Shnayim Yomi - Va'era - Rishon - #1 - Rabbi Elchanan Shoff - The Secret to Redemption

My name is Rabbi Nachman Scharf. It is such an honor to be here with my amazing friends at Schneim Yomi. Thank you for joining me. In the first aliyah of this week's parsha, parshas Bo Era, we are told that the pasuk says, "Lachein amor el benei Yisrael l'emor, Lachein amor." Therefore, say to the Jewish people, "I am Hashem. I will take them out of Mitzrayim." Rabbi Chaim Palagi from the early 1800s in Izmir, Turkey in the sefer Tenufa Chaim points out that there's a clue in this pasuk because this word, "Lachein amor", is only used that phraseology is used as well when it comes to Pinchas. "Lachein amor, hinenei nosein lo es briti shalom." Pinchas is given a covenant of peace. Um and "Lachein amor" is the language used only two places in the Torah and he explains that peace among the Jewish people, loving each other, caring for each other, and living at peace with one another is the prerequisite for relating to Hashem. As Hillel famously said, "Hillel omer, um be students of Aaron. Ohev shalom, v'rodev shalom." Loving peace and pursuing peace. Be preoccupied with peace. Ohev es habriyos, loving other human beings, u'mekarvan laTorah, and bringing them close to Hashem's Torah. It is the relationship with Torah that is created through shalom, a relationship with God. You know, in the beginning of this whole story of the exile, it says in Rashi in the beginning of parshas Va'eira that at the beginning of the exile, the eyes and hearts the einayim and the leiv of the Jewish people were sealed up, were nistamu from the difficulty of the shibud, of the slavery. And then it says that Moshe grew up and he became great and he saw the pain of the Jewish people and Rashi says he used his eyes and his heart to feel their pain. And then later it says, "Vayiged na Elokim." Hashem saw the pain of the Jewish people and he knew what they were going through. Says Rashi, he didn't hide his eyes and then he opened up his heart so that whatever the metaphor is for obviously Hashem understanding us. The path to geulah is shalom, is feeling another person's pain. When a person is feeling like they are in trouble, there's koshi hashivud, it's difficult in life. When I stub my toe, it is very hard for me to feel pain for someone else or feel compassion for someone else because I'm so preoccupied with my own personal pain. And the feeling of geulah is a feeling of freedom where I have enough space to be able to feel for someone else. The ability to feel for others is the secret to redemption, shalom among the Jewish people where we care for one another, we live comfortably and kindly with one another. It brings us to Torah. It brings us to geulah. So that's our job. It's not to become too preoccupied and caught up in our own discomforts and pain, but to make the space for others too and with that we can achieve the geulah.