes that Ezra we have a tradition going back to Ezra how do you break up the paros much of the delineation of tanak is actually based on Christian editors and Publishers not Jewish that's why some are but not to call it a peric they call it a capital they don't want to use the Hebrew word as if to suggest that this is a Jewish delineation there's a difference betweener and other sections of T it's a fascinating subject for another time but we have a tradition from Ezra Ezra was a scribe and he was a counter and he knew exactly how to delineate to count and to be the Scribe who would write tanak and we have a tradition they two separate paros and the maral adds quote and also moreover the are not connected thematically they don't continue we know they're two separate paros so wonders why is he giving another reason why is he giving another answer and what's what do I need another reason for and he says the following ends we read it as a very benign P we read it nonchalant we just gloss over it's the end of par perspectives who knows if we'll ever get to it it's the end of the para so we just glance over it and what does it say when Yakov and his children came down when this reunion occurred vev what does the word VV mean to dwell to take up residence to move in permanently where and they they grabbed onto the land they embedded themselves in that place in that land they promulgated and propagated and they spread and they multiplied we're talking about of course the great and of course a we always have to give this disclaimer they're not like us they're categorically different they're great we shouldn't project ourselves onto them end of disclaimer that said where balas these children these 12 tribes 11 at least of whom were raised in erit Israel were raised in the Holy Land the lap of their Holy Father now moved to gas and instead of seeing themselves there in the diaspora onus temporarily for a mission they moved in and they grabbed on to it because we're proud to be Egyptians and they became immersed intertwined they became linked with G now we get to and all of a sudden we have embedded within it the hint the illusion how can we survive Goos what is the secret to Redemption how can we survive the darkness the harshness of this Exile this diaspora living among hostile Nations being foreigners how can we survive those secret words those magic words were embedded that is the code how to survive G which toward words what does p mean to be counted to be a number but also to be separate to be aart God will he's gonna lift you he's G to elevate you from this place you don't Bel belong you're here temporarily you're here as a stranger say though I will die this is aash in the thirds you're not gonna be here forever this is the exact antithesis this is the opposite this is the antidot to so was all about the mistake of getting confused and saying skull is galic SK it's fantastic we can live free practice our religion establish K in yeshivas learn shoes kosher restaurants where are yamakas it's amazing we can we could live here we could see ourselves here per permanently that's that was the mistake of the gas what was the antidote what's the answer what's the repair what's the code how to get Redemption how to get out is the opposite of so this para is closed because of the gas but a gas could happen in two ways we could get intermingled and intermixed and assimilated with our host nation or we can be living there temporarily gu but an independent and apart separate and that's where the words come in the has a you have it at the beginning of having to do with Anatomy you have it whether liquids are absorbed entirely or they're not absorbed they're just within a pocket of the thing that's holding them when you squeeze grapes and wine comes out when you squeeze a grape and you get grape juice that ferments into wine is the wine of the grape juice something new something new it used to be a grape and now it's grape juice and the grape juice is transformed is different than a grape or or no the grape always held the grape juice within it so this was always grape juice it used to be grape juice inside a grape and now it's grape juice outside of grape but it was always grape juice is this something new it used to be a grape and now it was squeezed and transformed into grape juice or no it was always grape juice it used to be grape juice inside the grape and now it's grape juice outside of the grape and you're wondering little lumus here when you're wondering what's the difference who cares is grape juice a grape that became juice or was it always grape juice inside the grape now it's grape juice outside the grape what's the without it's not so what's what's the Practical difference between the two says the G whether Ace who touches the grape does it is it considered also touching the juice or not so if the juice used to be the grape so it's t too if it was held inside so that language p is it or is the same language of our para see yourself as different just held inside it's not that you're part of and Define by and identify with you're different you're separate you're apart you're distinct you're just held inside that's Gus Gus is not absorbed and integrated and assimilated Gus is separate and apart just within just dwelling within that's the Simon that was the Sim he has a long essay here and he goes on which I'd love to share with you but we