The Story That's STILL Being Written | Parsha Perspectives | Bo 5786

Good morning Boker to gak para perspectives for today. Special welcome to all those who are here for yeshiva week or yeshiva weeks as it is these days because everyone has the yeshiva week that they'll never go to. You know the old joke about the shai det the shool I'd never go to. There's the yeshiva week I observe and the yeshiva work week I would never be caught dead in. So now it's yeshiva weeks. Page 340 in the arts stone. have the privilege of continuing the last three of the makos para's bow our story and saga continue our para series is generously sponsored by Becky Navikat and family in memory of Becky's father David Gman our learning shila nishmas David benosha hashem speaks to Mosha and he tells them el parro come bo what does bo mean come no come to parro because I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn. I fixed it so that I can put these signs of mine in his midst so that and now gives a second reason. The next hashem so Hashem says I harden parl's heart. No new come. Let's go back to Mit. It's time to bang home the message again. And why am I sending you? What's the purpose and goal of this journey? So that I can put these signs of mine in his midst and so that you may relate it in the ears of your son, your son's son. I made a mockery of Egypt that I may place among them that you may know that I am Hashem. What's going on over here? This is the puzzle where even though we've seen it several times jump in. What does it mean? Hashem hardened parl's heart. If he took away his free will and he took away his autonomy, he took away Here's accountability. If a person doesn't have free will, what are they responsible for? And why do we have a second reason which is said here as well? What is going on? So we'll start today with the was the and he says the following. What's going on? Why did Hashem harden Parro's heart? Why is that fair? That's not playing fair. He hardened Parro's heart. He gave Parro no choice. Parro was stubborn and obstinate. Parro refused to give in and indulge. Let my people go. In fact, parro was so wicked, so evil. He had forfeited his very humanity. He had forfeited his godly soul. He lost his free will. He was so evil. He had so given into the other side, so to say, that he lost his very humanity. He lost his very godliness. He lost his very godly soul. And therefore, he had no opportunity to come back. Chuva was not an option. We'll read later in a few weeks. Hashem says that the illness that I visited upon Egypt, I won't give to you. Why? I am God the great healer. I am God. God the great orbiter of health. And what I visited upon Egypt I will I will protect you from. What is that a reference to? What's the mahala? What is this illness? the malady that Egypt suffered from that Jews are protected from what is the so maybe we'll get into it more when we arrive at that but says what Hashem was promising is I will not do to you what I did to Egypt Egypt was so morally corrupt Egypt had so lost their soul and lost their that I took away any possibility of chuva. They had forfeited, they had given in. They had given up any way to return to Maka. When God gives up on us, could there be a greater Makka in the world? Then God says, "You're hopeless and helpless. I give up. I give in. You're irredeemable. You're irreparable. You cannot repent. You cannot recover. You're a lost soul and you're gone. You're done." Is there a harsher thing that a parent can say to a child? Sometimes a parent has to practice tough love. Sometimes there's an intervention. Sometimes there's an addiction and a rock bottom. But for a parent to tell a child, you're irredeemable. You're irreparable. You're you're a lost cause. I give up. I'm done. I write you off. I'm writing off my losses. That's what the said about and that's how low they had sunk. Those are the evil wicked people of our time who breached the great free state of Florida. Just last week, I published an article late last night about, you may have seen the news of four or five, six of the most notorious online anti-semmites of our time who came to Florida earlier this week, went to a club in Miami Beach and then requested and the club acquiesced and they sang and danced to a song by Kanye called Hail Hitler while they sang and danced to a genocide and annihilation, extermination of our people. And you know what the people in the club did? They were so outraged. They pulled the plug. They turned it off. They yelled and protested. They walked out. They didn't do any of that. They sang and they danced or they stood by silently while people sang and danced making signs of hail Hitler to the lyrics of Hail Hitler. That's who the Rambam's talking about. People who sunk so low, so evil, so wicked, so filled with hate, they forfeited any godliness in them. Who am I? And what am I to say that about such people? I don't think it takes any courage. And I don't think you have to be an at all to say such a thing about people whose name I don't even want to say in front of anesh because Hashem loves us. Not only the Jewish people, all of his children. All of humanity are his children. And he waits and he longs and he welcomes and he wants us to return and repair and become who we're meant to be. Except those who have sunk so low. Those who have lost, they become so morally corrupt. I am your healer. I'm your redeemer. I always believe in you. There's always a way back. It's never too late to become who you were meant to be. And therefore this of being hopeless and helpless this of being irredeemable I'll never see you that way. It's a very beautiful insight and it made me remember it reminded me when did Hashem already do that earlier? Where do we have a precedent for this in the Torah? When did Hashem wipe someone out a generation and say hopeless and helpless and irredeemable and time for a hard reboot factory reset. We're gonna try this again from the start because they are hopeless. The Dora Mabel, the generation of the flood, and Hashem did a hard reboot on the entire world. And when he did, he made a promise. And we when we see a rainbow, which is a remembrance of the promise, and it's not such a good thing. In fact, you're not supposed to tell people check out the rainbow and send a picture of a rainbow and post the rainbow. And it's hard because it's often very beautiful the rainbow. But the rain rainbow is a reminder that in that moment, Hashem says, "Oh, I want to press reboot so badly. You're almost a lost cause. You're failing so badly." But he holds back because he made a promise and a covenant. He puts a rainbow in the sky to remind us. So, Hashem earlier had a precedent. And in a sense, this is a repeat of it where Hashem says, "I've hardened heart and mit and they're so evil and they're so wicked and they're so hope hopeless." But that I've written them off I won't do to you continues. So Hashem wasn't hardening parro's heart. So that was all the he's quoting somebody else. But now he says his