Of Sticks and Snakes - Parsha Va'eira

[Music] [Applause] [Music] good evening and welcome to all joining us for this global Torah class across the world tonight's class is dedicated by our dear friends David and EDA Schottenstein in the loving memory of a young child of Rama vyd libera of a young woman Pasha Leia as a lay both killed in a horrific car accident last Wednesday night in Pennsylvania dedicated also in the sacred memory of the Mumbai adoshem in rabaa Gavriel Naya and risky hallsburg and in the memory of a young girl altar shoeless word love struck down by a bus in Jerusalem tahini Sh'ma Samsa rudaba Tara Higham mobile Ahimaaz Linette Saahil maha shymala kim dima may i'll call upon him may God obliterate death and wipe the tears from every face [Music] there is a major theme that seems to penetrate to pervade the entire story of the Egyptian Exodus and it's basically the theme of sticks and snakes it begins already in the portion of SHM ice during the first encounter of Moses and God when God sends Moses on the mission to go set the Israelites free from Egyptian bondage and Moses laments that the Jews might not believe him and his message and here is the first time we experienced the first miracle connected of course two sticks and snakes please open your curriculums to source number one right below the video you have a PDF document with a curriculum and a source sheets the portion of schmoes by Yann Moshe AUMF a halo Yamin holy Moses tells God the Jews won't believe me below you shmoo Bakr leekie I'm ruling near a left ashram they will claim that God never appeared to you so what does Hashem tell Moshe to do via rail of our Mazda by Edessa Baia Mare mata God asks Moses what is it you're holding in your hand and he says a staff if I you humor God says Ashley say you art so if I actually tell you I'd serve I heal and not harsh my illness my shame upon earth God tells Moses throw this staff to the ground he throws it to the ground and it becomes a snake and Moses escapes he flees from the snake by a mere Hashem Mel Misha Flavio drove echos busines way by useless / Eva he LaMotta Baha boy God tells Moses now take your hand and hold on to the tail of the snake Moses takes his hand holds on to the tail of the snake and indeed in his hand it is transformed to a staff once again and this is the first miracle God tells Moses to perform before the Jews to demonstrate that he is authentic he is for real and indeed when he comes to Egypt this is the first miracle he performs there are more but this is the first now source number 2 in the portion of a area this week's portion God tells Moses and Aaron that when they come to Pharaoh to warn him to liberate the slaves from the program of abuse and annihilation in Egypt to set the Israelites free the first thing they should do is take their staff throw it down in front of Pharaoh and it will become a snake this is indeed what happened source number two VA Rep Eric Zion post acute by of immersive R&L para Moses and Aaron come to Pharaoh then / of Egypt and they do what God told them by Yasu Cain Carson Siva Hashem by Ashley Erina smart a olefin a pyrovile of nayavada Vasilis Annan Aaron takes the staff and throws it in front of Pharaoh and his servants and it becomes a salmon what is a son and according to Rashi it's a snake according to others it is a crocodile or another aggressive creature in the water and phibian creature what do they do Pharaoh tells his magicians to do the same thing by Ashley who ish might say if I yield a son in him they throw down their sticks and it also become they also become snakes by Eve LaMotta Irina smart Isum yet Aaron's stick swallows their sticks this is the opening first miracle that Moses and Aaron perform before Pharaoh afterwards come to ten plagues the blood then the frogs and the lice and so forth but this is the opening episode at their encounter their stick becomes a snake and then the stick swallows up the other sticks later in the same portion of eresource number three God tells Moses to come to Pharaoh and warn him that if he does not set the Jewish people free the water of Egypt will be transformed into blood ladies help ira by Boyka God tells Moses go to Pharaoh in the morning in a Yotam I'm movin it south to the cross hallelujah he goes out to the water stand in front of him at the nile river váh hamato ashen epical inaho sh t kavya daha the stick that has been transformed into a snake you should take with you here again he mentions to to take the stick which stick that stick which has become a snake and we want to understand this evening what is the meaning and the symbolism of this sensual revolving theme and story of sticks and snakes sure it seems like a cute wondrous miracle the stick becomes a snake the snake becomes a stick the stick swallows up other sticks but what is the meaning of it and why is it such a central theme why is it the opening miracle God performs in the presence of Moses why is it the first miracle Moses and Aaron perform in the presence of Pharaoh why does God emphasize this when he tells Moses to take the stick which has been transformed into a serpent when he approaches Pharaoh there are various explanations among the biblical commentators throughout the generations but this evening I want to address to two perspectives one presented by Rebbe Moshe the 16th century sage