The Blueprint for Persecution | Rabbi Shmuel Goldin | January 6th 2026

Okay, a couple of announcements. Um, first of all, um, my wife and I were traveling to the New York area to New Jersey, please God, tomorrow evening for 3 weeks. Rabbi Sam will be taking this year in my absence from what I understand. So, please don't uh stay away and uh continue to my son will continue to teach in his normal normal place. Okay. What happened with the sore sheets today? We have a new a new saga. Um, there was a change in the address that I was supposed to send the sheets to and I knew about it and I put in the new address. I left out the period. All right. I left out the period between I think it was the OU and the women's in initiative, whatever it may be. So, it didn't go through. On the other hand, it didn't come back to me, which it usually does if it if there you may have a mistaken email. Usually, it spits it back out. So, this one we I would have liked to have the source sheets for, but we're going to try very very hard to to do it with with the Kumashim. And please God, after 3 weeks in my return, I will have I will have mastered the email system and we'll be okay. >> All right. We're going to >> we're going to actually uh learn again something that is sobering but that is at the same time so extremely extremely relevant to our own experiences and to our day. What? Sorry. Okay. Thank you. What we're dealing with is the what I call the blueprint for persecution. And what that is is how the Torah describes the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt and [clears throat] then what the results are and and what we can expect to come. First of all, let's set the stage. And we're setting the stage in two ways. We're setting the stage first by looking at the behavior of the Israelites and secondly by looking at the behavior or not the behavior of the situation with the Egyptians. The first thing we need to recognize and remember is that Yoseph orchestrates the descent of the Israelites to Egypt as we've said and he does it in a very special way. He tells his brothers, "Tell the Egyptians that you are shepherds." I'm telling you to tell them that because I want you to live separately in Gosen and you will be you'll have the ability to do that because the Egyptians hate shepherds. So therefore they will not want you in their midst and stay in Gan. And what's fascinating of course is that the most cosmopolitan figure from the Torah, the one that manages to succeed immeasurably in an outside world is building the first ghetto. Right? In other words, he's making the first a ghetto is not necessarily negative. He's building building the first isolated Jewish community. What he hopes will be and Yakovinu actually says we're coming down. They they we're not going to stay here in Egypt. We're we're here temporarily. And the brothers when they speak to pyro they say all right we came to remember g vto right g is you this verb lour means temporary instability we're only coming to stay except if you take a look at perk zion in bishuk uh puk dalit >> [clears throat] >> Take a look at peric mendaled. This is where the brothers are talking to to parro vom parro as I said bonu. We came to dwell. We came here temporarily but then by the end of the pusk you see what I consider to be a Freudian slip well before Freud. What do they then say at the end? They say [clears throat] please. All right. And all of a sudden you see a a shadow of something creeping in which is you know misim may not be that bad. If you look at perkman Zion Zion 20 2727 uh 4727 you [snorts] find out that by the time we get to the end of paras the d is cast viter go and that's seems to be redundant right what's the text telling telling us they were living in Eritim. They were living in Egypt. Erits go in Gan but in Egypt is the Ben is the Israelites. Not no. In fact, you see it's it's in the plural, right? What's the what's the concept of aah? It's the holding. They are establishing permanent residence in Egypt in Ghanian. But then it even develops further. If you take a look at Schmote parad of last week perk al >> this week, I'm sorry. This week, right? [laughter] I get mixed up because I'm writing something for Torah tidbits for the next week. All right. Anyhow. All right. [laughter] For this week, right? >> Perrick, alfionitu. All right. That's that's okay. That's positive, right? They grew. They uh produced rep replicate rep produced had children became strong vatim or o what does that mean not just go not not just goan and the nitiv who we'll take a look at in a little while says the proof that that they were not just in goan comes later when hashem says I'm going to skip over your homes when I for the plague of the first port if they were all in Noer Scotia and he didn't have to skip over any homes. The fact is they moved into Mitzim. They spread through Mitzim. And what was the reaction of of the Egyptians? So I'll quote you a tanum which you don't have on your in your which says the following. They filled the land, says the medishalu tart mayhem, [clears throat] the the um arenas and the operas and the and the shows and the shows became filled with them. In other words, they they were moving into Egyptian culture. Say again. What? >> Otan. >> Jews. >> No. No. And the No. Tim is they were they filled the land, right? Tim or the land was filled with them perhaps is better translation. Now what happens is that they are breaking the plan. They are breaking the plan that was set up by Yakov and by Yoseph. And the Nitiv has a very interesting take on this. The Nitiv Nelli Yehuda Berlin lived in um what was the Rosh Roshiv of Aljian in Lithuania. lived from 