Parsha Review Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Parsha Review Podcast.

00:10 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Good morning everybody, welcome back, welcome back. It is so wonderful to see everyone here on this beautiful Tuesday morning. This week's Parsha is Parsha's Bo. Bo is the third portion in the book of Exodus, and also the last three of the plagues that God placed on the Egyptians are in this week's Parsha. Okay, so something very, very important that we need to see in the second verse in this week's Parsha, and that is we'll start with the first, just so we get the background, and then we'll go to the second verse in this week's parasha, and that is, we'll start with the first, just so we get the background, and then we'll go to the second verse.

00:47
Vayomer Hashem, hamoshe Hashem said to Moshe Bo'al Paro, come to Paro. K'ani chpadati eslimo, because I hardened his heart, ve'esleiv avodav, and the heart of his servants, l'man shisi ososai, eyle b'kirbi, in order that I can place my signs in their midst. Why? So that the Jewish people will see this we spoke about last week. Now listen to verse number two In order.

01:21
Why am I going to do all of these miracles? Why am I going to make all of these plagues in Egypt? So that you can relate in the ears of your sons and your daughters and your grandchildren, eis asher, hitalal, tibit mitzrayim, that I made a mockery of Egypt and that that I have destroyed Egypt. Bes ois, ois sayen my signs, asher samtibam, that I have placed among them and you will know that I am Hashem. What a beautiful verse. But if you look at this verse, it seems to be a little interesting that the purpose of it all is so that you tell your children and your grandchildren of the miracles that I did for you, and so that, and then you will know that I am Hashem. What does one have to do with the other? I'm going to talk about the miracles that happened 3,300 years ago, when the Jewish people were leaving Egypt, and then, as a result, I'll know that Hashem is God. What's going on here? So our sages tell us something really, really magnificent.

02:35
Really really magnificent. You know the verse in Psalms. I will believe in Hashem because I speak. There's a tremendous power.

02:52
Our sages teach us in speaking about Hashem's greatness. When we talk about Hashem's greatness, when we bring Hashem's, when we bring the consciousness of Hashem into our life, when we are recognizing that Hashem is here and we say about the stories of what Hashem has done, you know what that does to us. It brings emunah. It brings our knowledge of Hashem and becomes tangible. It becomes something that is very clear to us. That's the goal here. The goal is to live a life of knowledge of Hashem. What's going to happen? Not, you will believe, you will know that I am Hashem. What does it mean to that I am Hashem? What does it mean to know I am Hashem, to know the difference between knowledge and faith. We've discussed many times faith. You know, in Christianity they have this leap of faith. You gotta take a leap of faith, meaning don't ask too many questions. You just gotta take a leap of faith and believe that this is the story. Don't ask too many questions. You just got to take a leap of faith and believe that this is the story, you know, and don't ask too many questions. Okay, in Judaism. That's not a requirement In Judaism. You have to know that I am Hashem, yet it has to be a knowledge. What's more powerful? A belief or a knowledge? A knowledge is solid, a knowledge is firm. I know Hashem, you know we have.

04:37
In our Pesach Seder, we talk about each and every one of the steps of our redemption. First we were poor people, we were slaves. We talk about the four sons. We talk about the whole journey where God promised to Abraham that he's going to take us out of Egypt, that he's going to put us in slavery. He's going to remove us, and the same promise was given to Yitzchak and to Yaakov. Slavery he's going to remove us, and the same promise was given to Yitzchak and to Yaakov. And then the Jewish people are enslaved. We see that. We talk about the whole process.

05:14
Why do we have to do all story time? Every Pesach Seder we're sitting there instead of just munching on our matzah and enjoying ourselves. First, what do we do? The first thing we do, let's tell the story. Let's tell the story, you know why? Because the more we talk about it, the more it becomes real in our consciousness. It's not just a fairy tale. It's not just a story of something that happened way back when. This is our connection with Hashem.

05:53
You will know, it will become clear to you. You won't have any doubts. You will know that I am Hashem. You know it's interesting.

06:09
You'll hear many times when people say you know, let's get together. Let's get together for coffee, with God's help. With God's help, what's the idea? Or in Hebrew, be'ezrat Hashem. With the help, with the assistance of Hashem, god willing, why? Why are you bringing God into this? The idea here? Our sages tell us that you need to bring God consciousness into your life at every moment. Will I make it to the coffee shop? I don't know. With God's help, I will remember that there is a God, the creator of heaven and earth. Will I make it to the coffee shop? I don't know. With God's help, I will Remember that there is a God, a creator of heaven and earth, and everything that we are able to do in this world is due to his will, to his gift. It'd be an added. You know, I remember there was a great rabbi who came to visit here in Houston and he said a beautiful idea.

