Fish - R. Hillel Eisenberg - TorahAnytime.com

In the history of Jewish lullabies, there is one that reigns supreme. There is one that has been sung since forever. And we can accurately label it the mother of all Jewish lullabies. It is the song of Hamal Hagalo. It is those soft words Yakov said to Yoseph's sons Ephraim and Manasha when he blessed them. Now, here's what's odd. The end of the PK is peculiar. It concludes which translates to mean you should multiply like fish within the land. Now, here's one question. Why is Yakov comparing us to fish? Didn't Hashem previously tell Aram we were going to be like stars and sand? Why now all of a sudden the blessing is to be like fish? And secondly, what does it mean that we should be like fish within the land? Last time I checked, fish don't live on land. So, she gives an explanation that doesn't just teach us, it reveals. He says, "When we bless our children, we are not giving them comfort. We are giving them clarity. We are telling them that the same way a person could stand at the edge of the ocean and you look out and you see nothing, just endless blue, it's flat, it's still, it's ordinary, you would never imagine that just beneath the surface is a whole world exploding with color. Entire civilizations of life and movement and harmony and beauty beyond words and all of it is completely invisible to someone standing by the edge. Cesar P, that's us. That's what we are telling our children. We are telling them that the world will look at you and see nothing. They will see nothing special. They will see restrictions. They will see old books. They will see strange clothing and ancient laws. And they will have absolutely no idea of the breathtaking purity hidden beneath the surface. They will have no idea of the harmony and the peace and the magic hidden beneath the surface. When we say we are blessing our children with this truth that the life of Tyra is the greatest life, the purest life, the most dignified, the most harmonious and holy way a human being can live on this earth. And history tested that claim. We were forced into ghettos. We were loaded into cattle cars. We were left to rot in DP camps. But if you could open a crack in the ghetto wall, just a crack, you know what you would see? You would see purity. You would see holiness. You'd see integrity. You'd see love. You'd see honesty and kindness. You'd see virtually zero domestic abuse. You'd see virtually zero domestic violence or crime. You'd see the light of a shabas candle. You'd see the unparalleled holiness of Yum Kipper. You'd see the happiness of Purim. You'd see the joy of Sukus. You'd see the sweetest children on the face of the earth and you'd see all of that through a crack in the ghetto wall. All completely unbeknownst to the outside world. We are like fish in the sea. We live, we move, we build lives of depth and meaning. And the world swims above us completely, entirely unaware of the beauty beneath its feet. They don't see us. They don't understand us. They never have. And that's okay because fish don't need applause from the shore. They just need to know that they belong to the ocean. And our job is to make sure our children never forget how deep their waters really are. We bless our children that they should not be deterred by those who live on land and can't see our world within the oceans's blue. We stand over our children's crib and we hope and we cry and we dream and we pray that they too come to the recognition that a life of Tyra is the best life and that anyone who tells them otherwise is merely living on Land.