rabbi author in swass who wrote his commentary Terrace Moshe on the Hamish and the Tanakh the second a perspective presented by rabbi schneider's Ullman of Lee Adi the Altai rapper the founder of Habad in his work terror or he is of course the 18th century great Hasidic master living in Russia and white Russia what's fascinating is that they both say the same thing and yet on two completely different levels let's begin with the perspective of Rebbe moshe alsa a brief introduction is necessary in the bible in the Tanakh Pharaoh the Emperor of Egypt the scene as an embodiment of a Great Serpent if you'll open your curriculum right below the video to source number for the prophecy of your testicle Ezekiel the Prophet chapter 29 de birria martyr coyama are similar came he Nene Alaska Perry melasma tryin hat on him her girdle her rivets Battaglia Arif I sure am earlier II vinyasa cine God prophesizes through Ezekiel about Pharaoh the king of Egypt defined as the great serpents crouching in the river the one who said the river is mine and I created myself what did they say once about somebody he's a self-made man and he worships his creator so Pharaoh's defined as the Tanima girdle the great snake or as I said others translated as the great large crocodile crouching long in the river representing here the Nile River the source of irrigation and thus sustenance in Egypt now let's come to the house if pharaoh is the great snake poisonous dangerous venomous we can now appreciate the symbolism behind the event of a stick being transformed into a snake let's read the house shook inside or at least excerpts of the Alsatian site please open up your curriculum right below the video to source number five also Paris is very sensitive my shouts is commercial as owing in motion pirate the metaphor of the stick in the serpent represents the story of Moses and Pharaoh kick Sahara parry so knockers rotten and a God laureates potato area bacb admire God Allah my base hallelujah Mata hurricane cáceres lastly Arzo Senna fredita me men Ashoka Shiva namah shivay it's a lack of shiatsu maybe similar sheriffs yatra momento but I'd say if ain't a melody over all hyelin akash say big cache liar admonish her against a mystery by Yanis my shame upon Avadh Midian the alsa tells us this there are stages in pharaoh and his relationship to Moses when Moses was in the home of Pharaoh he was raised by Pharaoh's daughter in the palace of the Egyptian king then Pharaoh was like a stick the serpent was like a stick wasn't dangerous wasn't poisonous wasn't venomous Moses was not fearful of him at all on the contrary Pharaoh treated Moses with great dignity with great respect did not spear him a life of luxury and great honors and richness and wealth from Moses's perspective visa vie moses pharaoh was a piece of cake he was as thick this snake was a stick when he was in Moses his hand when he was in the domain of Moses when Moses held on to him when they were living together afterwards Moses takes the stick and throws it down to the earth in other words it gets separated from Moses this represents Moses growing up and leaving the palace going out to his brothers if I eat all my surveyed say L asked about what happens now he let go of the stick he let go of Pharaoh he's now physically psychologically emotionally separated from the world of Pharaoh he now joined the Hebrews he now went into the world of the Jews and what happens Pharaoh becomes a venomous poison a snake snake in fact he wants to execute Moses who now has to run away and that's what happens here he throws down the stick it becomes a snake and Moses runs he runs to Midian to save himself from the wrath of his previous protector and sword of stepfather in Koza be sold of geographies boy fantastic boil awesome Panetta negative acacia Billy Parker dialysis continues he LaMotta Bishop Africa AIDS diamond Shalu era of Allah ash this Lacock their houses finishes nonetheless when you take your hand and you hold on to the same serpent to confront it without fear with might and the vigor and without any dread then in your hand it will become again on an animate stick it will not harm you it will not cause you any evil what did the house just tell us there are three stages in the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh stage number one is Moses growing up in Pharaoh's home stage number two is Moses away from Pharaohs on stage number three is when Moses now returns as the leader of the Jewish people confronting the leader of the superpower of the ancient civilization civilization Egypt and these three stages are represented in the encounter between Moses and God when God tells them take your stick throw it down to the ground it becomes a snake now lift it up and it becomes a stick once again stage number one when Moses is in Pharaoh's home Pharaoh the serpent is a stick inanimate subtle nondamaging to Moses on the contrary once Moses throws him to the ground separates from him now Eero grows into a snake which wants to destroy and kill moisture a bane when he must run away just as he runs from this snake right there on the ground stage number three God tells Moses now come back and hold on to that snake don't be scared of it confront it hold on to it go back to Pharaoh and touch him speak to him communicate to him demand from him talk to him face to face Moses are