own interpretation and he says what did Hashem harden parro's heart to? This is the classic question. The Ramban addresses it. The Rambam addresses it. What does it mean God hardened Carl's heart? He took away his free will. If he made him a puppet, then how could he punish him? If he takes away someone's free will and they're a robot, they're pre-programmed to behave that way. How can you hold them accountable? How can you punish them later? That's not fair. That doesn't go according to the rules. That's not equitable. That's not fair. So says, "Hashem did not harden his heart from free will. Because to be alive is to have free will. To be alive, to have a soul, to have consciousness is to have the capacity to elect, to determine our own future. So what does it mean that he says I harden his heart? Whereas all these plagues and all these miracles would have made any normalminded person say, "Whoa, something unusual is going on here. Something extraordinary is happening. There's a sign for me. I got to change my behavior. I've got to wake up. I've got to live differently." Parro saw it and said, "H, I'm not impressed." Ah, could be it's natural. Could be it's a coincidence. Could be it's random. Could be my magicians and sorcerers could do it too. Could be you could explain it away. These signs and symbols that would have made any other person stop and say, "What's the message for me? I've got to radically transform." For Parro, they made no impression at all. That's what he hardened Parro's heart to. He hardened his heart specifically to not react to the macos, but his free will was still intact. Overall, his free will was still there. When it comes to the nations of the world, they have to want it. The Jewish people, he gives a little nudge. He sets us in the right direction. He makes miracles that open our eyes. And that's why there's two parts. I harden parl's heart. Come with me because I want to place these signs of mine in his midst. I want it to be undeniable. There's a curriculum. There is a lesson that I am transmitting to parro the mitzvah, the Jewish people and the world. That same power we spoke about last week. The same parro says I never heard who's God I never heard of him I never met him I don't see him I don't hear him says oh you don't know me you never heard from me or saw me let me introduce myself last week I told you look in the rabbi saks because there he elaborates very beautifully on Yehuda the the three groupings of the makos it's a three-part curriculum the god of creation and the God of the God who interacts with each of us. Three-part curriculum. If people on their own, out of their own free will, the Egyptians said, you know what? There's something here, something to this. I want to explore it. I want to see it. I want to understand it. I want to change my life and embrace God. That wasn't denied. They weren't deprived of their free will. What Hashem suspended was their free will as a reaction to these plagues. But the free will in general was still entirely in place. It's another answer to that age-old question. How could you punish parro if you took away his free will? Says the because Hashem didn't take his free will. All he took is his free will from the macos. But his free will in a general sense was still in place. And that's what power was accountable for. That's what he's punished about that he could have and should have responded it to. I want to share with you the insight of the great rashiva the great alter and on these opening of the Torah he tells us the following hashem tells Moshe to come to parro but if you notice if you look at the carefully you'll see what's the message alo come we ask every year the famous question it should say le should say go to parro why does it say bo come to parro many answers are given I find the most meaningful and powerful Because Hashem wasn't sending Moshe, you go. Hashem says, "Any mission I ask you to do, I am alongside. Any mission you have in your life, I am your partner. I am by your side. We are in it together. You're never ever alone. We're there together." So therefore, the language is precise. Hashem doesn't say to Moshe, "Lik, you go. Go. Good luck. Hope it goes well. Let me know." You know, you've now seen out of Israel and recently out of America with the capture of Madura and others that you know, you see the picture of the president, maybe his cabinet, and they're watching live on a screen because the commandos who are doing the mission, they're wearing cameras and the the president and the higherup generals, they're all watching from a distance. They said, "Leik, go. You go." I was reading Yasi Cohen's new book, the former head of the Mossad, about when they went into Iran and took all the paperwork and that mission and what it took and all these missions are extraordinary from the Ber. They're happening every day. We don't even know it. I'm sure they're happening as we speak in Iran and its insurrection. I'm sure it's encouraged. Let's say I I have no doubt they're heroic. So ordinarily, we say le you go. You have a mission. We'll be watching from here from the safety of the situation room. We'll be watching. Make some popcorn. We'll pour a nice tall Thai peach snapple and we'll follow on the big screen how your mission's going. You go risk your life. You go do it. We'll be watching from here. Hashem doesn't say le. Hashem says, "No, come bo. You're on a mission. I've asked you to do something. You have you have a role to play. Bo, I'll be there with you. Come come. I'm coming with you." It's such a beautiful, beautiful image for all of us in our lives. Whatever our mission is, wherever we're going, wherever we're meant to be, Hashem is by our side. He didn't send us and we report back to him. He didn't send us and he's watching on a big screen. He sent us and he's coming with us and he's right next to us. And so when we feel scared or anxious or alone, no, he's right there and lean on him. Not le but if you look, so he says, "Good, let's go." I harden his heart. I want to I want to be able to reveal my presence in his midst and I want you to tell this story for generations to come. But what's the mission? What's the message he's supposed to relay to parro? Hashem never tells Moshe about the Mak of Arba. I never noticed this in all my years. You look unlike the other plagues that Hashem told Moshe, "Okay, here's the next one. We got the next one on deck. Go warn about it. Here's the next one that's coming." When it comes to locusts, Hashem never tells Moshe what's coming. There are no coming attractions for he merely tells them he'll make signs in why not sobbs of explains Hashem wanted to realize that the makos were intended to benefit them to demonstrate. He left it to Moshe to choose whichever Makkah he thought was best. He says Moshe here's a smorg of macos. Here's my table of contents. Here are the options. Here are the options. Moshe, you choose the Makkah. And Moshe, not Hashem. Isn't this wild? Moshe, you see, you come to the para class every