1816 to 1893. Listen to what he says. He says the following. He says the statement is as we've translated it. It's coming to tell us they didn't stay in Ganuat says every place that was open wherever they found a good a good a good deal wherever they found an open place that's where they went Right. The and the proof he says was what I told you and listen to now listen to what he says his conclusion. This is all they did was against the desire of Yanovu. daily and I'm skipping to the end of his statement. This is the reason that nations around us rise up to persecute us. says the more we try to fit in with the outside world, the greater the hatred will grow. What we need to do is be proud of what we are and what we have. And that's been proven over and over again. I mean if you take a look at Kasp ever again the Holocaust there there was a great desire for assimilation into into into Germany into Poland whatever certain communities were kept separate but many many were rising to prominence many were signed and the desire of Yakov and Yoseph was they were to be what we've already spoken of over and over and over again which is a g vtov I want you to be a citizen but I want you to be a stranger and that balance has to be kept okay I'll take one question and then we'll hold the questions to the end >> yes >> some of the other brothers were still around >> some of the other brothers are still around >> it seems that way it seems that way and that the fact that it says at the end of paras goan before yakov dice that's that's preceding >> makes the question even stronger >> maybe they did but who knows we don't know the we don't know the chemistry we don't know the the interchange there's much that's left out but what is clear is that they're going against the plan all right so now let's understand the stage around The Torah says again Yoseph a new king arose in Egypt who did not know Yoseph meaning what he didn't have the allegiance to Yoseph or the connection to Yoseph that Pyro had. Now this creates a dispute in the Gomorrah. Many of you may know it. It's a famous dispute between Rav, two great luminaries who are often dialoguing with each other. One said it was a new king just like the Torah says and the other one says it's the same parro it just his edicts became new changed. >> Now you [clears throat] have to step back and ask why are they arguing there? The Torah says mel kadesh. Why do they have to say whoa maybe it was meal kadesh maybe it was the same one. Because historically both of those challenges will face us across time. We'll have the challenge of facing a new president, right? What's going to happen after the president that that America has now? And we will we will what face the challenge of those who we hoped thought were our friends who suddenly changed their minds or maybe not so suddenly in time changed their mind. That's what I believe why they are arguing because what they're saying it could have been either. It could have been either uh because when we look back on Jewish history both of those challenges have faced us. Okay. Now, we're now about to enter the darkness. We're now about to go into the blueprint for persecution that I spoke about. Now, let's understand that most of us in school learn that Egyptians finally decided to enslave the Jews. Poof, they made them slaves. Wasn't so simple. Was not so simple. And the Torah tells us it wasn't so simple. The Ramban as an introduction says the following. He he wanted to kill all the Jews, but he was unable to do so because it would be considered a a terrible thing to suddenly turn on the people that had been the been favored by the previous Pharaoh. So what does he do? Parro was not all powerful says the Ramban. It was if he would have done this abruptly that his own people would have risen against him. All right. We we are hopefully seeing the rise against another pharaoh, right? The idea being that so so Egypt theoretically was was ripe for conflict and the fact is that parro couldn't do it at once. So what does he do? He does it in stages. First, the Torah tells us, if you take a look at Pyakes, [snorts] he said to his nation, "Behold, the Jews are more plentiful and stronger than us. Let us what? Become wise towards them. Let's understand the threat that they present. Lest they become even more numerous. And when there'll be a what's going to happen? They're going to there'll be a fifth column. In other words, if we're attacked by others, they won't be loyal to us. They're inside us and they're a problem. That last phrase is is explained differently by different commentaries. But one of the answers would be that they and then they'll leave aluminar. Now let me ask you a question. Could the is it at possible by any imagination that the Israelites would be stronger and more numerous at this point than the Egyptians? Right. Can't I mean yeah the mander says that women had six children at once and they became very plent but you're you're dealing with a whole country and there this is one one group of people. They can't. But Parro says they are raviu. What's he doing? Propaganda. That's the first stage, right? You don't hit the Jews immediately. You start spreading the lies. You start printing textbooks that are given to the children that make the Jews nonhuman. you uh you stand up and say as apparently the vice president of Venezuela who may be the president soon said she said there are Zionist undertones in what in what happened here in Venezuela. All right, there you go. Right. We are It's like it's it's like that famous joke that there I think I may have told it to you that there are two Jews on the subway. Did I tell you this one? They're