Transcript
Parshas Bo, as we plow along in the story of יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim. So let's take a look at this piece by the סלאנימער Slonimer on כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ki ani ichbadeti es libo, which every year you can't study שמות וירא בא Shmos Vayera Bo and בשלח Beshalach and not address the issue of the hardening of פרעה's Paro's heart. What happened to free will? How could השם Hashem suspend פרעה's Paro's free will? Isn't free will the axiom or foundation of of life? God created a world for us to make choices and choices that yield consequences and that's what gives life meaning. We make choices, we feel close, we make the right choice, we make the wrong choices, we create distance. That's true in our marriages, it's true in parenting, it's true in friendship, it's true in every arena in life, and it's true most of all with with the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam himself. So when הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu suspends free will, he essentially automates, turns us into a little robot. What is the point of of being created? ויאמר השם אל משה בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו Vayomer Hashem el Moshe bo el Paro ki ani ichbadeti es libo v'es lev avadav. השם Hashem says to משה Moshe, נו nu, come to פרעה Paro, which supports something we spoke about in the פרשה parsha class a few weeks ago, the idea that משה Moshe is on שליחות shlichus. Ay, שליח של אדם כמותו shliach shel adam kemoso, how can you be a קדוש ברוך הוא's Kadosh Baruch Hu's שליח shliach? How can you be God's agent? We're so categorically different and and totally holy, W-H-O, unqualified to be השם's Hashem's agent. So the answer is we're not, because we're צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim. Since we have a piece of השם Hashem in us, and maybe that's the פשט pshat, בא אל פרעה bo el Paro. השם Hashem doesn't say לך אל פרעה lech el Paro, he says בא אל פרעה bo el Paro, I'm going with you. Either I'm going with you literally, I'll be by your side, or I'm going with you that I'm inside you. So you are me, I'm going with you because you are a walking צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim. וברש\"י בא אל פרעה והתרה בו U'veRashi bo el Paro, v'hasrei bo, go to פרעה Paro and warn him. וצריך ביאור Ve'tovach bira. מדוע שלחו להתרות בפרעה מאחרי כי אני הכבדתי את לבו Madua shlocho l'hasros b'Paro mei'acharei ki'ani ichbadeti es libo? I don't understand. If פרעה's Paro's heart has been hardened and he's been turned, rendered into an automated, robotic person to carry out God's will, why does he need a warning? A warning is for a person who has free will and the purpose of the warning is exercise your free will correctly, use good judgment. פרעה Paro didn't have the luxury of choice, of judgment. כמו שכתוב ואני אחזק את לב פרעה ולא ישלח את העם K'mo she'kasuv, va'ani achazeik es lev Paro v'lo yishalach es ha'am. השם Hashem already predicted, he said, I'm going to harden his heart and he won't send the people. ואמנם הרמב\"ם פרק ו מהלכות תשובה כתוב בענין זה V'omnam haRambam Perek Vav me'Hilchos Teshuva kasuv b'inyan zeh. The רמב\"ם Rambam addresses this. ואפשר שיחטא אדם חטא גדול או חטאים רבים עד שיהא הדין... שמונע ממנו התשובה ואין מניחין לו רשות לשוב מרשעו כדי שימות ויאבד בחטאו שעשה V'efshar she'yechta adam chet gadol o chatayim rabbim ad she'yiheh ha'din... shemoneh mimenu ha'teshuva, v'ein menichin lo reshuss lashuv me'risho, k'dei she'yamus v'yobed b'cheto she'asa. The רמב\"ם Rambam describes there are people who perform such egregious violations. There are people who have forfeited their צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim. They've acted in such repulsive, disgusting, reprehensible, deplorable ways that השם Hashem says I revoke from you the right to do תשובה teshuva. I revoke it from you. What you've done is just so heinous, so egregious, that I've revoked from you the right. You feel remorse? Good. I'm happy. That's nice. But what you've done is irreparable. You can't fix it. The possibility of coming back, of starting fresh or starting anew, that possibility is gone. You just can't. להבדיל L'havdil, there are cases of infidelity or violation of trust within a couple where some are are solvable. In fact, there's a a wonderful therapist named Esther Perel, Jewish. parents were Holocaust survivors. She was actually trained in Israel, and she's written, she's written very popular books. She gave the most popular TED talk on this subject. I tried to bring her here to speak this year but we weren't able to coordinate. Hopefully still next year. She gave an incredible TED talk on recovering from infidelity, whether it's physical infidelity or or emotional infidelity. And she talks about basically people will be married twice in their life. The only question is will it be to the same