don't have time but that's the describes these words that kazal saw within them entirely embedded the answer and the way out and this is the way out for us and when we forget Hashem and the world that around us remind us P we're just guests you can't integrate don't think you could assimilate now in the 20th century in Eastern Europe and Germany and the enlightened and and the world of aala when we want to assimilate the nations of the world remind us that we are different and separate and apart you happen to just be here for now but you're not fully integrated when we forget they remind us and we're seeing that now but there's another question Weinfeld schita who was a guest here last year he wonders a great question a great question Rashi says this paruma no break between when does the start when do we begin to experience the suffering of the servitude when after yov dies after these 17 years so when should the stuma be between andos or somewhere later in V after Yakov dies after Yakov dies and we lose the Merit of yakob we lose the Merit of the Shi of the of the Holy tribes holy Sons so then the servitude kicks in that's when it should be stuma their eyes are closed their hearts were closed they were suffering the servitude why is it now at the beginning of the paraa while yakob is still alive and the beginning of the description of these 17 wonderful years of retirement in MIT it must be it must be says says R Weinfeld that already Yakov during these last 17 years was teaching us how it's going to be in Gus it was a sense of a preparation and anticipation for what life is going to be like in gas in gas people are going to have you know what gas is when people are suffering they become wrapped up in their own problems their eyes are closed to see the struggles of others their hearts are closed to be able to feel with sympathy and empathy the pain of others people become self-absorbed they become self-centered and there's no greater Gus there's no greater Gus than a community of people who are self-absorbed and self-centered but if you want to bring G people have to do exactly the opposite so jaob was already teaching us on the way into the state of G gas is when your eyes and your hearts are closed and you don't see people and you don't see their suffering and what is g g is when you open your eyes and G is when you open your hearts so a little preview for next week for what happens M open his eyes V he has every right to hide and live in the palace in complete Safety and Security and yet he can't he can't help but go out V and open his eyes and open his hearts and see the pain of his brothers later it says Vash says we see during the gas people's eyes and hearts are closed they become self-centered they're hurting they're just worried about their own Survival they're worried about getting to the end of the day they're worried about their own chronic pain but what's the answer the way out counterintuitively is not to focus on yourself the way out Goa comes how when you open your eyes and you open your heart and you become selfless that's when Gula that's when Gula comes that's when Gula comes so Rashi says stuma why is this para stuma because it's the beginning of the end the beginning of Gus and Yakov is already teaching on the way into gas what is the formula and what will be the way out he doesn't say this but you see this also the penultimate plague is a second to less second to worse second to most intense plague that we had why is so terrible Darkness because people did not see others says when a Jew when a person doesn't see another person that is a horrific plague that's a Maka to not see the people around you to worry and see only yourselves and not connect with and feel the pain and want to relieve the suffering of the people around you that's gas that's gas and what's Gula Gula Redemption comes when you care when you care and you see this in modern research people suffering and struggling from depression the answer is not lean into your own problems dwell and focus on your own trials and tribulations one of the treatments for depression today is volunteer go do something good for someone else break out of looking inward see outward care help others and it has an extraordinary difference in transforming your own Gus when a person is in a personal place of gas of darkness and despondency and despair don't lean in don't lean in to town center or nean Marcus or Lord and Taylor or blooming Tales lean in to volunteering to giving and doing and helping because the Gula that the answer to that Gus of is to open one's eyes to open one's heart to be able to see to not live in a state in a place of moving right along so what happens yob comes down he says I have a favor swear to me tells ysf get me out of here bury me bury me in and he saysi do it do what swear to me swar to him and then prostrated himself toward the head of the of the Ben first of the day say what does it mean that isov leaned down bent down bowed down Accord to towards the head of the bed in that moment that swore to him he said tati ABA dad pops I'm good for it I swear I'll get you out of here I won't leave you permanently intered here I will bring you to ER Isel I'll bring you to ER is we have a small RAB bir LED yet another mission this week there in Israel and they stopped at Cemetery in Israel and one of the people on it sent me a beautiful picture he doed