scared he ran go back and what happens when he touches the stance neck snake when he comes back to Pharaoh the snake melts or the snake is metamorphosized into a stick ultimately it has no power at the damaged Moses ultimately after a series of encounters and plagues Pharaoh will completely acquiesce he will let the people go don't be scared Moses the snake will not damage you this according to the ocean is the great symbolism behind the story and this is what God is telling Moses when the Jews will see how you confront Pharaoh without fear they will believe that you were sent by me to liberate them what the house is teaching us here is not just a story about Moses but a very profound story about each and every one of us people are scared of many things people have lots of fears you know the story there was a Jew who's walking down the road and he meets a psychiatrist famous psychiatrist how are you I'm fine but he tells the psychiatrist is one thing that drives me crazy I can't sleep at night the doctor says why not the Jew says I get in Tibet and I know that somebody crawls under my bed and lies there all night I'm petrified I'm terrified it's dreadful what am I supposed to do the psychiatrist says you have a very deep phobia and fear probably originates in some experiences formulated in the early years of your childhood which made a very deep impact and have entrenched themselves in your fragile psyche you have to come for therapy how often the Jew says psychiatrist says at least twice a week for how long for three years how much is a session a session is 425 dollars two times a week for a few years and I will heal you from your phobia you'll be able to sleep at night the Jew says I evolved it's too expensive what am I supposed to do psychiatrist says listen this is the price what will a man not do to live a serene and tranquil life nope a few months later the same she was walking down the street he meets a psychiatrist again huh I haven't heard from you he tells the Jew his potential patient yes you haven't heard from me what happened why didn't you come for therapy the Druze says it was too expensive so what do you do you're not sleeping at night he says no I went to the rabbi and the rabbi gave me a simple brilliant solution and from then I sleep like a baby throughout the night what did the rabbi tell you to do and he says the rabbi gave me this suggestion he said cut off the four legs of the bed and what happened psychiatrist because I cut it off and now nobody can crawl under the bed I know there's nobody there I sleep pleasantly and silent tranquility throughout the night people have many different fears in life some are very real and some are part of their imagination and even real fears are part of their experience the way they confront things the way they deal with life comes God and he tells Moses we often get scared of things that we do not touch that we do not confront that we don't want to look at it when something is far from you you can imagine that it is very powerful its Titanic it's gigantic and you're terrified from it because it's going to destroy you're going to abuse it's going to kill you but the moment you actually approach the snake from but you have been running for days or weeks or months or years and you hold on to it your hold on even to its tail suddenly you see sash stackin it's only as thick it's nothing that famous line which they attribute Eleanor Roosevelt or her husband the FDR Franklin Roosevelt or probably it's from somebody even earlier there's nothing to fear but fear itself according to the alsa traces its origin to this moment when this stick becomes a serpent Moses runs ionisation upon a vacant Val that's going to destroy me God says go over and touch it hold on to it because ghosts and skeletons and demons love the darkness as long as you don't shed light on them as long as you don't confront them as long as you don't gaze into their face and confront that which you're so scared of they will grow larger and larger in your imagination in your feelings and they will destroy you the solution sometimes is simply to go over to the Serpent and touch it hold on to it stare at it look at it talk about it confronted shed light on the ghosts and it will fade it will dissipate it will become a stick what you dramatized as a great snake which can kill you is a simple lifeless debt stick which is there to serve you now let's explore the perspective of the altar bearishness Alma nove Lee Adi whose yard site actually was the sunday of Dawa Davis the 24th day of Davis the hundred and 97th yard site from the ballot on Yvonne Canara and what follows is based on his discourse a Hasidic discourse published in his work tire iron on parishes of area and a few points from another discourse in his Lakota turn and parishes hookahs and some additional explanation from other sources according to the Altair ever according to the founder of Chabad rabbi schneider's almond of Lee Adi the story of the sticks and the snakes is actually God communicating and explaining to Moses a perspective of vantage point of how to understand the whole reality of Exile of pain of Egyptian exile the essence of Pharaoh and therefore how to deal with the Pharaoh and how to confront them but to understand this let's focus for a moment on one of the very obvious distinctions between a stick and