Shnayim Yomi - Bo - Rabbi Yaakov Glasser - DVAR TORAH

I want to share a final reflection that pulls together the entire paraso and really kind of culminates all the previous parios that we've been learning uh up until this point and that is that we are told that on seder night when we recreate this entire experience we are told that it has to be done within the structure of we have to begin with the pain and the tragedy and the consternation of slavery and servitude and we have to culminate with the regal excitement and enthusiasm and passion of redemption that it's not a story that alls 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 richual ual expression of these ideals throughout the year throughout Pesak 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 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 So I want to share with you a beautiful insight from Salvik. He points out that the garam tells us that if someone wants to join the Jewish people, right, we don't recruit uh people to join Israel. 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 gimmar tells us in this is the someone walks into the sh and they say rabbi I want to join 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 and people? Have you walked into the UN? 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, this is what you want. Look at the anti-semitism. Look at the history of the Jewish people. Look at the lacrimous nature that the world has dealt with us and the 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 g 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 of 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 as 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 going to be a stickle of challenges being a Jew. Okay. But yeah, you 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. So Salvatic 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 cababas and is expressed in the quintessential story of the convert that we know. Migillas rus tells I'm with you. My nation is your nation. Your god is my god. Your nation is my nation. Your god is my god. It says thereof. One part of becoming Jewish is to accept to accept our value system to accept the expectations of Torah to be mitzvos. This is why there's so much controversy around gayos how much acceptance of mitzvos is required should be required but fundamentally we all agree explicit in the ramp you have to accept the mitzvah hashem but says 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 mitzim. 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 amus without yeasim. But you know what? We're also not Israel without mitz. Because it is within the constricting realities and the oppressive realities of mitz 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. Messiah. 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 Amy Israel and our connection to is our ability to not be defined by those realities and move forward. Not to just embrace, but I'm part of your nation. I'm part of your people. I'm part of your story. That's para's bo para's b which as we discussed in our reflections of the alios begins with the word b because saying to mohea come here come here I'm also at the parro level I'm also manifest in the parro's palace I'm also sitting with him when you're trying to appeal to him to emancipate the Jewish people I'm with younos appears to Mosher Rabenu from within says Rashi a burning thorn bush of consternation and pain who's with us in gulos the gullus is part of the journey it's part of the experience that the maral writes that gulus doesn't terminate into the launching of gula gula is the actualization of everything we were trying to accomplish when we are experiencing gulas and this is why every day we dive It should say that you should build Jerusalem. It doesn't say that. It says, which means we're building. What do you mean we're building? We're sitting here in in all over the world outside Yusha at this moment. Sometimes it's even challenging to get to bonus means even within gulos even with the in the oppression and the distance of exile we are always working towards the creation of the rebuilding and the restitution of you're not you don't fulfill the commandment of reexperiencing the liberation from Egypt if you don't include include the descent into the abyss of exile as part of that story and that's really the message of paras that all of the aspects of our life are part of our mandate and part of our voda of living a life of Torah values and of connection to the raon shalom and that's perhaps one of the most central messages that could emerge from this para I want to wish everyone a tremendous shabas and I want want to wish everyone incredible in what is a very challenging mitzvah and the reason why 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 paras and started mikra here we are in safer schmos and paras reading uh being mra what's the problem that's not life is 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 talmra of connecting to the story of the Jewish people of connecting to the ideals and the values of 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 kagim 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 Tom 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 and 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. May Hashem 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 lessons and the um messages from that Torah and live our lives in an incredibly inspired and meaningful manner. Have a wonderful Shabas.