at the graves of my grandparents were buried in the be section of they passed away many many many many years years ago my grandfather when I was four years old my grandmother when I was in high school many years ago but they were only buried in Israel recently how could that be because they were buried in a cemetery in Staten Island and my father moved my grandparents to erel like the Fulfillment of yose in his promise to his father Yakov my siblings live in Israel my parents are in Israel please God our children grandchildren will all be in Israel and he felt he wanted to honor them by moving them to Israel it was actually a beautiful there was a hak M it's an amazing thing to have an unveiling decades after people pass away when they're moved reinterred if they were buried on condition you're allowed to move them if you're bring them to you're allowed to move them anyway he took a picture he D at the graves of my grandparents in it's a very beautiful thing so Yos Mak a promise to yob yob says don't leave me here don't leave me here bury me in ER Israel bury me in Isel he did not want to be permanently in MIT I once went to Cuba for a day with a delegation from here saw the small fledgling Jewish Community left in Cuba and we visited the Cuban Cemetery one of the people with us actually grandparents lived in Cuba when they fled from the Nazis and his grandfather one of the rabbis who was with us his grandfather is buried in the cemetery in Cuba and then the revolution the family fled he had never been to Cuba was the first time at his grandfather's grave and the grave the cemetery in Cuba it's beautiful the Jewish cemetery there's a tahara room there are Matas headstones made out of marble beautiful and do you know when his grandfather was buried this was all I could think when his grandfather was buried there was a thriving Jewish community in Cuba shs and Kum and yeshivas and kasas and it was a thriving Jewish community and then the revolution happened and Jews fled and there's almost nothing left of the Jewish community of Cuba and for a long time no one could go and visit and it was his first time there and possibly and probably his last time there when his grandfather was buried they thought we'll be here forever look at this thriving Jewish community and now we know we know what it is so Yakov understood where is the one place that Jews will go and visit and be forever there's only one place there is only one place don't leave me in MIT maybe 70 of us are going down now maybe you're the vice Roy right now maybe it feels like we'll be here forever but this is not where we belong this is not home this is not if we get it right we're great grandchildren will come to visit so bring me to bring me to Israel bring me to Arab Israel bring me to Israel and Yosef promises and Yakov reacts to that promise like a stickle overreaction bows down towards the head of the bed and wow thank you so much and I can't believe it and I'm so okay like it's nice yose promises him it's nice that yose says don't worry I'm not going to leave you here but but did it really deserve that reaction so Rashi tells us you know what the reaction was it wasn't about the prospect of being buried in Israel what was the reaction about wow my family is complete when I leave this world as I die all my children are on the Derk all my grandchildren says rash y was a king he was captured he grew up he lived his formative years were in MIT among non-jews and with this promise he understood that Yosef is righteous that ysf gets it that ysf is raising his children on this path and he felt his sense of relief the enormous sense of relief so wonders why now when he accepts upon himself to bury his father why aren't you all asking this question why didn't you all jump out of your chairs to ask this question will asks an obvious question why only now is yov relieved get should get it I'm good to go all my children B in horor are on the D when should yov have felt that sense of relief when should he be Express that gratitude when should he have bowed down to God and said they're all when when he first came down when he first came down when he first saw yose first time he encountered Manas so why is it only now when y promises yes a move you I'll carry you I'll sleap you I'll bury you in is so why now YF didn't say I hear your request let me get back to you I need to just run this by parro I need to make sure it works with the cabinet I got to go to the legal office I gotta I gotta make sure it's okay let me take a poll in the field and see how it'll play Yosef doesn't do any of that what does he say yeah of course I got it 100% and only now and only with this does yakob understand that Yosef is not influenced by what the polls will show ysph is not influenced by what par will allow ysf is true to his father and to his father's Legacy the second says be careful about government because they only come close to you for their own personal gain they only have a relationship with you to get votes to get campaign financing but was an exception to this rule yes wrotes that ysf was a politician yes ysf was in government but ysf was not manipulative and self-centered ysf cared about others even though when a person receives honor and glory and money from someone he's influenced by them what yov what gave reassurance toob about y was that he saw that ysf was independent that ysf Rose