07:12
You know many people before they go to a spiritual leader, they write a little note. They write a little note and in that note they write for example, they'll write their Hebrew name, they'll write their wife's Hebrew name, they'll write their children's Hebrew names. But they get a blessing. It's called a little kvittle, a little paper, a little note. So they have outside of where the Rebbe accepts the audience. They'll have papers there for people to jot down what they need. I need a blessing in my livelihood. I need a blessing in my shombayis, in my peace, at home. I need blessing with the education of my children. I need a blessing for a shidduch, for a mate, for a bashert.

08:08
Many blessings that people come to rabbis for you write it down in that paper. So this individual, a wealthy man, said you know what? I want to sponsor those papers. It's a special blessing for me if I sponsor those papers that the people write what the blessings that they need from the rabbi. So he had a printer go and print thousands and thousands and thousands of papers. But he put on the top corner of the paper with the help of Hashem, like it had it printed on. The rabbi told him you need to replace the papers. He said why he says faith in Hashem cannot be pre-printed. Faith in Hashem isn't pre-installed. Faith in Hashem needs something that you need to work on, something that you need to internalize, something you need to make it yours. It's not pre-installed. Oh, just press a few buttons, have it printed on there and it's pre-installed. No, no, no. Faith in Hashem needs to be something that we work on.

09:24
You know, there was a man, a man walking in the streets and he sees these two city workers. One is digging a hole, the next guy is filling the hole. One guy is digging a hole, the next guy is filling the hole. One guy is digging. What in the world are these two people doing here? I guess the coffers of the city are overflowing with a surplus and now they're just paying people to be busy.

09:55
This guy is digging the hole. The next guy comes, fills it up. He goes a few inches further, digs a hole. Guy fills it back up. What in the world is going on? He inquires, he asks some people what's going on? You don't understand. It's supposed to be a three-man team. A guy's supposed to dig a hole, a guy's supposed to plant the tree and the next guy's supposed to fill it. But they're missing one of the guys and they don't know that. They're like we were told. I was told to dig, so I dig. This guy was told to fill, so he fills. You know, this is comparable to the three partners in the creation of man there's the father, there's the mother and there's God. The same insanity that we would think of an individual digging a hole and the next guy closing and filling that hole is for a person to think that there's just a father and mother in the game and not understand that the most important aspect is the almighty God who gives us our soul, our battery pack, so that we can function.

11:13
It is so important for us to instill yes, even with just simple words like Baruch Hashem, praise Hashem, be'ezrat Hashem, with the help of Hashem. We should say we should have this on our lips all day Thank you, hashem. Thank you, hashem. You were able to eat this morning lips all day. Thank you, hashem. Thank you, hashem. You were able to eat this morning a delicious breakfast. Thank you, hashem, you were able to sleep last night. Thank you, hashem.

11:40
As we are going to see shortly in our prayer podcast episode forthcoming Bezrat Hashem, with the help of Hashem, to thank Hashem. We should be able to utter those words all day thank you, hashem. Thank you, hashem. Thank you, hashem, because you know what saying those words, you know what that does to us. That will bring into your heart, into your soul, into your very, into the fiber of your being, every fiber of your being. That will bring a consciousness of Hashem. That's what we're trying to get.

12:20
We're trying to gain a closeness with Hashem and that is the gift, if we're able to iterate every day our thanks to Hashem with our words, verbalize it, don't just mumble it. Verbalize it to those around you, to your children, to your grandchildren. Thank you, hashem. That is the greatest asset we can earn in this world A closeness with Hashem. To make it that it should be viyadatem, it should be a knowledge, not just yeah, take a leap of faith, no, no, leap of faith. We go into the essence, to our soul, to our core, and have that closeness with Hashem.

13:10
My dear friends, we see this is just a simple verse. There are a thousand different ways to look at this verse, but this is just one that I found I thought was very, very special. But I urge you, find a minute of your weekend, friday, friday night, shabbos, the whole Shabbos. Take some time to read through the portion. Read the commentaries. You have the magnificent Stone Edition Chumash or the Schattenstein Edition Chumash and just read the beautiful translation of our holy Torah, where God is talking to us, of our holy Torah, where God is talking to us.

13:57
And the more we're able to read those words and speak them out, the more we're able to recognize the miracles. That didn't only happen 3,300 years ago when the Jewish people left Egypt. That happened today in our own private lives. When we see what's going on in Israel, when we see what's going on around the world and we're able to recognize the hand of Hashem. It's not happenstance, it's not just good luck or bad luck, it's the hand of Hashem. And the more we're able to recognize and to appreciate that Hashem is the master of the universe and he controls everything that happens, the more we talk about this, the more we internalize the message of that Hashem is everywhere, that Hashem is here and Hashem is there and Hashem is guiding every single thing that happens in our world. It's a great gift, it's a great gift, it's a great privilege if we're able to do that. My dear friends, have a magnificent Shabbos.

15:02 - Intro (Announcement)
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