a snake take a look at a snake take a look at a stick the obvious difference one is an animal one is lifeless one comes from a tree but look for a moment that their shape of their designers stick by definition is straight that's why you can rely on it you can lean on it you can use it as a walking stick what's unique about the snake is its gait the serpent never walks in a straight line it is incapable of walking in a straight line the serpentine gait is one of the most beautiful things there are something between a wave and a dance and yet it's a serpent which kills it always walks along the surface of the earth zigzag it starts here and it goes back there and it goes back here never in a straight line the stick is straight this represents two realities one is the reality of what we call holiness or godliness an expression of God and one is a reality we call clipper which means a husk or a shell which completely eclipses the reality of God and the divine energy within the world the definition of clipper which means a husk means it covers it covers reality meaning what you see is not the truth you see one thing but the truth is something else or in a zigzag you start here and you think you're going this way but like a zigzag you end up there you start there and you end up here you never start and end off in the same place what does this represent this represents the concealing power embodied by the snake it starts in one place but it takes you to another place it covers up it eclipses true reality it does not be speak the truth and therefore it's not straight it's crooked and it kills the first snake already what was its function its function was to take even Adam away from God's domain from God's reality to entice them and successfully persuade them to eat from the fruit of the tree which God told them not to eat from the snake is poisonous the snake is venomous the snake is dangerous the stick on the other hand represents the flow of godliness from the highest levels to the lowest levels in a straight fashion in a straight line never covering never denying and therefore never crooked always in a straight line unlike the snake now let's understand the story and we have here an excerpt from the original discourse of the alternate interior over era source number six and I want to read I want to read a little part of this discourse together the Indian ham I've sim hula high racela ham [Music] the objective of the miracle source number six in your curriculum the objective of the miracles was to show Pharaoh and the Egyptians it seemed a yoson penis completely please visit our acronym Amish I fell pick a name a column highest amid Medusa but whole raga rishabha Hermes a name Yeshua Taverna Frobenius mom kid Amina McCoy's Avella shame tale and botanical isla gabriela KUSI's mark all of the miracles in Egypt were there to demonstrate to Pharaoh and the Egyptians that although they define themselves and they are absolute shells and husks which completely deny an eclipse and the reality of God nonetheless they to continuously receive their life and vitality from holiness at every single moment and the truth is that they do not constitute a separate autonomous egotistical reality as it is in their own false imagination but they are truly nullified in the presence of godliness because they're very entity continuously is vitalized and invigorated from God Almighty Raksha highest name Salim Ali day massage can be specialist Madrid is Robin van Suman it's just how can they perceive themselves as completely separated from God and completely denying God's reality because God's energy is communicated to them through many partitions and through many veils and through an evolution of many intense levels and gradations vigau buchalka Hudson Samantha state amateur you Hulu Lamar lyrically and the layers of concealment and contractions are so intense that at the end the the vitality the life force of God is so contracted it's so diminished that it invigorates them every moment but it allows them to say the river is mine and we create the river is ours and we created ourselves or as Pharoah said the river is mine and I created myself so rabbi schneider's alman is describing here the paradoxical concept their whole true essence their true identity the quintessence of their reality is nothing but godliness the divine energy is what continuously gives them existence substance design identity character and life every single part of them is essentially a manifestation of divine energy and yet their reality completely eclipses that their personality their lifestyle that behavior completely denies and and covers that up that is what I call what's called a clippo that's the serpent how does that happen because the energy of God becomes so restricted it evolves through many layers and each layer it becomes more constricted and more restricted more concealed and more eclipsed until it enters into their domain where it gives vitality to something which completely denies its own origin its own essence its own Genesis if a Lehane therefore he continues be goal a Sardar Dabish Allah my Allah man had some some beam ain't put a limb a mover Tala the moment there is a revelation of godly energy which is above which is beyond the radical contractions and restrictions and the energy there nullified Visser higher in your emotion and