above that ysf didn't care about how it will play and when saw that with all his influence and all his power was not influenced by the people who gave it to him only now only now did he accept that ysf was complete ysf was good to go ysf was independent and Yosef would be the credible ambassador of his of his legacy you know what actually let's skip do something unusual I'm going to go to the end of the par then we'll come back because here we saw that yob makes promise you'll bury me in did he make good on the promise did he make good on the promise skip peric see don't give up on me I'm trying to learn I'm a work in progress that's what I tell you which is on page 28 six in the art scr Stone children did for him as they promised and his children took him the land of soov dies Ys makes good on the promise with his brothers they carry him to the land of Canan they bury him in the field that a had brought is a burial state from Ephron facing facing mamb when was this when did yov die let's pull out an old we didn't get to it last year when was this the tells us when was this when did yob die sorry the saer says and it's also the what's yite anyone know knows don't feel bad I didn't know died on the first day of the brings a rem from theob went to when did Yakov depart and leave Nas this world suus so the first day of suus even though the next year on suus you'll remember it's the year side of Y at least according to brings another opinion when was his funeral was another opinion when was the L when was he buried in I'll give you a hint we just observed it and you were hungry says his funeral his burial was on there's another opinion brings a second opinion was buried on Kana and khah that he died in the first day of suus and 70 days till khah was complete and then he was buried another safer brings a third opinion the one who keeps Secrets is buried again on the first day of based on the he died on P is a six day travel all these different opinions exactly when he when he died when isite was don't bury me in but I want to share with you something else amazing something else amazing the children take they in says the when they got you know this alsoa who came out to greet them they wanted to bury yob but there was someone there blocking them who was blocking them asov so what happens they get their comes that was preventing them from burying them it's called May of kirat arba whose son is still being held hostage we D him for his return with all the others there were four couples who were buried there so ASA says okay let's count yob buried Leia in this spot and the spot that's remaining is mine me so jakob's children say to asov Z you sold your rights to our father you don't have a right to the spot it went with the B went with the firstborn it's true I sold the birthright but I didn't suell my rights to the burial site I'm an ordinary I'm a p I still have a status of an ordinary brother and I belong in Mar so I'm going in I'm saving the spot for me find another place for your father for my brother yob uh they said in they said yeah those two sales went together with the birth right went the burial right they go together he brought to this so tries again he says bring bring me the contract I want to see the contract if you bought a cemetery plot which you all should it's a school of if you don't have you should it's one of the greatest gifts you could give your children is to do all your preparations in your lifetime both to pay for it now a burial plot is a piece of real estate real estate is only going up in value the longer you wait the more it will cost and a great gift you can give is to be clear exactly what you want where you want how you want what you want what you want said who you want to speak where do you want the more you can clarify what you want the less ambiguity the less room for fighting and tension the less compounding the grief of your children and grandchildren after 120 it's a big gift that you can give them and it's a school of for at least that's what the cemeteries say when they try to sell you a plot it's a school of for it's a school of for and you can buy a plot in at the BRS section or the BRS section in Hollywood but I'm not trying to sell you anything it's a school so as says if you ever sold that if you ever signed that contract it's longer than the mortgage on your house you got to sign a lot of papers ASA says bring me the paperwork let me see the paperwork you can't prove your claims that I sold my right we just slept up here we left the contract where in so they said who will go bring Itali because the tells us that was as quick as a d so go run in the meantime D had a son named his ears were heavy he was hard of hearing he didn't hear well and they hadn't invented yet hearing GES he was not able to hear my so he can't understand what's going on he can't hear anything he's missing out on the whole conversation between as and his nephews and he says my what's going on said ASA is blocking us even though we just came up here slept up here now we got to wait for na to go back down get the contract and return it's going to take forever in the meantime it's we're dishonoring Our Father Yakov when we brought to be buried here in where he rightfully deserves to go and what happens what does he doen the son of Dan what does he do he takes a club A Kula and and he hits asov his uncle asov on the head and