person or a different person and the ability to recover and recreate and start a fresh and start a new and it's it's really worthwhile just even for a healthy marriage some of the the points you could take out. So there's her perspective and there is some there is some violation of trust or infidelity that can be recovered from, but sometimes people are so pained and so hurt that even if the other party feels, genuinely feels bad and feels remorse and wants to start anew, the injured party says it's just irreparable. It's just it's it's it's impossible to rebuild it. It's just impossible. So הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu says the same thing about us. Sometimes we exercise free will, we violate his trust. We've practiced infidelity towards the Almighty in a way that's irreparable. ולפיכך כתוב בתורה ואני אחזק את לב פרעה, לפי שחטא מעצמו תחלה והרע לישראל... ונתן הדין למנוע התשובה ממנו... לפיכך חזק הקדוש ברוך הוא את לבו U'lefichoch kasuv ba'Torah va'ani achazeik es lev Paro, l'fey she'chata mei'atzmo techilah v'hera l'Yisrael... v'nasan ha'din limnoa ha'teshuva mimenu... l'fichoch chizak haKadosh Baruch Hu es libo. So the רמב\"ם Rambam describes, what does it mean that השם Hashem hardened פרעה's Paro's heart? Was not פרעה Paro was some innocent guy skipping down the street, did nothing wrong, and השם Hashem said, 'huh, he'd make a good pawn. I'll harden his part and heart and I'll manipulate him to carry out my will.' That's not what happened. פרעה Paro was this lowlife אויסוואָרף oisvorf reject who had violated השם's Hashem's will, who had compromised and forfeited and sacrificed his godliness, his humanity, and God says, okay, since he has no opportunity for תשובה teshuva anyway, since he lived and functioned in such a way that he's already forfeited his right to תשובה teshuva, he's the one I'm going to use. ולמה היה שולח לו ביד משה... ובכל פעם אומר שלח ויעשה תשובה, כבר אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא אינו משלח U'lammah haya sholeach lo b'yad Moshe... u'v'kol pa'am omer shalach v'yaaseh teshuva, k'var amar haKadosh Baruch Hu eino meshalayach. כדי להודיע לבאי עולם שבזמן שמונע הקדוש ברוך הוא תשובה לחטא, אינו יכול לשוב וימות ברשעו שעשה בתחלה ברצונו K'dei l'hodi'a l'ba'ei olam she'bizman she'moneh haKadosh Baruch Hu teshuva la'choteh, eino yachol lashuv v'yamus b'risho she'asa b'techilah b'ritzono. So the רמב\"ם Rambam wonders, then why send משה Moshe? Each time משה Moshe goes and says, נו פרעה nu Paro, did you change your mind? Are you willing to let him go? What's with the charade? Why are you going through the optics of this for? It's clear. He wasn't deserving of the opportunity to תשובה teshuva, so השם Hashem therefore uses him as a pawn to hold the people back. So why is משה Moshe going through this futile exercise of going and saying, hey, let my people go? The רמב\"ם Rambam says the reason is for all of us to learn that there are some behaviors which are irreparable. So פרעה Paro had acted in such a way that he forfeited his humanity, his godliness, and therefore השם Hashem used him and תשובה teshuva was off the table. לשיטת הרמב\"ם לא היה בשליחות משה משום התראה... ולא היה באפשר לעשות תשובה L'shitas haRambam lo haya b'shlichus Moshe mishum hasraah... v'lo haya b'efshar l'asos teshuva. According to the רמב\"ם Rambam, משה Moshe wasn't really going to give התראה hasraah. He wasn't going to warn פרעה Paro because a warning suggests you can heed the warning and it can alter your course of behavior. But פרעה Paro that was impossible. So the warning wasn't a real warning. אמנם פירוש רש\"י וכן מרוב ראשונים משמע כדברי החיד\"א בנחל קדומים שעדיין היה בכחו לעשות תשובה Omnam pi Rashi u'pi Rashi v'chein mei'rov rishonim mashma k'divrei haChida b'Nachal Kedumim she'adayin haya b'kocho la'asos teshuva... לפיכך שלח להתרות בו l'fichoch shalach l'hasros bo. However, there's another approach of many ראשונים rishonim and the חיד\"א Chida that in fact פרעה Paro still had the opportunity. He could have come back. And that's why משה Moshe was going, to leave open the door a sliver. Leave a tiny opening that should פרעה Paro want to force his way through that opening and want to come back, he could have. מה שכתוב כי אני הכבדתי את לבו, הפירוש שאף על פי שאני הכבדתי את לבו, יש לו עוד דרך לתשובה Mah she'kasuv ki ani ichbadeti es libo, ha'peirush she'af al pi she'ani ichbadeti es libo, yesh lo od derech l'teshuva. Even though I hardened his heart, there is a another way towards תשובה teshuva. ויש לומר איך שייך עדיין דרך תשובה אחרי שאני הכבדתי את לבו V'yesh lomar eich shayach adayin derech teshuva acharei she'ani ichbadeti es libo. So we're left with the question and what the סלאנימער רבי Slonimer Rebbe wants to address and what we're going to learn together this morning is what other method or pathway is there to תשובה teshuva if השם's Hashem's hardened your heart? I don't understand. תשובה