Transcript
Okay, good morning everyone. Want to thank our sponsors this morning for our פרשה Parsha class. Sponsored by Floyd and Phyllis Bernstein, in honor of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. A worthy honoree. So, שכויח Shkoyach, thank you very much. If anyone wants to sponsor in the future, please speak to the שול shul office and we appreciate your generosity. As always, we'll do an overview of the פרשה Parsha, and then we'll go back and delve into specific פסוקים psukim together. This week we have the privilege of studying פרשת בא Parshas Bo. In the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash, page 340. We are picking up where the narrative left off last week. We've begun the מכות makkos. God decides that it's not enough to redeem his people through some momentary transition, but the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, the master of the universe, deems it necessary to provide pomp and circumstance. The Egyptians have to suffer. They have to be smacked over and over and over again. And God orchestrates everything in order to achieve that outcome. It requires hardening Pharaoh's heart, which we're not going to discuss, but the famous question, what happened to free will if God can dictate the terms, if there's predeterminism, what happened to Pharaoh's free will? But God chose to harden Pharaoh's heart and against one's natural inclination and against all instinct to not give in to the pressure and to the incentive to release the Jewish people. Pharaoh was stubborn and steadfast to hold on to them, and that enabled God to have a platform to perform the ten מכות makkos. Not one, not two, not five, not seven, ten world-transforming, suspension of nature, magnificent pomp and circumstance, divine revelation that is almost unparalleled in human history. So those מכות makkos began last week and we picked them up here today.So the פרשה parsha begins with the eighth plague, the plague of locusts, when God brings locusts down all over מצרים Mitzrayim, and of course the people are covered by them and they sustain all of the plague of having locusts. The ninth plague is חשך choshech, darkness. We've discussed darkness at length in the past. You could listen online. We provided four or five different interpretations of what is this darkness. According to some, it wasn't a physical darkness in the atmosphere. It was a darkness in their eyes. All of the Egyptian people simultaneously suffered cataracts. All of them simultaneously had glaucoma, macular degeneration, whatever the ophthalmological disease, they all simultaneously went blind, their vision was clouded, they weren't able to see. And according to those interpretations, that's why the Jewish homes remained illuminated, they could see, it was only the Egyptians. Others say that there was a tangible darkness. It's not just darkness which is the absence of light. Normally darkness is just when you remove light. Turn off the light, it's dark. You don't add darkness, you don't contribute darkness. Some say this מכה makkah of חשך choshech was a tangible, palatable, you could feel the darkness. It was, it consumed you, it blinded you, it prevented you from perceiving anything. The great חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, says that the darkness, it says ולא ראו איש את אחיו v'lo ra'u ish es achiv, a person could not see their brother. Says the חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim, the darkness was neither in the atmosphere nor in the eyes. The darkness was in the heart. When a person is so narcissistic, so self-centered that they can't even see their brother, they're living a life of darkness, they're cloaked in darkness. חידושי הרי\"ם Chidushei HaRim homiletically says that was the חשך choshech. Again, we've studied more interpretations. I want to share with you quickly one more I saw this year. I had never seen before. From the Slonimer Rebbe in his נתיבות שלום Nesivos Shalom. The Slonimer Rebbe notes that the פסוק pasuk describes, ויאמר השם אל משה נטה ידך על השמים Vayomer Hashem el Moshe ntei yadcha al hashamayim. He tells Moshe, extend your hand towards the heaven, ויהי חשך על ארץ מצרים Vayehi choshech al eretz Mitzrayim. And there'll be darkness upon the Egyptians. And the מדרש Medrash asks, מהיכן היה החשך ההוא meiheichan haya hachoshech hahu? From where did Moshe draw this darkness? Where did it derive from? And the מדרש Medrash answers, מחשך של מעלה meichoshech shel maalah. It comes from the darkness of above. And it quotes a פסוק pasuk. And the Slonimer Rebbe is bothered. Darkness above? There's only light above. We associate our image of שמים shamayim, of the heavens, where God dwells with light and clarity, brightness and beauty. What does it mean? Moshe drew the darkness from the heavens, pulled it down and spread it on מצרים Mitzrayim. So the Slonimer Rebbe says, quotes the tale of יעקב יוסף Yaakov Yosef, and he says the following, very interesting.Says you know if you've been inside all day, a room with no windows, you've been inside a building with no exposure to the outside. You've been inside a cave, it's been dark. And then you step outside into the light. What happens to your eyes? You squint, they close, blinds you. When you go from darkness to a sudden intense exposure to light, you're blinded by the light such that it impacts you as if it is dark. Says the Slonimer Rebbe, Moshe, there is no darkness above. Heaven is a place of brightness and light and beauty and firmament. What does it mean when the מדרש Medrash says Moshe got the חשך choshech from above and brought it down? Says the Slonimer Rebbe so beautifully, what it means is מצרים Mitzrayim is a place of darkness. It's a prehistoric cave, morally speaking. It's a decadent, corrupt place of moral depravity. We know that מצרים Mitzrayim is the 49th, the lowest level of impurity in the world. It's the ultimate darkness. Moshe extends his hand to the heaven and he takes this injection of רוחניות ruchnius. He takes this incredible spirituality, the light of שכינה Shechinah of godliness and he injects it, he imbues it onto the מצרים Mitzrim. And when you're in a dark place and suddenly you're exposed to a bright light, it blinds you. It makes you feel that it's dark. And says the Slonimer Rebbe based on the מדרש Medrash, that was the חשך choshech of מצרים Mitzrayim. Somewhat paradoxically, the darkness of Egypt was how exposed they were to the light of שכינה Shechinah of תורה Torah of spirituality which for them, it blinded them. He goes on, he says we're going to read about when the Jewish people travel, it says that they went three days, ולא מצאו מים v'lo matzu mayim, they didn't find water. And חז\"ל Chazal interpret water is תורה