The NEW KINGS of our time | Parsha Perspectives | Shemos 5786

Good morning. Welcome back to para perspectives for today. So good to be together and learning safer schmos parmos page 292 in the arts scroll stone kish. And we are going from our first family, the book of braces. When the curtain comes down, we are a family that have hopefully learned how to reconcile differences, reunite, and hopefully the curtain comes down on a claction as a family, albeit a continuing imperfect one. When the curtain comes up on safer schmos, now we are becoming we are forming a nation. A para series is generously sponsored by Becky Navi Katz and family in loving memory of Becky's father David Benjman. This morning she is dedicated anonymously of Natan Ben by Marilyn Stein in memory of Rabbi Dr. Stevenstein by Hakster in honor of his wife Schulah giving birth to their little girl amuna or big maz. They should have a lot of and also dedicated in memory of the kadim benmul whose yite is the 15th of tves to whom tila and tora were of utmost importance. So we thank Leat and Jackman for sponsoring in memory of uh their son. Thank you so much for all those who sponsored. Also, one more public service announcement. There is a old mitzvah and which has become a new campaign and initiative and that is it's not mentioned in the Mishna but it is mentioned in the Gumar, the weekly obligation of Jews to review the Torah portion of the week twice together with enlas, the taich, the translation and maybe updated in contemporary times not to but to rash. Of course, that obligation begins every year, the new cycle. But if you have not been learning, there's no better time to begin thanosmos. After all, the word is rash is an acronym for the So there's a new initiative from the group. Arts put out a new and there's a new one with the Free State of Florida logo on the bottom. Doesn't say Free State of Florida. That's just what we call it here in Florida. Says Schneim Mikra Florida. Schneikra Florida. You can join the WhatsApp group and in the WhatsApp group you get a daily two-minute varra on that day's aliyah happens to be this week of safer paros. Yours truly has been posting those videos daily. This week been putting them in the para WhatsApp group. Our para WhatsApp group as well which you should be part of for an update on the schedule. Join it. You get the dailies daily aliyah dailyra on the aliyah and you should get this because it is fantastic. Page 292 is these are the names of the children of the Jewish people who translate the wordim for me. >> No it does not mean came means lashov in the present tense. Why does it say habaim? We know that sephracious the last book ended with the 70 family members of Yakov having come they came past tense they're there they set up shop they're living they're now subjugated and persecuted and they're spreading and promulgating but they came down a long time ago we know that Jacob lived in Nitan for how long 17 years by the time we're beginning say for schmos the Jewish people are entrenched they've been living they're not new immigrants they've been there a while so why is the word habaim which is present tense used when it should be a sort of the family tells Cleveland even though the Jewish people were in Egypt for a long time. Not only Yakov but also his sons, the Jewish people remained in perpetuity in a status and state of we've just arrived. We're new immigrants. We just came. We're coming. They never settled in. They never assimilated. They never became part of the Egyptian culture, part of the Egyptian lifestyle. Their attitude and mentality were we're greeners. We're immigrants. We just got here. We don't fit in. We're not entirely. We're G vtoshev like Arainu taught when he negotiated for the stay Ephron. We are both at the same time simultaneously g Vtov. An alien and a resident, a citizen and a guest and a visitor. That's the Jewish mindset to every gulus we're in. Eritel of course is the exception. That's when we're finally home. That's where we belong. But everywhere else it's temporary. I'm just getting here. I just got here. I'm not unpacking my suitcase in this gullis because I'm standing ready. The Mashiach's coming and I'm going to where I belong. I'm just passing through. I'm just visiting. I'm only here temporarily. And therefore, the Torah introduces this entire saga of what was a 210y year stay in Mitim of suffering and servitude that the Jewish people never were. They never came. They never arrived. He quotes in the what said to they told Yseph is still alive and he's the Mosha. He's the leader of all of Egypt. And Yakov's heart melted because he didn't believe them. They didn't repeat what Yseph instructed them to. So why why didn't they repeat what Yoseph said? Why did they change it and tell that he's so the explanation says because Jacob wasn't concerned what's Yoseph's job title? What's his portfolio? What's his net worth? What did Jacob want to know? What was Jacob worried about? All he cared about is Yoseph still Yoseph. Does Yoseph still carry himself like a Jew? Like a Yid? Is he walking and living my misora? Is Yoseph assimilated? Has he lost everything I taught him? Or does he stand out? Is he still Yseph? So they don't say the fact that he's the viceroy, the vice president, fact that he's the secretary of finance, the fact that he's running the whole economy. They'll get to that with Yakov, but that's not what they open with because what matters most, what YaKob is most concerned about is he's Mosher. He's Mosha. It means that he hasn't given in. He has not surrendered. He's not assimilated. He hasn't lost his identity. He knows who he is. He knows how he lives. He knows what matters and what is his mission. And that's therefore he's Mosh. He's a ruler and leader. He regulates himself. He hasn't given in to the urge or impulse to assimilate and be part of everyone else. So that's what saysim not we didn't come. We are still coming. Number one. And number two, theam sofur mosh this is what he was worried about about about Yseph that the Jewish people we don't lose our identity we continue to come in fact the med says it was in that merit that we were redeemed we kept our names our clothing and our language there's different midrashim that actually have you can find and replace some of these with others we didn't speak lashar about one another we didn't there's all kind we