Shemot - The First Showdown - Tehila Gimpel: The Land of Israel Fellowship

hey guys so in this past week's torah portion the portion of shmot of exodus israel is introduced to evil for the first time we've met evil in the stories of genesis before eating from the fruit cane killing abel the generation of the flood and so on but this is the first time that on the international scene israel begins an actual face-off with evil and that's going to be a pattern that repeats itself throughout our history the people of the bible the value of the bible versus the people who are not that who are anti-that and we know that there's always something really important hidden in the first time an idea appears in the torah hashem puts a deep meaning when he introduces us to a new concept so here's this showdown for the first time how does it begin i want to take a deep dive into those very first verses of the encounter between pharaoh and israel i want to look closely and see what we can pull out of them let's start in chapter 1 verse 8. it starts with telling us that a new pharaoh arises who didn't know about joseph and then he opens his mouth what is the very first thing he says it says in hebrew pharaoh spoke to his people to his nation he said at first reading what verse 8 means is that there is there are these children of israel and there are people that's going to grow and become greater than us they might make a war against us so we need to figure out how to stop them but if you read it closely the sentence can actually be broken down into two parts and if you read the first part the very first thing he actually says is just el the children of our is the children of israel are a nation he exclaims the children of israel are a nation i don't like where this is going you know then they're going to become more than us they might make a war but the actual fundamental thing that bothers him is that israel are acting like a people that's what bothers evil now we know a very deep concept that the sages always teach us is that which means the things that happen to our forefathers in the bible will be a road map for what is going to happen to us in future generations so the torah is telling us what is it going to look like to be in exile to meet darkness and the first thing that happens according to our torah portion here and forever after are those is those first words of pharaoh the children of israel are our people the first thing that bothers pharaoh is the peoplehood of israel it rubs in the wrong way these children israel they're not acting like immigrant minorities they're supposed to you know integrate into society assimilate melt into the cultural melting pot there's something different about these guys they're not just a tribe of immigrants they're having their own rules their own way of life they're an actual full-fledged people i don't like this now think about how this pattern is going to repeat itself throughout history that was the first exile in egypt when was the next exile the next exile was after the destruction of the first temple we read about that in the book of esther under the rule of achashverosh israel is in exile once again and meets evil in the form of haman and what is the first thing that comes out of haman's mouth in the book of esther mordechai didn't want to bow down haman does this whole lottery he wants to kill the jews but then he actually talks and what's the first thing he says the first thing he goes to the king and he says in verse in chapter 3 verse 8 he says there is this one nation because they don't follow your rules and we should uh you know they're dangerous we should kill them they have different laws but the fundamental first thing he says is almost identical to pharaoh he says these jews you think they're just a tribe of people they're just random immigrants no they're a nation and now look at the last exile when we're in exile from the second temple who was the ultimate worst evil that we met in our last exile i think we would all immediately think of the holocaust there were two thousand years of exile where in the christian and muslim world everyone was trying to convert the jews and persecuted us for not converting but what differentiated that ultimate evil of the holocaust it was that it didn't even help if you converted to christianity it was enough for you to just be genetically even one-quarter jewish just one jewish grandparent it didn't matter how german you felt or acted it was as if you could hear the echo of pharaoh and the echo of haman saying there's this people israel is a people they're a nation we don't like this and now what's so mind-blowing is that if you look at the very first recorded essay written by hitler the very first writings that we have that have been discovered from hitler it was an essay written on september 16th 1919 and it's the very first thing we have from him and it's like a broken record look at the first words he opens up with he says to begin with meaning first point that i want to make and i'm quoting he says the jews are unquestionably a race not a religious community the jew never describes himself as a jewish german a jewish pole or a jewish american but always as a german jew a polish jew an american jew and then he goes on and says even the mosaic faith however great in its importance for the preservation of their race cannot be the sole criterion for deciding who is a jew and who is not meaning the very first time hitler sits down with a pen and paper to write something that great evil force of our third exile the first thing he wants to exclaim and tell people is the same thing that pharaoh exclaimed and the same thing that haman explained these jews they're not just a religion they are a people a people has a history and a future and that is not a good thing and what's so shocking is that just like pharaoh in our portion that says havanita malo let's make a cunning plan hitler writes that the problem in his mind is emotional anti-semitism he says emotional anti-semitism has found its expression in the form of pogroms but then he writes rational anti-semitism by contrast must lead to a systematic and legal struggle against the privileges that the jews enjoy and he goes on and says the final objective must be the total removal of all jews from our midst so what we see is that the very first thing that pharaoh notices the very first thing haman notices the very first thing hitler notices the jewish people are a people step one hashem is giving us the road map the side of darkness will be agitated and uncomfortable and angry when the jews stand up and say we are a nation we are a people when we show that to the world the side of evil wakes up and look at verse 10 right here in our portion pharaoh says let us deal shrewdly with them lest they increase and if a war befalls they will join our enemies and wage war against us and then depart from the land what could be a more irrational argument than this he says well we have this tribe we're the big superpower of the middle east where egypt maybe this little tribe they have a pretty high birth rate they're going to make a war against us and and overtake us that's totally irrational in and of itself but let's go with him okay let's say he's right wouldn't he want them to depart the land but then he says lest they depart the land if they're so awful don't you want them to depart from the land so here we see it again mapped out step two after noticing their nation you go this little nation is gonna take over the world right there this paranoia and then step three you would think you'd be happy for them to leave you alone but then evil will say they're gonna leave where they're gonna leave