Shemos: What Moves You?

Dear friends, welcome to this week's virtual dasha. This week we have the incredible privilege to be paras. And it's in this para in this that we transition from the story of individuals to the story of a nation. Because remember again the book of braces is really the stories of individuals patriarchs matriarchs then the tribes theatim families but still individual units introduces us to the collective and unfortunately that narrative our narrative begins laced with much pain and difficulty parro enslaves us he legislates he legislates the enslavement of the Jewish people commands the midwives to throw the babies into the Nile or commands his people to throw the babies into commands the midwives to slaughter the Jewish boys and again a chapter of darkness, difficulty and enslavement envelops us and then the Torah records something very interesting. The Torah says this is in chapter 6 verse 23 and it was during these days the king of Egypt pharaoh died the Jewish people cried out they cried out as a result ultimately again of their work and they cried out now literally means they groaned they groaned as a result of their backbreaking labor they cried out and their cries ascended to Hashem because of the backbreaking labor. And there's a simple question which is why is this PK here? Remember by the time we get to this just just to give you context the next section of the paras where we're introduced really to adult Mosher Renu. Moshe is married to Sipora, living a quiet life in Midyan, tending his father-in-law's flock. And it's there that he stumble, quote unquote, stumbles upon the burning bush, and is inducted into the service of Akadesh. So, it's almost as if the Torah is setting up the story. The Jewish people are crying out because of their servitude. Mosher inducted into the service of God, reluctantly accepts the position, and then again, the process of redemption occurs. But the question is still a question which is why are you recording the fact that they cried out over here? Like why why now? Why now? They've been enslaved for years and the servitude has been absolutely overwhelmingly barbaric. They weren't crying out before. They're dka crying out here. And so some of the commentaries point out a very interesting idea. If you notice the Pik says the Pik says that Pyro died. Pyro died. So what what does that have to do with the fact that they're crying out to backbreaking labor? So some of the first some of the commentaries point out that it was common that when a king a ruler would die sometimes some of his edicts his proclamation his legislation would kind of go to the grave with him. They would stop enforcing it. The new king came on a new king would come along and introduce his own legislation. And in that moment that parro died the was like a glimmer of hope for the Jewish people that perhaps again servitude is going to come to an end everything is going to be different and maybe we're going to be free and even if not everything is going to be perfect at least it's going to get better and when it didn't when it didn't it caused them to lose all hope I think what the maf think are teaching us is a profound idea one of the most powerful things one of the most powerful co-host that we possess is the power of optimism and hope that things can change. The challenge is that when things are a certain way for a long enough amount of time, we lose that feeling of optimism and hope that things could be any different. You see, our ancestors who were enslaved in Egypt for years, they had hope. They had optimism. And in that moment when Parro died, they thought, "Oh, this is the window. Like, this this is where everything is going to change." And when it didn't when it didn't, they lost everything. And that's why the double they groaned they cried out. So ultimately again is almost like what's a groan? Sometimes when a person like bless it's almost like a feeling of like it's a feeling of just like despondency, giving up hope. Interestingly enough, crying out could be but groaning that's just like there's no hope. There's no future. It's the groan. It's the sigh ofos. And in this moment, what's happening profoundly in this is Torah is telling us they had probably cried out and called out in prayer many times before. What changed over here was a loss of hope, a loss of optimism. And when there is a loss of optimism and hope that's says we need to bring about redemption now because when you lose optimism and hope when you lose just a vision for your future when you stop believing that things can be different when you lose that you're at risk for losing yourself. When a person suffers adversity, a person suffers tragedy or trauma, as long as you have hope for yourself for the future, as long as you believe that things can be different, that things will be different, will be better. I don't know how, what, when, where, but I believe it, then you could weather any storm that comes your way. But the moment you find yourself enveloped by yosh by despair, the moment that you have no vision for your future, the moment that you believe that this is it, what is now? This is what's going to be for the rest of my life. Nothing's ever going to get better or be different. That's the moment when you run the risk of literally falling into that chasm of almost like metaphoric oblivion. There's nothing left. There's nothing left. And that's why the very next sectional has this they despair. They're groaning. There's no more hope. We thought died. This was a new beginning. There's no more hope. Says, "Okay, I got to step in. I got to step in because if I don't save them now, if I don't activate the process for redemption now, they will be lost for all time." an incredible idea that sometimes we we know we're able to hang on to hope but when things are a certain way for too long we end up losing that hope and this I think becomes one of the most almost like delicate dances in life all of us have fixtures of our lives which have been that way a long time and I'd like those things in my life to be different and and you can fill in the blank. For some of us, you know, maybe I have a marriage, but my marriage is mediocre at best or it's it's okay. And I would love for it to be different. I would love for it to be better, but it's been this way for such a long time that I just don't see a way forward. Or again, my relationship with my kids, my relationship with my career. I've been in a career and it's fine. It's fun, but I know that I could produce more. I know that I could do more. I know I could accomplish more, but I've been doing it like this with this in this situ for such a long time that it's almost as if I've given up hope that things could be any better. And I think all of us get into these situations in life, you know, when it's episodic and and and again, I I encounter a difficult situation. It's much easier to