Torah. They went three days without תורה Torah. And then what happens? Finally they get to water and how does the water taste? Bitter. It's a beautiful Kotsker Rebbe. Says that the water tasted bitter כי מרים הם ki marim heim. Which we normally interpret, the water was bitter because the water was bitter. The Kotsker Rebbe says כי מרים הם ki marim heim. הם Heim is a pronoun. Says the Kotsker Rebbe כי מרים הם ki marim heim, you know why the water was bitter? Because they were bitter. They were פאביסנה farbiseneh, they were slay, they were still victim, they carried themselves as victims, they were negative, they were toxic. So כי מרים הם ki marim heim. When you're bitter, everything tastes bitter. But anyway, says the Slonimer Rebbe, they travel three days, no water, they finally get to water and it's bitter. Why? If מים זו תורה mayim zu Torah, when they finally get the water, how could תורה Torah ever be bitter? So says the Slonimer Rebbe, because when you are living in darkness, the longer you go without water, without תורה Torah, you become spiritually dehydrated. And when you're spiritually dehydrated, then the water at first can taste bitter until you acclimate once again. And that's the image of מצרים Mitzrayim, and it's the image of our going too long without תורה Torah is that the longer we're cloaked in darkness... I'll give you another image. Maybe you could relate to. If you've ever worked out, exercised, so if you're consistent with your exercise, you get a good workout and you're not in terrible pain. But שלושה ימים shloshes yamim, you take a three-day break and you start squatting again or lunging again, you can't stand up for a month. You're in such pain. When you take a break and it sets you back and you're exposed to the thing which is so good for you, it hurts at first. So the מצרים Mitzrim were exposed to the light of שמים shamayim, נטה ידך על השמים ntei yadcha al hashamayim. Go draw that חשך choshech. Go show them what spirituality really looks like. Someone living in a cave in darkness who's exposed to spirituality, at first they're blinded. It's like staring at the sun, you're blinded by it. So it's yet another interpretation of what this חשך choshech really was. But continuing in the פרשה parsha, so that's the ninth plague, the plague of חשך choshech, a plague by the way in which we're told that four-fifths of the Jewish people, 80% of the Jewish people did not survive the plague of חשך choshech. חמושים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים Chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael mei'eretz Mitzrayim, which חז\"ל Chazal interpret to mean either חמושים chamushim means armed, or חמושים chamushim comes from חומש chomesh, one-fifth. Only one-fifth, 20% of the Jews left Egypt. We celebrate this exodus, this mass exodus, the birth of our nation, of our people, פסח Pesach, the סדר seder, הר סיני Har Sinai. 20%. 80% never made it out. Did they assimilate?I suggested this past שבת Shabbos, you know when Moshe last week's פרשה parsha, ויצוום אל בני ישראל ואל פרעה להוציא את בני ישראל מארץ מצרים vayetzaveim el Bnei Yisrael v'el Paroh l'hotzi es Bnei Yisrael mei'eretz Mitzrayim. God tells Moshe and Aaron here's your mission. Go command the Jewish people and Pharaoh to let the Jews go free. Command people? Command Pharaoh I understand. He is the oppressor, he is the despot, the dictator. He has to be commanded, let them go free. But בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael? So we suggested last שבת Shabbos that sometimes we are more imprisoned by our own self-imposed shackles than we are by the limitations and boundaries others put on us. בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael didn't believe it could get better. They didn't believe that they had the free will or the self-determination. They didn't dream and hope and picture a brighter future. 80% didn't think they were in control. They didn't think that they could drive their own lives. Only 20% grasped on to the message of hope and said, we're in. We could do what it takes, we're ready. Only 20% got out. Pharaoh's offering, then his rejection, and finally the warning of the most severe, the most intense, the final of the מכות makkos. מכת בכורות Makkas bechoros. Then we have the first מצוה mitzvah that's given in the תורה Torah, which is the מצוה mitzvah of ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh. החודש הזה לכם Hachodesh hazeh lachem. Then even yet before we ever left מצרים Mitzrayim, and this is going to be our subject for today, God says, okay, here's the deal. I want you to set aside a lamb, tie it to the bedpost. It's the god of the Egyptians. It's going to be an extraordinary act of courage. You're going to take the god of your oppressor. And he hasn't been your oppressor for five minutes or for five weeks or for five months. He has been your oppressor for generations and generations, for 210 years. Going back to your great-grandparents, they have watched the oppressor bow to this god. And now if I'm going to take you out, you have to do your part, says God. I'll meet you halfway, but I'm not doing all the work. You show some courage and I will help take you out. So I want you to take this animal, the god of the Egyptian, tie it to the bedpost. For how long? Four days. When was it God first told them to do it? On the 10th. Nobody even wants to talk about פסח Pesach. Like an allergic reaction here. It was the 10th of ניסן Nissan that year of the Exodus. What day of the week was the 10th of ניסן Nissan? Anyone know? ברוך אתה אדוני אלוהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Boruch Ato Adonoy Eloheinu Melech Haolam shehakol niyeh bidvaro. אמן Amen. Yes ma'am, what was the 10th of ניסן Nissan that year? It was שבת Shabbos. Which is the origin of the name שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol. It was called the great שבת Shabbos because on that שבת Shabbos they showed extraordinary courage and bravery. They showed their conviction to the Almighty. And they tied up that animal for four days till on the 14th they offer it, and the 15th they go free. And that's what comes next. So while they're yet in Egypt, God says, okay, you know what we're doing now with the animal, we're going to sacrifice it. And there's a thing called מצה matzah, you don't know about it yet, you haven't even left yet, but you're going to leave in a hurry, you're going to eat מצה matzah, you're going to eat מרור maror, and every year you're going to, maybe not so happily, but you're going to celebrate what's going to happen right now. You will commemorate every year going forward. Here's how you're going to commemorate it, with מצה matzah, with מרור maror, with this קרבן פסח korban Pesach. We're