Relatable Haggadah Tidbits for the Seder Night - Part 2 - Rabbi Meyer Bodner

Okay, shalom. Welcome everybody to Tuesdays with Torah. Thank you so much for joining. Tonight's share is um dedicated and sponsored by which is called Hagada Unlocked Relatable Tidbits to Share Your Seder number two because we had last week number one and it pays to listen to it because you want to come prepared to your seder and come with what to say. A few nice things will enhance the seder. Um Lilish Tuk Ya Ben hello Ben they should have shaluish I'm sorry okay I'm looking to see who sponsored it doesn't even say I guess it's anonymous couple um a few people right that uh so they that aliyah should be a military and all of us there should be no more sicknesses or death in the family in the whole Israel as well. Okay. So, let's continue on. I heard a beautiful thing. We start off the seder. So, whoever is listening here, you could take a pen and paper just jot down. I said last week, sometimes you could hear a nice thing, a nice story, a nice shot that you enjoy and then you forget. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It was about It was about yakat. It was about like uh it was about uh why we wash our hands and you write down a little thing then um you remember it and it's a beautiful thing. So it's a strange one of the strange things is we wash we wash without making a bra and then we say so actually brings down and says fine that's good but still why pick that why don't instead of I guarantee you they're going to they're going to ask much more if you learn how to go on your chair with your head and your feet up and zies have to do it also. I could do it. I I'll work on it. But I can do it. Okay. And kick your feet back and forth. Definitely they're going to ask more. So there's got to be reasons other reasons why these things happen. So a beautiful uh ver I heard from um seminary sent my daughter to seminary in spend a lot of money on it. So you want to come back with something. So my sim came back with a beautiful uh the hair and and that is as follows. It's that is that you know that before you go davin you wash your hands. There's a there is a uh you want to come clean if unless you know that you didn't touch anything but usually you're supposed to wash your hands are very mock on it. We should also be mak on it before you d your hands have to be and you don't make a bra. The seder is the same thing. The seder is a form of when we're giving gratitude to the and we're telling him come what are we asking? asking their let us out of our our mitz let us out let us have our own gulah bring us into Israel bring us through the the gulus and let the skull stop and let's go into let's have our second our second coming of of of and a final one so it's a so just like a we wash our hands a simple I don't know it's emis you wash our hands for we wash our hands before the seder And of course they're going to ask why, but now we have a terrorist for the ch children. Okay. Um, so I saw in newer from Spiro he says um I mentioned the Shabas whoever was here. Shabas we mentioned about why now a little bit late guys. Don't you hate when people invite you on Shabas day you know. Oh, you have a place to eat chabas night, you know. So, so it's like the say this is even worse. I'm sitting down by the by the table and I'm inviting. So, he said a beautiful dah. He said a story first to bring this home. Okay. The story was true story, famous story is that um you young guys don't know about the Vietnam war. It was a terrible war. We lost miserably just like we lost just like Israel lost in in in the Gaza. We lost miserably there. Um, we lost miserably in in uh in Vietnam. The last last holding city was Saigon. And when they evacuated, the last soldiers, the last army base was in Saigon. They got all the American soldiers out. They said, "We're evacuating. We're leaving. We're we're uh not coming back." And obviously, whoever was stuck there is at the mercy of the Vietnamese. And they were not very kind and they um and so they said to the they made an announcement the soldiers everybody be at uh the Tan Circle that's a field and the there's going to be uh you know 12 helicopters that that are are going to be coming and lift relifting only for an hour. We're we're airlifting our troops away. Be there or be square or be dead. Anyway, there's um the last they they were doing this for airlifting and the last crew they were uh they were looking to see if anybody's there and all the soldiers were gone and from the distance they see somebody calling out, "Wait, wait." And they weren't running. They said, "Okay, come. It's late. They they know about us. They're going to they're they're coming to attack." And the soldier was still going slow. Was walking slow. He come on. He said, "No, no, wait. Wait." And of course they waited. And when they saw a little bit closer, they saw that it was a soldier. Didn't look very well. Looked like every step was difficult. Well, didn't look very healthy and didn't look very robust at this point. And the soldier was screaming, "Wait, wait for me. Wait for me. Don't leave. I'm coming. I'm coming fast as I can." They said, "Fast. I'm going as fast as I can." But as bad as this soldier was was even worse, the fact is what he had on his back. See strapped to his back across his shoulders was another soldier but the soldier was much bigger than him and he was the soldier was obviously Sam Kamatos and he's and he's going running with the soldier. So there were people there and even Vietnamese people were screaming at him drop the guy drop him and come save your life. They're they're not going to they're not going to wait if they're under attack. you still have a quarter of a mile to get there. Drop the guy. You can't both make it. Run to the helicopters and get out of here. Nothing you could do. He said, "No, I'm not." And he kept on walking and they were waiting and they they were being surrounded. And um finally they made it with each step. They made it to