Teshuva is using free will to want to undo the past, to redo the future or renew who you are in the present. That's what תשובה teshuva is, using free will, utilizing free will. So how can you have your free will suspended and yet have some means of of doing תשובה teshuva? Any thoughts?Okay, let's see what the סלאנימער רבי Slonimer Rebbe has to say. That was just to buy myself time to take a sip of coffee. ויש לומר בזה על דרך מה שמצינו בגשמיות V'yesh lomar b'zeh al derech mah she'matzinu b'gashmiyus. שיש לאדם כחות טבעיים הידועים ומוכרים לו She'yesh l'adam kochos tivi'im ha'yedu'im u'mukrim lo. So let's compare it to the world of the material, the physical world. That a person has כחות טבעיים kochos tivi'im, we have natural powers, natural talents, inclinations. ועוד הוא מוכרים בכל... ועוד חנן הקדוש ברוך הוא V'od hu mukarim b'chol... v'od chanan haKadosh Baruch Hu ...לאדם כוחות נעלמים על טבעיים, שבזמנים רגילים אף אינו יודע על קיומם, ורק בעת סכנה כאשר אינו מסוגל להציל את עצמו בכוחותיו הטבעיים, אזאי מתגלים בו הכוחות העל טבעיים שעל ידיהם יוכל להנצל ...l'adam kochos ne'elamim al tivi'im, she'bizmanim ragilim af eino yodea al kiyumam, v'rak b'eis sakanah ka'asher eino mesugal l'hatzil es atzmo b'kochosav ha'tivi'im, azai misgalim bo ha'kochos ha'eil ha'tivi'im, she'al yedeihem yuchal l'hinatzel. I read an article several years ago about this grandmother whose grandchild was watching her grandchild and the grandchild got pinned under a car and she summoned superhuman strength to but for a moment, lift the car a millimeter up enough for the child to roll out. And that's exactly what the סלאנימער רב Slonimer Rav is describing. We have a natural power and we think that our natural power has a ceiling, it has a limit. So I'm able to bench press X or I'm able to walk Y or I'm able to stay awake for Z or whatever it is, this is my natural the boundaries of my natural abilities. But when extraordinary circumstances, so the human body is designed, I don't know exactly the chemical process of adrenaline release or whatever the chemical fight or flight. The fight or flight and the adrenaline release and whatever the chemical process is, but we are able to dig deep and find powers, we break through what are the normal boundaries to our our natural abilities and we find these extraordinary abilities for extraordinary circumstances. So a grandmother who weighs 100 pounds can lift a car so that her grandchild could roll out from under it, or other such examples. Right, somebody who who who ran a certain distance to save their life, somebody who, the extraordinary circumstances. וכמו אדם הטובע בים, שבאתה שעה עולה בלבו כמיני עצות ותחבולות איך להנצל U'kmo adam ha'tovea ba'yam, she'b'oso sha'ah oleh b'libo keminei eitzos v'tachbulos eich l'hinatzel, ומתגלים בו כוחות נעלמים בלתי ידועים u'misgalim bo kochos ne'elamim bilti yedu'im. So all of a sudden a person is drowning in the sea, their mind races and explores in in extraordinary speed different possibilities how to save themself and they do unbelievable things to be able to sustain themselves. If I throw you in the water and I say tread water for for six hours, you'd say after four minutes, I'm done. I'm out. I wave the white flag, I'm done. But if I throw you in there and that's the only way you're going to live, you dig deep and you find those powers. The guy had to cut off his arm to survive, right? Right, people cut off their own arm and so on. כמו כן ברוחניות K'mo chein b'ruchniyus. יש לך כחות טבעיים הידועים, ויש כחות על טבעיים ובלתי ידועים Yesh l'cha kochos tivi'im ha'yedu'im, v'yesh kochos al tivi'im u'bilti yedu'im. So what's true in the physical realm with a physical chemical process of an adrenaline release is true in the spiritual realm. There is a spiritual adrenal gland that pumps adrenaline and we think we have these spiritual limitations that this is the best I can daven. This is the best I can learn. This is the most I can be in touch with my נשמה neshama. But בעת סכנה רוחנית, מתעוררים באדם כחות נעלמים שנטע בו הקדוש ברוך הוא כדי שיוכל למצא לו עצמו דרך b'eis sakanah ruchnis, mis'orerim b'adam kochos ne'elamim she'nit'a bo haKadosh Baruch Hu k'dei she'yuchal limtzo lo atzmo derech. So the סלאנימער רב Slonimer Rav is suggesting that just like physically in extraordinary circumstances, in moments of grave danger, I can find capacity I didn't know I had, so too in moments of great spiritual danger, I can find capacity I didn't know I had. So I thought my אמונה emunah and בטחון bitachon is limited at whatever level. I thought there are boundaries to the amount of faith I could have. And then there are people who are in extraordinary circumstances and they dig deep and they find even more. וכן יש לנו ענין זה באופן התשובה, יש תשובה בכחות הטבעיים, ויש תשובה על ידי כחות העל טבעיים V'chein yesh l'anu inyan zeh b'ofen ha'teshuva, yesh teshuva b'kochos ha'tivi'im, v'yesh teshuva