week, you're going to hear something you never knew. You say, "I get skipped this week, Bo." Not only do I hear it every week on paras, then I live Pesak, then I go to the seder twice. I get skipped this week. Don't skip any week. Not because of me. I don't say anything original, but I share with you what I find. And it's often a radically different way of looking at the things that we've heard our whole life. So here says the reason it doesn't spell out the Mak of Arab is because Hashem never told Moshe it was coming. He said to Moshe, you choose. There's a world of plagues that you could bring and give. You could give a 10-minute WhatsApp voice note. You could give That's also a plague. You could have you could have to go to Orlando for yeshiva week and stand on lines and Disney. There's all kinds of plagues you choose. You choose. You could colonoscopy prep. There's all kinds of plagues that you could choose. And what did And what did Moshe choose? He chose arba. Now why did he choose arba? Says the rebu. You know why he chose arba? It was mida mida. Who can come up with why was it mida mida? When Parro enslaved the Jewish people, he did. So I left that one. He could have chosen the Egyptians all have to eat always for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Kale. Just giving you my list of macos. What would be considered what would be considered macos? Okay. Anyway, back to the regular schedule program. So Moshe got to choose the next Makkah. And he chooses the Mak of Arab, which is locust. And he does so because it's mid mid. He is giving measure for measure. He is giving the Egyptians back in their face what they tried to do. Why is mida? When parro enslaved the Jewish people and he tried to prevent them from multiplying. What word does the Torah use? Pener. So Moshe chose locust as a symbol of exponential growth. the multiplication, the locust, the word itself, arb is like yerba. The zoresh tells us that all the makos were meant to afflict the Egyptians and simultaneously while they afflicted the Egyptians, they healed the Jewish people. So Moshe chose Arab because while it attacked the Egyptians with its multitudes, at the same time it healed the Jewish people because what they were prevented from pier, it now opened up the world to unlimited growth to unlimited growth. That's what the rebun says. OT adds he expands on it and he says grasshoppers Mosha wanted to give a gift to because the tells proverbs there is no king of the locusts. They go out in a single swarm the wis of all men in Mish notes he also knew the animal kingdom the animal world even knew how to communicate with all of animals and he observed you'll have to learn mish to understand its context but observes they have no king they don't have a leader a general a king they swarm a single swarm the power of the locust is the swarm a swarm is not just a group of individuals it's a unit a single locust can be crushed under your foot but what happens when they swarm together when they attack as a swarm when they come as a unit then nothing can stand in their way so parro decreed against Israel lo do not continue says of the love the word loan isifa parro forbade ben is from coming together no aifa and is a gathering a sud aim a bar mitzvah an anniversary a major birthday a gather said lo you cannot gather bene heal them from this terrible decree how did he heal them because he brought ar locusts he restored the ability to gather he gave back the power of a unit of a swarm of a ci what forms an assembly This is not about gathering from mundane purposes. It's about connecting for meaning for purpose to be a cl to be at seabore. So, Moshe chose it. You learn something new. Hashem never tells them what's coming because he didn't command Arba. He told Moshe, "You choose." And what did Moshe choose? From all the options I gave, they didn't bother him. He chose Arba. And he chose Arba. Why? because par was afraid you would multiply the have no king they come in a swarm a swarm is at he was not only punishing the Egyptians but he was signaling to the Jewish people it's safe to gather again and our strength comes in our unity our strength comes in gathering in being a kahila in being united in being together in being one you can't compare listening to the para class streaming it online or listening to it later and If you can't come in person, certainly that's better than nothing. But being in a room and feeling the energy and laughing and crying and responding and being inspired, all of us together, that's a that's a swarm. That's a unit. We're together. And then he continues, skip these, they cover the land. That's how many they were. They were everywhere. They're eating everything. And they fill your house. The house of all your servants. The house of all of Egypt. House of all of Egypt. I lost the place. Nobody saw this before. Such as your fathers. Your grandfathers have never seen such a thing from the day they came onto the earth until this day. And he turned. Moshe turned. He turned and he left. Why does the mention parro here come the Arab and they're going to be everywhere and they're going to eat everything and they're going to be so covering the land you won't even be able to see the land and this is something you've never seen your parents have never seen. Yaba and Yazed have never seen nobody. Who cares about your ancestors? All power cares about is right now the impact in the here and now. Why is Mo Moshe here invoking you haven't seen it? grandparents didn't see it great-grandparents. What are we going back in time to ancestors for says this is yours tonight? I believe it's Thursday night Friday says the holy during the mos hashem brought the mitsim ancestors to life. It's an amazing. Here's number two thing you never heard before in your life. During the makos, you really want to punish someone, you don't only make their life miserable. You bring back all their ancestors to watch a witness how bad they are and how much they need to be punished. The opposite of nas. The exact opposite of nas. Say parro come here mom and dad of parro. Come here saba and saf of parro. Come here great grandparents of parro. I want you to see now your son, your grandson, your great-grandson himself wrote him off, hardened his heart. He's gone. Irredeemable, irreparable, no repentance possible. Come. Part of the punishment is we all know the designed a world that when we give to those before us, there's no greater joy in the world. And when we disappoint and fail the people who came before us, there's nothing more painful in the world. So part of the punishment to parro was that his ancestors came back to life [snorts] who would see how parro failed them. Conversely, conversely said the sasites coming up when there's a yishima we have a when a Jew makes a sim Hashem brings their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents back to life. They're part of the bala. Come, come, you're here. There's a zor that says it explicitly. It's not just a nice thing that rabbis are