the helicopter. They air they they airlifted this uh the first the guy up into the helicopter. They were already up in the air with the basket on on on the bottom. The guy there, he put he put the guy in. They airlifted them up. They came back down with the second guy and they they both made it. And they asked in the helicopter, they asked this guy, "How did you do it? How did you carry that guy? Wasn't he heavy?" And the famous expression was, "He ain't heavy. He's my brother." And they actually made a postage stamp out of that Saigon last the last Saigon soldier that was rescued. And they um that was a a stamp forever. Whatever. Yeah, it's a song also a movie, a Broadway show, whatever. But the point is is that is that you see that was his brother. His brother he risked his life and he had this heavy load and he was in very bad shape. you know damaged but he was enough that he walked and he pushed himself to go. So telling us that in the creation of the Jewish nation we're sitting here by the sedar. You have to realize one of our redeeming facts is that we were all together and that's why we were saved is that we were the 49th but we treated and we realized that we were all brothers and the fact that we're saying it's not it's not for somebody else it's for you it's for us deciding you know what he ain't heavy he's my brother from now on I'm going to take care of somebody. Somebody is not too pleasant at my table. I'm going to invite them over. I don't care. It's my brother. Just like I would have my brother. I do whatever for my brother. I'm going to do for and that's the declaration that that's how we start the seder is to make up the same way says before you start ding in the morning what are you supposed to say? David Fish knows what no before that even is that it's a even you're supposed to say yeah I love everybody and that's a declaration and that's the beautiful beautiful never heard this before is that it's not a actual invitation you you really should invite beforehand but you should you should declare it okay questions so Ellie May had story. He said that when he was a young bak in yeshiva he um no I'm sorry it was somebody from Elli Mayor block he was he was a bak in yeshiva and that's where it was and he used to come down the steps and after she and who was a great big Russa would ask this young bakar could you tell me um how is she today he says very good like the rabbis asking him how shar is he you have any questions? So the first time he told him like no and then he's like he's asking him he's going to feel bad. Um yeah I just thought maybe uh this and this and this and he came up with some lame question he asked him they discussed it and he said ah very excellent beautiful. The next day, same story happened. He's coming down the steps after Shir and he's being targeted by El May and again asked asked this young Talmet. He said, "How was today?" "Oh, Shir was great. Um I got" and he's thinking, "Oh no, I better concentrate a little bit better." And he says, "You have any questions?" He says, "Okay." And again, he managed to think of something he asked him. Fine. The third day he already had made up. He decided I'm not going to I'm not going to play this game anymore. I don't really have questions. I don't have any anything to say. I'm not going to make believe like I have and this and think and that. He said when he asks me and tell him no I have no questions. So he taken he asked him says young man bak you have you have any questions? No I have no questions. So he told him a beautiful lesson. He says without questions how do you really understand how do you live the shir without any questions and he realized the bakar that in order to lift something you have to think about wait let me think about it and then if you come up with a question that means that you're really thinking you're internalizing what is saying and and and not only that and it does another thing the whole day you're walking around with a question means that you're living the shar you're not just heard it the servant very Nice. Beautiful. This makes sense. Goodbye. When you think of a question, even if it's it's it's superficial. I don't have but yeah, think wait let me think. Then you're really internalizing it and you're living with that chair. That's the why. The whole seda is all about questions. It starts off with the mashana and and the whole and there's a lot of questions. What do we say to the four kinds? What what should we answer him? What are the kids asking? Everything is about questions because a yid lives with questions. It's a good thing you ask. Don't ask questions. That's a Christian or not any I shouldn't say a lot of other religions they don't. It's blind faith. Don't ask any questions. This is how it is by us. We're all about the questions because that's learning. Without the questions is not learning. And that's a beautiful lesson. That's why the there were so many questions. Okay. Said some beautiful things. I'd like to share. I brought actually the Hagod. I'm leaving it in the sh because it's just so good. You'll see it over PES for to look through. Um and he says that in in the name of my theory is is that when he says he he likes to say over from other people. My theory is is that when he says the name of Sadikim, it's really his but he doesn't want to say it's my but it's a beautiful. It says Not only one he says what does that mean it's many people think that the that um like the what does the try to do to us tries to tell us you're not why why do chuva what do you think you're doing you're going to go to davening this to this this morning you're going to come late the next day what's one time do it's just one time big deal don't even do it just just forget about it cuz you're not going to it's not going to last. That one time is the and theahara wants you to say, "Oh, you're right. Forget it. I'm I'm sleeping in bed or I'm not going to learn anything. I'm not going to come to Seder. I'm not going to hold myself back from anger. I'm not