al yedei kochos ha'al tivi'im. We have a natural ability where I feel bad. So I regret the past and I make a commitment for the future and I'm willing to confess what I did wrong and I ask for forgiveness. That's the natural process of תשובה teshuva. But there's limits to it. And then there's extraordinary תשובה teshuva. וזה מבואר הדיסא בזוהר הקדוש על פגמי... למוד תשובה תתאה, כי אין תשובה עילאה סגיאה... U'zeh mevoar hada d'yisav b'Zohar haKadosh al pigmei... lamod teshuva tata'ah, ki ein teshuva ila'ah sagia... There's a higher תשובה teshuva and a lower תשובה teshuva. So there's some violations where the lower תשובה teshuva is not enough. הן דעל פגמים אלו אין אפשר לשוב בכחות הטבעיים Hein de'al pigamim eilu, ein efshar lashuv b'kochos ha'tivi'im. ורק על ידי כחות העל טבעיים, בכח המסירת נפש הטמון ביהודי V'rak al yedei kochos ha'al tivi'im, b'koach ha'mesiras nefesh ha'tamun b'Yehudi. There's a willingness to be מוסר נפש moser nefesh that is buried deep within the Jew. A willingness to go above and beyond. So many of us are not willing to sacrifice money or time or energy or resource for יהדות Yahadus. Right? In our day and age, people don't want to have to give up. That was the article I wrote, the tyranny of convenience. That I have a מנין minyan on my block. Why do I want to walk to שול shul? It's over five minutes faster. Why do I want to go longer? I don't want to revisit the merits or demerits and I wasn't trying to shut down such מנינים minyanim, just calling on people to rotate. So, so I'm not willing to walk five minutes later more. However, in a moment of great struggle, I'd be willing to walk 40 miles to go save my child or whatever the case may be. So there's a there's a capacity for מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh that's inside us. It doesn't come out in ordinary circumstances. In ordinary circumstances, we're unwilling to be מוסר נפש moser nefesh, the tyranny of convenience. But in extraordinary circumstances, there's no there's no desire for convenience. We're willing to do whatever it takes, and that includes even when it comes at a high price of מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh. על ידי זה יוכל להגיע לתשובה עילאה לתקן גם את העניינים שעל פי טבע אין להם תקון Al yedei zeh yuchal l'hagi'a l'teshuva ila'ah l'takein gam es ha'inyanim she'al pi teva ein lahem tikkun. So what's true in the physical realm with an adrenaline release is true in the spiritual realm and it's true in the תשובה teshuva realm. Right? So every אלול Elul and every עשרת ימי תשובה Aseres Yemei Teshuva and every נעילה Neilah, I have these dreams of who I can be. But there's boundaries to who I can be. Right? So I'm not going to really give up everything. I'll just taper it back. I'm not going to totally become that other person. I'll just make some minor adjustments. But then there's the capacity for a תשובה עילאה teshuva ila'ah, for there's a wholesale תשובה teshuva where I transform myself entirely. I'm no longer that person who was doing that. I have a new identity, I have a new drive, I have a new aspiration, I have a new status, I'm a new person. ובדרך להמשיך לו ראה הכחות אלו על טבעיים... כי תכלית רצון השם יתברך הוא לא ידח ממנו נדח U'b'derech l'hamshich lo rah ha'kochos eilu al tivi'im... ki tachlis r'tzon Hashem Yisbarach hu lo yidach mimenu nidach. בכח אמונה הזאת גם כאשר אינו מוצא לעצמו שום דרך, שנמצא לגמרי בידי היצר הרע ובכחותיו הטבעיים אינו יכול להתגבר עליו, יודע הוא ומאמין כי רוצה השם יתברך לא ידח ממנו נדח, ונטע בקרבו כחות נעלמים הנושאים בכחם יכול לשוב אף במצבים שאינו יכול לשוב בכחות אנושיים B'koach emunah hazos gam ka'asher eino motzei l'atzmo shum derech, she'nimtza l'gamrei b'yadei ha'yeitzer hara u'b'kochosav ha'tivi'im eino yachol l'hisgaber alav, yodea hu u'ma'amin ki rotzein Hashem Yisbarach lo yidach mimenu nidach, v'nita b'kirbo kochos ne'elamim ha'nosh'im b'kocham yachol lashuv af b'matzavim she'eino yachol lashuv b'kochos enoshiyim. He's saying that the same way, why does your adrenal gland, is that the right term? Why does your, why do you get this adrenaline release that allows you to do extraordinary physical accomplishments? Because of the fight or flight, because you understand that the alternative to that extraordinary reaction is death, it's permanent, you're done, you're gone. You or the person you're trying to save. It's a permanent and it is the gravest consequence there is. So he says, if that's what elicits or stimulates the physical adrenal gland, it's the same thing that stimulates the the spiritual adrenal gland. If a person feels, if I don't do something spiritually extraordinary right now, if I don't transform my identity, who I am, how I see myself, how others see me, how I behave, who I want to be, the legacy I want to leave, if I don't undergo an entire makeover and radical transformation right now, I'm spiritually a goner. I'm on the brink of