going to go back and talk about that as well. The פסח Pesach holiday, why it's called פסח Pesach. We have the 10th plague, they finally leave, they're on their way. More laws of the קרבן פסח korban Pesach, the obligation of זכור zachor to remember and to recall the experience of leaving מצרים Mitzrayim, and the firstborn, and finally our פרשה parsha ends with one of the ways in which we commemorate the Exodus, namely תפילין tfillin. והיה לאות על ידך ולטוטפות בין עיניך כי בחזק יד הוציאנו השם ממצרים V'haya l'os al yadcha u'l'totafos bein einecha ki b'chozek yad hotzianu Hashem miMitzrayim. What in the world do תפילין tfillin have to do with the Exodus? Everything is the Exodus. שמע Shema, we remember the Exodus. שבת Shabbos, זכר ליציאת מצרים zecher l'yetzias Mitzrayim. פסח Pesach, יציאת מצרים yetzias Mitzrayim. תפילין Tfillin, יציאת מצרים yetzias Mitzrayim. It's a pervasive theme throughout our observant lives and lifestyle is to constantly go back. And if that's not enough, the Torah had said, remember. זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים מבית עבדים Zachor es hayom hazeh asher yetzasem miMitzrayim mibeis avadim. Don't forget it. Remember it. How can I forget it? Every other minute I have to do a מצוה mitzvah whose essence is leaving. But on top of that is the overarching זכור zachor, don't forget this incredible experience. Okay, that's the פרשה parsha. Let's go back.I want to ask you a fundamental question. The מכות makkos. We began with this. The pomp and circumstance of the מכות makkos. Why? What's going on? Why does God need to reveal himself in such a seemingly ostentatious way? Just do something, blink your eyes, have them be from מצרים Mitzrayim, next thing you know they're in Israel. You're all powerful, you're an infinite, omnipotent God. You can do whatever you want. Why orchestrate things such that there's a world stage? So first of all, the Torah itself, God himself tells us the reason why he did it this way, because he would never again reveal his hand so explicitly, and he wants us in perpetuity to be able to look back and point to those events and say, I know with full confidence that there is a God, that he is involved in our lives. You know how I know it? Not because I read it in this book. You know how I know it? Because once a year I sit down with my family and my parents tell me what they heard from their parents, who say what they heard from their parents, who say what they heard from their parents, who say what they heard from their parents, who were there, who were in מצרים Mitzrayim. Just like many people at the פסח סדר Pesach seder, when we talk about והיא שעמדה v'hi she'amdah, there are survivors whose other days of the year never, ever talk about their experience, can't, won't, but who had a tradition that on פסח Pesach night with their family, they would tell their story. That's part of the Jewish narrative, it's part of the Jewish experience. So, please God, our survivors should live long and be well, but time goes on and the way the world works, we will soon no longer have survivors, first-hand accounts. And what will be the סדר seder of our grandchildren? They will get, they will get to והיא שעמדה v'hi she'amdah, and they will tell their children and grandchildren what their grandparents used to say at the סדר seder. And their grandchildren will tell their grandchildren what their grandparents quoted their grandparents as having said at the סדר seder. And will anyone say, you know what, I'm not hearing it first-hand, I don't know if it's true. Where does it say it in a book? We know our ancestors experienced and left Egypt with the level of veracity that we know our heroic survivors endured the worst atrocity known to man. Because they told the story and they tell the story and they pass it on to generations. This is a great opportunity to plug that the last week of June, my wife and I are leading a trip to Poland for one week. Those who want to go see life was like pre-war and obviously the camps and the קברי צדיקים kivrei tzaddikim. There's a brilliant historian who's leading the historical aspect of the trip and you're invited to join, it's on the website if you want to see the itinerary and and the details. So we know the story is true. So God says as you will live your lives and you will be uncertain, is there really a God? How do I know? And does he really care about what happens to me? You know what you'll stop and think? זכר ליציאת מצרים Zecher l'yetzias Mitzrayim. Say שמע Shema, put on your תפילין tfillin, observe פסח Pesach, remember זכור zachor. Hashem says I want it to be permanently imprinted in your memory that not only did I create a world, I didn't move on. I created a world that I'm intimately involved in the lives of all whom I created within that world. And if you feel a moment of doubt, if you feel a second of uncertainty, if you wonder where I am, זכר ליציאת מצרים zecher l'yetzias Mitzrayim. Just remember what you heard from your parents and your grandparents and your great-grandparents. In perpetuity we can look back and point back and know that God didn't create and move on to another project. He created the world and he continues to sustain it. But why all the pomp and circumstance?So I want to share with you an Ibn Ezra. The Ibn Ezra says, you know the פסח סדר Pesach seder, again I see some of you breaking out in hives, but the פסח סדר Pesach seder, when we get to, you know, the part that people wake up a little bit, the kids, you dip your finger in the wine and the מכות makkos and דם צפרדע Dam, Tzefardea, etcetera. רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda introduces this brilliant, innovative, breakthrough, creative, magnificent introduction to our סדר seder. What did רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda introduce, this incredible thing? Ingenious. What did he do? He made an acronym. דצ\"ך עד\"ש באח\"ב D'tzach Adash B'achav. I'm being somewhat facetious. Really? רבי יהודה היה אומר, דצ\"ך Rabbi Yehuda hayah omer, D'tzach... Really? So רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda combined them? Took the first letter. So did we ever stop to wonder like, why are we, that's so brilliant? It needed a רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda to come up with the acronym to take the 10 plagues and lump them into three categories? דצ\"ך עד\"ש באח\"ב D'tzach, Adash, B'achav. What's really going on? So the Ibn Ezra says that רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda is explaining to us the following. The מכות makkos are not God ostentatiously playing his hand. They're not God trying to impress humanity. The מכות makkos are a pedagogic tool. The מכות makkos are an educational experience. Now according