Transcript
Good morning. Boker tov בוקר טוב everyone. Hope everyone's doing well. Want to thank our generous parsha shiur פרשה שיעור series sponsors for the year Becky and Avi Katz and family who sponsored the series in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, l'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Mendel לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מענדל. This morning's shiur שיעור is also sponsored by our dear friend Hensha Gansbourg in memory of her father Irving Stone, whose yahrzeit יארצייט is yud shevat י' שבט, and to whom we all have a debt of gratitude as we are learning from the Stone Chumash of ArtScroll. So thank you to Hensha, who has moved to Israel, is doing wonderfully. Saw her recently and wish her a lot of success and good health. And also by Evelyn and Stanley Weiss in memory of Jean Ehrenberg, aliyah al ha'sholom עליה השלום, on her sixth yahrzeit יארצייט, the 11th day of Shevat, yud aleph b'shvat י\"א בשבט. Thank you so much to the Weisses as well. Thank you to all of our sponsors.Before we jump into the parsha, Beshalach, page 366. We have the privilege of learning Beshalach this morning. You see on your chairs a flyer reminder tonight. I hope everyone will be back. If you're here in person, it means you're comfortable being in person. You feel safe and secure being in person. And hopefully you'll be in person tonight. We have a night to celebrate Israel, a night of advocacy for Israel, a night of standing out and stepping up and using our voices for Israel. We have a phenomenal lineup, including greetings from Governor DeSantis, keynote speaker Ambassador David Friedman, Ben Shapiro, and others. We are joined by Latino Coalition for Israel. We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of non-Jews registered who love and support Israel and give of their time and resources to it with no ulterior motive. Join us tonight at 7 p.m. Come early as we'll have enhanced security this evening. It's at 7 p.m. If you are a member and you live locally, please consider walking, so we leave our parking spots for those who will need them. Again, that's at 7:00 tonight. On the other side of the flyer, you see next week we have the privilege of hosting an evening with Reb Moshe Weinberger. It's going to be an incredible evening, a fantastically spiritually inspiring and uplifting evening. If you would like to join the host committee and be invited to a private reception with him and help support and enable us to host him, then please let us know. Okay, that's all the advertising for today. Page 366, Parshas Beshalach פרשת בשלח.Parshas Beshalach פרשת בשלח. We're continuing the story of the Jewish people's exodus, of the miraculous redemption from Mitzrayim מצרים. That a story has undertones, not only for then, but lessons and messages for now. Parsha perspectives for today, that when we are in our own galus גלות, when we are suffering in our own exile, when we've lost our own identity and our own way, that we can tap into these ideas, these messages, and we can find our own redemption, our way out. We could step out from the darkness into the light. When we find ourselves in those places of Mitzrayim מצרים, of meitzar מיצר, that it's constricted, that it's tight, that we feel as if we are hopeless and helpless, that we too can be rescued and saved. Yeshuas Hashem k'heref ayin ישועת השם כהרף עין. That Hakadosh Baruch Hu הקדוש ברוך הוא, the Almighty has a plan. Sometimes just get out of his way and let him do his thing and let him get us to the promised land of where we need to be. Okay, page 366. Vayehi b'shalach Paro es ha'am v'lo nacham Elokim derech eretz Plishtim ki karov hu, ki amar Elokim pen yinachem ha'am bir'osam milchama v'shavu Mitzraima וַיְהִי בְּשַׁלַּח פַּרְעֹה אֶת הָעָם וְלֹא נָחָם אֱלֹהִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא כִּי אָמַר אֱלֹהִים פֶּן יִנָּחֵם הָעָם בִּרְאֹתָם מִלְחָמָה וְשָׁבוּ מִצְרָיְמָה. Parsha begins, it happened when Pharaoh sent out the people. What do you mean vayehi ויהי? Vayehi ויהי is a lashon לשון of simcha שמחה. What is the vayehi ויהי? What's going on over here? So Pharaoh escorted us out. What does it mean Pharaoh escorted us out? It's the opposite. Vayehi ויהי is a lashon לשון of aveilus אבלות, of sadness. Pharaoh is sad, he's escorting us out. What's going on? We've spoken all about that in the past. Hakadosh Baruch Hu הקדוש ברוך הוא did not take us the most direct route. He did not take us out in the easiest or most direct fashion because ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא. Hashem said, pen yinachem ha'am פן ינחם העם. What's going to happen? The people will reconsider when they see war, when they run into conflict, when they run into tension. There are people who see a wall and they run right through it. They go over it, they go under it, they go around it, but they will not be stopped from getting to the other side of it. And there are people, a slave mentality, a slave nation, a group of people who have been persecuted and oppressed, who when they run into that conflict and that tension, they don't have what it takes. They don't have the physical, and they don't have the emotional, and they don't have the spiritual fortitude and tenacity to run in or through or over or around. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu is worried, pen yinachem ha'am פן ינחם העם, bir'osam milchama v'shavu Mitzraima בראותם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה. They're going to go back. They're going to go back to Mitzrayim מצרים. You read this pasuk פסוק, and we've again spent some time on this in the past, not for now, but you can't help but ask and wonder, what do you mean go back to Mitzrayim מצרים? 210 years, slavery, persecution, torture, murder. You're going to go right back? How could it be? Who in their right mind would contemplate or entertain returning and going back to that life and to that lifestyle? And yet, do we not all go through that? Ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא. It's the easy way out. It's the easy way out. It's what's comfortable. It's what's familiar. It's what we know. We go back to habit and pattern. We go back to lifestyle choices. We go back to eating and we go back to sitting still and not exercising or moving. We go back to impatience and anger and arrogance. We settle right back into the pattern we knew, even though it tortures us, and even though it sabotages us, and even though it oppresses us, and even though it denies us success, ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא. It's close. It's familiar. It's what we know. It's what we intuitively and instinctively are familiar with, and it's what we do. And it's what we do. And it's what we do. The Alter of Kelm weighs in on this. Eich shayach l'amod she'tita'chein metzius shel machshava k'zu lashuv Mitzraima acharei kol hanissim v'haniflaos she'ra'u b'eineihem איך שייך לעמוד שתתכן מציאות של מחשבה כזו לשוב מצרימה אחרי כל הניסים והנפלאות שראו בעיניהם? They saw miracles. They saw and experienced, they didn't read about, they didn't hear about, they didn't commemorate, they didn't memorialize. They experienced unprecedented and unparalleled miracles, the revelation of Hashem with 10 makkos מכות, 10 plagues. So now they ran into the 11th. They ran into a conflict, they run into tension. They see war. They don't believe, well, Hashem's gotten us this far. He's made miracle after miracle to get us here until now. So of course he's going to continue. Of course, what do you mean they turn around? So the Alter of Kelm says, mikan tzrichim anu lilmod es churban v'avdon she'bilbul ha'daas alul l'grom l'adam. Ad kama yesh l'hashamesh l'hiyos mushpa m'matzavim v'shinuyim מכאן צריכים אנו ללמוד את חורבן ואבדון שבלבול הדעת עלול לגרום לאדם. עד כמה יש להשמש להיות מושפע ממצבים ושינויים. You see, you see that in our own mind and our own intellect, how easy it is to lose our way. The human mind and the human psyche in so many ways is so incredibly weak, and we need to know that, and we need to be prepared for that, and we need to be mindful of that. Never can or should any of us swell with arrogance that I got this. Not a problem. Conquered it. I'm in control. The human psyche, the human mind is so weak, so feeble, so fragile ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא, that when it's close and it's familiar, we can easily slip right back. So we think we've conquered, we've conquered that addiction, we've conquered that habit, we've conquered that instinct, and we think that we can move on, ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא. As long as it's close, as long as it's available, we can so easily slip right back. And that you see from Klal Yisrael כלל ישראל, they experienced miracle after miracle. They had every reason to run as far away from Mitzrayim מצרים as possible and to rely and lean on Hashem, and yet, they remained vulnerable. Avodah gedolah l'adam lishmor es atzmo shelo l'hichaneia l'matzavim bahem ha'leiv omer l'harpos m'zichron hashmira. She'kein alul l'adam l'hiyos kal davka v'yishmor v'yachshov l'atzmo ha'reini tov v'shalem v'lo yachshov zeh taus עבודה גדולה לאדם לשמור את עצמו שלא להיכנע למצבים שבהם הלב אומר להרפות מזכרון השמירה. שכן עלול לאדם להיות קל דעת וישמור ויחשוב לעצמו הריני טוב ושלם ולא יחשוב זה טעות. This is a big theme in the recovery world, in the recovery program. The moment you think you've conquered, the moment you think you've moved into conquered territory and you're no longer on the battlefield, the moment you think I'm done, I'm in charge, I'm in control, is when you are the most vulnerable. It's when you are the most vulnerable. Pen yinachem ha'am bir'osam milchama v'shavu Mitzraima פן ינחם העם בראותם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה. If a person hasn't really worked out the underlying cause of why they're going through that behavior, why they're filling the hole in their heart with that substance or that acting out or that addiction, then the moment you run into hard times, the moment you run into tension, the moment something doesn't go your