trained to say under the those who are here physically and those who are from the next world are down here for the there's no like playbook you know press play on speech number 37 under the even who are no longer physically here but there the zor says it explicitly so much so that we have a tradition I went a couple years ago my grandparents I buried in Elizabeth and I stopped flew into Newark I stopped to see them and on top of my grandparents matzva was a pile like who left papers on top of the matzva of my grandparents. You know, all my cousins in Lakewood, every time they made a simash, they make many. They go to the cemetery and on top of the mata, they put an invitation. Now, now that we've moved to the evite, I don't know what you do. I don't know. I don't know how you add your ancestors to I don't know what their email address is, you know, on on the evite. Print out the bring it to the cemetery and put it on the mata because it's real. This is not some hebi. This is not just a rabbi speech under says the is what we believe if it's true that during the mos the Egyptian ancestors that's why the that's why in the that's why it says Moshe tells them explicitly and if you don't believe me ask them because they're here your parents your grandparents your great-grandparents they're all here brought them back to life Hashem brought them to see how miserable lowlife reject isvar you are how much he's punishing you and they're all here to see it. It's the opposite of compounding your pain is knowing what a disappointment and what a failure you are to all the people who came before you and that's true for our enemy. He brings them back says for us for the Jewish people for our all the ancestors come back and they and it's they're not just there to witness the sim says the says the presence of the is the connection between the obos and the bonim the merit of the ancestors lends deep strength to the children. How do we get to the simka? Why did we arrive here? Why are we celebrating? Why do we consider it a sim? Why is a bar mitzvah mitzvah? Why is this wedding? Why are these? Why is this? Why are we doing these things in this? Because of who came before us. Because of who inspire us. Because who set us on this path? That's who we are and why we're here. So you're not just coming as spectators. You're not just coming to sit in the bleachers. You're not the muppets looking down offering commentary on everything that's happening. You're coming because it's in your merit. It's in your That's why you're here. We walk in the ways of the of us. We walk in the ways of the of us. That's what it's really all all about. So [clears throat] amazing. Why does the puss say par's parents grandparents great-grandparents? Because they came to see the punishment. And conversely, our grandparents, parents, great-grandparents, they come to see the reward, to see and to celebrate, and to be part of the holy sick. Let's go back the second again. Here we have the word tisappair. We're talking about the word tisapper. Our first Rabbi Saxs of the day, Rabbi Sax, Rabbi Sax says the following. Paras Bo introduces the institution of storytelling. Storytelling this is very powerful pedagogic idea. If you want to transmit something, if you want others to hear it, receive it, absorb it, be transformed by it, then you tell it in a story. I can tell you as a rabbi, the most powerful means of communication is not the it's the story. It's the story. Watch any TED talk and you'll see they're trained. They're scripted that they're all about. They open with a story. The power of the story to inspire. It's all about It's all about the story. It's all about the story. I forgot who said it, you know, about a rabbi. If if you told a great uh if you told a great joke, you can't use that joke again for for three years. If you told a great story, you can't use the story again for five years. You told a great Torah, you could repeat it in the same Torah. Nobody will notice. Nobody will notice. Why is that? That Torah was nice. Maybe they hold on to it for a couple minutes. By an hour from now is the partial was great this week. The rabbi said a great vtora from so and so. What was it? I don't remember. But it was great. It was great. But the story, you'll tell the story verbatim. Names, places, dates. You'll remember every part of it. The power of a story. It paints an imagery. I can tell you in fundraising. Most powerful thing is a story. Let me tell you a story that if you give, we'll have the ability more people like the little boy, the girl, like the world we changed, like the life we impacted. The power of a story. Where does that come from? Pashesbo the institution of storytelling is a fundamental religious duty. Recalling and reenacting the events of the Exodus every year in particular making children central to the story. If we are the story we tell about ourselves and as long as we never lose the story we never lose our identity. Why do we have a mitzvah? We're obsessed with this story. We're obsessed with it. That's what my kids would say. Aba why are you so obsessed with? We're obsessed with this story. Every day we remember leaving Egypt. Every Shabas commemorates leaving Egypt. Pes we tell the story explicitly every night with schma we remember we are obsessed with the story why because the story is synonymous with our identity as long as we know and tell the story we know who we are where we came from and where we are going we can't forget the story cultures are shaped by the range of stories to which they give rise and Rabbi Sax elaborates but I want to bring you to lantair and that's why the Torah explicitly tells us Hashem says I now revealing why why why such pomp and circumstance why didn't he 10 plagues like Hashem is flexing showing off a little bit here he could have done it with one if Hashem wanted he could have liberated us emancipated us redeemed us we could have been out with one he had to flex okay we get it we got it controlled the world he created the world we get it 10 plagues right by sax for the first time the full significance of the plagues is made clear it's not limited to Egypt or to that time that there exists a power greater than the mightiest empire in the ancient world is a proposition to have resonance far beyond the boundaries of Egypt. And in our puzzle, we learn it will provide a lesson beyond its time. It would be a story to be handed on across the generations as it has been from the days of Moshe until today. Those who forget how freedom was won eventually lose it. Those who lived through these events died long ago, but their story never will. That was part of the divine plan from the outset to tell a story about liberation of slaves that would lead eventually to a civilization based on freedom, justice, and human rights. Because we know and remember and invoke and tell that story over and over and over, we also know that the story continues. We also know that we're the next chapter in it. So, you look around this world, and we need to hear this so