Shnayim Yomi - Shemot - Rishon - #1 - Rabbi Efrem Goldberg - Maintaining Our Identity

[Music] The very first aliyah of safer parishes tells the story of how Yoseph and his family came down to Mit. But then things changed. A new king arose and he began to oppress and persecute the Jewish people. But first the Torah describes that the Yosephit Yoseph was already in Egypt. And the question is why does the Torah find it necessary tells Yoseph's in Egypt? We're already hearing about the family in Egypt. That's extra. Just say Yoseph was there. Why says the ley that the Torah is trying to draw our attention to the fact that Yoseph retained his name even initim even though parro changed his name Pane Yseph continued to use his original name Yoseph stayed connected to his roots to where he was from. The way to navigate not only survive but thrive in gullus is to maintain our name to maintain our identity to not lose or corrupt or compromise an iota of who we are. He remained Yoseph even in Mitim. He didn't adopt his Egyptian name. He didn't adopt the Egyptian lifestyle. A name is not just a label, a word people used to talk about the same thing. A a name what parents give with a spark of a kodes because the name reveals an essence. And the essence of Yoseph was to pursue more to be to grow. He was that even in Mitim and we wherever we are even in Mitim even in golas have to be like Yseph keep our core identity maintain our name and always look to grow always look to add more. The very next pik tells us that Yseph the same one who maintained his distinctness and difference that Yseph died that Yseph was gone writes the Torah mentions the death of Yseph and his brothers and the rest of the generation it's background to the story because as long as Yseph was alive says Ben were held in high esteem they were members of a special group they were admired revered and they were feared but young once Yseph was gone no longer enjoyed the special status. Once Yseph and his brothers passed away, the Jewish people were looked down upon says it's not just the way the Egyptians viewed us. Once Yseph was gone, once Yseph wasn't held in high esteem, then not only did the Egyptians not look at us that way, but we didn't look at ourselves that way. Benel saw themselves while Yoseph was alive as a member of a special royal family, and that affected and impacted the way the Egyptians saw us. But once we lost that self-respect once we lost that self-confidence says if we don't respect ourselves others won't respect us. These are two lessons for gull number one to be ourselves our identity to not compromise or corrupt whatsoever and number two to respect ourselves to have a self-esteem to hold our heads high to have Jewish pride and Jewish practice to say I'm royalty I'm the child of Jacob. As long as Yoseph and his brothers were in the as long as there was a self-respect and dignity and class, the Egyptians feared the Jews when the Jews carried themselves a certain way. All this is in