way, then we fall and slip right back into those old patterns. And that's why we see the recidivism rate. We see people who repeat sometimes egregiously, sometimes in a very large way, in a consequential way, and sometimes for all of us in small things. We go back to our old eating habits and patterns. We go back to our old reactions and responses. We go back to our old paranoia or anxiety because we haven't really worked it out. We're not really strong and we let down our guard and we let go thinking that we've conquered. Ki gam im nishbaim dor m'kabel ha'Torah l'hiyos b'tuchim b'mah she'ne'emar anachnu azu v'kir, zu kavanas ha'pasuk... כי גם אם נשבעים דור מקבל התורה להיות בטוחים במה שנאמר אנחנו אזו וקיר, זו כוונת הפסוק. Chacham yarei v'sar mei'ra u'ksil mis'aber u'voteiach חכם ירא וסר מרע וכסיל מתעבר ובוטח. A pasuk פסוק in Mishlei משלי, that the wise person is always vigilant, the wise person is always on guard, the wise person never feels that they've arrived, but the fool, the fool lets go and moves on. The fool thinks that they are done. We have to be always mindful and cognizant, always aware and awake, always realizing the struggle is never over, as long as we're alive and we're here on earth. Maybe we're doing better, maybe it's less of an urge, maybe we've developed better strategies how to overcome it, but we have to be vigilant. Ki karov hu כי קרוב הוא. As long as it's available and close, when we see milchama מלחמה, what's milchama מלחמה? Doesn't have to be a literal war. It means you go through a hard time, you had a hard day. It means that there's tension around you. It means there's people who are mistreating you. It means that you feel an injustice has been done to you. So you could, if you're not careful and vigilant, if you're not strong and prepared, we'll slip right back into those, into those patterns. Let's keep going. Next pasuk. Vayasav Elokim es ha'am derech ha'midbar Yam Suf v'chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael mei'eretz Mitzrayim וַיַּסֵּב אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָעָם דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּר יַם סוּף וַחֲמֻשִׁים עָלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. So Hashem turned them to the way of the wilderness. They went the route of Yam Suf ים סוף instead of the most direct route. V'chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael mei'eretz Mitzrayim וחמושים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים. There's such deep messages. By the way, simple messages. You may be sitting here saying, tell me something I don't know so far you haven't said anything great. There's simple messages, but they're deep and they're profound and they bear repeating over and over again. Hakadosh Baruch Hu took us a circuitous route. You know, chachamim חכמים say, the Gemara גמרא says, the Baal HaTanya בעל התניא emphasizes this. We'll quote Tanya תניא a little bit later too. A beautiful insight of the Baal HaTanya בעל התניא. But the Baal HaTanya בעל התניא says, sometimes the long path which is short or the short path which is long. The short path which is long means, you know, I I we can understand this in our time because we have Waze. We have Waze. My daughter picking me up at the airport yesterday, I said, put on Waze to get home. She said, you don't know how to get home from the airport? How many years have we been living there? I said, I don't understand. You got an eye in the sky that can tell you if there's traffic, if there's an accident, where the police are. As long as I leave Montoya Circle, I put on Waze. You want to know if you could have that information and that knowledge, why wouldn't you use it? But there are some stubborn people who still insist on not putting on Waze and denying themselves information that could be helpful. I don't really get it. I don't really understand it. And then there are people who put on Waze and Waze tells you to take some kakamemi route. It's happened to me, it's happened to you. You're zigzagging in side streets, you're going out of the way all together. So there are two types of people. There are the people who say, In Waze we trust. I've made the mistake of taking her on before. I was wrong. I'm going to listen. And there are people who say, ah, I don't know why it's sending me this way. Totally out of the way. I've driven this way a million times. I know exactly how to get there. And it's smooth sailing for three minutes, then they get stuck in traffic that's not moving. It's a standstill. And who's smarter in the end? Why didn't you not listen to Waze? It's got, you're just looking from down here, all you can see is the street in front of you. Waze is an eye in the sky. It's got a higher perspective, it sees much further and farther. It's telling you what to do and what not to do. So what happens? Sometimes that kakamemi, out-of-the-way, circuitous long route is a shorter way of getting there. And what looks like the shorter route, what looks like it's right in front of you and very close by, is going to take forever. It's very far. And that's what the Torah is telling us here in the beginning. That's what the Torah is telling us. Vayasav Elokim es ha'am derech midbar Yam Suf ויסב אלוקים את העם דרך מדבר ים סוף. Hakadosh Baruch Hu took us this kakamemi, circuitous out of the way route. And anyone in the midbar מדבר who had Waze simply went on. You ever have a driver, you have an Uber or a taxi, but you put on Waze on your own phone because you say, why are we going this way? So imagine you're in the midbar מדבר, and Hashem says, make a left, make a right, this is the way we're going. And some wise guy in the back puts on Waze on their phone and says, I don't know who's running this show, but I don't know why we're going this way. There's a much more direct way to go. It's a much faster way to go. Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'havdil is like Waze. He says, yeah, you can go that short way, but it's much longer. Or you could take my long way and it's going to be much shorter. And this is a message, a lesson, it's a symbol of life. In life, sometimes it feels, why are we taking this circuitous route? Why did Hashem take me on this circuitous route to find my bashert בּאַשערט, or to have that child, or to earn that parnasah פרנסה? Why did he take me on this circuitous route for whatever is my goal or my ambition or what I'm trying to do? Why are we going so out of the way? I see a direct path. So why are we going so out of the way? So we need to know sometimes, sometimes the circuitous route is the most direct fashion. And sometimes if you try to make a shortcut and you try to go that short way, it'll take you out of the way and be forever. Hakadosh Baruch Hu was doing this for the sake of Klal Yisrael here. It seems circuitous and out of the way, but it was the most direct route. And we use the lashon לשון, Vayasav Elokim ויסב אלוקים. Vayasav ויסב. What does the word Vayasav ויסב mean? Vayasav ויסב is he turned us out of the way. What is that reminiscent of? Where do we commemorate that notion of Vayasav ויסב? Shemos Rabbah שמות רבה, the Midrash מדרש on our pasuk פסוק says, mikan amru rabboseinu, afilu ani she'b'Yisrael lo yochal ad she'yasav מכאן אמרו רבותינו, אפילו עני שבישראל לא יאכל עד שיסב. Even the most indigent, poor, impoverished person cannot eat on Seder night until they're reclining, until they're lying down. In other words, we come to the Seder table and the Seder table is set with our fine china and our silver. It's beautifully set and we lie there with our cushions and our pillows and we dressed in our finest and we sit like princes and princesses and aristocracy and royalty. And Vayasav Haseibah ויסב הסיבה, there's a mitzvah מצווה of haseibah הסיבה. Who's obligated in haseibah הסיבה? Nashim chashuvos נשים חשובות, significant, dignified women, all of our nashim chashuvos נשים חשובות. Do you do haseibah הסיבה in front of your Rav רב? Not in front of your Rav רב? All kinds of halachic discussion of haseibah הסיבה. Classic Brisker lomdus בְּרִיסְקֶער לומדות. Is haseibah הסיבה a din דין in dalet kosos ד' כוסות or is it a parallel separate mitzvah מצווה all together? Is it that the way you drink the wine is while reclining? And if you didn't recline, you didn't fulfill the mitzvah מצווה of drinking the wine? Or no, drinking the wine is a mitzvah מצווה and independent but parallel to it there's a mitzvah מצווה to drink it while reclining? A whole chaburah חבורה, lomdus לומדות, nafka minas נפקא מינה you can give, not for the parsha shiur פרשה שיעור on parshas Beshalach פרשת בשלח. Why am I bringing it up? Vayasav Elokim ויסב אלוקים? Because Rav Zev Epstein, we've been quoting a lot from Rav Zev Epstein. Rav Zev Epstein, sometimes you didn't even know someone, you never heard of them, but when you start learning their Torah, you feel such a connection. Their Torah speaks to you. His Torah speaks to me, Mashgiach in the yeshiva Torah Ore. So he has a sefer ספר called Ha'aros הערות, two volume. This doesn't come from his sefer ספר, it comes from the Sichas Eliyon שיחת עליון which quotes from kisvei talmidav כתבי תלמידיו. It comes from the notes of his students. You see, it's important to take notes. Students that take notes, sometimes that's what preserves the original thoughts of teachers. Rav Zev Epstein, so he said the following incredible yesod יסוד. Why do Chazal חז\"ל connect haseibah הסיבה, vayasav ויסב? It's just a cute play on words. Hashem took us a circuitous route, vayasav ויסב. So a cute play on words, it's the same shoresh שורש, haseibah הסיבה. So mikan מכאן, from here we learn that just like Hashem took us out of the way, so too, even the ani עני. Oh, why does the Mishnah in Pesachim משנה בפסחים say even the poor person has to do a haseibah הסיבה? Because I might have thought who should do a haseibah הסיבה? If your income level is over a certain bracket. That's who do a haseibah הסיבה. If you can afford it, if you drive a certain type of car, if you wear a certain type of clothing, then you can recline like a rich person, because takke you're a rich person. Your