spiritual death. I'm done, whether because of what I've done to myself or השם's Hashem's rejection of me. So when a person reels, השם Hashem doesn't want that. השם Hashem doesn't want my grandchild to die under this car. So I'm going to summon the strength to lift it. השם Hashem doesn't want me to not have the opportunity to do תשובה teshuva. So I'm going to transform myself so radically that it's not that the old me can't do תשובה teshuva, there's such a brand new me, I don't even need to do תשובה teshuva. I've just transformed, I've been reborn to the point that such a new me. So that's hard to achieve. The level of תשובה teshuva of it's a brand new me, I'm not repairing the damage of the past, I've simply turned into a new person. I'm a new model. I'm 2.0. That's usually due to extreme circumstances, though. So it's that's exactly, it's usually extreme circumstances. A person goes through a life or death thing, a person has the loss of a loved one, a person has a tremendous disappointment or regret in their life, a person has some radical, extreme event, experience, condition, they're willing to undergo an extreme transformation, just like the car pinning the child down is extreme and there's an extreme reaction counter to it, parallel to it. So too when there's an extreme pressure or or there's a extreme predicament on a spiritual level, there's an extreme reaction. וזה מה שאמרו חז\"ל, מנשה שכתוב אחרי שחטא כל כך... כמו שכתוב ויעש הרע בעיני השם כתועבות הגוים V'zeh mah she'amru Chazal, Menasheh sh'chasuv acharei she'chata kol kach... k'mo she'kasuv v'ya'as ha'ra b'einei Hashem k'to'avos ha'goyim. So in דברי הימים ב ל\"ג Divrei Yamim Beis, Lamed Gimmel, פסוק pasuk says that מנשה Menasheh who was a wicked, evil king, did such terrible things like the most abominable among the nations, נאמר בו, כחלה לחלות פני השם אלקיו ויכנע מאד מלפני השם אבתיו, ויתפלל אליו ויעתר לו וישמע תחנתו וישיבהו ירושלים למלכותו, וידע מנשה כי השם הוא האלקים ne'emar bo, k'chalo l'chalas pnei Hashem Elokav v'yikana me'od milifnei Hashem avoseha... v'yispallel eilav v'ye'aser lo v'yishma schino v'yishiveihu Yerushalayim l'malchuso, v'yeida Menasheh ki Hashem Hu ha'Elokim. So despite what he had done, which was so egregious, there was a way back. They דאווענט davened for him and he came back and מנשה Menasheh knew השם Hashem and did תשובה teshuva. ואיזה גמרא אמר רבי יוחנן שם... וישמע אליו, ויחתר לו ויותיר לו מבעדלי... ויעתר לו U'b'iza Gemara mar Rabi Yochanan shem... v'yish'ma eilav, v'yechter lo v'yoter lo mei'boidli... v'yater lo? What does it mean ויחתר v'yechter? It should say ויעתר v'ya'atar, they דאווענט davened on his behalf. מלמד שעשה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא כמין מחתרת ברקיע כדי לקבלו בתשובה ממידת הדין Melamed she'asa lo haKadosh Baruch Hu k'min machteres b'raki'a k'dei l'kabel b'teshuva mei'midas ha'din. הקדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu forged an opening, made a pathway for him to do תשובה teshuva. כי מנשה אחרי שהרע כל כך ויעש הרע בעיני השם, שוב לא יכול לחזור בתשובה באופן טבעי על ידי כוחות הטבעיים Ki Menasheh acharei she'hera kol kach b'ya'as ra b'einei Hashem, shuv lo yachol lachzor b'teshuva b'ofen tivi al yedei kochos ha'tivi'im. He had done was so reprehensible, so intolerable, so absolutely terrible that there was no way back in the ordinary path back. Right? So if you wanted to remain the old מנשה Menasheh and just say, but you know, all those things that I did, I really feel bad. I'm not going to do it again. That wasn't good enough given how badly he had soiled and blemished his his soul. So the only way was something radical. תשובתו על ידי הכוחות הנעלמים העל טבעיים Teshuvaso al yedei ha'kochos ha'ne'elamim ha'al tivi'im. עשה לו הקדוש ברוך הוא מחתרת וקבלו בתשובה להושיבו לירושלים למלכותו asa laKadosh Baruch Hu machteres v'kiblo b'teshuva l'hoshivo l'Yerushalayim l'malchuso. וזהו ויכנע מאד מלפני השם אלקיו... שההכנעה היתה באופן על טבעי V'zehu v'yikana me'od milifnei Hashem Elokav... she'hakna'ah hayisa b'ofen al tivi. ועל ידי זה המשיך מלמעלה הנהגה על טבעית, שלא על פי מידת הדין... שעשה הקדוש ברוך הוא חתירה מתחת כסא הכבוד כדי לקבלו בתשובה V'al yedei zeh himshich milmala hanhagah al tivis, shelo al pi midas ha'din... she'asa haKadosh Baruch Hu choterah mitachas kisei ha'kavod k'dei l'kablo b'teshuva. So if you try to say the same person and just feel bad for things you did, there's no room left for you. That's irreparable. But if you're willing to become a new person, 2.0, a version of who you are, so it's not a matter of repairing the damage you had done, it's a matter of redefining and re-identifying who you are, such a radical תשובה עילאה teshuva ila'ah. תשובה תתאה Teshuva tata'ah is I remain the same person, but I regret what I did. I'm trying to become a new me. תשובה עילאה Teshuva ila'ah, the higher תשובה teshuva is, it's not that I'm the same person with regret, I'm a