to some, who is the beneficiary? To whom is this education directed? According to some, it's Pharaoh and the מצרים Mitzrim. According to the Ibn Ezra, it is the Jews themselves. Pharaoh, the מצרים Mitzrim, let them let them be confused, let them worship idols, let them be off base. But says Hashem, my children, my Jews, I don't want them to be confused. So I need to educate them. And here's how I'm going to educate them. And רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda says that דצ\"ך עד\"ש באח\"ב D'tzach, Adash, B'achav is a curriculum with three lessons. The first question that Pharaoh had is, מי השם mi Hashem, who's who's Hashem? He tells Moshe, מי השם mi Hashem? You come, you claim to be the agent, the שליח shliach, the representative of the Almighty? Who's the Almighty? So, through Moshe and Aaron, God says, I'd like to introduce myself. דם, צפרדע, כנים Dam, Tzefardea, Kinnim. I'd like to introduce myself. That I can control the world, that I can suspend nature, that you who worship the Nile, you who have no rain, but the irrigation system that nourishes Egypt draws from the Nile, I'd like to introduce myself. You know your susten your sustenance, your water source? Take another look. It's blood. Hi. I'm God. Nice to meet you. דם, צפרדע Dam, Tzefardea, and so on. What's עד\"ש Adash? ערוב, דבר ושחין Arov, Dever, and Shchin is confirming Hashem's divine providence, his continued interaction with the world. Not just I created the world with nature and I can suspend nature, but I continue to provide providence and interact with the world. And ברד, ארבה, חשך, מכת בכורות Barad, Arbeh, Choshech, Makkas Bechoros demonstrates, says the Ibn Ezra, that אין עוד מלבדו ein od milvado. It's not that God interacts with the world, but he's competing against other forces. So there's first, nice to meet you, I'm God, I created everything. Number two, I didn't only create everything, I interact with everything. I have a continued providence with everything. And number three, not only did I create the world and not only do I continue to interact with the world, I solely control the world, exclusively. אין עוד מלבדו Ein od milvado. There's nothing but me. I'm not competing, it's no tug of war to determine what happens. It's all me. So says the Ibn Ezra, the Jewish people were the recipients of this education. That רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda is not just a cute acronym or categories. It's three lessons in a curriculum of knowing that there's a God. And that's what will transform a slave nation to a people of the Almighty. חג האמונה Chag HaEmunah. It is the holiday of faith. It's not a coincidence, החלבן the Chalban, we've quoted before החלבן the Chalban, החלבן the Chalban says that it's not a coincidence, he quotes many sources, it's not his, Sfas Emes has this idea and others, how many plagues are there? 10. And how many commandments does God give at הר סיני Har Sinai? 10. And with how many statements did God create the world? 10. בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם B'asara ma'amaros nivra ha'olam. The world was created through 10 sayings. Until our generation we had no idea what that meant. But today we have speech recognition. Today we can appreciate a tiny bit of a sliver of a tiny bit of what it means with ten מאמרות ma'amaros. Today you say car, turn on radio, call home, today I don't know, you talk to your phone. It responds, today there's speech recognition. You say something and you create a reality. With 10 sayings, God created the reality of the world as we know it. And then, 10 מכות makkos. And then, 10 עשרת הדברות aseres hadibros. We call them דברות dibros, the Torah calls them עשרת הדברים aseres hadvarim. We call them דברות dibros for whatever reason. But says החלבן the Chalban, Sfas Emes, and everyone else, 10. Why? What's the difference between an אמירה amirah and a דיבור dibbur? Both are ways of describing speech. What's the difference between אמירה amirah and דיבור dibbur? So החלבן the Chalban explains, Rabbi Chaim Cohen, אמירה amirah is focused on the what of what I'm saying. If I tell you אמרתי amarti, you'll say מה אמרת mah amarta, what did you say? But דיבור dibbur is not focused on the what of what I said. What is דיבור dibbur? If I tell you דיברתי dibarti, you'll say with whom did you speak? עם מי דיברת Im mi dibarta? דיבור Dibbur focuses not on what I said, but with whom did I say it? Who am I communicating with? So God went from עשרה מאמרות asarah ma'amaros, God had the 10 sayings where he said, speech recognition, his speech created a reality. He said, hey Siri, make a world. And there was a world. God spoke and it wasn't a question of who was listening. His speech created a reality. And then he created a people to be the recipients of his next communication. So we went from מאמרים ma'amarim to עשרת הדברות aseres hadibros. And what comes in between, say the Sfas Emes, החלבן the Chalban, and everyone else, the 10 plagues are also a form of communication. So we have the words where the message matters, we have the דיבור dibbur where the recipient, the communication matters, and we have the 10 מכות makkos which is a communication of demonstration. You are communicating through demonstrating. God is demonstrating that he created the world through the מאמרים ma'amarim. He's demonstrating that he will be involved in the Jewish people's lives through the דברות dibros, and that is the correlation, the theme that binds the three places where we see this theme of 10. It's God's speaking, it's God demonstrating, it's God in dialogue, communicating with us. Okay, one last idea then we'll get into the פסוקים psukim themselves.It says when God's ready to take them out of מצרים Mitzrayim, ויאמר משה כה אמר השם כחצות הלילה אני יוצא בתוך מצרים vayomer Moshe, koh amar Hashem, kachatzos halayla ani yotzei b'soch Mitzrayim. God says, quoting, Moshe says quoting God, at about midnight, about approximately, about midnight, I'm going to come take you out, ומת כל בכור בארץ מצרים u'meis kol bechor b'eretz Mitzrayim, and I'm going to strike all the firstborn of Egypt. Here's the problem. רש\"י Rashi quotes the גמרא בברכות Gemara in Brachos. When Hashem communicated the message to Moshe that he was going to bring the 10th plague, he told Moshe precisely when that 10th plague would come. And what did he tell them? Did he tell Moshe, כחצות kachatzos, approximately, about? What did God tell Moshe? בחצות Bachatzos. Precisely. At midnight... I will visit my plague. So why did Moshe change it? בחצות Bachatzos to כחצות kachatzos. Why did Moshe alter God's word from precisely midnight to approximately about midnight?So Rashi explains that it wasn't השם Hashem Moshe was worried about, it was Pharaoh's