judgers on the subway and one of them is reading an anti-semitic newspaper. And the other one turns to him says, "Younk, why are you reading that rag for?" He says, "Because it's got great news. I own the banks. I I run the country. I run the world. I look at it's telling me good things." Amazing. If you ask an American how many Jews there are in America, they will give you a hugely inflated number. We're all over the place. They see us as if, you know, we're we're popping up here and there. There are countries that don't have Jews that have perfected anti-semitism in the absence of Jews. Right? So, let's understand. So, that's the first stage. You you have to and who are you preparing? You are preparing both. You are preparing the people that you want to enslave and you are preparing your people who you want to be enslavers. You're doing it step by step. Next. I'm looking at perfuim lean. They he placed upon them special tax collectors to to persecute them with work. And they build ar miskenote which is storage cities is the explanation here. There are other explanations at pome vet rames. All right. What's what's that stage when you appoint specific people to be the collectors of of the tax from the Jews? What are you doing? You're isolating them. you are at that point ah we need we need special people to take care of them right they're not going to come to you they're not going to knock on your door they're just to take care of the Jews well no Jews Israelites right Jews emerge later so what you have is the next stage you start with propaganda to isolate them verbally and then you appoint special people upon them to isolate them physically right stage by step by step next I'm looking at giml and vav is they they dealt with them They made them work. The simple explanation of that is in with backbreaking work. They made their lives bitter with difficult with hard work and all sorts of work with mortar and bricks and out in the field. They are using their labor. That's stage number three. Stage number three is I've isolated them verbally. I have isolated them physically. Now I'm going to isolate them further by giving them specific work. And what's the nature of that work? It's backbreaking work. It's the kind of work that where you're in a field and you're told there are a bunch of rocks here, a bunch of boulders here. Take them to the other end of the field. And then once you got them to the end of the field, you're told take them back. The work that has no purpose other than what? To to beat them down. To beat them down. And that happens over and over again. Huh? Right. toothbrushes. Clean the te clean the sidewalks with toothbrushes. That's stage number three. Stage number three. And the rabbis actually say something very interesting. They they have two additional explanations. And as I've told you, the medrashic explanations are in addition to the pashuphat. What does the word mean? So we said it means backbreaking work. So they two different explanations. One of them says one explanation is per a soft mouth parro went out into the field himself started working and said ah come and join me right we that didn't happen to us exactly but we were told we're going to be resettled in the east right we were told you're you get on the train, you'll be all right over and over again. Perhak. And in addition, the other explanation for per and it shows the rabbis knew what they were talking about is that they gave men women's work and women men's work. Now, I'm not going to get into a discussion of what men's and women's work is, but what does it mean? It means they made a mockery of them. It means the guy's wearing a dress and and they basically they are holding them up for ridicule. So you're making them work. You're breaking their back, right? And you are what? You're holding them up for ridicule. So that's stage number four. [snorts] Next, stage number three, actually. Four. Four. Four. [laughter] Stage number four. Next stage number five. So finally we get to what they really want to do. Right? Stage number five. You have isolated them verbally physically. You've given them backbreaking work. You've held them up for ridicule. They are now in the eyes of the Egyptians nonhumans. Right? And now what you going to do? He says to the two midwives and right who are and right. Okay. If a male child is born, throw it into the river and the females keep for us. We we'll know what to do with them. Now, what's happening here? This is the onset of genocide. This is the onset, right? This is the onset of an attempt to eradicate an entire people. the last stage, right? How did how did Hitler with whom did Hitler begin his genocide, his killing? Who were the first people he killed? >> The weak ones. >> The weak ones. The infirm. The ones that couldn't contribute, right? Those who and he live horrible lives because they're infirm and they we're putting them out of their misery. Why did he start with that? Because you have to start with something again that is palatable on some level. You're moving now into killing people, throwing babies into the sea. So, so you got to do that. Now, now be what what is he saying to the midwives? So, the rabbis have a have an interesting take on this. I don't know if you have to accept it, but it it's an interesting take and it underscores what's happening here. The rabbis say that the midwives had the ability to know before whether it was a boy or a girl. And therefore, what was the commandment? Abort the boys. In other words, you're beginning with something that is questionable in terms of morality, right? They're not really born yet. They're not really alive yet. They're not really people