new person. Such a radical personal transformation. ועל פי זה מבואר ענין פרעה, אף על פי שהכבדתי את לבו, עדיין יש לו דרך לתשובה העל טבעית... על כן שלח הקדוש ברוך הוא להתרות בו שעדיין יש לו דרך לכח ולשוב V'al pi zeh mevoar inyan Paro, af al pi she'hichbadeti es libo, adayin yesh lo derech l'teshuva ha'al tivi'is... al kein shalach haKadosh Baruch Hu l'hasros bo she'adayin yesh lo derech l'koach v'lashuv. אך פרעה כפר בהנהגה העל טבעית... כמו שאמר לא ידעתי את השם... מי השם אשר אשמע בקולו Ach Paro kafar ba'hanhagah ha'al tivis... k'mo she'amar lo yadati es Hashem... mi Hashem asher eshma b'kolo. כידוע דשם הוי' אומר על הנהגה על טבעית, כמו שלא האמין שיש הנהגה על טבעית מלמעלה, כך לא האמין שיש למטה כחות על טבעיים להתנהג באופן שלמעלה מן הטבע K'yadua d'shem Havayah omer al hanhagah al tivis, k'mo shelo he'emin she'yesh hanhagah al tivis milmala, kach lo he'emin she'yesh l'matah kochos al tivis l'hisnaheg b'ofen she'l'mala min ha'teva. So פרעה Paro, even though השם Hashem hardened his heart, he still had a pathway towards תשובה teshuva if he would have undergone the personal transformation. So when we talk about he hardened his heart, it means in the lower realm, in the notion of I want to remain the same פרעה Paro but I regret what I had done. השם Hashem says, no, I'm taking that away from you. You can't have regret, you can't have remorse, you can't feel bad, confess, make a קבלה לעתיד kabbalah l'osid, the normal formula or pathway towards תשובה teshuva, that was denied to פרעה Paro. That's what השם Hashem hardened his part. But there's an alternate route, there's another, a third way towards, a second way towards תשובה teshuva, another path, and that is the radical personal transformation. Had פרעה Paro wanted to stand up and say, I'm not the same פרעה Paro who enslaved these Jews. I'm a new man. Not that I'm the same man with regret, I'm 2.0, that opening was still available to him. And that's why he needed התראה hasraah. The warning was regarding whether he would take advantage of that parallel opening, the other path to תשובה teshuva, which is the radical transformation path. This is probably why Makkas Bechoros came because that's like one of those extreme circumstances, right? Exactly. As the מכות makkos progressed and intensity and you get to the מכת בכורות Makkas Bechoros, that's the equivalent of your grandchild being pinned under the car. Would he then take advantage? וכן הענין אצל אחר V'chein ha'inyan esel Acher. This answers the theological dilemma everyone talks about every year. Where's the free will if השם Hashem hardened your heart? And the answer is, he partially hardened his heart. He hardened his heart from the lower level תשובה teshuva, but he left open the possibility of the radical personal transformation. וכן היה אצל אחר... שיצא בת קול ואמר שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר V'chein hayah esel Acher... she'yatza baskol v'amar shuvu banim shovavim chutz mei'Acher. We know אלישע בן אבויה, אחר Elisha ben Avuya, Acher, the גמרא Gemara tells us the story of how he went off and רבי מאיר Rebbe Meir his תלמיד talmid continued to try to bring him back. Right? He was walking with the on the horse on שבת Shabbos, and רבי מאיר Rebbe Meir is walking alongside him and they get to the end of the תחום tchum and אלישע בן אבויה, אחר Elisha ben Avuya, Acher says, 'Rebbe Meir, you got to stop here. You're not, I'm going to keep going, but you're not allowed to keep going with me.' It's an incredible whole story of of the פרדס Pardes and אחר Acher. A great book, As a Driven Leaf. As a Driven Leaf. The whole story of how אחר Acher goes off and רבי מאיר Rebbe Meir tries to bring him back. So in the story of אחר Acher, there's a בת קול bas kol, a heavenly voice that says שובו בנים שובבים shuvu banim shovavim, we are in the midst of שובבי\"ם Shovavim right now, פסוק pasuk in יחזקאל Yechezkel, שובו בנים שובבים shuvu banim shovavim, שמות, וירא, בא, בשלח, יתרו, משפטים Shmos, Vayera, Bo, Beshalach, Yisro, Mishpatim. This is the time of year designated to work on our קדושה kedusha. So שובו בנים שובבים shuvu banim shovavim, everyone can return except for אחר Acher. ועל ידי זה נתיאש מתשובה V'al yedei zeh nit'yaesh mi'teshuva. So אחר Acher heard that and he said, there's no way back for me. Everyone is allowed to transform, everyone is allowed to have regret, everyone's allowed to repair damage except me? Okay, I'm out of here. ובספר קדושת לוי... כי אסור היה לאחר לקבל את הבת קול... היה צריך לעשות תשובה אף על פי כן U'b'sefer Kedushas Levi... ki oso haya l'Acher l'kabel es ha'bas kol... hayah tzarich la'asos teshuva af al pi chein. So the הייליגע ספרים heilige Seforim, the חסידיש ספרים chasidish seforim say that the heavenly voice was testing אחר Acher. The point was אחר Acher was not supposed to hear that and say, fine, I guess that's me. I'm the bad kid. I'll continue to act as the bad kid. אחר Acher was supposed