going to to make sure I talk nice to pick up the phone and that one time I'm never going to do it again. I'm going to pick up the phone. I'm going to call a guy who needs a girl who needs no that one time. That one time is and he says that's the only one time is really coming to destroy us. Um rather what what's the rest of the puzzle right it's not he's going to help us if we do Hashem is going to come help us and if we do our little part and we show that we want and that's what happened in Mitim wanted us to have some he gave us two mitzvah anyone know the two mitzvah that he gave it has to do with blood bismah bismah very good and very good two mitz blood d that's why it says dham and that's those only one little things one little things was enough to um to one one things that were were very very enough to to do it and there was once a a young rebba actually you know how these some these rebas become rebas it's lineage the young guys with just barely a little wisp anyway so one of these fellas came to the Kazish and he said to him, "Listen, I'm not fooling myself. You know that they're hiring me as as whatever his father or uncle died, whatever. I'm the next of kin. They want me to be rebu of this clan, big clan of and I know who I am. I know what I do. I know what I don't do." And it's a joke. It it doesn't make sense. What should I do? Should I accept it or shouldn't I accept or should I tell him I'm not Roy? I'm really not right. So the Kazer said as follows. He said I wrote it down. He said that um he says that in these days the generation and this is in 1952. He says the generations is so bad that anybody that gives encouragement to other yidden can be called reba. He says it's so people are are desperate for encouragement. you know, you know, learning and and by the way, it's more so now. It's so much easier now to learn and get a shir. You could Google any shir and anything you can ask the rabbi, you can have AI is going to come and although it's so bad it's it's going to be really a bad thing for Israel because they make up stuff. I'm telling you, I looked at it. They make up a lot of things and um version not as much. What? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I have the paid version also. But um It's it's uh it's like whatever. Yeah. Where is it? Where's the source? Sometimes I'll say it. Uh source unknown. Yeah. It says Shash. Where is it? Where is it? This is Shasharm is a small little safer. It's not that hard. I'm telling you. I'll show you. Um but anyway, um but it's still going to be much easier to learn. What does a Reb need? You really want to learn. You have the resources to learn. You have art scroll. You have you have Shirum. have, but you need it's nowadays you need that encouragement. You need that person to help you grow. And he said to this young Rebba, he says, "If you do that, you're 100% vowed to call yourself the Reba." Even if the only encouragement you get is yourself. So a lot of times by encouraging others, you you take out somebody, I'm going to learn, but the person is not really interested. They'll learn with you, whatever, or they'll talk to you, listen to you. They're not listening, but you you get encouragement yourself. So um um I know my wife likes like like sometimes I tell her such a good ver I like it it's like so good whatever and she says oh you like it you know like you you thought of it you like it yourself I said yeah it's a great so I'm glad that uh you know she says but that's fine that that doesn't matter he says the is the one that says that's fine too that is what is all about and we on the p night have the obligation even if we're not married with children have the obligation to help others there at the sedar and even if nobody's there even if you're alone co our own seder you help to give yourself the inspiration that is what is important and that's why we we uh we uh are here saying it over the stuff that we all know it's that encouragement hashem saved us he will save us we're going to grow we're going to become worthy of it and um and and that and we could be called rebba and we are are rebas Okay, oi some really good things and I'm going to we said that a whole story. Why do we need a whole story says that that there's an obligation why it's not just I'm going to go back to my bad stuff. You know some psychologist say don't dredge up others say no dredge up that you should dredge up bad things go go back to your past. Um but anyway the says no there's an obligation that a person is feeling joyous and blessed and he should remember the moments of struggle and difficulties that's that's a why to appreciate the that Hashem do and thus that will help him get more to think about at your seder. Wow, I'm happily married and I was Yeah, there was a time that I was not and I was a difficult time. I'm I have bar I have a job and there was so many times I I didn't I have much more mental health and I have I I I'm coming to learn. I feel so good about it. There was a time I didn't. There was a time I wasn't as happy. I wasn't doing as well. All these things you're supposed to say over even if it brings back better memories to say that you know what I came this by and I thank Hashem for it and Hashem I'm going to be uh better. There's a funny story about the he brings this story about this uh porper who wanted to buy a lottery. So his friend told him he said I don't have the dollar for the lottery. His friend says you know I'll lend you the dollar just pay me back. He said, "Okay, I'll pay you back over time, you know, a quarter every week." So, he bought him the dial lottery and um it was very late at night. He looked at the lottery. He goes to pass, they posted it on the and he realized that the guy won hit the lottery. So, he ran to the other side of town where the guy lived in a shack and he it was late at night, but he's like so excited for his friend. Wow, the guy. So he banged on the door and the guy was sleeping. Goes, "What? What do you want?" "No, no, no. You got to get up. You