didn't reveal secrets interesting the med It says Jewish people were redeemed in the merit. We weren't mealis. We didn't reveal secrets. There's a lot to say about that. But we kept our identity, our names, our clothing, our language. We didn't blend in. We didn't assimilate. We stood out. We stood with pride and we had Jewish practice. We wore our yamaka. We didn't take it off. We didn't put on a baseball cap. We weren't afraid. This is who I am. This is how I live. This is how I'm proud to be. Habaim. I don't look like everyone else. I don't fit in with everyone else. I haven't arrived and now I've assimilated. I'm a greener. I just got here. I still stand out. I'm still just passing through. And that's the secret to our survival. That's the way to navigate in gulas to be part of and apart from at the same time vtov. Fast forward. Moving right along. So what happens? We then repeat who came down. By the way, this is the same says one of the little Torah I gave in the project so far the first was why is the Torah repeating? We know where Yseph. Why do we have to say he was? We know we're telling the story of the Jewish people where in Egypt. So why do I have to reference and Yoseph was in yeah duh Yseph was in Egypt. The answer is the Yoseph he was still the same Yseph. That's what Rashi says. The same Yseph who was the simple shepherd when no one knew of him and no one heard of him and no one was watching him. He wasn't an influencer. He wasn't viral. No one was taking selfies with him. He was the simple, humble, modest shepherd. Yoseph, even when he was the viceroy leading all of Egypt, he hadn't changed. It didn't go to his head. He didn't lose any part of who he was. his humility, his modesty, also his piety. He was the same Yseph. He remained Yseph. He never lost his sense of who he was, his sense of Yseph. And a new king arose over Egypt, Yseph, who did not know Yseph. A new king arose, says the Meg Yseph, we're familiar. Rashi tells us there is a debate among our two great rabbis Omar when the Torah testifies a new king arose over Egypt. What does it mean literally or figuratively? Is it a new king, a new person, a new election, a new appointment, new succession, a new king literally or a new king? That means it was the same person, same name, same face, same person, but something happened to him. something came over him. He became different in his edicts. He became different in his policies. He became a different person. Says these if you want to say he changed his policies. What does that mean? Why did the Torah tell us a new person? He's not new. He's the same person. same social security number, same birthday, same person, same online profile, just new policies. So why would we capture communicate someone with new policies as a meladash as a new person says if he quotes him says the following Parro's advisors told him not to increase the policy of persecution against the Jewish people and he didn't listen to them until they they took him. He was no longer the king and they didn't put him back until he agreed to follow their advice. I'm sorry he was this nag. said to increase the persecution. He hesitated. They removed him from his position of power until he would agree to follow their advice, their counsel to indeed intensify the persecution. This is the parro who Yseph interpreted his dreams. This is the parro who Yoseph saved the economy, saved him and his legacy, saved his family and his people. And he loved Yoseph. He gave Yseph Goshen and he embraced Yoseph's father Yakov and the whole family. And he allowed Yoseph to go up and bury his father. He had tremendous affection. Yoseph was his mentee, his proteéé. He loved Yoseph. The same parro who loved Yoseph and his progeny all of a sudden now turns. How could he turn so radically? How could he pivot to be so unrecognizable? The answer is he was on the take. When his advisers and his councils said, "We won't support you. We're not taking care of you. We're not paying you unless you persecute, unless you change." And once he changed, he was like meash. Once he changed, he was like an entirely new person told us. So much so that today you say the word parro, wake any Jew in the middle of the night, not with frogs on their nose and frogs on their toes, but wake any Jew in the middle of the night and say the word parro word association parro. No one says, "Oh, parro." Yoseph had such a good relationship. He was Yoseph's mentor. He took such good care of the Jewish people. He let us set up our own community. Synonymous with parro is villain. Russia, wicked, evil, persecutor, oppressor, dictator. Para goes down. His legacy nikvaos is his name is synonymous. His name was set in stone. His legacy among the Jewish people is an arch enemy. And that's why it wasn't just that he had new policies. He became a new unrecognizable person. So unrecognizable he had gone from one extreme to another. A lover, protector, defender of the Jewish people to the archeneemy, nemesis, persecutor, tormentor. Now, if I learned this mega yoseph with you a couple years ago, you'd say, "Okay, nice insight. I don't really know. That's not familiar. I've never experienced. I can't relate." But now, you know what I see in between the lines of the mega yoseph? It says on the side, a little footnote says Tucker Carlson, >> as more things change, the more they stay the same. And if you want to understand the anti-semitism and anti anti-semites just open our because this is a story that unfortunately has many sequels and continues to tell itself over and over again and because you know on social media online as a pastime now some people in order to show the difference you know they'll have sidebyside screens and it's the Tucker Carlson in 2017 at Fox News Tucker Carlson today right just this week they're doing it about Venezuela he was calling for taking out the leader of Venezuel Venezuela and how terrible Venezuela and how much Venezuel and now oh Venezuela is very conservative and right side by side and you could do that about most significantly the Jewish people and what happened [clears throat] Qatar what happened going viral more followers more influence more advertisers more money Kelly sadly the same thing people who were greatest offenders people who understood and stood by us advocates of our people could so radically shift and change meladash. It's brand new. I don't know who they