to say, despite you saying I can never change, I'm going to prove you wrong. We, the Jewish people are in the business of saying to the world, we're going to prove you wrong. There's no fatalism, there's no sense of that's who I am. You can't put us in a in a box and a corner, you can't label us and think we're just going to behave that way because you've labeled us. The ספרים הקדושים Seforim haKedoshim say אחר Acher was supposed to look at that בת קול bas kol and say, I'm going to prove you wrong. Don't say חוץ מאחר chutz mei'Acher. I'm going to be back. ומסמיכים את זה... שלושים חז\"ל, כל מה שיאמר לך בעל הבית עשה, חוץ מצא U'masmichim es zeh... shaloshim Chazal, kol mah she'yomar l'cha ba'al ha'bayis asei, chutz mitzei. The גמרא Gemara in פסחים Pesachim says whatever the בעל הבית baal ha'bayis tells you to do, you have to do unless they tell you leave. So meaning, הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu was saying חוץ מאחר, צא chutz mei'Acher, tzei, and you're not supposed to listen to the בעל הבית baal ha'bayis when he says צא tzei. אחר Acher should have looked at the בעל הבית baal ha'bayis, namely the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, the בת קול bas kol and said, I'm not out of here. I'm not the bad guy. I'm not denied תשובה teshuva. I'm going to prove you wrong. כמו שכתוב בראשית חכמה בזה, בעל הבית היינו הקדוש ברוך הוא... כל מה שיאמר לך מהמצוות עשה, חוץ מצא, שאם יאמר לך צא מביתי ועד תיקונס כענין אלישע אחר, אל תשמע לו, אלא תיכנס בתשובה K'mo she'kasuv b'Reishis Chochmah b'zeh, ba'al ha'bayis haynu haKadosh Baruch Hu... kol mah she'yomar l'cha mei'hamitzvos asei, chutz mei'tzei, she'im yomar l'cha tzei mei'beisi v'ad tikanes k'inyan Elisha Acher, al tishma lo, ella tikanes b'teshuva. If השם Hashem says I'm so repulsed by you, you've so violated my trust that it's irreparable, leave. You're supposed to say I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm going to smother you with flowers and chocolates and cards. I'm going to prove my behavior. I'm going to go above and beyond. I'm going to be so selfless in this relationship that I'm not taking no for an answer. כי זה חשקו של בעל הבית... אלא שמעטה אותך Ki zeh cheshko shel baal ha'bayis... ella she'mato escha. Because when the בעל הבית baal ha'bayis says צא tzei, what he's really saying is, let me see how invested you are in this relationship. Right? So when when the person's trust has been violated and they say to the other party, I don't know if we have a future, I don't know if we can stay married. Often what they're saying is, let me see how much you're willing to fight for this. How hard are you willing to fight for this? They don't really mean צא tzei, they mean how hard are you willing to fight for it? And the ראשית חכמה Reishis Chochmah is saying that's the פשט pshat. When the גמרא Gemara says everyone can do תשובה teshuva חוץ מאחר chutz mei'Acher, the בת קול bas kol was saying to אחר Acher, how hard are you willing to fight for this? How far are you willing to go? Are you satisfied, you want to just do a lower level תשובה teshuva? Because that won't be enough. Are you willing to undergo a radical transformation? ופירוש חוץ מאחר היינו שבופן טבעי אין לו דרך תשובה, אבל היה צריך להתאמץ ולהאמין בכחות העל טבעיים שעל ידם יכול לשוב U'peirush chutz mei'Acher haynu she'b'ofen tivi ein lo derech teshuva, aval hayah tzarich l'hisameitz v'l'ha'amin b'kochos ha'al tivi'im she'al yadam yachol lashuv. תמיד יש ליהודי דרך לשוב וגם כי יצא שאול הנך Tamid yesh l'Yehudi derech lashuv v'gam ki yetzei sha'ul hinach. So what the סלאנימער רב Slonimer Rav is saying is a tradition that a Jew always has a way back. because we have a tradition, the רמב\"ם Rambam. The רמב\"ם Rambam is clearly saying there are things you can do that are so egregious that you forfeit your צלם אלקים tzelem Elokim and there simply is no way back. The סלאנימער רב Slonimer Rav is reinterpreting that to mean, yeah, in the classic method of a way back, there's no way back. So meaning normally you did something wrong to your wife, say you buy her flowers, you get her a dress, you really say you're sorry and you show some sincere authentic remorse and regret. You go make an extra effort for the next week, two weeks. You take bath time and bedtime, or you do the dishes. And normally that's good enough. But there are things that are so bad that that's not good enough. You have to become a different husband, a different person, a radical transformation. So when the רמב\"ם Rambam says that that there are people who forfeited their צלם אלקים tzelem Elokim, that there's no way back, it means don't think the flowers, the chocolates and doing the dishes will be enough. But there is still always a way back for a Jew if we're willing to redefine and undergo the radical transformation. And that was true for מנשה Menasheh and it was true for אחר Acher. And that was the test