astrologers. Moshe wasn't worried that God wasn't going to be able to deliver on time. God always delivers on time. If you've come to our sunrise מנין minyan monthly at the beach, it astounds me every month. You look it up, it tells you exactly what sunrise is going to be. You're דאווענען davening, you look at that 6:02 and 42 seconds, boom, the top of the sun comes up, there it is. It's never late. It's also never early. You know יקים Yekkes are very מקפיד makpid. יקים Yekkes are very מקפיד makpid. You know, some say that, what do they say that if you're early, you're on time, if you're on time, you're late, if you're late, don't come. יקים Yekkes don't hold of that. יקים Yekkes hold if you're early, you're also not on time. I I know that because some people come to meet with me, they come 20 minutes before the meeting, then they're sitting there, it's awkward for them, it's awkward for Linda, it's awkward for me. If you're early, you're also not on time. On time is on time. You're not late, you're also not early. Sun doesn't come a little early, it's not trying to impress השם Hashem, I came up a little early today. Whatever time it says, that's exactly when it comes.So Moshe wasn't worried that השם Hashem wasn't going to be able to deliver. So he said, ah, כחצות kachatzos, about midnight, just to just to cover השם’s Hashem's back. That's not what he's worried about. What is Moshe worried about, says Rashi? He's worried about Pharaoh's astrologers. That Pharaoh's astrologers who are calculating time, they might be off. What if the atomic clock is off? Someone's entire faith in the Almighty will be shattered because God said midnight, and according to my atomic clock, it was 11:59 and 42 seconds. It was 12:00 and 17 seconds. Clearly there's no God. So Moshe didn't want people who had miscalculated in order that they would then come to deny השם Hashem. And the question is very simple. These Egyptians had just experienced nine radical departures from the normal course of nature. The Egyptians have been smacked around nine times. They have sustained losses. And in each one of these, Moshe and Aharon say, okay, here's what's coming, and then it comes, and then the Egyptians beg, make it go away. So are we really worried that the tenth time, if the clock was off, so it looked like 11:59 or 12:01, they're going to say, oh, there's no God? Was that a real, legitimate fear, a reasonable fear that Moshe had to have about the astrologers?So the ספר פנינים על התורה Sefer Peninim Al HaTorah says an amazing insight. Unbelievable insight. He explains that when reality is incongruous with what we want, when the message being broadcast our way is incompatible with what we want to believe or do, we human beings have a remarkable capacity to defy logic and common sense in order to defend and justify our behavior. So yeah, even after nine plagues of Moshe and Aharon predicting exactly, this is about to happen, then it happens, then they beg make it stop happening, the human capacity for denial when something is inconsistent with what we want to believe or do is boundless. So much so that if they were off a minute, even after the nine plagues and the tenth they would have said, you know what? There's no God. He was 30 seconds late, clearly there is no God. An amazing insight of the פנינים על התורה Peninim Al HaTorah. Okay, let's get to our פסוקים psukim.So we last left off last year, we're in פרק י\"ב Perek Yud-Beis, and we are up to פסוק pasuk, um, I think פסוק ד' pasuk dalet. No, I'm sorry, פסוק ח' pasuk ches. We last left off last year, פרק י\"ב Perek Yud-Beis, chapter 12, verse 8. Where is that? The Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash, page 350. What's going on over here? This is right before the tenth plague, and in anticipation of emancipation, God says, okay, here's the deal. Take the animal, we're going to make a holiday. This is what's going to happen. What does he do first? God gives them the very first מצווה mitzvah in the Torah. What's the first מצווה mitzvah in the Torah? The first Rashi on Torah says maybe the Torah should have really started from here. What's the first מצווה mitzvah in the Torah? החודש הזה לכם ראש חודשים ראשון הוא לכם לחודשי השנה Hachodesh hazeh lachem rosh chodashim, rishon hu lachem l'chodshei hashanah. This month for you, the beginning of months, it is the first month of the year. This is the calendar organized according to the beginning of the calendar being ניסן Nissan. So God says, I'm giving you control of the calendar. You're going to look up, when you see the new moon, witnesses will testify, you control, you manipulate the calendar. We have a whole מסכת ראש השנה Maseches Rosh Hashanah, which talks about the exact way the witnesses would come, how they were interrogated, could they travel on שבת Shabbos, how it was communicated out to the masses. We suffer till today from a second day of יום טוב Yom Tov because punishment for living in the exile, and if you live at a distance that you weren't able to be communicated to when ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh was, to cover your bases, you had to keep two days. They would send out messengers, then they would light fl- light light bonfires. The משנה Mishnah spells out all of the details. Why do we continue to have it today? It's a great discussion. So, not something, not something that's negotiable, despite many people's, it is negotiable. Make עלייה aliyah. If you're miserable enough from the keeping the second day, it's a tremendous incentive for making for making עלייה aliyah. So we're given the very first מצווה mitzvah in the Torah. The first מצווה mitzvah in the Torah is, you control, you manipulate time.So when יום כיפור Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year falls, the 10th of תשרי Tishrei, what determines when the 10th of תשרי Tishrei falls? Is it God? God preordains, he sends all the Jewish funeral homes the calendar and he says, this is exactly when the holidays will fall this year. No. God sits back, constrains himself and he says, it's up to you. שבת Shabbos, that's automatic. You count six days, every seventh day is שבת Shabbos, since the beginning of time, as much as you want to make it later, push it off, delay it, make it come quicker, you can't control שבת Shabbos. שבת Shabbos, God says, is his. But יום טוב Yom Tov, what do we say in דאווענען davening? מקדש ישראל והזמנים Mekadesh Yisrael v'hazmanim. On שבת Shabbos we say מקדש השבת mekadesh haShabbos. God sanctifies שבת Shabbos. Because whether we like it or not, ready or not, here it comes, שבת Shabbos comes. God has sanctified שבת Shabbos. It's a שבת Shabbos. But יום טוב Yom Tov only comes when first מקדש ישראל mekadesh Yisrael, God sanctified