are. I don't recognize what they're saying. It's not just that their words and their policies, it's not just that their pundits whose take on everything changed. They changed. They changed because when a person says, "I'm going to lose my position of pro prominence." Para's advisers said, "You're done. We're taking you down. We're putting up we're putting up in the primary someone against you unless you follow our advice. Unless you adopt our policies against the Jews, you're out. And what happens when that happens? People resign. When the when the when the people when the deep state says, "We're not going to be supporting you," then they have no future. And not only do they change their policies, they become different people. They become different people. Not only literally a new king, but now we understand based on this insight and based sadly on our own experience that you can have the same social security number, the same birthday, the same fingerprints, the same person and they become a new person unrecognizable because when they want to continue or increase their influence and their power and their fortune, they become a new person, a meladash. Sadly, that was true of the anti-semite of your parro who now is synonymous with tyranny and goes down as a villain of our people and is true in our day. It's true in real time. It's happening today. Rabbi Saxs, the new Rabbi Saksh, how long can I keep calling it the new Rabbi Sax Kish? In the new Rabbi Sax Kish also has a description and he says Yoseph, this new parro whether literally or figuratively didn't know Yseph. Bracious ends on an almost serene note. Yakob has found his long- lost son. The family's been reunited. Yseph has forgiven his brothers. Under his protection, an influential family has settled in Gan, one of the most prosperous regions of Egypt. They now have homes, property, food, protection of Yoseph in the favor of Parro. It must have seemed one of the golden moments of Aram's family's history. The yet when the curtain went down last week just last Shabas people when the curtain went down oh finally [snorts] harmony and peace reunion and unity finally that shala that Jacob was bikes that serenity that he so badly craved and longed for finally when the curtain came down he had it and it seemed like one of the golden moments of a family's history and then as has happened so often a political climate change. The family falls out of favor. Parro tells his advisers, "You see, the Jewish people are many, more powerful than we. Let us deal wisely with them in case they increase." And so, the whole mechanism of oppression moves into operation. Forced labor that turns into slavery that becomes attempted genocide. The story is engraved in our memory. We tell it every year and in summary form in our prayers every day. It is part of what it is to be a Y, a Jew. Yet, there's one phrase that shines out from the narrative. Look at Pak. If you're watching and you see me waving wildly, it's not because I see someone I know. It's for some reason there are flies who are the reincarnation of those who skip the para class. And Hashem makes them now attend every week and torture me. Should be a kapara for all of us, the flies and me. we reference it at the seder. The more they oppressed, the more we increased and spread and the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. Writes are by Saxs. This no less than oppression itself is part of what it means to be a Jew. Let me say that again. This pock that the more they oppressed us and the more they tortured us, the stronger, the bigger, the more faithful we became is in itself no less than oppression itself part of what it means to be a Jew. The worse things get, the stronger we become. Jews are the people who not only survive but thrive in adversity. Jewish history is not merely a story of Jews enduring catastrophes that might have spelled the end to less tenacious groups. It is in fact that after every disaster, Jews renewed themselves. They discovered some hitherto hidden reservoir of spirit that fueled new forms of collective self-expression as the carriers of God's message to the world. What an important point Rabbi Sax is making. When we read the beginning of Pashmos, so if you're good, you're already taking notes for the peser. You're already taking notes for Pes for your Torah. And what do we always focus on? They tried to kill us. miracles, 10 plagues, splitting of the sea. We survived, but we're missing part of the core story, central theme of the story. As important as it is to be ingrained in our collective memory, that they tried to destroy us and kill us and that was a cycle that got repeated, so too, maybe even more importantly, to ingrain in our collective consciousness that every time they did, we bounced back stronger, bigger, greater, more unified, and having more faith. And why do I share this insight? Because it's beautiful and it's true and you can track it through our history, including in the aftermath of the Holocaust. But have we not in the last two years since October 7th? And it brings to mind that great expression which is not Jewish in origin. They tried to bury us, but they planted us instead. And October 7th, they tried to bury us, but they planted us. The IDF, our heroes on the front lines, the Jewish people came roaring back, fought and continued to fight. Lest we think it's over, there are still heroes in Gaza and Lebanon and Syria and pulling off incredible missions. Incredible missions. In fact, Israel just captured Maduro from Venezuel. I'm joking. Shalom. Of course not. Wasn't Israel. Israel had nothing to do with it whatsoever except for probably teaching the knowhow about how to pull off such incredible incredible missions. It's okay to laugh and if the government is I don't know monitoring or Candace is watching the parasir that was a joke there's no conspiracy here but that's what Sax is telling us in our collective consciousness must be not only the suffering that we've endured through the generations but also the tenacity we have inside ourselves to bounce back after every period of darkness in our history there was an enormous burst of light maybe Most notably, profoundly in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the unimaginable at the time birth of the state of Israel in the aftermath of October 7th, almost as unimaginable, the destruction of Hezbollah, Kamas, the