net worth testifies that you're entitled to recline. But you're on Tomchei Shabbos תומכי שבת. Your children are getting a scholarship at school. You're on the shul's שול dues adjustment. You need a little help and a little handout. Who are you fooling? You're going to sit at the Seder table and you're going to put on your kittel קיטל and you're going to recline and you're going to lean and you're going to say, I'm a rich man. In your own mind, who are you fooling for that night? Who are you fooling? What a charade. So no, the Mishnah משנה says, afilu ani she'b'Yisrael אפילו עני שבישראל. I don't care if you don't know where Pesach פסח lunch is coming from. All you have is the Seder. That's all you know. It doesn't matter how poor, how indigent you are, Seder night, all are equal. Seder night, you are a rich man. Seder night, you recline with everyone else. And where do we learn that from? Vayasav Elokim es ha'am derech hamidbar ויסב אלוקים את העם דרך המדבר. To which Rav Zev Epstein says, huh? That's where you learn that from? Beautiful idea, beautiful pasuk פסוק. One has nothing to do with the other. What do you mean that's where you learn it from? Where do you see that from here? So listen to what he says. Yesh kan yesod atzum יש כאן יסוד עצום. There's an incredible, incredible principle. Maduah nitrach Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'haseiv es Yisrael? מדוע נטרח הקדוש ברוך הוא להסיב את ישראל? Why did Hashem have to take us out of the way? Yachol haya l'osvos osam atzmam, ta'atzmu es hanefesh v'lo tifached. Halo ra'isa atem b'Mitzrayim nissim nora'im, ma lahem l'fached? יכול היה לאותתם עצמם, תעצמו את הנפש ולא תפחד. הלא ראיתם אתם במצרים ניסים נוראים, מה להם לפחד? Hakadosh Baruch Hu, this is an amazing insight. Hakadosh Baruch Hu could have screamed at them and said, hey, man up. I've done miracles for you, you bunch of ingrate, nonstop complainer, miserable farrbissener פארביסענער, Eisav עשו, listen, man up. You've seen miracle after miracle after miracle, 10 of them, and now you're going to ketch and complain and not trust me? Now you're afraid and you're worried? Seriously? Seriously? As my son Shai would say, seriously? If I'm the ribbono shel olam ריבונו של עולם, I did 10 miracles. I've suspended the rules of nature, never done it before, we'll never do it again. You saw it, you lived it, you're the beneficiaries of it. And now you're worried and complain and I've got to coddle you and take you out of the way instead of smacking you figuratively and saying, and saying, what are you kidding me? Seriously? But Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't do that. He doesn't say what are you worried about, why are you afraid, man up. You've seen miracle after miracle. Don't you know by now you have no reason to be afraid? Elah v'odah hikah lachem acheirim, rotzeh Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'lamdam shemah she'atem choshvim she'zeh derech yashar v'zeh sachur sachur v'anachnu lo rotzim latzeis mei'Mitzrayim. B'emes zeh gufah hatzalah. אלא ודאי היכה להם אחרים, רוצה הקדוש ברוך הוא ללמדם שמה שאתם חושבים שזה דרך ישר וזה סחור סחור ואנחנו לא רוצים לצאת ממצרים. באמת זה גופה הצלה. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, I want you to teach you something. We're going to take a circuitous route. And everything you go through in life, every challenge, every obstacle, every moment of tension, every time you wonder why? Why do I have to experience this? I sit and I wonder why. Why is the world doing this to me? Why are evil wicked people doing this to me? Why is nature doing this to me? Why? Why is this my route? Why is this my journey in life? Why? You need to know that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a plan. Ki yesh l'Hakadosh Baruch Hu cheshbonos eich l'chaneich oscha b'chol hanisyonos shehu sholeiach l'cha, atah nosei lachshov shezeh mafria l'cha. Zeh gufa mah she'atah tzrich kedei l'romeim oscha. U'r'tzoni yisbarach she'atah tivchar l'aasos lavo l'aasos lavo v'tireh zeh gufa tovascha v'hatzlachascha. כי יש להקדוש ברוך הוא חשבונות איך לחנך אותך בכל הנסיונות שהוא שולח לך, אתה נוטה לחשוב שזה מפריע לך. זה גופא מה שאתה צריך כדי לרומם אותך. ורצוני יתברך שאתה תבחר לעשות לאבו לעשות לאבו ותראה זה גופא טובתך והצלחתך. You think that whatever you're going through, whatever tension, whatever obstacle, whatever someone's put in your way, whatever the world, whatever nature's put in your way, you think it's there to stop you, to slow you down, to make you go backwards, it's the opposite. This is a curriculum of education for you. You're going to learn, you're going to be tested and you're going to realize something in yourself that you would otherwise never would have come to know. You're going to have a moment, a growth spurt. This is what you need. This is by design for you. It couldn't and wouldn't happen if Hashem didn't will it. And for whatever reason you need to go through it, because this is going to raise you up. We don't understand it now, necessarily. You see on Waze, when you ignore Waze, and then you're sitting in standstill traffic, or you thought you knew the best route, so you went the way you always went, and then you find yourself sitting and stuck and now late and agitated. And now you put on Waze and you think, oh, oh, I see that 200 feet in front of us, there was an accident. The car stalled, and if we would have just gone around the block, we would have been at the wedding on time. Instead, we'll be sitting here for an hour until it's cleared. Why? Because we didn't go on Waze. So in this world, we have the benefit of going on Waze. I don't, I don't get a piece of Waze, by the way. I don't get a cut. I don't get any action from it. I get nothing from it. I'm just a big fan. I'm a big fan of embracing the gifts that we've been given. So, in this world, you get to go on Waze and you get to see, oh, this is why I'm stuck. And that's why it sent me on that way. And if I go on that way, I can avoid that issue. And really this was for my own good. In this world, we get to live that way and in real time, in real time, you can go on and see and learn and understand. In life, it's not so simple, unfortunately. In life, in real time, you sit and you wonder why? Why am I not moving? Why am I stuck? Why am I in this fender bender? Why did someone hit me? Why am I hurting? Why am I going through this? In life, we sometimes get stuck. But we need to equally be confident and know that maybe it'll be in the next world, maybe in this world, we'll understand, oh, this was the fastest route. Hakadosh Baruch Hu did this for me. This is what was meant for my good, my benefit. This was a growth spurt. Zeh hu'limud she'afilu ani she'b'Yisrael lo yochal ad she'yasav זה הוא הלימוד שאפילו עני שבישראל לא יאכל עד שיסב. Davka b'chag ha'emunah k'she'misbonenim b'nisei Mitzrayim u'krias Yam Suf, ro'im b'chush she'gam ha'ani hamarud b'yoser yachol lasheves v'lhargish ben chorin b'poel. דוקא בחג האמונה כשמתבוננים בניסי מצרים וקריעת ים סוף, רואים בחוש שגם העני המרוד ביותר יכול לשבת ולהרגיש בן חורין בפועל. The poor person sits and reclines that night because the poor person says, I'm rich in my poverty. If this poverty was meant for me, if this challenge of poverty is what I have to go through because it's what was meant for me, then I'm rich in that I'm experiencing it. And where do I know that from? Where did I learn that from? How can I be so confident that this circuitous route? How can I be so confident that going through this experience of getting out of the way in life, of feeling like it's taking forever, that really that's what's right for me? Vayasav Elokim es ha'am derech hamidbar ויסב אלוקים את העם דרך המדבר. Mikan afilu ani she'b'Yisrael lo yochal ad she'yasav מכאן אפילו עני שבישראל לא יאכל עד שיסב. That's how we learn it. The poor person sits like a rich man that night because even in the experience of poverty, and poverty doesn't just mean with money, there's all kinds of other poverty. I think I mentioned it last week, I don't remember if it was in the parsha shiur or another shiur. But I mentioned the quote that I love, that nebach נעבעך, there are some people who are so poor that all they have is money. There are some people so poor that all they have is money. There are billionaires who are poor, indigent, impoverished individuals. And there are people who don't know where their next meal is coming from who are rich and who are wealthy, who have happiness and satisfaction, who have nachas נחת and health, who have a perspective and an attitude. You could have nothing and be wealthy. You could have everything and be poor. So the ani עני that night, who struggles with poverty the rest of the year, comes on Pesach Seder פסח סדר night and sits down and reclines, not because it's a charade, not because they're faking, not because they're going through motions, but because for that night they realize that this poverty, this route of poverty, is my wealth. Someday maybe I'll understand how or why, and if I won't, it's still true nonetheless. And how can they have that confidence and how can they know that? Because Vayasav Elokim ויסב אלוקים. We learn it from Vayasav Elokim ויסב אלוקים. Perek Yud Dalet, Pasuk Yud Gimmel פרק י\"ד פסוק י\"ג. Turn the page. Pharaoh's change of heart. Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'yashuvu v'yachanu lifnei Pi Hachiros bein Migdol u'vein hayam... דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָשֻׁבוּ וְיַחֲנוּ לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת בֵּין מִגְדֹּל וּבֵין הַיָּם... lifnei Ba'al Tzfon nichocho sachanu al hayam לפני בעל צפון נכחו תחנה על הים. V'amar Paro l'Bnei Yisrael nevuchim heim ba'aretz, sagar aleihem hamidbar ואמר פרעה לבני ישראל נבוכים הם בארץ סגר עליהם המדבר. Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they're imprisoned in the land, that they've been locked in. V'chizakti es lev Paro v'radaf achareihem... וחזקתי את לב פרעה ורדף אחריהם... despite being smacked 10 times, despite losing his own firstborn, despite seeing his own country incredibly, incredibly devastated, Pharaoh nevertheless his heart is hardened, v'radaf achareihem ורדף אחריהם, and he chases, v'ikavdah b'Paro u'v'chol cheilo... וְאִכָּבְדָה בְּפַרְעֹה וּבְכָל חֵילוֹ, v'yadu Mitzrayim ki ani Hashem, v'yaasu chein וידעו מצרים כי אני השם ויעשו כן. Again, the Torah תורה doesn't leave it as a, you don't have to guess. Tells us itself. Why did Hashem orchestrate this? Why would Hashem harden Pharaoh's heart to make him be a madman, to do something that's actually insane? After being smacked 10 times, after suffering and struggling, after being on the brink of an implosion of your own empire, to continue to chase the Jewish people even now? Why? Why? V'yadu Mitzrayim ki ani Hashem וידעו מצרים כי אני השם. Because I want them to know. I continue to want to educate them with this curriculum. I want them to know. Okay, keep going. Next page. So they're chasing them. And Klal Yisrael כלל ישראל panicked. They panicked. Again, despite everything they've been through, they panicked. And our rabbis are critical of them for this. David HaMelech דוד המלך in Tehillim perek kuf vav תהילים פרק ק\"ו is critical of them for this. A lack of gratitude, a lack of mindfulness. A lack of mindfulness. Avoseinu b'Mitzrayim lo hiskilu אבותינו במצרים לא השכילו. David HaMelech דוד המלך says in Kapitel Kuf Vav קפיטל ק\"ו, pasuk zayin פסוק ז', he says, our forefathers in Egypt, they weren't mindful. That's an indictment of the Jewish people in Mitzrayim, they weren't mindful. What's the indictment that they weren't mindful? You just had a miracle happen to you. And now you're panicking already? Why didn't you learn from it? Why didn't you grow from it? Why didn't you gain confidence from it? Why didn't it change you? Why aren't you transformed by it? You're not mindful? And you know Chazal tells us that they come out the other side of the Yam Suf ים סוף and you know what Klal Yisrael כלל ישראל says? Az yashir Moshe אז ישיר משה, yeah, they thanked him. We're going to get to that in a moment. They thanked Hashem, but you know what else they said? Hashem, you couldn't have done this without making my shoes muddy? Actually, that's what they say. You couldn't have done this without making my shoes muddy? Seriously? Seriously? If you're the, seriously? I just split the sea, 12 columns, you walked right through it, on dry land. Then you watched it collapse and drown your oppressors, and then their money washed up. Their Bitcoin came into your hand. And you're worried about your shoes? Seriously? Seriously? It's like someone who has a heart attack on the side of the road, and a person comes and rips open their shirt and does CPR and gives them mouth to mouth and gets back a heartbeat, and the person opens their eyes and says, \"My shirt? It's my favorite shirt. Really? You couldn't unbutton it? Seriously?\" So David HaMelech says, avoseinu b'Mitzrayim אבותינו במצרים, you know what, our forefathers, the Dor Ha'deah דור הדעה, there's a lot to learn from them, but they weren't mindful. They were anxious and they panicked and they were ungrateful and they didn't appreciate. And that's where they took out of this, was they were complaining about the mud on their shoes? Seriously? This shiur has been brought to you by the word seriously. Seriously, it's, it's mind-boggling. It's absolutely mind-boggling. So they panic, they panic. And they started to debate and they started to point fingers and they started to blame. And one person actually got it. Nachshon ben Aminadav נחשון בן עמינדב starts to walk. But before that, before that, Hashem turns to, in pasuk yud gimmel פסוק י\"ג, he says, vayomer Moshe el ha'am al tirau, hisyatzvu u'ru es yeshuas Hashem asher ya'aseh lachem hayom... ויאמר משה אל העם אל תראו התיצבו וראו את ישועת השם אשר יעשה לכם היום... Moshe turns to the people and he says, al tirau אל תראו, don't fear. What are you crazy? You know what you experienced, what you lived, what you know? What you should believe, what you should be the poster people of? And yet you're standing here panicking? Al tirau אל תראו. Don't fear. Hisyatzvu u'ru התיצבו וראו, stand up and see the salvation of Hashem. Asher ya'aseh lachem hayom אשר יעשה לכם היום that he's going to do for you today. Ki asher r'isem es Mitzrayim hayom lo sosifu lirosam od l'olam כי אשר ראיתם את מצרים היום לא תוסיפו לראותם עוד לעולם. Because what you see of Egypt today, you will never, ever see them again. So stop being afraid, and man up, woman up, hisyatzvu התיצבו, stand up, arch your back and be worthy of the salvation of Hashem. Because don't worry, what you see here today is not going to see again. Hashem yilachem lachem השם ילחם לכם. Hashem's going to fight for you. V'atem tacharishun ואתם תחרשון. Hashem's going to fight for you. You don't have to lash out, you don't have to fight back, you don't have to respond. Stay quiet. Tacharishun תחרישון. You stay quiet. Hashem yilachem lachem השם ילחם לכם. Hashem's got it. He doesn't need your help. Your job, stay quiet. Your job, stay quiet. Let him do his work. Vayomer Hashem el Moshe ויאמר השם אל משה, Hashem says to Moshe, mah titzak elai מה תצעק אלי? What are they doing davening דאווענען and screaming at me? What are they panicking about? Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'yisa'u דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו. So again, we're not going to get into this now, but this is the, the motto or the bumper sticker for the idea of hishtadlus השתדלות, of effort. You can't sit on your couch and say, I want someone to drop off a paper bag of cash. I believe in השם Hashem, I don't have to work. No, you gotta do השתדלות hishtadlus. If you're sick, you can't say, I'm just going to sit and say תהלים Tehillim and not go to the doctor. If you go to the doctor, השם Hashem created medicines and vaccines and therapies. קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu gave us the tools in order to be to create a world where we can heal and we can help ourselves. And it's a counterfeit, false אמונה emunah.Again, this passage deserves a lot of attention. מה תצעק אלי Mah titzak elai? What do you mean מה תצעק אלי Mah titzak elai? If I'm כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, I say, I am so confused. I'm so confused. I've been listening to five years of sitter snippets and I thought we're supposed to דאַוון daven. What do you mean I should stop דאַוונען davening and start doing? What happened to all תהלים Tehillim circle and תהלים Tehillim group and the אמן Amen group and the ברכה bracha group and the sitter snippet group and the what do you mean? I don't understand. Aren't I supposed to דאַוון daven? Aren't I supposed to be taught that whenever I run into trouble, my instinct should be to open a תהלים Tehillim, open a סידור siddur, use the words of דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech and דאַוון daven. Now השם Hashem says, close the תהלים Tehillim, close the סידור siddur. What are you doing? מה תצעק אלי Mah titzak elai? יסעו Yisa'u. Start walking. What are you doing? What are you doing? So this balance of השתדלות hishtadlus and אמונה emunah. When do you open the סידור siddur? And when do you close the סידור siddur?There's a lot to say. We have said it in the past. I'm tempted to go back there, but I'm not going to right now. Instead, let's look at שפת אמת Sfas Emes. Says something wonderful. As he always does, his יאָרצײַט yahrzeit was just this week. ויאמר משה אל העם, אל תיראו, התיצבו וראו את ישועת השם Vayomer Moshe el ha'am, al tira'u, hityatzvu u're'u et yeshuas Hashem. שפת אמת Sfas Emes says the following. משה רבינו בפסוק זה דיבר לדורות עולם, והדריך אותם איך להתנהג במצב כזה, השם ירחם ויציל Moshe Rabbeinu b'pasuk zeh diber l'doros olam, v'hidrich osam eich l'hisnaheg b'matzav kazeh, Hashem yerachem v'yatzil. You think משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was just telling them then? This was not a message for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael thousands of years ago on the banks of the sea. It's a message to you and to me. It's a פרשה parsha perspective for today. אל תיראו Al tira'u. Whatever you're going through, health-wise, relationship-wise, פרנסה-wise parnasah-wise, whatever you're going through in life, אל תיראו al tira'u, don't be afraid. התיצבו Hityatzvu. Stand up strong. Have a backbone, have a spine. Have pride, have dignity. וראו את ישועת השם U're'u es yeshuas Hashem. And you'll see השם's Hashem's going to come through. השם's Hashem's going to come through. Does that mean every sick person heals? No. No. Never tell a sick person, don't worry, everything's going to be okay. It's a horrible thing to say. You don't know. Don't give false hope. Only קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu knows whether everything is going to be okay. We know that by definition everything will be okay, because that's קודשא בריך הוא's Kudsha Brich Hu's will for us, even if it's not okay. Even if a person does not recover from that illness. But nevertheless, אל תיראו al tira'u, we have nothing to be afraid of, we have nothing to fear.So it says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes says the following. אל תיראו, זה ראש היסוד Al tira'u, zeh rosh hayesod. Here, this is a curriculum for אמונה emunah. You ready? Just in this פסוק pasuk alone. Says the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, אל תיראו, לא לפחד מהיצר שמנסה לבלבל את האדם ולהטיל בו ספקות Al tira'u, lo l'fached meha'yetzer she'menaseh l'valbel es ha'adam u'l'hatil bo sfekos. אל תיראו Al tira'u means don't listen to your יצר הרע yetzer hara, which is trying to introduce doubt and uncertainty and fear. That's what the יצר הרע yetzer hara specializes in. Maybe this won't work out. What if this is for the bad? What if this will happen? What if this will occur? What if this will result? What if this will? That יצר הרע yetzer hara is trying to convince you the what-if game. The anxiety game. The anxiety game. יצר הרע Yetzer hara introduces all kinds of doubts and uncertainties and question marks and worry and fear. What are you doing? אל תיראו Al tira'u. Do what you have to do, get enhanced security for the event, and that's it. Once you've done