got to get up. I got to tell you something." He says, "What? What do you want? I'm so tired." What are you bothering me for? He says, "No, you're a rich man. You won the lottery. All five numbers are equal. You're a very rich man." So the guy got up and says, "Everybody else I can't have a tinit or two, but if you know that I'm a rich man, how dare you wake up a rich man of the start and and in the middle of the night to tell me the news." So it is how but the the the it's a joke, but it's truth is that what happens is is that we cry, we cry, we cry, we need we need a job. We have a job, we're happy for three days. Fourth day we start forgetting and fifth day is like oh no this job is is tough. Yeah you know whatever I am and all but wait hey we were in a such a damn bad situation. We got married. We uh we found a house. We got an apartment that was so difficult to find. Whatever it is we just so quickly forget about it so fast that the idea is is to go back and past sit at the sedar and say wow this is this we had a rough time. Think about and and bring in our own lives. You know what? I went through my own. We went through our own difficulties. You could say it over and here we are. And am with that is going to bring us much much more. And finally, we'll end with this the last uh story in vers um we say right we spoke about the two bloods right and and what does it really mean? It really means the u our blood. When we do something with our blood, it's it's our it's our it's our heart. It's our obligation. When we do something for the bunn, it's a service, right? Everybody has mashem. Whoever's not married, you get married, you'll see that your spouse has a language of love. There's different languages of love, right? There's acts of services, there's affection, there's talk, there's time, quality time, right? So one of the languages is um is acts of service when you actually do something right and that's what a carbon is. Carbon is what I'm is is a little bit actually carbon has a little bit of everything is of all the all the love languages alto together when you buy it you're spending the money it's a gift you're you're spending the time so it's active services you're spending time together whatever doing it um and you bring the carbon carbon is supposed to bring you closer to the is our own carbonus is that we do stuff we're saying we are saying that we're doing things that difficult for us. Um and that Hashem should redeem us for for that. The story of Abak that that um he wanted to see the so he before he went back to um he he before he went back to wherever he was going other part of Europe. So he he's he lives he travels to Ren and at night he meets in the train station. He's talking to Eid and he says to him I want to come to he says yeah but it's so late at night you can't go at night but I I don't have come to me I'll have I'll have a place for you. So he comes to him, he finds out to his delight that it was the son-in-law of the And the guy says, "Um, now it's too late, but come eat something, go to sleep, and you'll see him in the morning." So he eats something and he goes to sleep. And as he's falling asleep, this always happens, right? If anybody uh and as he falls asleep, what do you remember? As your head hits the pill, you remember my m I'm so tired. And the bak said, "Okay, you know what? I'm so tired. I just I'm going to rest a sec. I'm going to rest three minutes. I'm jumping up to Dav. I'm going to rest three minutes. Just just close my eyes a second. I'm exhausted. And I'm going to get up and I'm going to stop Marav." And obviously he did get up, but that was in the morning at 10:00. Anyway, he jumps up out of bed. He he fells bed. What should he do? He goes dins and he the guy um sets him up with the and said this is a true story. I heard this before said it over in his but I've heard this story before. And he's telling him I just want you to know something. I want to tell you about my life. You know, when I was a young saying, when I was a young boy in Russia, I never knew this, but maybe David knew this. In Russia, there was a time that it was so plentiful that money was if somebody dropped a dollar, nobody picked it up cuz there was so everyone had so much money and it was so much plenty. And you know what the truth is here? Somebody drops a quarter. I don't know how many people. Maybe maybe a quarter. A dime for sure. Not nickel. Definitely not. Anyway, um but then no then it was more. It was he said nobody picked it up. He says cuz everybody was making big money and they were busy and nobody had nobody needed the dollar or whatever. They had their own much much more. He says but later on he says in my later years oh did they pick it. They ran after a copc. They used to run after it because there was no money. It was difficult. So they they everybody was starving and it was that copec was very very valuable. He says, "Amal in in the times of the Gim where there was kids were learning Tyra, the mitzvah were flying right and left." You know, Tashem, they were valuable, but you know, they were they were okay. He says, "Now when there's so little a mitzvah is so scarce, it's so valuable." He says, "A little my from a he says to the guy, a little myra from a bak when he's tired in a room is is such gold. It's so valuable that that if if if you would understand what isn't that that you have it would be it would be tremendous. It's it's it's much worth much much more. The same exact mitzvah that we had that so he got the message and he was all embarrassed but the message he passed on. He says that that um that our mitzvah that we do our difficulty when we come to the seder and we do it right and we do it with a smile and we do our mitzvah that is so valuable to that he's going to definitely see us doing our mitzvah doing our sed and he's going to bless up with and we're going to see all of us coming to and definitely all of it sus of Israel finished and gone on and we'll all be together. Thanks for listening. Have a wonderful