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Shnayim Yomi - Bo - D'var Torah
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Rabbi Yaakov Glasser shares some really powerful thoughts on this weeks Parashat Bo. Thank you Rabbi Glasser for taking the time to carry us through the week! Shabbat Shalom!
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[Music]
i want to share a final reflection that
pulls together the entire parches bow
and really kind of culminates all the
previous partios that we've been
learning up until this point
and that is that we are told
that on saturday night when we recreate
this entire experience
we are told that it has to be done
within the structure of masking
beginners
we have to begin
with the pain and the tragedy and the
consternation of slavery and servitude
um
and we have to culminate with the regal
excitement and enthusiasm and passion of
redemption
that it's not a story that all's well
that ends well and it's not a story
because ultimately it lands with
redemption that the moment that we
immortalize in the consciousness of our
people and in the ritual expression of
these ideals throughout the year
throughout pesach
is just a story of success
but rather the elements and dimensions
of pain and tragedy
are part and parcel of that memory
that's part of we have to immortalize
and that's so different and so distinct
from the way the rest of the world tries
to internalize the narratives of their
life who wants to walk around all day
conjuring up all of the pain and
challenge and difficulties that we've
experienced in life we want to hold on
to the memories of success to the
memories of nachus we sit around the
table with our with our families and
just hey let's remember when everything
went wrong and spiraled out of control
no we want our family narrative to be
one of ambition to be one of positivity
of hope why is it that matril beginus
so i want to share with you a beautiful
insight from of salvation he points out
that the gemaranyavamis tells us that if
someone wants to join the jewish people
right we don't recruit uh people to join
army sorel but sometimes people look
around and they see a nation that is
living with such a sense of meaning and
purpose and maybe other dimensions of
success that they're interested in and
somebody wants to join the jewish people
so the gemara tells us in yavamas and
this is the
someone walks into the show and they say
rabbi i want to join amir i want to join
the jewish people what's the first thing
you're supposed to say you want to join
the jewish people have you opened the
new york times have you seen the way the
world treats us
have you walked into the u.n
hundreds of countries violating human
rights what's the only country that
they're constantly after the country of
israel hundreds of countries in the
world who do nothing but focus on
themselves one little country in the
middle east a building falls down
immediately they put a group of people
on a plane to go help them
hundreds of countries in the world
live inconsistent and not aligned with
the value system that they celebrate one
country community
this is what you want look at the
anti-semitism look at the history of the
jewish people
look at the lacrimos nature that the
world has dealt with us and the manner
in which we've experienced our own
families our own lives our own
communities holocaust programs crusades
bombings this is what you want to be a
part of
so
the prospective gear the prospective
convert if they say to us yes i'm all in
i'm all in so then we accept them into
the program and we start working with
them to become jewish the question that
rob asks is
i mean this is like the worst marketing
plan in the history of the world this is
what you want you want that all the
prospective people who are seeking to
become jewish
they should walk around and they should
know that we carry in our consciousness
this like heaviness and this sense of
persecution is part of our identity what
would why would this be part of the gay
risk process okay you want to make sure
they don't feel like it's a bait and
switch that they know there's gonna be a
stickle of challenges being a jew okay
but yeah you have to like mamish trash
jewish history and the whole jewish
people in order to get people to profess
the sense of authenticity that you're
looking for that they want to become
jewish
sir salvation explains that when a
person becomes jewish there are two
dimensions to what it means to be part
of the jewish people
one happens through kabbalah mitzvos and
is expressed in the quintessential story
of the convert that we know mcgillis
russ
russ tells naomi
i'm with you
my nation is your nation your god is my
god your nation is my nation your god is
my god so it says thereof one part of
becoming jewish is elokay
is to accept akareshparahu to accept our
value system to accept the expectations
of torah to be mekabo mitzvos this is
why there's so much controversy around
gerus how much acceptance of mitzvos is
required should be required but
fundamentally we all agree explicit in
the rampant you have to accept the
mitzvos hashem
but says thereof there's another part of
becoming jewish and that is not to just
become part of the value system of the
jewish people but to become part of our
story to become part of our narrative to
become part of our journey and if you
want to be part of our journey you can't
just be part of the journey that we
experience at the high points you don't
get to just join the jewish people of
the six day war or of the
building of torah in the in the next
generation you don't get to just join
the jewish people in terms of connecting
to the experience of isis mitzrayim you