what you have to do, you're good to go. היסוד השני, התיצבו Hay'sod ha'sheini, hityatzvu. הכוונה בזה, השפת אמת אומר Hakavanah b'zeh, ha'Sfas Emes omer like the ראב\"ד Raavad writes in the הקדמה לבעל הנפש hakdamah l'Baal HaNefesh. The ראב\"ד Raavad, the ראב\"ד Raavad, the great adversary of the רמב\"ם Rambam. The ראב\"ד Raavad has a ספר בעלי הנפש sefer Baalei HaNefesh. He didn't only write השגות על הרמב\"ם hasagos al haRambam, he had other ספרים sfarim, one of them called בעלי הנפש Baalei HaNefesh. And he writes in the introduction to his ספר דר בעל הנפש sefer der Baal HaNefesh, he says, למושלים על נפשותם ואין נפשם שולטת עליהם l'moshlim al nafshosam v'ein nafsham sholetes aleihem. That his book, his work, called בעלי הנפש Baalei HaNefesh, בעלי הנפש Baalei HaNefesh means those who contain a soul. He says, you know who for whom my book is written? My book is targeted for למושלים על נפשם ואין נפשם שולטת עליהם l'moshlim al nafsham v'ein nafsham sholetes aleihem. To those who control their consciousness and not to those whose consciousness controls them. להיות בשליטה על כוחות הגוף אם יהיה ירידה ללכת לאיבוד ולאבד את אשתונותיו בשום מצב L'hiyos b'shlita al kochos haguf im hayihyeh yeridah laleches l'ibud v'l'abed es eshtonosav b'shum matzav. It means התיצבו hityatzvu. Have a spine, have a backbone, be firm, be in control. Be in control. Number three, וראו את ישועת השם u're'u es yeshuas Hashem. לצפות לישועה L'tzapos l'yeshua. If you don't panic or fear, but you live in the moment and you quiet that voice of doubt and uncertainty, and התיצבו hityatzvu, you stand up straight with a backbone and a spine, with pride, with dignity, with honor, with confidence, then וראו את ישועת השם u're'u es yeshuas Hashem. Then you can long to see that that salvation. Then you can long to see that that salvation.This is the one way לזכות, שכן אדם בעצמו לא יכול לגמור כלום l'zakos, she'kein adam b'atzmo lo yachol ligmor klum. שורש עבודת האדם לדעת שלא יכול לבדו, ועל ידי שמקווים על השם זוכים להכל Shoresh avodas ha'adam ladaas shelo yachol l'vado, v'al yedei she'mekavim al Hashem zochim l'hakol. The only way to succeed in life is to realize that we can't succeed on our own. The only way to succeed is to submit to a higher power. The only way to succeed and have a spine and have confidence in anything is to attach ourselves to the one who is in control, to the one who is in charge, to the one who can make us whole. That is our, that is our mission. חובת הלבבות Chovos HaLevavos writes this, רבנו בחיי אבן פקודה Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Pekuda. He says, הכוח הגדול של היצר הרע לבלבל את האדם Hakoach hagadol shel hayetzer hara l'valbel es ha'adam. The strength of the יצר הרע yetzer hara is to try to confuse us and complicate things that really should be simple. Try to bring us down and introduce doubt, try to make us panic and worry. He writes, בן אדם ראוי לך לדעת, שונאך הגדול שיש לך בעולם, אתה יושן והוא ער לך, אתה מסאלם ממנו והוא אינו מסאלם ממך ben adam, ra'uy lecha lada'as, son'echa hagadol she'yesh lecha ba'olam, atah yashen v'hu er lecha, atah m'sa'alem mimenu v'hu eino m'sa'alem mimcha. Your biggest enemy in the world is not making videos or posting messages or offering threats. Your biggest enemy in the world is not the corn chips and the potato chips. Your biggest enemy in the world, your biggest enemy in the world is in your own consciousness, it's in your own mind. The biggest enemy that we battle and face are not external to us, are not the forces that oppose us. But the biggest enemy, writes רבנו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya, is that while we're sleeping, it's awake. And when we ignore it, it's paying attention to us. ומן החזק שבשלוחיו שישתדל לספק עליך מתשעך, לשבש מה שהתברר לך ולערבב את נפשך U'min hachazak she'bishluchav she'yishtadel l'sapek alecha m'tash'echa, l'shabesh mah she'hisbarer lecha u'l'arbev es nafshecha. It is constantly at work trying to introduce doubt where we were certain. It's trying to offer, it's trying to offer confusion where we were clear. It's playing with our mind. So התיצבו hityatzvu, stand up, have a backbone. Be clear, be absolutely clear. Be clear, have clarity. Have clarity.I was דאַוונען davening last night over something late at night, a decision I had to make about how to deal with something. I said, השם Hashem, I just want clarity. Just help me have clarity. Just give me the confidence. I could go this way, could go that way, could argue for either side of what's the right thing to do. Just give clarity. And then I saw something inside. השם Hashem sent me a message. Maybe we'll get to it. I said, oh, there it is. Just gave me clarity. I slept like a baby. I woke up strong, like a lion. התיצבו Hityatzvu. You have a backbone. Have a backbone. Don't be a jellyfish. Why shouldn't you be a jellyfish? Whatever the world's throwing your way, it should make you want to cower, hide under the bed, be a jellyfish. The answer is, don't be afraid. אל תיראו, התיצבו Al tira'u, hityatzvu. Stand up, have a backbone, have a spine, have confidence. Why? כי וראו את ישועת השם Ki u're'u es yeshuas Hashem, because you believe, because you know. Nothing is chance, nothing is random, everything's by design, everything's from השם Hashem, everything's for a reason, everything's a message. This is all part of the circuitous route. It's all part of the out of the way. It's all part of the long journey which השם Hashem in his infinite wisdom for some reason believes, not believes, השם Hashem in his infinite wisdom knows that this is the shortest path, that this is the way forward, that this is what we have to do. רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, not surprisingly, has something to say about this too. There he is. He says the following, there's a word which keeps repeating itself in this פסוק pasuk. Listen to this great רבי נחמן Reb Nachman. Listen to this great רבי נחמן Reb Nachman.משה Moshe tells them אל תיראו al tira'u, don't worry. התיצבו Hityatzvu, stand still. Why? See ישועת השם yeshuas Hashem, the salvation אשר יעשה לכם asher ya'aseh lachem that השם Hashem will do for you when? היום Hayom, today. כי אשר ראיתם את מצרים Ki asher re'isem es Mitzrayim, because you see the Egyptians when? היום Hayom, today. לא תוסיפו לראותם עוד עד עולם Lo sosifu lirosam od ad olam. You're not going to see them again. So what's with the היום hayom? Today. Okay, we know it's today. It wasn't yesterday, it's not tomorrow, it's today. Why do we keep repeating the word today? Today, today, today. Twice in this פסוק pasuk, היום hayom. I got it. I knew it was today before you said it was today and once you said it was today, I don't need you to say it a second time. So why does the פסוק pasuk repeat the word היום hayom? ליקוטי מוהר\"ן חלק א סימן רי\"ו Likkutei Moharan Chelek Aleph Siman Reish Yud Vov. על האדם להתמקד תמיד ביום הנוכחי, בין בענייני פרנסה וצורכי עולם הזה, בין במה שנוגע לעבודת השם Al ha'adam l'hismaked tamid b'yom ha'nochechi, bein b'inyanei parnasah v'tzorchei olam hazeh, bein b'mah shenogea l'avodas Hashem. Says רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, a critical יסוד yesod of living life is being in today.I just walked somebody out of שבעה shivah before this שיעור shiur. Somebody who lost their wife, life partner. Somebody who defined their life the last several years by caring for her entire life. And I say this to everyone walking out of שבעה shivah, רחמנא ליצלן, לא עלינו rachmana litzlan, lo aleinu. I say, right now your mind is racing. How are you going to transition? Your entire life, your entire day, your entire everything was caring for that other. You only know them as your other half. אין אישה מתה אלא לבעלה Ein isha meisa ela l'ba'ala. חז\"ל Chazal understood the most devastating loss is to lose your other half, another piece of yourself. How will you carry on? How will you redefine yourself? What will tomorrow and next week and next month, what will your children, your grandchildren's שמחות smachos look like? What will be, and how will you retire, and what will you go, and what's going to happen on פסח Pesach, and what's going... your mind is taking you there. Your job is to get to the end of today. Every day as a רב rav, you confront real problems, not the נאַרישקייט narishkeit problems that I'm alluding to this whole שיעור shiur, which are נאַרישקייט of נאַרישקייט narishkeit of narishkeit. It's people with real problems, real problems, challenges to fertility and to pregnancy and to שלום בית shalom bayis and to children, real health problems, real ממש mamash real problems, real problems. And what happens? Your mind wanders. What will be? What's going to happen? Will this child ever get married? Will they ever graduate school? Will this pregnancy result in a healthy baby? What will be? Says רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, that's the יצר הרע yetzer hara working. The יצר הרע yetzer hara is trying to make you forfeit the moment to start thinking about tomorrow. Our mission, our job as Jews is היום hayom, to be in today, to get to the end of today. What do I need to do today? What's my job today? What do I have to get done today? And when our mind, when those thoughts knock on the door and say, let me in, to start thinking about next week and next month and next year and next decade, no, I'm not letting you in. Because that doesn't get me anywhere, because those that time has not yet arrived, there's nothing I can do about it. My only job is today. אם יחשוב האדם על כל מה שצריך לפניו ויסר בכי על כך אשר אנו צפויים לו, בכל הניסיונות והצרות המשברים Im yachshov ha'adam al kol mah she'tzarich l'fanav u'yasar b'chi al kach asher anu tz'fuyim lo, b'chol hanisyonos v'hatzaros ha'mishbarim. Now get it, it doesn't mean רבי נחמן Reb Nachman and I are not against planning for the future. Of course we're for planning for the future. We learn from the past and we live in the present and we have an eye to plan for the future. I'm not suggesting, well I don't, I don't save any money because I went to the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur and it said don't think about