Houthis, change of the entire landscape of the Middle East. Every time after the darkness, there's a burst of light. And that happens because the Jewish people are tenacious. And that's this the more they torment us. We will bounce back. The population explosion in the DP camps following the Holocaust was the unbelievable expression and demonstration of courage and of faith that the world was worth yet bringing people into. That's a challenge from our para too. Omrram didn't understand it. He wants to give up. There's no future. There's no hope. How could we have more children? He separates from his wife. And it takes his daughter Miriam to say, "There's going to turn around. There's going to be a light after this darkness. This world is yet worth believing in and bringing children into." And we've repeated that cycle over and over again. Moving right along. Turn the page. And the king of Egypt tells thee, translate the words maldosa. It's not a trick question. Translate. >> So art scroll I hear I see here translates as Hebrew midwives. Rabbi Sax says midwives of the Hebrews. Oo interesting interest. Ars says again, Ars translates as the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives says, "The king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrews, what are they debating in their tight in their translation? What's going on over here?" Parro spoke to them, "Who are they?" White writes, "Rabbi Saxs, midwives to the Hebrews, who are Shiffra and Pua, the truth is we do not know. One medish identifies them with Mosha's mother Y and sister Miriam using Madrasha technique of identifying unknown characters with characters who are more elaborated there. You know we tend to make this mistake in our childhood we learned a medish and then in our mind that becomes the authoritative medish that that is the only way of looking at it. So we all learned as little kids who were Shiffra and Pua. Those are other names for YV and Miriam Moshe's mother and sister. They were these midwives and that's the only approach. But there are many midrashim and there are different opinions among the midrashim. And Rab Sax quotes in describing them in the Torah uses an ambiguous phrase which could mean either the Hebrew midwives or midwives to the Hebrews. On the second interpretation, they may not have been Hebrews at all, but Egyptians. This is the view taken. It's good thing you're all sitting down. Abarbanel, theel says these weren't Miriam and Yed. These were Egyptian righteous Gentiles. Even then, they were righteous among the Gentiles. You know how today we're sort of living this life wondering among those who are friendly or nice to us. Yeah, but would you hide me? Would you put me in your attic? Would you hide me in your crawl space? That's sort of our litmus test of the people who come over and say, "I'm so sorry for what's happening. I stand with the Jewish people in Israel." And you say, "That's nice, but would you hide me? Would you be a righteous gentile among the nations, says the Abarbanel and the Shadalut say these two commentaries that in fact Maldos does not mean Hebrew midwives. It's not Miriam and Y. It means midwives to the Hebrews who were not Jewish at all. They were Egyptian. Shadal's reasoning is simple. Could Parro realistically have expected Hebrew women to murder their own people's children? If you think about it, it's much more compelling opinion. If you're parro and you have to find someone to carry out killing all the firstborn male, who are you going to ask? Represent representatives of the very people that you're trying to kill. What's the likelihood that they're going to comply with that edict? It makes much more sense. It's much more persuasive or compelling to say you're going to find from your side, from your team, from the oppressor. And therefore, there and Shadal say exactly that. Rather than decide one way or the other, it seems clear the Torah's ambiguity on this point is deliberate. We do not know who they are or which people they belong to because their particular form of cou moral courage transcends nationality and race. Says Rabbi Sachs who's right? We don't know. The Torah intentionally is ambiguous. It writes it in a way that you could read it either way. Why? Because the Torah is not focused on the pedigree of who they are. The Torah is focused on the moral courage they display. In essence, they're being asked to commit a crime against humanity. And the fact that they refuse to tells us something about the ethical parameters of humanity. Though Shifra and Pu are simply minor figures in the narrative, they are giants in the story of humanity. All we know about them is that they feared Hashem and did not do as the king of Egypt ordered them. In those words, a precedent is set which will be ultimately become the basis of the declaration of human rights. Shifra and Pua by refusing to obey an immoral order refine the moral imagination of the world. Shiff Rampua continues Rabbi Sachs are first of six courageous women who will play a vital part in the story of Israel's redemption in this para women we were redeemed in the merit of righteous women who are they can we identify all six let's go and Miriam parro's daughter and Mosha's wife so Shifra and Pua who might be the same as or different than Y and Miriam Ia Basparo and Cipora Moshe's wife. Moshe be the central character in the unfolding drama. But without these women, there'd be no Moshe. Their moral courage is a vital element in the story. So Moshe has the limelight. Moshe has the spotlight. Moshe has the fanfare. Moshe is the mouthpiece. But without these six women, there's no Moshe. Their righteousness. It's notable that only two Y and Miriam are clearly Jewish. Parro's daughter is not. Cipura certainly in her origin is not and the identity of Shifra and Pua are uncertain intentionally ambiguous. The entire schmos narrative is a delicate counterpoint between the particularity of the Jewish people. We'll see later in our paren and the universality of the moral law. And we see this several times in the following chapters. Not every nation is expected to be holy, but every nation is expected to be moral. So we are presented with role models such as these non-Israelite women whose principled stand against tyranny and persecution transcends all ethnic and cultural boundaries. So it's good thing you were sitting down. But Shiffra and