want to join the jewish people you have
to be part of the entire story because
the entire story is what makes us who we
are because our resilience and our
growth that emerge from facing the
challenges that we face with strength
faith and fortitude is part of what
makes us the nation we are
we are not amnestrel without yet see us
mitzrayim but you know what we're also
not omnisoil without sheba mitzrayim
because it is within the constricting
realities and the oppressive realities
of mitzrayim that we discover the inner
greatness the inner passion the inner
commitment that can only come forth when
it's being challenged and when there's
when there's difficulty when you can
summon from within yourself that sense
of resolve that you're going to
transcend this reality and reshape it
towards something aspirational
our story is not a whitewashing of
jewish history and pretending that we
could chronicle our journey only along
the high points of success
our story is embracing the totality of
the experience knowing that there have
been low points struggling points
difficult points oppressive traumatic
and tragic moments and knowing that part
of the
godless of amnesty and our connection to
akarashbaraku is our ability to not be
defined by those realities and move
forward not to just embrace
i'm part of your nation i'm part of your
people i'm part of your story that's
parsha's bow parsha's bow which as we
discussed in our reflections of the
alios begins with the word bow because
akashbar was saying to moshe come here
come here
i'm also at the parallel level i'm also
manifest in the paro's palace i'm also
sitting with him when you're trying to
appeal to him to emancipate the jewish
people i'm with you marco begnos shrino
bigalusa
says rashi a burning thorn bush of
consternation and pain krishna who's
with us in galas the galas is part of
the journey it's part of the experience
that the maharao writes that goes
doesn't terminate into the launching of
gaula gaula is the actualization of
everything we were trying to accomplish
when we are experiencing godless and
this is why every day we dive in baruch
hashem bonne yerushalayim it should say
yerushalayim that you should build
jerusalem it doesn't say that it says
bonai yerushalayim which means we're
building yusha what do you mean we're
building yerushalay we're sitting here
in in all over the world outside
yerushalayim at this moment sometimes
it's even challenging to get to
yerushalayim
bona ushalaya means even within ghalos
even with the in the oppression and the
distance of exile we are always working
towards the creation of yerushalayim the
rebuilding and the restitution of
yerushalayim.
you're not
super you'd see us misray you don't
fulfill the commandment of
re-experiencing the liberation from
egypt if you don't include
the
descent into the abyss of exile as part
of that story and that's really the
message of parsha's bow that all of the
aspects of our life are part of our
mandate and part of aravoda of living a
life of torah values and of connection
to the rabona shalom and that's perhaps
one of the most sensual
messages that could emerge from this
power show i want to wish everyone a
tremendous shabbos and i want to wish
everyone incredible
in what is a very challenging mitzvah
and the reason why shnaya mikra is a
challenging mitzvah is because it
demands consistency of action
in constantly shifting contexts
if your life was as ambitious and
consistently positive
as it was the first day you committed to
doing this mitzvah then it wouldn't be
difficult you'd wake up every morning
what's the big deal the same way we woke
up with the same energy and parches
voracious and started shining oh here we
are in safer schmos apartheid
reading uh being marvelous what's the
problem that's not life
life is macho beginners life is erratic
life is chaotic life is unpredictable
and life takes us in many different
directions and when we can anchor
ourselves in the consistency
of connecting to talmud torah of
connecting to the story of the jewish
people of connecting to the ideals and
the values of akuresh baraku and allow
all of the winds of challenge that blow
throughout our day and throughout our
weeks and throughout our months not to
dislodge us from the entrenchment of
that commitment
that is a level of connection to torah
and mitzvos that is incredibly powerful
more powerful than the hagim that come
up these like bursts of inspiration that
are surrounded by ritual inspiration and
experience that motivate us and propel
us forward here you're waking up every
single day and saying to ourselves no
matter what's going on today whether
it's an ideal time or it's not an ideal
time i am totally committed to advancing
my connection with talmud torah and with
taurus hashem and with the values of
torah i always make time for it it's
always a part of my life it is naturally
hard if it's not hard for you then
you're very blessed because you must
have a great life but for most of us
it's very very difficult not every day
is very difficult but many days are very
difficult
to remain steadfast in that commitment
in that consistency will bring bracha
and atlaka in all aspects of your life
because it will anchor you to the value
of consistency and it's something you'll
find you'll be able to cultivate and
nurture in all the other areas of your
life as well ma shem bless all of us
with the continued inspiration
motivation and the ability to continue
to study his holy torah each and every
day and to glean the
blessings and the
um messages from that torah and live our
lives in an incredibly inspired and
meaningful manner have a wonderful
shabbos
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