tomorrow, just spend today. That's not what I'm saying. You should buy health insurance and disability insurance. You should save for retirement. Of course you have to have an eye to the future. But we can't get lost in the fear and the anxiety and the worry about the future. יהיה לו חיים כמעמסה כבדה מנשוא Yihyeh lo chayim k'ma'amasah k'veidah minso. Because then it becomes overwhelming, it becomes a burden that you'll collapse under and you'll have ייאוש ye'ush, you have despair. אבל אם ישימו לנגד עיניו רק את עסקי היום Aval im yasim l'neged einav rak es iskei hayom. But if all you put before you is today, ירוויח כפליים yarviach kiflayim. Senator רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, you'll, you'll benefit, this isn't רבי נחמן's Reb Nachman's words. ליקוטי מוהר\"ן Likkutei Moharan says it a bit differently, but this beautiful in the ספר sefer that we've been learning, שולחן השבת Shulchan HaShabbos, the teachings of רבי נחמן Reb Nachman based on the פרשה parsha. מצד אחד לא ידאג מהעתיד הרחוק Mitzad echad lo yid'ag meha'asid harachok. If you're able to not get lost in the future but be present in today, then the first benefit you'll have is that you're not worrying and you're not afraid. ומצד שני לא ידחה למחר את עבודת השם ותיקוני נפשו שלא הספיק לעשותו, אלא ימהר לעשותם עוד ביומו U'mitzad sheini lo yidcheh l'machar es avodas Hashem v'tikunei nafsho shelo hispik la'asoso, ela yemaher la'asosam od b'yomo. When you spend today worrying about tomorrow, there are two problems. Number one, you're worrying about tomorrow, it's not here yet. And number two, all that time and energy that went into worrying about tomorrow, you forfeited and you surrendered today. You lost today. So you were a miserable lunch date. You were a miserable person to be spending time with. You were a miserable colleague or co-worker or spouse because instead of enjoying today, instead of getting done what you need to get done today, instead of being present today, you were debilitated by tomorrow. So you didn't help anything about tomorrow and you lost today. But if you could live in the היום hayom, and this is a big דרשה drasha later in ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום, ברכה וקללה re'eh anochi nosein lifneichem hayom, bracha u'klalah. You see the word היום hayom is repeated over and over and over again throughout all ספר דברים Sefer Devarim. And רבי נחמן Reb Nachman says in the פסוק pasuk, היום אם בקולו תשמעו hayom im b'kolo tishmau, it's a פסוק pasuk in תהלים Tehillim. היום אם בקולו תשמעו Hayom im b'kolo tishmau. היום Hayom. That if you live היום hayom, בקולו תשמעו b'kolo tishmau, you'll hear השם's Hashem's voice. If you're lost in tomorrow, if you're thinking about tomorrow, then you're going to miss today, you won't hear השם's Hashem's voice today. השם Hashem is speaking to us each and every day. We have the ability to hear him today if we're present in today.The גמרא in סנהדרין Gemara in Sanhedrin quotes this פסוק pasuk and it tells a story. רבי יהושע בן לוי Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who ran into משיח Mashiach in the שוק shuk. And he said, when are you coming? And משיח Mashiach said, היום hayom. So רבי יהושע בן לוי Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi ran around so excited, היום hayom. Told the whole world, posted online, משיח's Mashiach's coming today. And then today passed and it became tomorrow, משיח Mashiach didn't come. He came with a complaint. He said, what happened? Where were you? So משיח Mashiach said, no no no no. היום אם בקולו תשמעו Hayom im b'kolo tishmau. I didn't tell you I was coming today, I was telling you how to bring me. And the way to bring me is היום hayom. If you live in the moment, if you live in the day. היום אם בקולו תשמעו Hayom im b'kolo tishmau. And that רבי נתן Reb Noson writes in ליקוטי הלכות Likkutei Halachos, אם ירגיל אדם את עצמו ללכת בדרך שהורה רבי נחמן, ולחשוב כאילו אין לך אלא היום, אז יגאול מכל צרותיו im yergil adam es atzmo laleches b'derech she'horah Reb Nachman, v'lachshov k'ilu ein lecha ela hayom, az yiga'el mikol tzarosav. This is the secret to success, to happiness, to tranquility, to peace of mind. If we're able to not live in tomorrow but to live today, then you can live with מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh. If we're able to experience with tranquility, with serenity, with peace of mind today, if we could be present in today, if we could do what we need to do, get to the end of today. And that's what it means, התיצבו וראו את ישועת השם אשר יעשה לכם היום hityatzvu u're'u es yeshuas Hashem asher ya'aseh lachem hayom. השם's Hashem's gonna get done for you today what you need to get done today. Ah, but what about tomorrow and next week? And what about the bigger problem? And what about the next problem? That's היום hayom. התיצבו וראו את ישועת השם אשר יעשה לכם היום Hityatzvu u're'u es yeshuas Hashem asher ya'aseh lachem hayom. כי אשר ראיתם את מצרים היום, לא תוסיפו לראותם עוד עד עולם Ki asher re'isem es Mitzrayim hayom, lo sosifu lirosam od ad olam. If you can live in today, you'll never see them again, because you need to get done, we need to get done, what is our mission, what is our responsibility, היום hayom for today, for today. Okay. I was going to go through אז ישיר Az Yashir, but the truth is I can refer you. If you listen to many, many, many sitter snippets on אז ישיר Az Yashir, then you can have everything in פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach. We went through word by word אז ישיר Az Yashir in sitter snippets many moons ago. I'm not sure exactly what number to tell you it is to find it, but if you go all the way back, we spent many, many, many, many sitter snippets on אז ישיר Az Yashir, word by word, line by line, sentence by sentence, what does it mean? What are we supposed to be thinking? I'll just tell you what the זוהר Zohar says. The זוהר Zohar says, כל האומר שירה זו בכל יום מכוון בו, יזכה לאומרה לעולם הבא kol ha'omer shira zo b'chol yom m'kaven bo, yizkeh l'omrah l'olam haba. If you say אז ישיר Az Yashir every day and you say it with שמחה simcha, then you'll merit to sing it in the world to come. ספר חרדים Sefer Chareidim adds that if you sing שירה shirah with שמחה simcha, then you'll be forgiven and you'll experience redemption just like the Jewish people did in Egypt. And that's why we end פסוקי דזמרה pesukei d'zimra, we turn to קבלת עול מלכות שמים שמע kabbalas ol malchus shamayim Shema with אז ישיר Az Yashir. We quote the שירה shirah of our פרשה parsha and we sing it, we don't just say it, every day with שמחה simcha. You should look around שול shul and you should see a smile on every face during אז ישיר Az Yashir. Because just like the Jewish people then, they were worried and they panicked for nothing. Don't be afraid. התיצבו Hityatzvu. Have a spine, have a backbone. Stand up. וראו את ישועת השם U're'u es yeshuas Hashem. ואתם תחרישון V'atem tacharishun. Be quiet. Be silent. Don't answer. Don't respond. השם ילחם לכם Hashem yilachem lachem. השם's Hashem's got it covered. He's going to fight. So be with שמחה simcha, have a smile, have a joy. Have the capacity to laugh, to be with שמחה simcha, to be with שמחה simcha. ויושע השם ביום ההוא את ישראל מיד מצרים Vayosha Hashem bayom hahu es Yisrael miyad Mitzrayim. השם Hashem took us out of מצרים Mitzrayim. What should it say? He saved us not from מצרים Mitzrayim. He didn't save us from America. He didn't save us from Iran. He saved us from the Iranians. It should say מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrim. Why does it say מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrayim? We've all been saying those words every day. Every time I say an insight in sitter snippets that I didn't know before, I say, this is why sitter snippets is worthwhile. Not because I'm saying anything, I'm quoting all these other incredible interpretations. We're saying these words every day. In the case of many of these words, three times a day. Shouldn't we just understand it? Isn't it worthwhile to understand it? So ויושע השם ביום ההוא vayosha Hashem bayom hahu. השם Hashem saved us on that day. It says ויושע vayosha, not ויעזור v'ya'azor. יעזור Ya'azor means he helped us. יושע Yosha means it was all him, he saved us. He saved us. ביום ההוא Bayom hahu, on that day. By the way, what do you see again? ביום ההוא Bayom hahu. היום Hayom. On that day. Tomorrow השם Hashem will save us again tomorrow. And the next week there'll be another salvation that we need. But for today, ביום ההוא bayom hahu. רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, today. Just get to the end of today. From whom did he save us? I would have thought it should say מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrim, but it doesn't, it says מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrayim. Why? Rabbi Soloveitchik says because it wasn't just the Egyptians that the Jews had to be rescued from. They had to be rescued from the culture of Egypt. You could take the Jew out of Egypt, but could you take Egypt out of the Jew? So when קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu saw, when כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael saw the מצרים Mitzrim drowning in the sea, at that moment it wasn't only that physical oppressor that they were rescued from, but they were rescued from an entire nation, a people, a culture, an empire, an idea. It wasn't just מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrim, it was מיד מצרים miyad Mitzrayim. וירא ישראל Vayar Yisrael. What do you mean וירא ישראל vayar Yisrael? How did they see? וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה אשר עשה השם במצרים Vayar Yisrael es hayad hagedolah asher asah Hashem b'Mitzrayim. We know we have many פסוקים psukim and חז\"ל Chazal tell us you can't see השם Hashem and live. When משה Moshe says to השם Hashem, show me your face, why do bad things happen to good people? השם Hashem says, לא יראני האדם וחי lo yirani ha'adam vachai. You can't see me and live. Now we say, oh, וירא ישראל vayar Yisrael, not the Jewish people saw him. How can it be? The שפת אמת Sfas Emes points out they didn't