us, and we in turn sanctify the זמנים zmanim.Why is this the first מצווה mitzvah God gives? If you're God and you've just taken this people out of Egypt, a slave nation 210 years, you're finally making good on that promise to their forefather אברם Avram, you're going to make them into a nation. What will you give them first? שבת Shabbos, כשרות kashrus, שעטנז shaatnez, יום כיפור Yom Kippur, צדקה tzedakah? We could debate what might be the appropriate first מצווה mitzvah. We could debate, but the Torah tells us what it was. This מצווה mitzvah of ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh, controlling time. The question is why? I've quoted it often. I'm very fond of quoting this insight. It's really from the ספורנו Sforno, but רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik elaborates on it. He says the following: The first commandment they were given in Egypt which signaled the commencement of their liberation was to mark time. A slave is relieved of מצוות עשה שהזמן גרמא mitzvos aseh shehazman grama of time-bound commandments because the slave lacks time experience. To the slave, time is a curse. He waits for the day to pass. The slave's time is the property of his master. No matter how hard he may try to be productive in time, he will not reap the harvest of his work. Therefore, he is insensitive to time. His sense of movement of time, the passing of hours, days, weeks is very dull. Life to the slave personality is motionless. He lacks the great excitement of opportunities knocking at the door, of challenges summoning him to action, of tense expectations and fears of failure. Any faith which is inseparably bound up with time is inapplicable to him. The time awareness or experience has three basic components. First, retrospection. Without memory, there is no time. Second, the exploration or close examination of things yet unborn, of the anticipatory experience of events not yet in being. Third, appreciation or evaluation of the present moment as one's most precious possession. No one is worthy of time awareness if retrospection is alien to him, if he's incapable of reliving, recovering, and reproducing past experiences. Memory is not just a storehouse for latent impressions, there's also living memory, which reproduces and re-experiences the past. Past events which are not re-experienced belong not to history, but to archaeology. Indeed, the מצווה mitzvah of סיפור יציאת מצרים sippur yetzias Mitzrayim does not exhaust itself in a historical review of bygone events that have vanished completely. It is more than that. It's a drama, charged with emotion and tenseness, of participating in the past. רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva is not just a figure who lived many hundreds of years ago. He's part of my life. His image and teachings are integrated into my personality. When I think of רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva, רבן גמליאל Rabban Gamliel, רבי יהושע Rabbi Yehoshua, רמב\"ם Rambam, I'm not thinking about people who lived in antiquity or the Middle Ages. Their images have become part and parcel of me, of my eye awareness. On the other hand, to live in time and feel its rhythm, one must also move from the memory of the past to the unreality of the future. One must go from things and events that were and are no longer to that which will be real someday, even though it is not yet real, from reminiscing to anticipating. To live in time means to be committed to a great past and to an unborn future. Time awareness also contains a moral element, responsibility for emerging events and intervention in the historical process. Man, according to Judaism, should try to mold and fashion the future. This is exactly why he has been created as a free agent. Man is free to reach central and basic decisions that will determine his and sometimes the world's future. He goes on and on and describes that the slave has no time awareness. What does it mean to be free? What it means to be free is to control your time. We've spoken about in our lectures, the best version of yourself, that magic number, 168. Anyone know what 168 corresponds with? That's how many hours there are in the week. You can't buy more hours, you can't bank hours for later, you can't slow down the passage of those hours. No matter how rich or poor, old or young, healthy and firm, we all have the same 168 hours. You could always have more money. Go work harder, get more money. Take better care of yourself, have better health. But you can't add more to the time. Time is fixed. A slave has no control over that time. So explains the רב Rav based on the ספורנו Sforno, that the expression of freedom is determining your own time, time management, time awareness, productive use of time. That's what freedom is all about. Okay. So let's get now to פסוק ח' pasuk ches. פרק י\"ב Perek Yud-Beis, פסוק ח' pasuk ches. ואכלו את הבשר בלילה הזה צלי אש ומצות על מרורים יאכלהו V'achlu es habasar balailah hazeh tzli esh umatzos al merorim yochluhu. On that night in the future, when you will perpetually commemorate what we're about to experience now, says God, you're going to eat this meat on that night. It's going to be roasted, delicious barbecue. ומצות על מרורים יאכלהו Umatzos al merorim yochluhu. And you're going to eat with מצה matzah and with מרור maror. Says Rashi, את הבשר ולא גידין ועצמות es habasar v'lo gidin v'atzamos. We know we have a commandment, you're not allowed to consume the sinews, the bones, can't break a bone, no marrow on סדר Seder night of the קרבן פסח Korban Pesach. על מרורים Al merorim, says Rashi, כל עשב מר נקרא מרור kol eisev mar nikra maror. A grass which is bitter is called מרור maror. וציוום לאכול מרור זכר וימררו את חייהם V'tzivam lechol maror zecher l'vayimareru es chayeihem. And we were commanded to eat מרור maror to remember and commemorate the bitterness of our experience. Can I ask you a simple question? Why? סדר Seder night is about freedom. It's joyous. We're royalty. Why? Why do we have to do this all the time? Got to make everything bitter. Why? Why do we have to inject the memory of the bitter, just enjoy the freedom. Why is the memory of the bitterness so important? So let's forget that we were freed. Why do we have to remember how miserable it was? Not only that, it's out of order. פסח, מצה, מרור Pesach, matzah, maror. רבן גמליאל Rabban Gamliel teaches the סדר seder, anyone who didn't recite these three things, לא יצא lo yotzei, פסח, מצה, מרור Pesach, matzah, maror. Shouldn't it be מרור, פסח, מצה maror, Pesach, matzah? First we had the bitterness, then God took us out, then we didn't have time for the bread to rise, we ate מצה matzah. מרור, פסח, מצה Maror, Pesach, matzah. Why is it פסח, מצה, מרור Pesach, matzah, maror? So