Pua may not be and Miriam. They may not be Jewish at all. That's not some modern commentator. It's not Rabbi Saxs. It's thearbanel and others who say it. which is also a very profound statement that we should have an expectation and demand of the world basic moral courage. The Torah is not only giving a a prescription for how Jewish people are meant to live, but in such circumstances all of humanity is meant to rise to the occasion and to the moment to live with the moral cou courage and to act in that way. The next p says the Torah. And he said, what a power. What did he say to these women? Whoever they were, when you deliver the Hebrew women, you see them on the birth. If it is a son, you're to kill him. If it is a daughter, she shall live. Says the Yseph of Ysef Saratskin. tells us women are obligated in the four cups of wine at the why four cups of wine if you had to categorize them in as a mitzvah how would you categorize them they are a classic it is a classic timebound mitzvah when do you drink the cups of wine in Israel one night a year here two nights a year at the pes that is a classic time bound mitzvah women are exempt from time bound mitzvah and yet the tells us like mikra migill like other mitzvah maybe like >> like others they're obligated in this time so why because they too were part of the miracle when the Torah when that women become come obligated because they were part of the miracle. What do we mean? Part of the miracle means they were the catalyst of the miracle. They caused the miracle or they were beneficiaries of the miracle that they too were threatened and the miracle saved them. So rash says they were the catalyst and the rash goes through in each case how they were the ones who saved the Jewish people. Esther and Purum is easy in the case of of the four cups of wine and so on. Brings a not that they were the catalyst or cause but they were the beneficiary that they too were a target. They were threatened and they too were saved and therefore they have to join the community of men the greater claw Israel in thanking Hashem. Now how were they saved? In what way were they threatened? Here the puzzen it was only the boys who were going to be murdered. The girls were given life. The girls would survive. So in what way were they threatened that they survived. So the writes, even though it's true only the men were only the men were targeted for murder, but the woman can't live without the men. There's two ways you can understand that. Either in order for new girls to be born, you need men to marry women. In other words, there's no continuity for men or women if you're missing either of the genders. Or the classic way that women can't live without their men. You choose which one you want to follow. Says these if there were no Jewish men because they were all murdered. If the women wanted to survive and had a continuity, who would they have to marry? The Egyptians. Whose punishment would be worse then? The boys who were murdered or the women who lived but had to live marrying their persecutor, the tormentor. The only way that they would survive. Alternatively, the tearing a baby out of a mother's arms to kill him is more painful to the mother than it is to the child. So who was punished more, the men or the women? The boys or their mothers? It's true that it was the boys who were killed. So why do we say Because a mother for a baby to be torn out of the arms of a mother is more painful than for the baby the baby himself and therefore that's why very interesting me I never thought for years we knew four cups of wine because they too were saved saved generally wanted to kill everyone generally but that's not true he didn't want to kill everyone he only wanted to kill the men so how can we say afu so either of these two answers of the meged per moving right along. So, a man from the house of Ley went and took a woman from the house of Ley and she had a boy and she hid him three months but she could no longer anymore. She hid him for three months. She couldn't hide him anymore. She took him in a wicker basket smeared with clay and pitch. Placed the child into it, placed it among the reads at the bank of the river. His sister stations herself at a distance to see what was going to happen with this young man with this boy. back in the he quotes a beautiful insight from and writes the following says they shmeared I don't know if that's the technical term but the outside of this basket with what with pitch which is d of muashi it's very inexpensive it's very cheap material so basically they're trying to save the baby. And they know the only way to do it will put the baby Mosha in the basket and the basket's got to make it floating on the river. So Ymed goes on Amazon in order to buy something to shmear the basket with so that it won't sink in the river. And she sees, you know, tar is $100 and pitch is $18.99. She goes with the pitch. Why? Their money is more valuable than their than themselves, than their body, than their survival. How is that a positive quality? She went all cheap even on saving her son. Explained the following. If you see somebody who wastes and squanders money, if you see someone who throws away money, now again the assumption here was not that the basket would sink. She went cheap in a way that he would die, he would drown. It meant either material would be good, but she didn't go for the fancy. She didn't go for, you know, there's a video going viral right now of Moabir, of Mosha Weinberger. [clears throat] He went off in a holy rant against the Jewish obsession with materialism today. What he thinks has gotten out of hand. You can watch it, find it on your own. That's what we're saying. That they understand that money is acquired through blood, sweat, and tears. That a person had to sacrifice for that money. What went into earning it? Could have been learning, but you gave up time to work. You could have been with your family, but you were working to take care, to earn. In the gamarra, what's the Hebrew word that's used for money? Dumin. Why? Blood. Why do we call money blood? Because earning money takes blood, sweat, and tears for the people who have to earn it and work for it and achieve it. And if you worked hard for your money, you'll be much more careful with it than if you just inherit it or want it. So much so says Raulba, if you see somebody who's maspo who squanders and