so much right now. You look around that nightclub. Don't literally look around, but you look around that story in that nightclub from this week. And you look around what's happening with podcasters and politicians, and you look around that even the best friends Israel and the Jewish people have ever had have had in a long time are now welcoming bizarrely people into the White House and having lunch with those who seek our demise, adding to peace groups, those who are coordinating our elimination. And you say, "Who's left? Even our friends. I can't make heads or tails of what they're doing." And it feels hopeless and helpless. and maybe it's coming to an end and then you say, "No, this story continues." It looked like that many, many, many times before. That's how the Jews in Egypt felt. And Hashem did all this to show us and tell us that our story is far from over and the next chapters are being written. And when you're ready to give up, just read and tell the story. That's the we've shared many times an inside of says if you finish and begin right away what you're promised you get to see into Ghana Eden. Really such a big deal. Is that so hard to do? You didn't stop and have a conversation between Gal and your three steps forward in the Amida. You deserve such a reward for that. That's so impressive. You didn't go outside and have a coffee between Gal is and the Amida for that. you to deserve such a reward. Says the idea of isra means God is the redeemer in the past and now I take my three steps forward and I ask for the things I need in the future. How do I know where do I gain the confidence and clarity? Why should I believe that he can answer and provide what I need now? Because gal is then if he answered then he can and will answer now. And it's with that strength, with that courage, with that clarity, with that conviction, we take our three steps forward and we begin our Amida. So this story, this is a story that we tell and storytelling is a religious duty. And don't think that when the Reb interrupts the Shir to tell a story, get back to why don't think in a dr when you tell a story, ah, he's just not he doesn't have enough to he went to the story. Storytelling is a religious duty and telling our story to our children is critical. Critical stories. Stories by the way proven by science or research. Not only the story of our success, the stories of our failures, the oscillating stories of our ups and downs. And when you share that story, you give strength to our children when they're going through a hard time. When they wonder where's their way out, how will they get out of their mine? Say, you know, I used to be like you. I once struggled in school. I struggled with friends. I struggled in my job. I struggled in a relationship. Don't manufacture make up stories. But I think all of us have real ones to tell. And when we tell them and we tell the good, the bad, and the ugly of them, we give strength. We give strength to those who need to hear them. That's part of the religious experience that is described itself. Lantis. So back to Pikv, we said that Moshe tells parro wah boy am I going to smack you around. I get to choose this plague, Arba. And I choose Arba, and it's going to cover the whole land, and you won't even see the land. And it's something the likes of which you never saw, your parents never saw, your grandparents saw, your great-grandparents never saw. And he finishes, and I love this image. Moshe gives this little speech. Moshe, the Moshe, the person who says, "I don't have the power of speech, delivers an incredibly powerful speech." And then this is the original mic drop. He tells parro, parro, I'm going to smack you around. My choice, my call. Hashem, lift this one up to me. I choose. You won't be able to even see the land. It's going to eat everything in sight. This is something you, your parents, your grandparents, your great parents never saw. Mic drop. He turns. He turns and he leaves. Sax has an amazing insight. And I love it when para perspectives and sitter snippets come together. There are few greater joys in the world than when Hashem brings them together. So you say what does para and sitter snippets have to do? Writes rabbi saxs it is one of the customs of absolute rulers. One does not turn their back on them. You leave still facing them bowing and walking backwards. You can't turn out of the oval office. You don't turn your back and walk out. You don't leave a king and turn your back and walk out. You walk back. You bow. You walk backwards and you exit with a little bit reverence, respect, honor. The fact that Moshe turned and exited meant he was not obeying this protocol. And by implication, showing he believed that power's authority no longer commanded in one respect. For the first time in the next P, Par's own officials will tell him his policy has failed. Egypt is being destroyed. Much better let the people leave than to allow their succession of disasters to continue. Tragically, tyrants are held captive by their hate, and they lead their own people to destruction. In the closing stages of the Second World War, Hitler diverted trains from the Russian front in order to accelerate the transportation of Jews to Ashvitz. He endangered his own war efforts for the sake of continuing his genocidal program against the Jews. This was evil for evil's sake. The law of history articulated in this chapter continues to hold true. Hate destroys the hater. Evil has two faces. The first turn towards the outside is what it does to the victim. The second turn within is what it does to the perpetrator. Evil traps the evildoer in its mesh. Slowly but surely, he or she loses freedom and becomes not evil's master, but its slave. Powerful. You're seeing it unfold right now in Iran. Powerful people in their hate will bring about their own demise, sabotage their own future, accelerate their own destruction. The hate originates outward and ends up destroying inward themselves. And that's what happens here. How do parro's advisers know that it's time to give up on parro? Time to impeach him, time to take him down, that parro should no longer be in charge. Where do they get the courage to confront him? Until now, they're living in fear of him. And now they have the courage to tell him that your policy has failed. Let the people go. It's enough already. Why? because of because Moshe Moshe violated protocol turned around and showed his back to parro. When do you do that? When you're not worried, there'll be a consequence. When you feel you're on top of the world when the regime is about to be toppled and you could turn your back and walk away. What does that have to do with sitter snippets? In s snippets, we're learning we're up to the very last line of the Amida O shalom. The three steps that we take backwards. The gumar says if you don't take three steps back at the end of the gumar and yuma if you don't take the three steps back properly which is what we're learning what is properly start with your left foot or your right foot big