asa's eyes fall out and they fell on the legs of Yakov Yakov opens his eyes and smiles is the that's the asa's trying to block them they have this whole negotiation he insists you get the contract W tell he's wantan to go get the contract D has a son named kushim kushim is deaf he can't follow what's going on so they signal to him a little bit so he barely understands and W na he's going to get the contract and everybody else is busy negotiating he takes a club and beats his uncle asov great uncle asov over the head yakob gets a little Nas and K opens his eyes and smiles what happens here in this end of the skip to the end of the parion how could yacob's own children have left and waited yacob's body is laying while na goes to and from only was bold enough courageous enough brave enough to confront Uncle asov everyone else was willing to tolerate the degrading of Yakov that he sits there while waiting what's going on over here what's going on over here so I want to tell you an incredible it appears in this commentary on the and says the following he's the one who ask this question why wasn't anyone else bothered by the thought of yov laying and wait why would he laying there how could they tolerate such a mat the explanation is the following as was not only a hunter with his hands ASA was a master manipulator with his lips with his words he was a Salesman he could sell you the shirt on your back he could sell esimo he was manipulative and deceitful and he was persuasive and he was a Salesman hunting with his words with his mouth had even convinced his nephews his nephews your father was delirious your father had dementia your father was confused he forgot he forgot that yes he brought the birthright but the grave doesn't go with it he forgot it doesn't belong to him he was confused trust your uncle asov would I lie to you I'm telling you the truth it's mine it belongs to me we'll find another c a place for your father yakob for my brother but this spot it belongs to it goes with me and you know sometimes there are people who are manipulative with their words but they're so compelling and persuasive you actually start second guessing yourself you don't believe and you lose the confidence in yourself and you wonder huh maybe they're right maybe what they're saying is true said you know we need to clarify maybe uncle as's right pretty compelling pretty persuasive his words reach their hearts said go get the contract it's worth waiting yes it's a b to our father yov but Nali you're fast go run to MIT go get the contract go review let's go see ah so what happens with great nephew kushim with dun's son kushim why was he different and where did he get the courage to step up and to stand up kushim Ben dun was deaf and therefore because he was deaf he didn't hear the words of his uncle asov he wasn't debilitated he wasn't Frozen he wasn't still he didn't hesitate he wasn't gripped by as's words says what's going on over here so they hinted to they alluded to as's holding us up he's got some other claim K was enraged he was outraged he didn't buy anything that es was selling and therefore he acted he took the club and he hit him over the head and what's the message to us the message to us is sometimes you got to be deaf sometimes you have to be deaf and act don't listen to the pundits and the experts and the analysts don't listen to the world and the commentators don't listen to people who sound compelling or persuasive or act act like they're getting it right but couldn't be more wrong don't be those who are deceitful and manipulative with their words be like Kim sometimes we're so caught up in media and social media and news cycles that thrive on hype and hyperboy don't believe it don't buy into it turn off the volume shut it off be like done sometimes sometimes with all the noise that's going on around us that can be seductive and persuasive and compelling and make a second guess what we know to be true that can tug on our heartstrings and pull on our emotions sometimes we need to be more like Kush D sometimes you got to go deaf turn off the noise disconnect return to what we know to be simple and clear and obvious truths in a way that is not complicated so that we will act sometimes like you have to go and you have to be willing to be a little bit a little bit death a little bit death let's go back to the see that beginning the para went to the end trying we're trying back to it's the end of jakob's life he's giving up bras y brings his sons a Fran manha and Y yob puts his hands on the wrong ways I know I got it right it's just I know more about these children and their potential and what direction they're going in I get it more right than you it's a whole strange peculiar conversation going on here the back and forth between yoseph and his father over these Sons what exactly was yakob worried about right when yob first sees the he says who are they says don't worry these are my kids he's been learning with them his whole time in MIM now he wonders me what's going on here me that he doesn't recognize them and how does Yosef how does y appease them his father we have a Doctrine called the decline of the Generations understood that with Generations the further away we are from har the further removed we are from that moment of great Revelation the lower we go the more that we lose read the doctrine of decline we only have three and four and