see him. What did the פסוק pasuk describe that they saw? וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה Vayar Yisrael es hayad hagedolah. The closest we can come to seeing השם Hashem is to see his guiding hand. Is to look back and understand events the way they unfolded and say, wow. Wow. His guiding hand in our family narrative and story, in our collective narrative and story. Understand and study the Six-Day War. Understand and study the story of a community. Understand and study our own family narrative and history. Understand and look back at our own life and say, wow, that circuitous route, but look where it got me. And now I understand it, it seems to make sense how it worked out that way. So, היד הגדולה hayad hagedolah. Our mission, our job, our responsibility is to go see and identify and then to sing about the יד הגדולה yad hagedolah. You can't see השם Hashem directly. שפת אמת Sfas Emes says the closest we see is his dominion, his providence. We see and we feel. And by the way, when you see and feel that guiding hand, you've seen השם Hashem. Then you've seen השם Hashem. And you sing as a result. And not only do you sing as a result, Soloveitchik points out, the most famous פסוק pasuk arguably of אז ישיר Az Yashir, from which we learned the whole institution of הידור מצוה hiddur mitzvah, זה קלי ואנוהו Zeh keli v'anvehu. They stood on the other bank of that sea, they saw the Egyptians drowning, they saw the spoils washing up. Everything made sense. And it all became clear. Everything came together for them in that moment. And what was their reaction? They pointed, זה zeh. זה קלי Zeh keli. This is השם Hashem, I love him. You tell the whole world the story. You have a WhatsApp אמונה emunah group? You have a השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis group? You tell everybody till your friends are sick and tired of hearing about the story of what השם Hashem did and how it worked out and isn't he amazing. And thank you השם Hashem, I love השם Hashem. If you don't really feel it, then you don't talk about it. But if you really feel it, זה קלי zeh keli, you point. ואנוהו V'anvehu. אני והוא Ani v'hu. You imitate him, you emulate him, you want to be like him. You don't stop talking about him. You don't stop singing his praises. You don't stop singing his praises.In the שיבי שלום Shivei Shalom, the סלונים רבי Slonimer Rebbe says, quoting the ספר חרדים Sefer Chareidim, the זוהר Zohar and others, that if you sing שירה בכל יום shira b'chol yom, then you experience redemption, you're going to be guaranteed to sing it in the world to come. Why does it say בכל יום b'chol yom? So first of all, it fits perfectly with our רבי נחמן Reb Nachman, of every day, that day. Every day there's a שירה shirah for that day. Live that day, sing the שירה shirah for that day. The סלונים Slonimer says a different ווארט vort. He says everyone who sings שירה shira every day. There are some days it's easy to sing שירה shira. You're celebrating a שמחה simcha, you got great news, you got a promotion at work, you did phenomenally well in the stock market. You got a great lab report, you got great results from the doctor. Sing שירה shira. Skipping your step, big smile, it's easy. It's easy. But it's not what חז\"ל Chazal promised us. They described the person who sings שירה בכל יום shira b'chol yom. You don't just sing שירה shira on the happy days, the good days, the days there's clarity, the days that all makes sense, the days it all comes together. You have to sing שירה בכל יום shira b'chol yom, every day. The good days and the bad days that all comes from השם Hashem. And we all sing שירה shira and we feel that sense of שירה shira. אז ישיר, ויאמינו, נתתי, תחיית המתים, מתן תורה Az yashir, v'ya'aminu, netati, techiyas hameisim, matan Torah. Oh, so much more to talk about, but I want to get to a specific פסוק pasuk in the שירה shira. השם איש מלחמה, השם שמו Hashem ish milchamah, Hashem shmo. השם שמו Hashem shmo. השם איש מלחמה, השם שמו Hashem ish milchamah, Hashem shmo. God is violent? He's the god of violence? He's the god of war? He's the god of battling? What does that mean? Many of the commentators throughout Jewish history were very troubled by this. The ספורנו Sforno says, even though he at times appears as a man of war who destroys enemies, he's predominantly השם Hashem. Even though it appears השם is מלחמה milchamah, no, השם Hashem is שמו shmo. It appears that way but it's not who he is. The אברבנאל Abarbanel has a different idea. He reads it, השם איש מלחמה Hashem ish milchamah? No, השם שמו Hashem shmo. Is השם Hashem a man of war? No, השם Hashem is his name. It's a question and an answer. Can השם Hashem be a person of war? No, השם's Hashem's essence is love and mercy. His essence is love and mercy. השם איש מלחמה Hashem ish milchamah? The אברבנאל Abarbanel says, what's the root of the word מלחמה milchamah? לחם Lechem. We spoke about this. We gave a talk about the Jewish approach to eating and food. We talked about לחם lechem, מלחמה milchamah, because eating is a battle. Not for some. For some, they're blessed, they don't have to fight that battle. But for others, for many, for most, every time you sit to eat carbs, לחם lechem, it's a מלחמה milchamah. It's a battle. It's a war. It's a war. But here the אברבנאל Abarbanel says it in the positive. השם איש מלחמה Hashem ish milchamah. השם's Hashem's the one who provides the לחם lechem. השם Hashem is the one who gives bread. He sustains us, he provides for us. השם שמו Hashem shmo. So all kinds of interpretations on this beautiful פסוק pasuk, השם איש מלחמה Hashem ish milchamah. Does it mean yes? It means that sometimes קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu is quiet. Sometimes he goes to war. Sometimes you see, sometimes you don't. It's beautiful in the ספורנו Sforno or the אברבנאל Abarbanel and many other interpretations as well. The נצי\"ב Netziv has a beautiful insight, not for now. Let's keep going. At the end of אז ישיר Az Yashir I want to get to. מי כמוך באלים השם Mi chamocha ba'elim Hashem. מי כמוך באלים השם Mi chamocha ba'elim Hashem. Who is like you? מי כמוך באלים Mi chamocha ba'elim. באלים Ba'elim means among the celestial beings, among those who are mighty and powerful. מי כמוך באלים השם Mi chamocha ba'elim Hashem. Who's like you among the אלים eilim, השם Hashem? Among the majestic and among the holy. מי כמוך Mi chamocha. רש\"י Rashi says, we're terrified to assess his greatness because whatever we say will be inadequate. So we just say, מי כמוך mi chamocha, who is as great as you? The רמב\"ן Ramban says he's great because of praises. We praise him. ר' הירש Rav Hirsch, all kinds of interpretations, but I want to tell you the גמרא in גיטין Gemara in Gittin. The גמרא in גיטין Gemara in Gittin is describing the time that טיטוס הרשע Titus Harasha, that Titus the wicked came in and had the gall, the brazenness to perform all the most egregious crimes against השם Hashem in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. טיטוס הרשע Titus Harasha who destroyed the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, unrolled a ספר תורה sefer Torah, and defiled the קדשי קדשים kodesh ha'kodashim with a זונה zonah, with a harlot on top of a ספר תורה sefer Torah in the קדשי קדשים kodesh ha'kodashim. He stabbed the פרוכת paroches. What he did, and you know what השם Hashem did? Nothing. He was quiet. He was silent. He did nothing. קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu is all-powerful, all-mighty. קודשא בריך הוא Kudsha Brich Hu without any effort whatsoever could have ended טיטוס Titus. Could have stopped טיטוס Titus. Could have responded to טיטוס Titus. But you know what he did? He was silent. And חז\"ל Chazal look at that and they say, don't read it מי כמוך באלים mi chamocha ba'eilim. Don't read it, who is as great as you, השם Hashem, among those who are strong? Read it מי כמוך באלמים mi chamocha ba'ilmim. Who is as great as you among those who are mute? באלמים Ba'ilmim, an אילם ilem is somebody who can't speak. Who is as great as you, השם Hashem, among those who are mute? Sometimes you respond and sometimes the biggest response is silence. מי כמוך Mi chamocha. It doesn't take strength to yell, to call names, to hate, to criticize, to threaten, to lie, to slander, to forge. That doesn't take strength. You know what it takes strength? To stay silent. To stay silent is the biggest sign of strength. To be strong is to be silent. מי כמוך באלים השם, מי כמוך באלמים Mi chamocha ba'eilim Hashem, mi chamocha ba'ilmim. The willingness to stay quiet. מנעלבים ואינם עולבים, שומעים חרפתם ואינם משיבים M'ne'elavim v'einam olvim, shom'im cherpasam v'einam m'shivim. To be among those who are insulted but don't insult back, who are threatened and don't threaten back. To stay quiet. ולמקללי נפשי תדום V'limkalelai nafshi sidom. We דאַוון daven for it every day. Every day in our דאַוונען davening, we דאַוון daven, ולמקללי נפשי תדום v'limkalelai nafshi sidom. To those who curse me, נפשי תדום nafshi sidom, let me stay quiet. Or let me have the strength to stay quiet. It would be a weakness to enter the fray. It's a weakness to fight back. It's a weakness to respond and answer. The strength, ולמקללי נפשי תדום v'limkalelai nafshi sidom. Let me stay quiet. ואתם תחרישון V'atem tacharishun. Stay quiet. מי כמוך באלמים השם Mi chamocha ba'ilmim Hashem. Sometimes that person posted, they texted, they emailed, they wrote, they told your friends, they told you off in front of other people, and boy could you put them in your place. What you know about them, what you have on them, what you could reveal about them, psh, boy could you put them in their place. ואתם תחרישון V'atem tacharishun. Quiet. Just accept the insult. The chariot of השם Hashem has four legs: אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov and דוד Dovid. Why is דוד Dovid the fourth leg of the chariot? אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov are the אבות avos, the patriarchs. I understand that, I get it. Why is דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech the fourth leg of the chariot? So חז\"ל Chazal tell us because of