steps or small steps full steps or half steps do you bow first to your left or to your right do you bow and then take the steps back or take the steps back and then bow do you say while you're walking back or first walk back and then say you thought you knew what to do but right now you're asking yourself you don't even remember what you do and if you're doing it That's why we're learning it together. So you can listen to sitter snippets. But we said why do we do this shalom? What does the mean that if you don't do it and you don't do it properly, it's as if you didn't even say the really I just spent a good four, five, six minutes saying the amida, turning to Hashem, surrendering to him for all my needs and if I don't say it properly, it's like I didn't say it. So he said the answer is when you walk away with humility and modesty and humbly and the recognition I need you and I humbly ask you and please help me then Hashem listens. But if you turn your back on Hashem and you just say this was just on my checklist of things. Got to go to work, got to go to the doctor, got to do all the things I do and I had to say this thing, this template, this script that's in this book to you and now I turn my back and I leave. So then it undoes everything that you said. Everything's about the way that you leave. How do you walk away from the kotel or the kosell, whichever one you went to? How do you walk away? Our tradition, our min is that we don't turn our back. We walk back. We walk back. Hashem, it kills me. I hate to have to leave. I had a visit. I'm coming. I'm coming back again, but we walk away. We don't turn our back. Rafner, I was told this. I never saw it. Supposedly had a button under his desk that released the door in his office. And if a Talmud turned their back, the door stayed lock. It was only when a Talmud walked away properly. Not because but it was he was trying to communicate to Torah the honor to Torah. The proper way that you take leave of a rashiva of a Rebi of a there's a proper way. So we leave by taking three steps back and there's a protocol. We learn that the king of kings from the proper protocol when you leave a king and Moshe for the first time is vayan he's not following protocol he feels no longer bound by protocol this parro has lost his power he's lost his prominence his prestige he's no longer the parro who demands that honor and respect now he has Moshe feels of he can turn his back and when the advisers see uh oh this is the beginning of the end when they're not even treating you like the king when they're no longer observing protocol. This is the beginning of the end. You've lost our confidence. It's a vote of no confidence. Need to take parro and his government down because his policies are a failure. And that's what you see now unfold. The penultimate plague. I say that just because I love that word penultimate is the plague of the ninth plague is darkness. Chapter 10 verse 21 top of page 344 God tells Moshe stretch forth your hand towards the heavens and there will be darkness on the land of Egypt and the darkness this darkness is so deep so thick the darkness is tangible there was such a thick darkness for three days. The darkness was so thick you couldn't even see someone standing right next to you for three days. Total eclipse for three days. And this plague that affected the Egyptians had no impact. There was immunity for the Jewish people. There was light in all their dwelling places. And parro calls motion. He says, "That's it. Go wherever you need to go. Take whatever you need to take." Rabbi Saxs talks on the plague of darkness. The ninth plague seems out of sequence. So far there have been eight plagues and they become steadily more serious. You know how to remember that there's three plagues in bow bay and olive. Two and one is three. Three plagues in bahos and so the penultimate the ninth plague of seems out of sequence. They've been steadily becoming more serious. The first two seem more like omens than anything else. Third and fourth caused worry, not crisis. The fifth affected animals, not human beings. The sixth boils was again a discomfort, no longer an external issue, but a bodily affliction. Seventh and eighth destroyed Egyptians grain grain, which is sustenance. Now there's no food. Still to come is the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn. So we would expect the ninth plague. In between the eighth and the 10th, if we're increasing in the intensity and severity, you'd think the ninth would be a whopper. But instead, what is it? A blackout. We've lived through blackouts. Not pleasant, not fun. You manage, you navigate. And that's the ninth plague. Doesn't take human life. It seems like it's anticlimactic. Darkness is a nuisance, but no more. The answer lies in a line from Denu says, "Rabbi Saxs, the song we sing in the Hagada. If Hashem had executed judgment against them, the Mitrim, but had not done so against their gods, it would have been sufficient. Not all the plagues are directed against the Egyptians. Some are intended to show them the powerlessness of their gods in which they believed. We saw this the first two, right? Where' they struck the Nile which is exactly the god of the Egyptians. Unlike all the other plagues, the significance of the tenants disclosed to Moshe. Talparo Israel is my son, my firstborn and so on. 10th is to be enactment of retribution, justice. The first nine are a prelude. We now understand the significance of the ninth and this is the insight I wanted to share from with you from saxs kosh is significant it's not just a blackout the greatest god in the Egyptian pantheos was ra the sun guide ra the name of the pharaoh often associated with the exodus rams I mean means as we've seen mees son of rah ramsees is messes son of ram's Egypt so its people believe was ruled by the sun its human ruler was semi- divine, the child of the sun god. In the beginning of time, according to Egyptian myth, the sun god ruled together with nun, the pre the primeval waters. Eventually, there were many deities. Rah then created human beings from his tears. Seeing, however, they were deceitful, he sent the goddess Hathord to destroy them. Only a few survived. The obliteration of the sun in the ninth plague signals that there is a power greater than Rah. Yet this signified less the power of God over the sun than rejection by God of a civilization that turned one man into an absolute ruler. When God tells Moshe to tell parro that bene they're my firstborn, he is saying I am the God who cares for his children, not one who kills his children. The ninth plague is a divine act of communication that says there's not only physical darkness but also moral darkness. The best test of a civilization is to see how it treats children, its own, and others. That is Rabbi Saxosh is significant. It's an attack not on the land, not on the animals, not discomfort on the Egyptians, but it's a takedown of the Egyptian god. If the Egyptian god is the sun, eclipsing the sun and bringing darkness is a