to if not back to the land of israel so we start with recognizing their nation then this paranoia that they're going to overtake us and then this fear that they're going to leave and make their own they make their own land what could be less clever and cunning pharaoh says let's do something clever and cutting but he says something that sounds absurd and completely unclever he says these people are gonna outnumber us and and then overtake us and then go make aliyah that is just a really weird argument but maybe while it sounds nutty it's actually not so nutty at all maybe he's tapping into something really true and really deep that he doesn't know how to articulate it but it feels it down in his guts maybe he feels something intuitively maybe the side of evil knows something intuitively they might not be able to articulate it in a way that makes sense and sounds rational but they mean something really deep the jews are a people they're not going to fit in they're not going to be one of us they're not just going to assimilate and disappear but in the bottom line the greatest fear is exactly what pharaoh says in the end of verse 10. pena aluminum maybe they will leave our land and go back to israel and make a jewish kingdom why is that so scary to him he doesn't tell us but maybe he's expressing what he knows deep down what always the side of evil knows deep down that the jewish people living in the land according to the torah and the word of god will bring a light to the world that the side of evil can sniff out they sense it and they don't want that they're always going to be against that and look how that pattern repeats itself haman gets achashverosh to agree to kill the jews but if they hate the jews so much wouldn't they just want to send them back to israel instead of having them with them in persia but instead in the book of ezra we see none other than ahashverosh himself putting a building freeze on the temple trying to shut down the reestablishment of our second commonwealth he feels it he feels it deep down and then look at the holocaust the great evil of our last exile if the jews were vermin like hitler argued if the jews are taking over the world like the elders of zionists you know the elders of zion propaganda was trying to you know teach the world shouldn't they have just encouraged zionism wouldn't they have just been happy get out of here get out of germany clear europe from the jews it seems totally irrational but we know that in reality germany locked the gates they wouldn't let the jews out not only them the jews that did manage to escape the british were blockading the boats of jews escaping from the gas chambers and not letting them into the land of israel everyone feels it even if they don't say why they don't want israel to return to their land as a people following the word of god and we continue to see this today sometimes i watch the news and i get so discouraged i see the lies they don't even make sense like jews are making an apartheid state the only democracy in the middle east where any minorities have any rights at all they're the aggressors they're the apartheid that doesn't make any sense and then you see rising anti-semitism in the world you think their response would be great go to israel make your own country get out of here but those same anti-semites will still tell you no give away your land your occupiers in judea there's nothing coherent about it but it's actually pretty smart because the side of evil knows deep down even ways they can't articulate rationally that the resurrection of the people of israel living freely in their land according to the torah will be a force of redemption and light and the torah mapped this all out ahead of time for us is it to say this is the blueprint get ready this is the pattern be awake pay attention because when you see this happen that's when you need to decide which side there's gonna be a line in the sand which side are you going to be on and that's when you know when you see this pattern repeating itself that you are at the cusp of redemption and it's not a coincidence it's part of hashem's plan so instead of getting frustrated and discouraged by the evil we look at the evil and we look at those lies and we say good i'm glad i'm glad this is happening i might have been upset i might have been scared but i already read the end of the story i know that in just two more torah portions we're going to get to the exodus we're going to get to the splitting of the sea the redemption i know where this story goes and i know it repeats itself again and again throughout history in every exile whenever there's a showdown between good and evil i know where this story is going so i'm not nervous i'm just gonna sit and wait with emunah and with faith to watch hashem's plan unfold in the most beautiful miraculous and redemptive way so with that i hope you guys all have a beautiful inspired and courageous week bye guys hi my name is jeremy gimpel a lot of people want to know exactly what the land of israel fellowship is and what members receive when they join so let me explain the land of israel fellowship is a global online community with hundreds of members from over 40 countries around the world they're live sessions and gatherings that create a direct personal connection to the land of israel and the lovers of israel from around the world there's no online gathering that i'm familiar with that is connected to the land of israel that unites and brings together such a diverse group of people backgrounds and nationalities it feels like prophecy it feels like something we need in these times a window in to a better future on the horizon there's a divine unity we experience every week in our fellowship broadcast we heard these amazing teachings from an authentic hebrew and israel perspective and our jaws drop not only because they ring so true and are such a blessing because they are so consistent with what we believe these sunday morning gatherings are nothing less than a house of prayer for all nations cindy low the united states of america the land of israel fellowship is an amazing resource for learning torah the bible and the prophets unfiltered and uncentered directly from the land of israel we've been studying torah for almost 20 years but we feel we are stepping into it more than ever in seeing new depth and dimensions to scripture we're encouraged more and more every week calen ardell usa members receive access to all the archives in the library of teachings on every portion of the torah the biblical feast hebrew prayer prophecy sessions on the ancient wisdom of the prophets of israel to help us navigate through these turbulent times these sessions are so rich i re-listen to each and truly each session is the best one yet tehela is a tremendous asset and the teachings ari shares are so rich i've read the bible so many times and i've known the things you are teaching the hebrew understanding is what christians have missed for centuries sister georgian from germany the land of israel fellowship is truly unique because it's built upon personal relationships with the teachers of the fellowship myself rabbi arya bramwitz in tehillah gimpel every member has direct access to the staff 24 6 via email or direct whatsapp to ask questions to comment to connect directly to all the teachers and over the last years we've connected to some of the most beautiful people on the planet so if you want to find out more and join the land of israel fellowship you can click on the link below and if you want to try it out for just a month you can email fellowship at the land of israel.com and we'll hook you up i hope to see you shalom from the mountains of judea you