yet. And that's how again it starts. Starts and and it goes on from there. All right. Now, let's take a look at something fascinating. Did this staged persecution succeed in terms of allowing the Egyptians to feel comfortable in what they did? And did it succeed in terms of the Israelites in making them enslaved? Take a look, and this is so telling. Take a look at per inmote huk and kafal. All right now I'll set the scene. Mosher Rabenu has come back to Egypt at God's command. He's going to parro. And what is parro's first reaction? What's parro's first reaction? My first reaction is I'm not listening to you. Nothing that you say will I do. And not only that, I'm going to make the work harder. They used to we used to collect the straw and they used the straw to make the bricks. Now they have to collect the straw as well. And there should be no dim no less bricks created. Same production. What do the Israelites say when they hear this? They come out to Moshe and listen to this phrase again. They say to Moshe, "God should appear to you and and judge the boat and take care of you should be judged because you have caused our literally our odor to be mal odorous before parro. You You've made parro hate us. Now wait a minute. [laughter] He's throwing your kids into the into the river, right? That that's not done by someone who likes you. How they are now saying to Moshe and our own they have been so beaten down so enslaved that what that they feel that Moshe and our own are the ones making it worse for them. Pyro wouldn't make it worse on his own. So you see here a people beaten down the people that are willing to accept the authority that in a sense is enslaving them. So that shows that shows the success of the persecution on the Israelites. What about the success on the Egyptians? What do they become convinced of? So go back a moment and you'll see something very interesting. Go back a moment to again perkim particularly tession. Perrick olive first first per tession is 16 sentence 16. All right. So he says So he said that he's starting with the unborn. But then he goes to the final stage in sentence 22. Listen to the words and tell me what's missing. He says to the Egyptians literally every male child throw him into the into the Nile and every female child let live. What's missing is every Egyptian, every Israelite child, right? So there are those who suggest that not everybody says so but there are those who suggest and again we see a hint of things to come what what the Egyptians hated the Jews so much that they were would that by parro's order they would sacrifice their own children. Sound familiar? >> Yes, >> right to you know when you first learn this I remember when I first learned I said oh wow it can't be. It can't be. I was a kid. Our enemies make their children in many cases sacrifices. Why? Cuz they'll go to heaven by killing us. Better better that than live. So once again we see that parro has succeeded. parro has made the Egyptians enslavers and welcome enslavers right to the point according to this interpretation where they'll be willing to kill their own children to attack the Jews the Israelites okay now if that is the stage and what do I mean when I say a blueprint for persecution if you listen carefully and even not so carefully. Those stages have been repeated over and over and over again in our history, right? It it happens this way. It happens with propaganda. It happens with that starts with that. It moves step by step till you get to the point where you're throwing the babies into the sea. How how do you take a people out of that? So take a look at schmoot again. Pericv six vet that is perv six 6 through8 a famous famous section of the Torah many of you have heard it because it affects the seder Israel. All right. I'm God. God God is now telling Moshe to alert the Israelites. They are about to be redeemed. I will take them out from the pains of work. I will redeem you with a strong hand. I'm I'm sorry. I skipped. I'll save you from the work that they were giving you. and I will redeem you with a strong hand. And finally, now what's happening here? Why does God have to repeat himself so much? So, first of all, what actual mitzvah do we do that mirrors these? Does anyone know? four cups of wine at the seder many say are the mirror boat. All right. And therefore four languages that are used for redemption. But there are many commentaries quoting who quote that law say it's not four stages of redemptive language. It's four stages of redemption. Thei was one thing, salti was another. There were so many cords that had to be broken. Broken completely, right? Because you had to take the Jews. If you're taking the Jews out of Mitzim, you have to take Mitzim out of the Jews. And you have to taking them from slavery, you've got to take the slavery out. and and somehow and that's why does it in staged fashion and then the last the last language is that still hasn't happened yet everybody everybody will eventually live in Israel I will bring them to this land all right okay now let's go back to the four cups of wine I think it's the nitiv I'm not sure who says this but it's a beautiful says why is it that we use the four cups of wine to represent the four stages of redemption because the more wine you drink, the more you change. It's transformative and therefore what we are attempting to mirror is a transformative process. Okay, >> sir. Is everything all right? >> Yeah, I have everything. Is this your right now? >> Yes. >> Okay. Okay. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. No. Thank God. Thank God. >> You enable us to perform the midst of hash. Okay. All right. So therefore, therefore God is going to redeem. Now does it work? Does this staged redemption work? >> Not really. Right? What happens is this particular generation never succeeds, right? This generation will die in the desert. And if you remember the last phrase that that the that the um spies say to Benet Israel, the last phrase that they say the Moraglin, they say, "We saw giants." Another Freudian slip. We were in our own eyes as insects and so we appeared to them. That's backwards, right? No, it's not. The minute you lose your belief in yourself self, then you can't succeed. And that's what what the moragle were saying to the to the Israelites is you all this teas that you've gone through this Yamsuf and Hari you think it's changed you think it's made you a different people it hasn't you're the way we saw ourselves that's the way you will see ourselves basically you are insects you're not and what they're doing is they're ra unraveling the stages of redemption and bringing us back to mitim they're saying that's it. We didn't we haven't changed an iota and that's why that particular sin is what seals the fate of that generation. And there are hints both within the text and within our own uh observance that mirror this concept of taking Egypt out of the Israelites to mirror this concept of that redemption has to be staged and it has to take place over time. Take a look at Bameidbar. All right, I'm moving you to Bidbar Lammed Gimmel Alf 331. Pom midbar 331. >> The beginning of Paras Mati, right? What does the Torah say? >> Got it. >> 331. >> Bomb midbar 331. M Israel may be mo these are the travels the journeys I always say uh this is the journey starship enterprise but um ven Israel these are the journeys of ben Israel who came out of mitivosa now what's strange about that pock When you are describing a journey, do you describe it by the point of departure or by the point you're trying to reach? It should have said on the way to why does it say? So the rabbis. So the rabbis say, "What is the Torah telling us the purpose of the convoluted travels of pen Israel in the midbar?" What was the purpose of that journey or those journeys to take to leave Mitraim to get Mitzim out of them? Next we count spir between Pesak and Shau. Now spiritare is understood very differently by different sages. There are those who focus on the the journey to Israel and the connection between the kut freedom that you have on pes and the and the freedom that you have the drawer that you have on pesak and the kut that you have on on uh shot. But there are those who say you know why we're counting Omr we are simulating the steps out of Egypt we are simulating and this gives rise to a very famous medush that says that we were on the 49th level of tuma right and that we if God would not have saved us in that instant then we wouldn't have been saved and therefore though they suggest that that's why we count the 49 days to represent that it's one one explanation and there is a suggestion made by the orim which is very beautiful he says why do we start why do we start counting the omare on the second day of pes why don't we start counting the omar on the first what >> but why why isn't the corban on the first day right in other words why is it why is it makar tashaba So he he suggests [snorts] that what we're doing is we're counting towards freedom and on the first day we were still in Egypt for part of that day. [clears throat] So you cannot count that day as part of the process of leaving Egypt and taking Egypt out of the Jews. All right. Now >> yes [clears throat] >> has been explained to me or not all male counting two or counting strong. >> All right I've got my own exp I'll tell you my explanation. Um [clears throat] all right and we're at the point where I'll take questions. Basically it's the following that salivic says there are two ways to count in Jewish life. You can count in the realm of sphira or you can count in the realm of minan. Both those words mean to count. He says you count in the realm of minan. All you are concerned about is the total. You have to reach a particular total. Right? If you can have nine wonderful upright young men, if you don't have a tenth, you don't have a minion. Right? You have that that that counting has to be filled complete. But then you can count in the realm of sphira and spir to count that word he says means you are counting precious items and each one is precious. It's like someone who has tons of pearls or or diamonds. And sure, he wants to know how many he has, but he's holding each one up and looking at each one for its beauty, recognizing its facets. When we journey through life, there are two ways we're supposed to journey. We're supposed to journey towards goals. If you don't have goals in life, then life is empty. But we are supposed to enjoy and appreciate the journey that takes us to those goals. So I think lo and may represent that right and just a thought which is I'm counting to the omer I'm counting to the goal minan or omer I'm counting in [clears throat] the midst of the omare and so often we focus only on the goals and we don't focus focus on the journey okay so just to sum up quickly and then I'll take any questions or comments what we've seen seen is that a familiar story to us, the enslavement of the Israelites was much more complex and much more detailed than we expected. We also have found that the details resonate throughout our history. Unfortunately, that the blueprint for persecution that parro created did not end with parro. But every persecution has followed that kind of stage effect. And behind will be torn up. All right? And we won't have to experience it again. Okay? Any questions, comments?