wastes and is frivolous with money, irresponsible with money, throws away money, is silly with money, then you should check how that money was earned because likely it wasn't scrupulous. And Raa would rant. Raoba who was nif he passed away years ago. I can't imagine what he'd say today of young people who walk around with their parents' credit card and they buy and they treat themselves to luxuries that their parents who earn that money and worked so hard never would. They get the best of everything and they treat themselves regularly to the triple caramel latte iced coffee extra rolls of the most specialty kind of the sushi and they go get the special uh you know um shake what do they call fruit uh whatever on the Friday in your I won't say and why they didn't earn that money and it's much easier to spend it and squander it when you didn't give your dumbim for And in that moment when it doesn't, it feels like monopoly money. Zel and uh what's the other one? >> Venmo and Zel. You know the danger of Uber. Ubers are amazing because they're tremendously convenient, but you don't feel like you spent any money on it because you just had an app and you ordered. You never actually had to hand money or even swipe a card. So it feels like it was free until the statement comes, the bank statement comes. So whether it's Uber or get taxis in Israel and it was Raul who said young couples who are being supported and not living a kal lifestyle, but they're living the lifestyle of the rich and famous because it's on someone else's account. That's not the way of sadikim. who wants to grow and blossom to be a great righteous person. The first sign is be righteous with your money. Be responsible. Have a budget. Live within it. Be modest. Understand your place, your time, your age, whether it's yours, whether you earned it. And if you live a life that doesn't it's not disciplined and regulated. You know the people who spend irresponsibly and squander money and don't take care of it are the same people who don't tuck in their chair for the record. Just saying. All right, everyone relax. I'm just saying. By the way, we got a camera in the back. We have a camera in the back. And when Shira is over, we know exactly which one of you don't tuck your chair back in. There's an article I wrote last week. My article last week was about my pet peeve. But it wasn't only my own. Ra Torah quotes his the altar of Kelm. If someone didn't tuck their chair in, he would rebuke them as if they violated Shabas. so significant to the altar of Kelm of being misud of tucking in your chair. He equated it with Shabas not because he was you know suffered from from being compulsive. It was because he understood that if you don't have seder, it's essentially what revolt is saying here. If you're not massuda and responsible with your money, then you also won't be with who you are, with your life, with your lifestyle, with your holiness. All that you see from here because of this rash that what she spent on was not luxurious and it wasn't frivolous and it didn't need to be the luxury brand and it wasn't a waste of money. and says, "Raoba, that's not just good financial practice. That's religious practice." That's the point that Raoba is making. And that's the point that little me I was making in my article. Lest you think that that silly pet peeve, who cares if you tuck in your chair? Who cares about these little things in life? The answer is the little things in life reveal the bigger things in life. And as I put at the end of the article, I think it's a big flag on a date in both directions. But if the other person doesn't say please and thank you to the waiter, if the other person doesn't tuck in the chair when they get up, if the other person doesn't do the basic common courtesies, if the other person squanders and wastes money, why? Because in their dating on their parents' credit card, it's for another time, but it happens to be I paid for every date. Was my hard-earned money for my summers that I worked and I'm better off because of it. And today people go on dates. They're eating in restaurants. They're they're they're not even the age of anything. And they're going out on a date to the restaurants that we go to once a year for a special occasion. Maybe not even once a year is too often. Okay, enough of this. I have a lot to say. Back to our regular schedule program. Back to the para. Okay, where were we? [clears throat] page 300. Moshe, now we're fast forwarding. Moshe grows up and he leaves the palace and he sees the people are suffering and he smites an Egyptian. Thank God for postmos otherwise we'd never use the word smite. He smites the Egyptian tell on him. He has to flee for his life. He goes to Midyan and there he meets of course his wife. Where where do Jews go to meet their wives? the well and now he's married. And what do Jews do for a living? Great Jewish leaders. The prerequisite to emerge as a great Jewish leader is first you have to put your time in as a as a shepherd. Moshe Moshe is the shepherd of the sheep of the flock of his father-in-law who was the Cohen of Midan, the priest of Midyan. And he guided the sheep far into the wilderness. He arrives at the mountain of God towards Moshe now is walking and he turns to see God calls him from this bush. It's on fire but not being consumed. Moshe Mosha he calls him Moshe. Moshe and Moshe says here I am. And we get to our first Rabbi Salvich of the day. God saw that he turned to see. By the way, the med says he turned to see what impressed God that he turned to see the bush on fire not being consumed. No, it was when Moshe left the palace to see the suffering of the Jewish people. He was no bolero but he had empathy and felt the pain of his people. Moshe easily at that time could have hel could have hid in the safety and security of the palace but he didn't. He saw the suffering of his people and he went out but has a different interpretation. When Hashem sees how Moshe responded to the sight of the bush he removes the angel and he appears to Moshe. Hashem now resides in the bush not the angel. Once Moshe reacted to the bush appropriately, the Jews came under the supervision and protection not of an angle angel but of God himself. The Ramban explains that in contrast to other nations, Jewish historical destiny is guided directly by the Almighty. Earlier the name Elohim was used. Now it came to pass in