this was the theme behind all of the events that Moses and Aaron performed in Egypt their claim was that nature politics Egypt is an egocentric self-contained reality where does God come into the picture with does morality ethics truth transcendence purpose meaning values goodness justice coming to the picture suddenly what happens is when there's a little revelation of godliness above the normal order of evolution which restricts and conceals the energy intensely suddenly they're nullified they have no identity opposing it suddenly they can deny that reality anymore suddenly the whole system is transformed vows are you made my physician being in a mattress and epical on oh gosh this was the point of the first miracle a stick being transformed into a snake the hetoimasia very Moses and Aaron showed Pharaoh Necho Hamas and Knepper wanna wash the Ainu shimmy penis Irv I'm chakra dedushka nuclear matter ninja shark eyes vakyam wha Tom in mock your Eclipse what Moses and Aaron were showing Pharaoh is the snake itself comes from this thick it's not that the snake is a separate reality from the stick this thick itself is transformed into a States make in other words the true origin of the snake representing the shell the husk the Clipper like the first venomous and poisonous snake where does it come from it really comes from the stick the stick representing the flow of godly energy from the highest levels all the way down like a stick to the lowest levels that is what becomes a snake that is where the vitality the existence and endurance of the snake comes from Oh commercial cows of rag Larry smothers the verse says its legs go down into a state of death of Mao who say but Kyle mashallah his kingship of God dominates and saturates everything even the snake Allah says ly they stylus with some summer album kina scollay actually alia snappish my MA Telemachus but that a stick should be able to become a snake the energy must go through a very radical evolution and in each level it becomes lower and lower and weaker and weaker more dim and yet more the more diminished and more diminished more restricted a more restricted until after Myriad's of levels the same divine energy can enter into a state where it's transformed into the snake a Pharaoh and the Egyptians Shia dates in Suman Robin may loom is dr. Asha form a penis Amata coca actually you Thomas have leases have his penis a tan my god lord I would appreciate of volume earlier from so many contractions from so many concealment so many layers dense layers of concealment this flow of godliness can be concealed so profoundly until from it can be created the great snake in the river of Egypt which says the river is mine and I created myself there's no bounds to my power there's no balance to my ego there's no bounds to my instincts and appetites and cravings there's no higher truth so the snake doesn't come from somewhere else the snake comes from the very stick varaha Kaoru lloyd continues the Outernet but then they showed him step to it sure enough caution Epis la mota this snake goes back and becomes a stick vegan believed LaMotta erin ESMA tyson highness cause our penis at Annan Liz bottle agape egg dushala kiss Cabrera China and then Erin stick swallows their sticks which means the snake resumes its original status it ascends back to its own source and becomes nullified in the presence of olena's in the presence of godliness like it was originally pizzetta Lipari asha a numb yes Madiba that's my key in Bihar aghanim's Shalimar highest melaku solution is butter Delma started and with this day showed Pharaoh and the Egyptians they shouldn't think that they are a yesh that they have their own entity and their own ego that they have their own reality completely separate and divorced and autonomous from God no every single moment they're living from the divine energy it's just that God as a kale Mustafa is a God who hides opiates is a NAPA hamish LaMotta VAR ukulele or a Clippers and therefore when he wants the same snake could become back into his thick and all the shells and husks are absolutely there North as though they never existed Wow that as you call her my simile is the other mitzrayim care near sham and this was the objective of all of the supernatural events in Egypt that in the Egyptian reality should be felt the presence and truth of godliness what did the altar ever teachers here that the message of this thick and the snake was that when you look at this snake you must know the snake itself also comes from the stick everything comes from God and everything has within a divine energy it's just the divine energy and some things are so concealed that it gives vitality and energy to a serpent which completely denies its own shrews its own essence and therefore defines itself as a clipper a shell and a husk which completely covers up the reality of godliness but the truth is now who say by coil mashallah the truth is everything there's a manifestation of godliness and that's its whole existence and that's its whole truth but here we have the different stages when Moses is holding on to the stick to the snake it's a stick when moses leaves go of the stick when get separated Phoenicia when godliness leaves its source leaves the bosom of God and goes down in the sense in a very intense spiritual evolutionary process and it reaches the earth here