hold on to open to optimism when it's prolonged and sustained like our ancestors in Egypt. It's almost like it's not going to change. It's just not going to change it. It just is what it is. So how do we deal? So here initim Hashem sent Moshenu. Okay. So here saw that the cloud the collective was was slipping into this chasm of like lack of hopelessness of yosh of oblivion. He activates his sleeper cell, so to speak. He activates Mosher Rabenu, right? Mosha, time to get to work. Mosha didn't know, but he was being put to work. But what do we do? How what what do we do for those situations in our in our lives where we've kind of I know it it needs to change. Not not because it's bad, but just because it can be better, but yet it's been this way for such a long time that I don't know that I have hope anymore that it can be better. So, I'm going to share with you something amazing. We just actually had it in in today's the without getting into the whole whole discussion but the page 116a the gimar says is talking about Israel the father-in-law of moshen again also tie into this week's para so the Torah says if we fast forward a little bit to paras so it says heard everything that happened to and he decided to join the ranks of Israel he's So interesting enough the gimar says what did hear that made him leave and come and join the ranks of the records a whole bunch of it was a splitting of the red sea of the war with revelation okay says something amazing he says here's what the is really bothered by right what do we Sh what did here says that's not the part to focus on it's you see realized that there was something unique about cloud so he could have remember he Mosha was his son-in-law as a father-in-law you have a little bit of leverage so you can say to his son-in-law hey Moshe send me a mamit I'm not leaving midan I'm comfortable here I I'm I'm okay I'm I'm fine I'm fine I'm I'm I'm good I'm happy my partner I have all these things send me send me a tutor I don't know send me like a shal you know send someone to put on me send someone to teach me Torah send someone to inspire me give me some just send someone to me but yet that's not what Israel did left what he had he left the circumstances he had and he traveled out to cloud Israel that says the is what the is intrigued by it doesn't say Shro, what did hear? It said, "What did he hear that made him get up? What did he hear that made him say, "Yes, this is a comfortable life. It's been this way for however long, but it can't be better." What did Israel hear that jarred him so much that allowed him to leave what he had known and what he had created over the years to seek out something different? So there's a locus. What did he hear? What did he was it the splitting of the sea? Was it the war with mole? Was it the receiving of the Torah? The answer to that question is a little bit inconsequential. What's amazing is that the Gimara is marveling about the ability of a human being to leave a prolonged and protracted situation, life situation in search of something better. Just because things have been a certain way for a long time doesn't mean that they have to be that way going forward. We just have to be able to be brave enough to say, "Okay, life is fine. this situation is fine. My marriage is fine. My kids are fine. My career is fine. And that's best case scenario. But I don't want to be fine. I don't want to be fine. I don't know how much time I have on this earth. I don't know again what one thing is clear doesn't put anyone on this earth to be fine. He doesn't put us here to be okay. He doesn't put us here to just settle in to just comfortable prolonged situations that foster mediocrity at best. That's not why he puts us here. See, there's a contrast after being in servitude for so long gave up hope that anything could ever be different. So they just they just groaned. They just cracks it cracks if that's the right. They just cracks. They just let it out. That's it. there was yosh they gave up hope now when the cloud gives up hope that's an existential danger and has to come and he has to get involved and again next section he activates moshen what's the contrast the contrast is heard something he's like huh there's more out there there's more to life I can be more I can do more and the greatness of Israel is that he heard it and he did something about it. And the Gar is like, "Wow, wow. Mama, what does it take for a person to have lived the life a certain way for a prolonged amount of time and then say, you know what, I can do better. I can be better." what what provokes a person what pushes a person what catapults a person to leave the comfortable life that they have created in the search of greater meaning that's what the catalyst could be but dear friends these are the choices we have in life we can unfortunately be like our ancestors and say things have been like for like a certain way for such a long time and therefore that's the way they're going to be or I could have This epiphical moment, this epiphical moment, a moment of epiphany, right? Close eyes and say, you know what? It can't be different. Imagine the marriage you want to have. Imagine the career you want to have. Imagine the the spiritual identity you want to possess. Imagine it. create the vision of it in your mind's eyes at least, you know, and then say, "Okay, things don't have to be the same way. I can change it. Okay, maybe maybe I will get the ideal, maybe I won't get the ideal and maybe my ideal is not ideal." Because that's a lot of times a lot of times we have we have conceptions of things in life that's the right direction. But that's the in life. The Torah is giving us a contrast, a contrast between our ancestors and Israel. You could either go ahead and say in life things have been a certain way for so long therefore that is the way they're going to be and just understand that leads to one thing and one thing only a sense of despair glooiness sadness and over time just like desperation or you could be a mash life is filled with such incredible opportunity and if you just close your eyes and open your nama and envision the life you want for yourself maybe you'll get that vision vision maybe you won't but one thing is clear which is you need not settle for the mediocrity of the present models for us that sometimes when you hear and when you see what life can be that can give you the courage to get up and start to do something about it for the clown moenu excuse me for the clar activates but for individuals expects us to get up and begin to move our lives forward. May we be as a nation to get our Mosheru again who will lead us to redemption and as individuals may we bee to find the courage of Israel hear and see the beautiful potential life that is waiting for us. Find the courage to pick ourselves up and move ourselves towards it. Wishing everyone a good night of Shabas and a beautiful Shabas Kesh.