after that the are not called if the early ones were like Angels were people if the earlier ones were the people were donkeys and not like a righteous donkey like a stom stinky donkey so you read this Soros you read this Soros that's the way the world goes we lose something you read this however here is an exception well Yakov sees is this is an exception to that rule and manasha are not less or lower or decline EP and masas have the same status as the generation before them and that in fact is therefore says the that is why we give our children a on Friday nights and manasha why I don't want to you read this I want you to be not like me I want you to be greater than me even though the way of the world as you read this even though generally there's a decline who broke that cycle who are the exceptions to that rule epim and manasha and that's our hope and that's our wish for our own children two brothers who got along first generation where there wasn't sibling rivalry two brothers who got along even though the younger one was elevated above the older one and despite the potential for Strife they got along that's our hope for our children and two who were born and raised in that Exile that Gus and nevertheless Le clung to their values and their yish that's our hope to children and also because breaking the cycle of decline our hope is our hope is they're not a doctrine of decline but they'll be and therefore you could explain yob says lift them to your generation may they be an exception may they be transcend this doctrine of decline I shared many times I had an uncle who passed away my uncle Eli Eli Lazar and his children collected his beautiful D Torah that he said on different family life cycle occasion and in there he once said at a bris of a grandchild we say may this child may this little pitola grow to be a GLE may they go from being a cuton to a GLE has a beautiful Insight the the Moon is called the small luminary and the Sun is called the Great luminary and from here we learn what's the difference between a God and a Katan the Moon is not a source of light the Moon is just a reflection of the light of the Sun a Katan is something that doesn't have its own independent Radiance it's just a reflection of that which is greater than it the the this little pitola who will just reflect his parents God may he become a source of light himself that's but my uncle said a different he said we should read it we don't say this word but we should read it as if we say may this one who right now knows less earns less keeps less observes less is less developed less smart but may they surpass me that's the Jewish hope and aspiration we're not jealous of our own children we don't compete with their own children we don't want our own children to earn less than us too many people too many Jews they want their kids to be exactly where they are I come to sh a 9:00 minion I get there at 9:26 if my kid comes 925 they're a religious fanatic if they come 9927 they're off the DK what's going to be with this reject I come at 926 they have to come 926 I eat these they have to eat these too many are so worried we're worried if they do a little bit less they're off the D they do a little bit more they're a religious fanatic where did I go wrong and it's instructive which one people are more afraid of being less religious or more than religious which people are more afraid of but really that's not who we are our wish our hope our Dream our aspiration that our children should be greater than us greater than us you know you don't hear parents say I went to City College I don't want them to go to now nobody should want their kid to go to IV league but back once if it ever was safe spiritually religiously back when it was safe you heard people say you know I couldn't go to college I want them to go to college I went to the city college I want my kid to go to IV League College I only got a ba I want my kid to be a doctor get a graduate degree everyone wants more what about religiously what about spiritually we should also want them to be more know more observe more not be threatened not be afraid of that we should be proud of that it's exactly what we DAV for it's exactly what you D for in a world in which and this is full circle the beginning of this year we'll end with this we saw the ofam you know whatam is that after all the gam all you got wasar that's taram gam is not that they had temperature got the flu threw up on your kitchen floor climbed into your bed in the middle of the night that's not you know what that's called Gam that they broke their screen on their phone for the 15th time that's called gam I give you a lot more examples but that's called gam is after all the what you got was that's that's what you should be afraid of not that they came back religiously un fire and inspired that's what you're ding for that's what we all ding for so that's what the is that even though there's ordinarily read even though there's a decline and a were not a decline they were like and that's our hope for our children I want you to be God me many I want you to know more keep more DAV more DAV better have better MOS give morea learn more Torah be more righteous than I am I want you to surpass me I want you to be the exception to the rule that's our that's our for our children on Friday night please stay to help us complete for tell him a few times we should hear B