it gets separated from its source and that assumes what seems like a very different reality and that's when Moses gets scared for Yanis motion upon of you look and you see a snake and you run so God says go hold on to the snake touch it look at it feel it's essential texture and you'll see that it's really a stick you have nothing to be afraid in the hand of Moses it again becomes a stick what turned it into a snake this is I think how we have to understand what turned it into a snake the fact that it got separated from Moses his hand it was slow into the earth when godliness degrades itself and evolves in a very intense dramatic evolution of levels and each level that becomes more separate from the projection of its original source until it turns into a snake and this is what we call clipper so God tells Moses now I want you to hold on to it and when you're holding on to it you'll see that it's really a stick what allows it to become a snake is the separation is the fragmentation is the fact that it was severed from you and then you run it's frightening but hold on to it feel its real texture look at it delve into its essence understand its core in your hand in Moses his hand it's a stick it's not a snake separated from Moses it's a serpent this applies to every person often we get scared of certain powerful realities in our own life in our own psyche in our own system in the world around us when you want to combat Pharaoh when you want to combat injustice evil negativity apathy when you want to combat lies dysfunction sometimes you get scared from the ferocious venom and poison of the snake comes out today band says understand what God was telling Moses was not just here's a cute miracle a snake will become a staff will become a snake a snake will become a staff he was presenting to him a philosophical approach don't be scared don't be terrified don't be turned off because deep down the whole world craves to place its mouth on the mouth of the Jew and declare together he's God Oh the Scottish may rub deep down there's no contradiction there is no tension there's no paradox Omalu saber coil mashallah the truth is that everything is saturated with divine energy everything is an expression of godliness there's no real contradiction there's no real paradox so don't run away from the snake hold on to the snake and look deeply into it and in Moses hands in your hands it won't be a snake it will be a stick because that's what it really is it's just became distorted as a result of men need some some ham now don't fall prey to the outer shell and the outer distortion touch its real texture and you'll know that there can't be a true reality in the world that contradicts God and his will and godliness and therefore don't run from Pharaohs don't be overwhelmed be intimidated when you face obstacles and challenges which seem wrong which seem dysfunctional which are destructive don't run from them because their entire power their entire essence they get from one source they don't have a true autonomous identity hold on to it and you'll be able to demonstrate the truth that even the serpent essentially comes from the stick this is also the secret behind another very strange story in homage again with a snake this happens later in hookahs there is a epidemic where snakes infiltrate the Jewish community in the desert and they begin biting and killing people it's a strange episode poisonous snakes attack the Israelites in the desert and God tells Moses to do something source number seven by a Martian Malaysia a sailor how sort of a seamless al-nasser logical emotions very simplified God gives them a very specific instruction I want you to fashion a unique instrument for healing what a pole topped with the form of a snake build a pole and on top of the pole this should be a snake and whoever gets bitten should look at that pole topped by a snake and will live for yes motion a fashion aphasia is very samayal Arness Moses builds a snake made out of copper and he places it on top of a pole the Holly I'm not shocked I'm not conscious ish the hipot on the Hashana her she's with guy if somebody was bit by a snake he looked at the copper snake on top of the pole and he lived this is the story known as the snake of Moses replaces the snake on top of a pole and if somebody was struck by a spy's ins venomous fake he looks at it and he's healed and everybody asks the obvious question what's the point why do you have to put a snake on top of a pole to cure the Jews who were bidden if it was God who was healing them obviously by looking at a snake on top of a pole you don't get healed if it was God who was healing them why the need to look up at a snake so the mission asks this question and source number aid the famous mission attracted Rosh Hashanah chapter 3 the Mishna says coyote I bowed over after him and I say little service in my Selma's wirecolor marshes were a civil divers he normal conquers but he knockers made me say no fish Messiah does a snake cause you to live or to die el abyss monster you stole my sparkling clap a myeloma shabbiness mob did as liebe Marvin Shabazz Jemima you miserable mama you know Mike it's symbolic when the Jews looked up to God and dedicated their hearts to God they were healed and if not they perished but then the question is according to this statement in the mission when they were