those many days they cried out and the cry ascended to Elohim and Elohim heard their cry and Eloim saw them and Elohim knew. The name Yud V the tetetrogrammatan does not appear in that previous chapter. When Hashem suffered with them when he shared in their distress he was Elohim. But they still had to wait for redemption. Yud V was not there yet. Only when Moshe said, let me turn now and see only now. And now we change which name we use. In the previous chapter, it was Elohim. We weren't introduced to Yud V. Now it's not Elohim, it's Hashem V. Now the tetraatan appears. The time of the redemption has arrived. Eloim refers to God who requires a Jew have faith, patience, and perseverance. It's very hard to wait. And yet the Jew waits and waits. Every day he says the anim, I believe in the coming of Messiah. And even though he may tarry, I will wait for him every day. The Jew who communicates with Elohim is greater than the Jew who communicates with Yud V, the fulfiller of promises. When Hashem bestows grace upon the people, it is not so difficult to be a Jew. During the long lonely night of exile, Yudkev did not reveal himself. Nevertheless, the Jew did not lose his faith in Elohim. The Jew who waits is great indeed. When Moshe said, "Let me now turn and see." Yke appeared. The time to fulfill the promise was at hand. The redemption began not on the first night of Pesak, when the actual exodus took place, but when Moshe was confronted by Hashem, even before he was convinced to accept his calling. When does the redemption begin? Not the first night of Pesak. Not when the plagues begin. Not when he says, "It's time to pack your things. We're getting out." Redemption begins when Moshe turns to see. When we see the suffering, when we involve ourselves, when we understand that we are partner in Hashem in bringing that very in bringing that very says the another popular with us today, theo on the words, the swarno has two words right here. Mosha's walking along and there's this unusual supernatural extraordinary phenomena taking place. There's a bush on fire and it's not being consumed. Aanual, they love to say, how do you know a grandchild is called an anacle? Where do you see that in the Torah? Aanual. That once a person has a grandchild, now it's not consumed. Aanual. Anle. Now you have a future. Now the fire continues to burn. Good. Everyone else sees it and keeps walking. Everyone else walks, doesn't notice it, doesn't think of it. Why is Mosha notice it says the swarno? Two words. He turns to see. Why does he turn to see? What does the word leis mean? To be contemplative. To contemplate what he sees. Wow. Wow. Says zatalg the Torah here is pointing out according to the you know what made Moshe great something that our generation maybe more than any that came earlier is challenged with and what is that to be contemplative to stop and to look and to see unusual things and to think about them. everyone else. You could just picture the scene. There's a bush burning, not being consumed. There is a supernatural, extraordinary phenomena taking place, and everyone else is walking right by. You know why? Because they're scrolling and they're typing. And it's it's right here, and they don't even notice it. They don't even see it. They're listening, they're typing, they're scrolling, they're watching, and they don't even see the incredible things happening around them. And Moshe, who's a shepherd, Moshe who's a thinker, Moshe who's a meditator, Moshe who's contemplative, he sees and he says, "Huh, I got to check that out. What is that? What's going on over there? I want to understand that. I want to think about that. I want to see that. I want to experience that. I want to focus on that. I want to meditate on that. I want to be lost on that. I want to experience that. I want to be present with that." And therefore, Hashem reveals himself. To whom does Hashem reveal himself? The people who practice his bonus. If your mind is so scattered and there's always noise filling your head, if you're never present and mindful, if you're never in the moment, if you're just being carried in the momentum of life, it's going to be very hard to connect with Hashem. Very hard for him to reveal himself to you. But when you live a life bon, we're contemplative. We stop, we see, we think, we feel, we experience. Then we're going to see Hashem. We're gonna see Hashem. Go for a walk around the lake. And you know what? You'll see and hear and feel the wildlife, the nature, the rustle of the leaves, the ripple of the lake, of the water, the animal life that's walking, the magnificent go at the right time of the day. You can see the sun that's setting and the different colors in the sky. There's amazing things to see. You just have to do it where you're not looking down while you're walking. Like turn to see how through a commitment through a commitment to be contemplative in life. Hashem tells Moshe why he wants him. I see the suffering of my people in Egypt and I hear their cries and I hear their cries, excuse [clears throat] me, and I hear their cries because of their task masters. I know their pain. I know their suffering. Says Salvich, note the use of the word yadati. What does the word yadi mean? Whenever we use the term das in Torah, das does not mean we classically translate the word das as knowledge. That's not what it means. Das implies rights to more than cognitive awareness. It implies intimacy, closeness of association, sympathy with the other fellow. Hashem saw the Jewish people. He became intimate with their suffering. The term denotes p passional knowledge. the the eyes sympathy with the thou das implies intimacy. Hence sexual act in Hebrew uses the term das go back to bracesto man knew his wife knew her biblically. It means they were intimate. We don't have a Hebrew word a biblical word for a physical sexual act of intimacy. It's called knowledge. Why is it called knowledge? Because the ultimate knowledge you could have of another, the more the greatest moment of vulnerability, the most exposed you could be, let the other person have access in with you is knowledge. That's the ultimate knowledge two people can have. What is intimacy? The Jewish, and we could talk about this for hours, the Jewish notion of intimacy is something we share together that's not shared widely or broadly or with others. The more exclusive, the more I allow you