of אחר Acher when הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu said חוץ מאחר, צא chutz mei'Acher, tzei, leave. He was saying how hard are you willing to fight for this relationship? And it's true for פרעה Paro. Even though השם Hashem hardened פרעה's Paro's heart, hardening his heart meant don't bring flowers or chocolates or do the dishes. That's what hardening his heart, but he still had the ability to undergo the radical transformation, and that's what demanded the התראה hasraah from משה Moshe. Even though he wasn't a Jew? Even though he wasn't a Jew. Yeah. Because we're talking about all these examples of Jews. True, true. וזה הגילוי שהיינו ביציאת מצרים שבופן טבעי לא הסרו להגאל... ורק על ידי ויאמן העם V'zeh ha'gilui she'heinu b'Yetzias Mitzrayim she'b'ofen tivi lo hisru l'yigael... v'rak al yedei va'ya'amen ha'am. And this is the experience of יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim that in the natural order, the Jewish people didn't deserve to be redeemed. שבמ\"ט שערי טומאה she'b'mem-tes sha'arei tumah. They were in the 49th level of טומאה tumah. It's almost as if they weren't even in a place or position to do the ordinary path of תשובה teshuva, the ordinary process of תשובה teshuva, but they did want to transform themselves. They didn't want to be the slave nation with a slave mentality who were so contaminated with the impurities of Egypt. They dreamt of something better, something different. They wanted to undergo a transformation. And that's how they got out. ונכלל בטעם התורה להזכיר יציאת מצרים כל ימי חייך V'nichlal b'tiv ha'Torah l'mazkir Yetzias Mitzrayim kol yemei chayecha, included in the מצוה mitzvah to remember daily the exodus from Egypt, חז\"ל דרשו כל ימי חייך לרבות הלילות Chazal darshu kol yemei chayecha l'rabos ha'leilos. Why does it say כל ימי חייך kol yemei chayecha? In order to include nights. שבכל המצבים שחשכה... שבופן טבעי אין דרך לצאת מהם She'b'chol ha'matzavim she'chashcha... she'b'ofen tivi ein derech l'tzeis meihem. In all the circumstances of darkness where there is no natural path or way or way out, גם אז היהודי להאמין כי יש בכחות נעלמים ועל טבעיים שעל ידם יכול להחלץ מהמצב הגרוע ביותר gam az ha'Yehudi l'ha'amin ki yesh b'kochos ne'elamim v'al tivi'im, she'al yadav yachol l'heichaleitz mei'hamatzav ha'garu'a b'yoser. וכן ענין זמן הקדושים... בספר קדושת לוי... בשם הבעש\"ט, בעל שם טוב V'chein inyan zman ha'Kedoshim... b'sefer Kedushas Levi... b'shem ha'Besht, Baal Shem Tov. ומה שהפלא הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורתו ענין יציאת מצרים, כי בשמה הם שקועים כל כך בטומאה... כמעט בלתי אפשרי לשוב להשם יתברך U'mah she'hifla haKadosh Baruch Hu b'Toraso inyan Yetzias Mitzrayim ki b'shama heim she'kuim kol kach b'tumah... k'mat bilti efshari lashuv l'Hashem Yisbarach. We were so saturated with the influence of Egypt, we were hardly in a position to deserve to be redeemed. ...נגלה כבוד השם לחתור חתירה מתחת כסא הכבוד ולהתגלות לפניהם... לבוא בא בקיש... ויצא מגדרי טבעי ...negla k'vod Hashem l'chator chatirah mitachas kisei ha'kavod u'l'hisgalos lifneihem... liv'o ba b'ke'ish... v'yatza mi'geder ha'tivi. So sometimes when you're at a rock bottom, so the alcoholic, the addict who hits rock bottom, who if their lifestyle or the choices they've made in the recent past is entirely undeserving of another chance, but by hitting rock bottom and realizing that they want to transform, they want to be better, they envision a radical change in who they want to be, that supplants the ordinary and that enables them to have a chance. וזה ענין החילה של הדבר... כי אין תשובה למכות ועונשים V'zeh inyan ha'chailah shel ha'davar... ki ein teshuva l'makkos v'onshim. כי זוכים לדבר על פי יציאת מצרים כנגד שום שכל, וזה הדרכה של יציאת מצרים, וזה הוא טעם כל יום... להזכיר את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך Ki zochin l'davar al pi Yetzias Mitzrayim k'neged shum sechel, v'zeh ha'darka shel Yetzias Mitzrayim, v'zeh hu tam kol yom... l'mazkir et yom tzeischa mei'eretz Mitzrayim kol yemei chayecha. So the סלאנימער רב Slonimer Rav is concluding and saying that what we're supposed to remember every day when we invoke יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim and we remember every single day about יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim, what we're supposed to remember is the potential to change, to never give up hope, to fight for this relationship, to realize that we're never utterly or entirely rejected. That just like there are extraordinary physical circumstances where we have to draw extraordinary physical strengths, so too there are extraordinary spiritual moments where we have to draw from extraordinary spiritual strengths. And we all have that planted within us. We have that capacity for we're willing to dig deep and we're willing to envision a different future, and we're willing to radically transform ourselves, the door.