the episode of שמעי בן גרא Shimi ben Geira. דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech was walking with his entourage, שמעי בן גרא Shimi ben Geira cursed him from the sidelines. His entourage, those who were with the king wanted to respond by killing שמעי בן גרא Shimi ben Geira. The king's entourage could have taken him right out. דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech said, שקט, שתוק sheket, shtok. Keep walking, there's nothing to see here. מנעלבים ואינם עולבים M'ne'elavim v'einam olvim. And חז\"ל Chazal say because דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech had the strength of character, because דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech exhibited the true strength, which is to absorb the blow and keep on going and not respond. That's why he's the fourth leg of that chariot. That's our job and that's our mission. That's what it means to emulate השם Hashem. That's what it means to be strong and to show that strength. Okay, let's get started with the פרשה parsha. We haven't even started yet. Let's get in a couple more quickly. Bear with me, I apologize. ותיקח מרים הנביאה אחות אהרן את התוף פסוק כ' Vatikach Miriam ha'neviah achos Aharon es hatof pasuk kaf. תשס\"ו כ Tes Vov Chaf. Aye, so much more. מרים הנביאה Miriam ha'neviah takes out her instruments and now there's a women's circle. ותקח מרים הנביאה אחות אהרן את התוף בידה ותצאן כל הנשים אחריה בתופים ובמחולות Vatikach Miriam ha'neviah achos Aharon es hatof b'yadah vateitzena kol hanashim achareha b'tupim u'vimcholos. רש\"י Rashi says, מובטחות היו צדקניות שבדור שכך הקדוש ברוך הוא עושה להם ניסים והוציאו תופים ממצרים Muvtachot hayu tzidkaniyos shebador shekach Hakadosh Baruch Hu oseh lahem nissim v'hotziu tupim m'Mitzrayim. The righteous women of the generation, as there are in every generation, and I'll just point out this רש\"י Rashi as I like to do. רש\"י Rashi was not writing apologetics. When Goldberg in 2022 תשפ\"ב Tof Shin Pey Beis says the righteous women of the generation, so the cynics and the skeptics say, oh really this misogynistic Goldberg and religion and rabbinic Judaism are offering defensive apologetics about the women, so we describe them as righteous, how condescending. When רש\"י Rashi was quoting חז\"ל Chazal, they were not living at a time that they needed to offer apologetics. You know why they said it? Because it's true. Because it's what we believe. It's what we believe. I once gave a שיעור shiur on, I called it חז\"ל's Chazal's bias about women. And then the שיעור shiur was a collection of 20 or so statements of חז\"ל Chazal where they're biased in favor of women. They knock the men and put down men and they talk about the righteousness and the greatness of women. 2000 years ago, they wrote this. In a culture where their contemporaries believed that women were chattel. And they're writing about the righteousness of women and that only in their merit were we redeemed. So רש\"י Rashi writes, מובטחות היו צדקניות שבדור שהקדוש ברוך הוא עושה Muvtachot hayu tzidkaniyos shebador she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu oseh. These righteous women in מצרים Mitzrayim were certain... so confident, they knew השם Hashem was going to make it work out. They had a spine. They had confidence. They believed. They lived with faith. So much so that when they left מצרים Mitzrayim, you know what they packed? Way too many pairs of shoes, but also, but also, their instruments. They packed their instruments.If I'm the husband in מצרים Mitzrayim, and we've got a moment to leave, and we're rushing, כחצות לילה kachatzos layla, finally after 210 years of slavery, the little and the few items we have, and we're packing. Different families have different arrangements. In my home, I do the packing. Everyone lays their stuff out. I have a מסורה mesorah. My father's taught me. My grandfather עליו השלום alav hashalom had a grocery store, how to pack properly. There's a there's a methodology to it. It's very offensive. It's lost on this generation. Right, dad? In Publics, they put the eggs in the bottom, not the top. It's people don't know how to pack properly, how to pack a suitcase properly. It's like a game of Tetris and people don't even know how to play. It's terrible. It's an עוולה avlah. It's an absolute עוולה avlah. So I pack. So here's the here's what happens. Again, I'm going to get in trouble later when I go home for being too revealing. But here's the conversation every time I pack. It's never a problem for me and Shai, but for others, every time I pack, really? This many shoes? You know we're going away for one night, right? You know we're going away for this many outfits, this many shoes, this many. Really?So if I were packing and someone had their instruments, I'd say, seriously? Seriously, a tambourine? Tambourine, you know we're running for our life right now, right? You understand that after 210 years our slave death camp has been liberated and we're running for our life, they're going to chase us. Seriously, the tambourine?So the answer חז״ל Chazal said, yeah. The women turned to their husbands and said, yeah, seriously the tambourine, because buddy, while you're so nervous and worried and running for your life, I have the מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh, the peace of mind and the serenity, I have the confidence and the faith to see that השם's Hashem's got a plan. And even though right now you're afraid and right now you're living in fear and worry, I know that when we get to the other side, we're going to be singing and dancing. And you, buddy, you're going to be clapping your hands wishing you had an instrument to play. But I'm going to have the instrument because I packed the tambourine.And you see רואים מאוד מנוחת הנפש של הצדיק האמיתי Ro'im me'od menuchas hanefesh shel hatzadik ha'amiti. You see that the true צדיק tzadik, רש״י Rashi describes these women, the צדקניות שבדור tsidkoniyos shebador. The righteous person has a מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh שמחמת אמונתה החזקה she'machmas emunasah hachazakah, as a result of that that of that אמונה emunah, נשאר במנוחת הנפש nishar b'menuchas hanefesh. You don't get rattled, and you don't get frazzled, and you don't get afraid, and you don't fight over what you pack. You have a מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh to know what you need and to believe. Yeah, seriously, I'm packing the tambourine. I'm packing the instrument because there's going to be a time that we're going to want to sing and dance. So we're bringing it along. We're bringing it together with us. We're bringing it together with us.מובטחות היו הנשים Muvtachos hayu hanashim. The language in the רש״י Rashi is that the צדקניות tsidkoniyos of the of the of the דור dor were מובטחות muvtachos. What is the word מובטחות היו הנשים muvtachos hayu hanashim? מובטחות Muvtachos, they were sure. How could they be so sure? מובטחות Muvtachos doesn't mean that they were sure. It means they were made to be sure, they were taught to be sure. What do you see from here? That they came from a מסורה mesorah. This came from a מסורה mesorah. There's a beautiful ספר sefer, the שפתי עליון Sifsei Elyon. Sadly, I think we'll end with this, even though I had 15 more things to tell you. So many more things to tell you. But the ספר sefer says, מובטחות muvtachos, from the formulation of that language, they were מובטחות muvtachos, what do you see? How did those women have the מנוחת הנפש menuchas hanefesh to in that moment turn to their husbands and say, yeah, seriously. I'm tranquil and peaceful and serene and have peace of mind to know with faith and confidence that we're going to sing and dance and we're going to come out of this okay. How did they have that? Because it was a מסורה mesorah from their mother, from their mother, from their mother.This is our responsibility to transmit, not to transmit panic and fear and anxiety, not to transmit paranoia, not to transmit perseverating, not to transmit debilitating. Our מסורה mesorah is to transmit so that our daughters and granddaughters are מובטחות muvtachos. We transmit an aura and an environment and a climate, a culture, that when the going gets rough, we stay calm. Peace of mind, confidence. אל תיראו Al tiro, don't be afraid. התיצבו וראו Hityatzvu u'reu. Have a spine, have a backbone. Pack the tambourine. Pack the tambourine. But did you hear what they said and what's going to happen and where we're going, what we're going to have to experience, what we're going to go through? Pack the tambourine. I have trust in השם Hashem, it's going to work out. We're going to be singing and dancing. And I'm going to be playing the music because I have enough faith to bring the tambourine.What an insight. מובטחות Muvtachos, from the לשון lashon, from the grammar, מובטחות muvtachos. They were made to be sure. How could they be made to be sure? Because that's what they were taught, that's their מסורה mesorah. What's the מסורה mesorah in our homes? Do our children and grandchildren grow up where what they've learned is, what's what's the old Jewish joke about the telegram? Start panicking, more details to come. Is that the culture? Start panicking, more details to come. Or never panic. התיצבו וראו את ישועת השם Hityatzvu u'reu es yeshuas Hashem. Stand up and see the salvation of השם Hashem. Be among those who are מובטחות muvtachos. The graduates of our home be confident and sure that הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu and the ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam has a plan.See everybody tonight at 7:00 for an amazing program where we do our השתדלות hishtadlus. We have to do our effort for Israel, our brothers and sisters there, safety and security. Join us at 7:00. We have an amazing program, you do not want to miss it. It's not being streamed live. It will be recorded, please God, and posted, but the only way to attend live is in person. Join us tonight at 7:00. Tomorrow morning, 10 minutes of meaning, living with אמונה emunah, tomorrow night behind the בימה bimah, yada yada yada yada. Stay happy, stay healthy.