looking up on the pole they weren't looking to a snake they were looking towards God so why would God want to create a deception and a distraction that somebody might think actually that it's the snake on top of the pole will fall which is healing it and what's fascinating is that's exactly what happens in fact if Tanakh tells us that King Ischia Castillo amela the Jewish king of Judah who lived in the 6th century before the Common Era he took the copper snake sculptured by Moses and you know what he did Keith days he smashed it into pieces why because people were attributing to it divine powers that's exactly what happened he destroyed the copper snake sculptured by Moses himself imagine if the whole point is to look up to God to pray to God to surrender to God why have a snake on top of a pole but the answer to this is the same explanation there are out there ever ever snares Amin presents entire every area and this he presents in Lakota temperatures hookahs and the answer is because God was explaining to the Jews the primary method of healing it's not just run away from the snake and look up to God it's see the snake the way it's on top look at the snake from a higher vantage point don't look at the snake below lift up your eyes and see the same snake the way it's on top of a pole or to put it differently look at this snake and understand where it really comes from understand its origin understand its essence understand its source above and then the same snake which was previously venomous becomes a source of healing there was a famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein he died in 1951 considered by some as one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century and he once said that his aim as a philosopher is to show the fly the way out of the fly bottle you know a fly is trapped in a bottle you ever see what happens it goes downwards it flies to the right side and that bucket hits the side of the batter bottle it flies to the other direction and it hits the other side of the bottle and it flies back and forth back and forth and can't get out and feels trapped and stuck until it falls from exhaustion the only thing the fly fails to do is to look up in life we're often confronted by different types of snakes by events by relationships by interactions by experiences that cause us pain they bite us they bite our innocence they bite our optimism they bite our hope the solution God is telling Moses is not to look right or left to look up and to be able to see the snake the way it is in its source in other words what its true meaning is what it's true messages what its true power is we often fail to heal because we give the snake below too much potency too much power too much credit we worship it we believe in it same with Pharaoh the problem is don't look at Pharaoh as a real obstacle to you as long as you are an ambassador of your soul as long as you are an ambassador of God then the greatest post powerful serpents will be transformed into sticks because don't give them the credibility and the substantiality that clip up that the shell craves in order to exist hold on to it feel it's real texture confront its true essence and then you will be able to reveal that the reason it became a serpent is because it was thrown out of Moses hand because the guard Li energy went way way down from its source and was plunged down into the earth and there becomes a snake and you look at it and you're terrified and you're high refining you overtaken by insecurity because of the great power of Egypt and Pharaoh and the snake comes God and he says hold on to it my share of a know hold on to it and in my motions and the same nosh the same serpent becomes a stick and that's the reason why God tells Moses when he goes to Pharaoh take the stick that became a snake according to the alsa it's the only way he will be able to win over Pharaoh if you're scared of him you will never be able to win don't be scared at all Lola faith cloud as her binoculars don't be scared remember that this stick is what became a snake and the snake is what became a stick don't be scared at all according to the alsa that's the only way you can approach Pharaoh according to the Outernet maintainer area that means go to Pharaoh with this stick that became a snake remember that mal Jose Barco mashallah remember that the only real reality in the world is godliness and the prayer purpose is to reveal that within the world it's a holistic world essentially it's a unified world essentially so don't get torn by the contradictions don't get torn by the paradoxes look up and see the snake the way it is in its own source although the snake down here doesn't know about it and when you'll see that type of snake then you'll realize that that itself can become a source of life this this stick of iron will swallow up their sticks because in the presence of real holiness of real kedusha of an additional revelation of holiness which is not contracted what happens to the Clipper it can't cover up anymore it can't cover up anymore it melts in the reality of holiness this then is the primary method of the Jew confronting the first Pharaoh and every Pharaoh since don't look down don't look to the right don't look to the left but in every experience in every encounter in every circumstance look up have a wonderful evening [Music] you