the last question I'm not going to answer now. Although I'll refer you to a brilliant article on aish.com by a young handsome rabbi in Boca Raton, and uh, that answers this, which is um, based on very fascinating research. I read an article in the New York Times about research, and then I gave a drasha where I asked that question and I gave an answer based on the research. And then somehow the Aish article got back to the researcher who himself is Jewish and has a סדר seder, and he loved the application of it to the סדר seder, and wrote back that he thinks it's 100% consistent with his research, and that was very gratifying and go visit the article, it's very interesting. So I'm not going to get into the order. But why do I have to remember the מרור maror? Rashi says על מרורים יאכלוהו al merorim yochluhu. You have to eat the מרור maror. We eat the מרור maror today, מרור maror today is Rabbinic. The רמב\"ן Ramban here points out, says the רמב\"ן Ramban, על מצות ומרורים יאכלוהו Al matzos umerorim yochluhu. שיאכלו את הבשר בלילה הזה צלי אש Sheyochlu es habasar balailah hazeh tzli esh. The rabbi said you have to eat the meat, it has to be roasted. וכן על מצות ומרורים, כמו עם, וכמו ויבואו אנשים על הנשים, לכן ראש על קרבו, ועל קרבו, ולא אמר עם, ללמד שאין החוב בשיהיו כרוכין בבת אחת ואוכלן Vechein al matzos umerorim, k'mo im, u'ch'mo vayavo anashim al hanashim, lachein rosh al kirbo, v'al kirbo, v'lo amar im, l'lamed she'ein hachov b'sheyikarchan b'vas achas v'ochlan. So מרור maror has to be eaten with the קרבן פסח Korban Pesach. בזמן Bizman, when we don't have a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash and we don't have the קרבן פסח Korban Pesach, is מרור maror biblical? No. Our מרור maror today we eat, a מצווה דרבנן mitzvah d'rabbanan. What about מצה matzah? מצה Matzah we have two פסוקים psukim. We have a separate commandment to eat מצה matzah that never mentions מרור maror and the קרבן פסח Korban Pesach, plus we have the commandment here for מצה matzah. So therefore since מצה matzah has an independent commandment, totally unrelated to the פסח Pesach, מצה matzah remains דאורייתא d'oraisa today. Last year in the afternoon כולל Kollel when we studied our ערבי פסחים arvei psachim, we studied this in depth. Could listen on YU Torah if you like. So the רמב\"ן Ramban points out that מרור maror today is דרבנן d'rabbanan. But why do we have to eat מרור maror? It's a happy night. So רב וואסרמן Rav Wasserman, the מנחת אשר Minchas Osher answers, because when we eat the מרור maror, what we're saying is that the bitterness also was for a purpose, that when we experienced the bitterness and we didn't understand it, and we asked why, now we look back in retrospect, and we understand there was meaning, there was order, there was purpose to it all. That even that which felt and tasted bitter is somehow all part of a master plan and somehow is all good. And the מנחת אשר Minchas Osher, רב וואסרמן Rav Wasserman quotes his רבי rebbi, the קלויזנבורג רבי Klausenberger Rebbe, who explained, that's what we're saying every time we say שמע Shema. שמע ישראל Shema Yisrael, listen, who's the ישראל Yisrael? Who is he telling to listen? The guy sitting next to you in שול shul? Talking to yourself, your own נשמה neshamah. שמע ישראל Shema Yisrael, listen to פינטעלע איד pintale yid in you. Listen, השם אלוקינו Hashem Elokeinu. השם Hashem, the י-ה-ו-ה Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei depicts מידת הרחמים middas ha-rachamim, the God of kindness and mercy, the good that we see. אלוקינו Elokeinu depicts מידת הדין middas ha-din, the God of justice. שמע ישראל Shema Yisrael, listen, listen you Jew. השם אלוקינו Hashem Elokeinu, what you perceive as רחמים rachamim and what you perceive as דין din, השם אחד Hashem Echad. It all comes from the same God. It's all good. Painful things happen to good people. Bad things don't happen to good people. Painful things happen, but not bad things. And it all comes from God. Says the sons of the רבי Rebbe, the קלויזנבורג רבי Klausenberger Rebbe, our מנהג minchag is, we take our hand, we cover our eyes when we say שמע Shema. Why? Why are we covering our eyes? Simple understanding is, it's a biblical commandment, it's very important and serious. We seek to concentrate. To intensify our concentration, we cover our eyes when we say שמע Shema. Says the קלויזנבורג רבי Klausenberger Rebbe, no. You know why you cover your eyes? Because when you make this affirmation that השם אלוקינו Hashem Elokeinu, what I perceive as kind and merciful, and what I experience as bitter, it all comes from you God, I'm covering my eyes to show that I don't understand anything in the world. That when I look at the world and I think I can interpret right and wrong and good and bad and pleasant and painful, I'm covering my eyes. I am deferring, I am submitting to you, that השם אלוקינו Hashem Elokeinu, that which is compassionate and that which is and that which is judgment, it's השם אחד Hashem Echad, it's all you. I cover my eyes, I don't really, I think I understand things, I don't understand anything. It's an act of submission to cover our eyes and our perception of the universe when we declare this affirmation. And he says that's why we're eating this מרור maror. אל תאכלו ממנו נא ובשל מבושל במים כי אם צלי אש ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו Al tochlu mimenu na uvashel mevushal b'mayim ki im tzli esh rosho al k'raav v'al kirbo. Don't eat it when it's נא na. What's נא na? Says Rashi, שאינו צלוי כל צרכו she'eino tzalui kol tzorko. You can't eat it too raw, too rare. It has to be fully cooked. כי אם צלי אש Ki im tzli esh, and it has to be roasted. Rashi, בשל מבושל כל זה באזהרות לא תאכלום bashel mevushal kol zeh b'azharos lo sochlum... ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו rosho al k'raav v'al kirbo. It has to be roasted on the spit whole with its head on, one complete animal. But מים mayim, it has to be in a liquid. כי אם צלי אש ki im tzli esh. There's a לא תעשה lo sa'aseh and an עשה aseh that it has to be roasted. Next פסוק pasuk, ולא תותירו ממנו עד בקר והנותר ממנו עד בקר באש תשרפו v'lo sosiru mimenu ad boker, v'hanosar mimenu ad boker ba'esh tisrofu. And don't leave it over till the morning. You have to eat all the meat. If you leave it over, it has to be consumed on the fire. And how do you eat it? Remember, this is God predicting. They've not yet experienced the Exodus. God's telling them how they will celebrate. וככה תאכלו אותו v'chachah tochlu oso. And here is how you're going to eat it tonight. מתניכם חגורים נעליכם ברגליכם ומקלכם בידכם ואכלתם אותו בחפזון פסח הוא להשם mosneichem chagurim, na'aleichem b'ragleichem, u'makelchem b'yedchem, v'achaltem oso b'chipazon, Pesach hu l'Hashem. Your pants are buttoned, your belt is tightened, your shoes are on, they're laced up, מקלכם בידכם makelchem b'yedchem, car keys are in your hand. ואכלתם אותו בחפזון v'achaltem oso b'chipazon. פסח הוא להשם Pesach hu l'Hashem. You're gonna eat it speedily, it's פסח Pesach for God. Wow. What is going on over here? Why does it matter how I'm dressed when I eat this commemorative sacrifice to remember the way we left? Belts tightened, shoes laced up, staff in your hand, keys ready to go. Says Rashi, מתניכם חגורים מזומנים לדרך Mosneichem chagurim mezumanim l'derech. That's how you would be if you were ready to leave. You need to exhibit preparedness, that you are anticipating, that you're really ready to go. Says the ספורנו Sforno, מזומנים לדרך כענין וישנס מתניו, להורות על בטחון בלתי מסופק בקל יתברך, ביוצאם מכינים עצמם לדרך בעודם בבית כלא Mezumanim l'derech k'inyan vayishanes masnav, l'horos al bitachon bilti mesupak b'Kel yisbarach, b'yotzam mechinim atzmam l'derech b'odam b'beis keleh. ספורנו Sforno has beautiful imagery. All God said is, I'm going to take you out. 210 years of suffering, you might say I'm staying in my pajamas. I'll tell you what, when you kill the Egyptians, when you clear the path, when I'm ready to go, I'll change. I'm staying in my pajamas. 210 years of this, I'm sticking in my pajamas, you let me know when it's time to go. Says the ספורנו Sforno, while they're still in מצרים Mitzrayim, still technically enslaved, yet they show they're ready to go. Belts tightened, shoes on, keys in hand, suitcase packed. Why? What are they showing? בטחון בלתי מסופק בקל יתברך bitachon bilti mesupak b'Kel yisbarach. It is an unwavering faith in the Almighty that he will make good on his promise. There are great rabbis who supposedly through the generations have had a suitcase packed by the door, ready for when משיח Moshiach will come. בכל יום אחכה לו b'chol yom achakeh lo. I believe your promise, God, it could be any moment. My suitcase is ready to go. בטחון בלי מסופק בקל יתברך bitachon b'li mesupak b'Kel yisbarach. That's why they're ready to go. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, ומקלכם בידכם u'makelchem b'yedchem, staff in hand, לנהוג החמורים linhog hachamorim. Why was I saying car keys, to translate staff? Because the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, why do you need a staff in your hand? Shoelaces is tied up, I get, belt tightened, I get. Why do you need a staff? How else do you turn on your donkey? How else do you get it started? How else do you get it going? לנהוג החמורים linhog hachamorim. וטעם בחפזון v'ta'am b'chipazon. And why did they go out? God describes that the Exodus happens with alacrity, with zeal, in a hurry, speedily, בחיפזון b'chipazon. Why? Why? Says Rashi, שלא יתעכבו וימהרו לאכלו... מה שהוא פסח... על כן ציוה השם להיות צלי אש, דמבשל מהרה Shelo yit'akvu v'yemaharu l'ochlo... ma she'hu Pesach... al kein tzivah Hashem l'hiyos tzli esh, d'mevashel meheira. So that they eat quickly before the fireworks begin of מכת בכורות makas bechoros, and that's why he demanded they roast it, because roasting is the fastest form of cooking. But why בחיפזון b'chipazon? כלי יקר Kli Yakar has a comment here. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, במכילתא איתא דאמר בחיפזון שכינה B'mechilta itta d'amar b'chipazon Shechinah. ובלא תעשה כתיב, לא בחיפזון תצאו u'b'lo sa'aseh ksiv, lo b'chipazon teitzeiu. כלי יקר Kli Yakar quotes the מדרש Medrash that says the manner in which they live left corresponds with their perception of the שכינה Shechinah. What does he mean? ביאור הדבר הוא, לפי שבגאולה זו כתיב, והשם הולך לפניהם Be'ur hadavar hu, l'fi she'b'geulah zo ksiv, v'Hashem holech lifneihem. משמע אבל לא מאחריהם mashma aval lo me'achareihem. The redemption, it says, God walked before them. It sounds like God was not behind them. Why was God only in front of them, not behind them? Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, where were they leaving? Egypt is disgusting. God's not behind them, he wants to make a beeline out of there. God's, excuse me, the שכינה Shechinah does not belong in מצרים Mitzrayim. So he's leading the way. He's only before them, not after them. על כן תאכלו בחיפזון כדי למהר לקבל פני השכינה Al kein tochlu b'chipazon kedei l'maher l'kabel pnei haShechinah. So when God is only in front of you, then you go quickly because you're chasing after, you're keeping up with God. אבל לעתיד די השכינה מלפניהם ומאחריהם aval l'asid d'haShechinah milifneihem u'me'achareihem. However, subsequently after this, God will be both before and after. If God is also behind you, it's inappropriate to be running away from him. So that's the כלי יקר's Kli Yakar's interpretation. We are out of time. The heilige רב מאסקאוויטש Rav Moskowitz is here. But we will begin, please God, next year with the following two questions. So make sure to mark on your calendar, ערב פרשת בא erev Parshas Bo 2018. Following two questions. Why does God predict it already in anticipation we're going to leave in a hurry? But moreover, wake a Jewish child in the middle of the night and he'll tell you, why do we eat מצה matzah on פסח Pesach? Why? Because we didn't have time for the dough to rise, we were in a hurry. What's the problem with that? What's God already telling them before they ever didn't have time for the dough to rise? I want you to know when you leave, you're going to eat מצה matzah, you're going to commemorate it every year by eating this food, which you have all the time in the world to make now. But don't make it now, because you're going to make it later when you're in a hurry. What's going on? It's backwards. מצה Matzah is somehow intrinsically connected with the way we left Egypt. Why did the formation of our nation, did the birth of our people need to be done בחיפזון b'chipazon? Why did it have to be done speedily, with alacrity? What is the connection to מצה matzah? And why does God call it פסח Pesach? Why do you have to do all this? 'Cause פסח הוא להשם Pesach hu l'Hashem. פסח הוא להשם Pesach hu l'Hashem? פסח Pesach is for השם Hashem? I thought השם Hashem was פסח pasach on the houses. How was it a פסח Pesach for השם Hashem? I'm tempted to go another hour. But next year, we'll cover these questions, please God, next year. Everyone's invited tonight. Great rivalries continues. Tonight's rivalry is between Peter Bergson and Rabbi Stephen Wise. Anyone know who Peter Bergson's real name was? הלל קוק Hillel Kook. The nephew of רב אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook. And the two of them had this rivalry during the Holocaust in America, what the role of American Jewry was in trying to trying to fight for their brothers overseas. That is the topic tonight at 7:30. Everyone's invited to stay for...