statement of taking down the Egyptian god. That is Rabbi Saxs. Others give other interpretations here to what it means. So Rashi tells us that this sun, this darkness is vay. It was doubled and redoubled and thick. So much so it had mamash. It has substance. It was some say it was cataract. This was opthalmological. [snorts] This happened in their eyes. The darkness three days everybody went blind. Everybody got macular degeneration. Everybody needed cataract surgery. Everybody for three days couldn't see anything. It wasn't in an atmosphere. And that's why the Jewish people still had plenty of light. It was in the it was in the eyes of the Egyptians first says what was beautiful insight is to itself tells us no one could see another nor could anyone move from their place for three days. You know what the darkness of Egypt is? When you can't even see another. When a person's life is so self- conssumed, so egocentric, when a person is so absorbed with themselves, they're living in darkness. They're living in darkness. It's a very dark existence. It's a dark, dark place. We even use that in our vernacular. We describe someone's in a dark place. Someone who's so consumed, so self-absorbed, who can't even see others is living in darkness. Living in darkness. And the Jewish people were spared this darkness. We had light. The light that came. So if the according to the if the darkness is you couldn't even see another then what was the light that the Jewish people still had it was the light of caring about one another and we know medish tells us that it was merit it was the Jewish people continued to do loving kindness for one another maybe they had lost so much of their way and they had been so affected and assimilated with the Egyptians in many ways but loving kindness care and concern for others they kept that's light. So if you're feeling that you're in the darkness, the answer is to see others. And the way to step out into the light is to care and concern to notice other people. And this too has been proven by research. Research today says that people who suffer and struggle from depression should volunteer. Depression is equated with darkness. Somebody's in a bad place, in a dark place, in a depressed place. And among the treatment is volunteer, give, do something good for another. I saw a video circulate. I'll try to put it in the para last week. I told you about Rabbi Pelichowski's video. I put it in the para group. If you don't belong to the para WhatsApp groups, you're missing bonus material. You're missing a schedule. You're missing more. So, make sure you join the WhatsApp groups. So, I saw a video somebody walked around Israel and they went up to random people and they said, "Either I give you 100 Czecho or I give 200 Czecho to someone else." And 100% of the people asked said, "Give the 200 Czecho to somebody else." It was unbelievable. the neighborhood he was in and the reaction of the people assume it wasn't scripted and to see it was absolutely incredible. You see people stop they think and they realize double the amount and someone else gets it. Why? Because it's more joyous and more joyful to care about another than to care about ourselves. That's what it means to step out into the light. To be consumed with ourselves is dark is to be in a dark place and to care and see and be concerned for another. I love to quote the ravat almost at almost at see how I got there. So the ram says if you have a limited amount of money and you could spend it either on spend it on you could either give it to the poor or have more elaborate impressive or have a fancier sudas purum. Where should you put the money? Give it to the poor. So that's predictable. You knew the Rambam was going to answer that but you thought the reason was because you should care about the poor. And listen to what the Rambam writes. He says, "You know why if you have limited money, you should spend more on giving it to others? Because after all, the mitzvah of Purum is to be happy. And nothing will give you more happiness than giving to others. You think that the happiness will be a fancier bottle of wine, a big meatboard, the happiness is going to come because you have impressive flesh and steak and suda. You think your happiness is going to come from impressing people with just how elaborate your was this year?" No. The more the more you give to others, the happier you will be. And since the holiday is all about happiness, give more to others. And people who don't know the joy of giving and there are many I feel bad and I feel sad. I do a lot of fundraising. We just had our fundraiser for our Jewish education scholarship fund and Tom said need money very badly. And we're going to be participating in the communitywide hats campaign. How many people here have called that Hatutala hotline since it opened the last few years and lives have been saved or improved because someone familiar came and helped? Hatella needs our help and we're going to be we do a lot of fundraising and a lot of people say no and I feel bad. My heart breaks not for me because we have more work to do but for them. If you don't know the joy of giving then you're you're living under a dark cloud and when you understand the happiness that comes from caring about others you stepped out into the light. So says the do you know the severity? It is a severe plague. The penultimate plague is severe. You know why? Because to live in a place of to live in a way that you can't see others, that's dark. That's a plague. And the Jewish people to live in a place of light is to build a community around to build a community around volunteering or to build a community around giving to build a community around caring. Chapter 12 verse 28 skipping all the way page 356 Moshe at the core and a long part of our para is the carbon pes set aside the animal four days before it's slaughtered and then we the animal the carbon sprinkle the blood on the doorway you have to eat the carbon pes you can't leave the house there's a lot here much of the para is carbon pes and The carbon, the charge and command. This section of PES ends with the words. So the Jewish people went and did as Hashem commanded Moshon came. As was commanded, thus so did they do. So did they do. This is somewhat peculiar. Rashi says says Rashi, what are you talking about? When did this when did Hashem tell Moshe? When did Moshe tell the people bring a carbon pak and the whole formula prescription for the carbon p for the sacrifice? When did he tell him? Before the 10th plague. And when did they do it? They hadn't done it yet. So how can you say did they do it already? The command was already given from Wow, what a rashi. What a rashi. When the Jewish people were asked to do it, even though the command came long before they were capable of fulfilling it, because of their reaction, because of their response when they were asked to do it, it's as if they already did it. It's as if they already did it. When my wife says, "I'm taking the kids to Orlando for a few days, and here are the things to do. The garbage is going to need to be taken out. Got to meet the exterminator who's coming. Don't forget to take care of this thing. Don't forget the other thing. You could say, "Okay, whatever. Just text me. Remind me. Tell me later." So that does not get a kasu. But if you say, "Absolutely. I'm on it. I got it. Consider it done. I'm so glad you asked me to do it. I feel honored and privileged. Frankly, I was hoping you were going to ask before you left." So when a person responds with enthusiasm and energy, when a person responds with that level of commitment and conviction, then it's already says it's as if you did it already, right? You know, there are different ways that you can say I'm in. I got it. You could take upon yourself something and you forget. 