in to my emotion, to my thoughts, or have access to my very being, something no one else can, the more intimate we are. But the more what I'm telling you, I also posted online, then it doesn't yield a sense of an intimate connection, there's no emotional bond, the more what you get to see, everybody gets to see who walks the street. and what we experienced. I experienced different nights of the week with other people then the less intimacy you'll be able to achieve. And what's going on in our time where there is an enormous decrease in the younger people in physical intimacy mindboggling, right? Because we're living in a time of stone ba amora and yet in actual intimacy there is a a pandemic of challenge of intimacy and so much of it is a misunderstanding and a distortion of what intimacy is. Intimacy isn't the power of being able to dress however you want and do whatever you want. And emotionally, it's not about being able to just post whatever you feel, whatever you're experiencing, and sharing it with the world. All of that actually destroys intimacy. It takes away any possibility of intimacy. To have emotional intimacy with another, hopefully your spouse, be it a best friend. It means there are things you're willing to share. You let them in. You give them access to that you don't with others. And that yields a sense of connection of intimacy. That's knowledge. That's why the Torah word for intimacy is you now know you've been in my inner world, my fears, my hopes, my aspirations. You now know. That's why the Torah says there, that's what's going on over here. I know their pain. Of course, you know their pain. You're God. You know everything. You're infinite, omnipotent. Why is Hashem describing, "I know their I know. We know you know their pain." Hashem says, "No, not I know their pain. because I read it in a report because I was briefed on it. I know their pain means I feel their pain. I have an intimate connection with their suffering. It's a different level and understanding of I'll go down and I'll save them from Egypt to take them out of that land to take them to the land flowing with milk and honey to this precious land. Writes will do one more. God describes, "I will go down and save them from where?" Miyad. What's the next word? Not a trick question, people. What's the next word? Mim. What's the word? Mim Egypt. Is God saving them? From Egypt? No. From whom is God saving them? >> Miad parro or miad mitrim? From the Egyptians. What does it mean from Egypt? Why is God described? I'm going to go down, liberate them, rescue them, save them, take them out of Egypt. No, you're going to take them away from the Egyptians, says Salv. There are actually two exoduses. One is from the Mitsim, the land of Mitim. The other is from the people of Mitim, from their culture, their ideas, their philosophy, their way of life, their mores. The exodus from Egypt took place on the 15th night of Nissan. It was complete. But the exod from Mitim is a long process. What took place in one night was only the liberation from the land. But leaving Mitsim fully is a long road which the Jew has been traveling for 3,500 years without yet arriving at his destination. The messianic redemption is a continuation of the redemption from Egypt. When Moshe received the assignment to appear before power to take the Jews out of Egypt, Hashem said, "I've surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I've heard their cries. My purpose not just to save them. My final goal, the ultimate end is miad. In other words, taking the Jews out of Egypt, that was the easy part. Taking Egypt out of the Jews, that's much harder. And that he's still working on and we're still working on. Taking the Jews out of Egypt, ah, 10 plagues, splitting of a sea, a few miracles, that's easy for God. Egypt, taking the Jews out of Egypt, easy. Taking Egypt out of the Jews, that's much harder. Moshe had a tough assignment. And Hashem given him the task of taking the Jews may he wouldn't have argued. But when he said, "That's much harder." Taking them out of Egypt, I got it, says Moshe. Taking Egypt out of them, I'm not so sure about. That's going to be much tougher. That's going to be much harder. Okay, we'll end with one more. Hashem tells Moshe that these people, they are my eldest child. Skip, skip, skip, skip, skip, skip. End of the Torah. End of the para. Page 310. You're going to go, you're going to greet Aon. He's going to be happy for you. The parrom is tell God said the Jewish people are my eldest son. That's our status. Now there's a little bit of a contradiction because on the one hand on the one hand it's formulated as if we are God's only children. On the other hand it's formulated we are God's oldest child. If you have an oldest child what does that strongly imply? You also have other children. Okay. How do you reconcile that? I'll leave that for you another time. But how do you understand what it means to be that we are his oldest child? We're the Bor. He has other children, but we're his favorite. We're his eldest. We're his number one. So Rashi says, and the is the greatest. And Hashem says, "You Jewish people, you're my greatest." But the this is from this newer mayor collecting the different teachings of mayor and he says the following says what does it mean? The eldest son gets a double portion. Why? First of all the oldest son has greatest responsibility. Something happens to the father. The assumption is that the oldest son steps in and takes over in his place. The oldest son was responsible to care for his younger sisters. He needed the resources to do it to have a dowy to marry them off. So he got a double portion because he needed to be empowered with what was necessary to act as the oldest son. But that's not the says writes by being born that child made his father a father. That eldest son designated the parents as parents. Until he was born, they were just a married couple. When he was born, they became parents. And therefore, Israel that says is what God says tells Moshe, you go tell that what is Hashem, creator of the universe. What made him a father? The birth of the Jewish people. When we accepted him, when we came along, he became a father. And if he if we're the ones who made him a father, then we became his. That's why we have that status. Pick up next week. Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay healthy. Stay holding.