10 minutes later, you forget you ever said you'd do it. But you could sometimes say, "Yes, I got it. I'm in it. I'm on it in such a way that there is no doubt. There is complete certainty that you're going to fulfill it and you're going to complete it." And this is tells us the following. A person had a plan, a mitzvah I was going to do and then something happened. So someone goes to on vacation, yes week, and they say, "I'm going to go to minion. I charted it all out. I saw that amazing flyer BRS produced all the minyanam and the shila cafe and all the shuram and the Wi-Fi and the playground and the I'm going to BRS and they were mapped it out timing which minion had the whole plan and they wake up in the morning they start the car the car doesn't start and they're not walking distance from the minion they're staying far away says I count that you went to minion but I never got I didn't answer kadesh and kadusha. I didn't do it in a minion. What do you mean? Hashem counts it like I made minion. Because the answer is if a person takes something upon themselves with such strength, such enthusiasm, such energy, such conviction, and something else beyond their control prevented them from doing it, Hashem says, as far as I'm concerned, you're good to go. You're good to go. So, let's say something happened with the garbage. You weren't able to take it out, but the way you responded to your wife with joy, with enthusiasm, and you meant it, and you meant it. I got it. I want you to enjoy. Don't worry about it. I know it's important to you. I know you want to come home to empty garbage cans. I got it. And then then us. And then something happened and you couldn't do it. She knows you meant it. Knows that we mean it. And that's the how could you do actions that you didn't learn what to do? and answers because sometimes even without knowing exactly what to do before it's spelled out here are the details but the energy the enthusiasm the response the reaction we have when someone says could you please do when Hashem says I've got a mitzvah for you how do we react how do we hear how do we feel everything needs that reaction And that you see from this para that even though the commandment for the carbon pesak came long before they fulfilled it, the Torah says they did exactly what was told. Maybe they did what exactly was told. They're not going to do it till later. No, no, no. But you see from the way they reacted, you see from the way that they accepted it that they were all in. And since they were all in, even if something would happen later, they couldn't do it. Hashem treats it as if it's done. This is our attitude towards Torah and mitzvah. Ash is should hear the mitzvah calling your name. We say every morning in ding. Wow. You say it. We didn't know what it meant. Snippets. We covered it many moons ago. But to do you know the mitzvah there's something to listen to. They're calling your name. A mitzvah is calling your name. And the chance and the opportunity to go do it and fulfill it. It's not something you should be reluctant or hesitant or feel like a burden or be miserable or try to get out of. But when someone there's a mitzvah calling your name, you say, "I'm in. I got it. I can't wait for it. I'm all over it. I'm all over it. To be the way we accept, the way we receive, the way we're so writes shabas. You can't have Shabas without Shabas. Chuva begins with a tinus. If a person is fasting, they have to tus. They have to make a before. All good things in life are all about the cabala. You have to make a cabala. Think about cababala. Shabas. Shabas doesn't just descend upon you. Shabas doesn't smack you in the face person properly. This is turn Friday into Shabas here a little bit. Maybe we'll do this on Friday. You have to have a cabal. You know, we'll save this and do this on. You have to have a cabal of Shabas. You have to be ma not oh shabas again. I gotta cook again. Here we go again. It's another shabas. No, it's shabas. I'm enthusiastic. I'm energized. I'm excited. I feel privileged. I feel honored. It's a cabala. All good things have to happen and they only happen when we do them with a sense of kabala. So for the last two years I wanted to get to the end of the parades and I have the notes of exact and now this will be the third year in a row that I'm not getting to it. So para's bow next year all of us please go in your but wherever we are next year when we're learning para's bow together please remind me start with kadesh start with the very end of the para and then come back let's do one more we'll end with one more hold on one more second little bonus giml this is a cute little this is prep for the seder hope you've been taking notes because I'm giving you all your Torah for the pesah Torah tells us chapter 13 verse8 page tell your children on that day it is because of this that acted on my behalf when we left what's on that day who says the vision is tell your children you know what's good today every day is How is every day good? Because you woke up because you're alive. It's a good day. Today's a good day because you're here. Every day that you're alive is a good day. What should you tell your children? I'll end with this. What should you tell your children? Don't worry about tomorrow. All you have is today. Live today. Stop worrying. Stop being anxious. Stop being afraid of tomorrow. What's the What is it you should tell your children? Embrace today. Many people embrace the present because they're so worried about the future. Don't forfeit the present. Embrace the present. What should you tell your children? Tell them. So on this very good day, if you're here, our global de global is not taking place until later for a few weeks, but there's a preview already to it. The tickets for our incredible raffle. If you're here in person, do not leave. We may block the door and not let you leave until you do your part. If you're a BRS member, you're already doing your part. If you're a nonBRS member and you enjoy this parish here, if it enriches your life at all, if you bring it to the very to the shabas table, how could you not help us do more? So please do your part. Thank you everyone. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy. See you next time.