Three Signs to Confront Moshe's Three Fears | Parsha Shemos Womens Class

welcome everybody to our women's class this wonderful tuesday morning the 21st day of davis we will start momentarily how are we on zoom you can hear you hear me and see me wonderful okay thank you everybody for joining us [Music] yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah moshirabenu moses knew all along this would not be an easy task it's why he tried to get out of it again and again when god when hashem summons moshe moses at the burning bush in the weekly portion of shmois and he asks him to embark on a mission to set the jewish people free moshe rabbenu rejects the invite he says the people will deem him as a charlatan as being dishonest they will not believe me la ishmaeli they will not listen to me they will say that god has never appeared to you like hashem this is all fake news what does hashem do to respond to moshe's fear and concern that they're going to claim that he's just a fake a phony it's all a spill how many people in history came to the masses and said i had a vision god appeared to me they're not going to believe me maisha says so as chapter four of exodus peric dalit shemis tells the story hashem gives maisha three signs to perform for the people first thing is hashem says to moshe what is in your hand he says a staff god says cast it to the ground moshe takes the stick and casts it to the ground it becomes a nakhisha serpent moshe runs away from it hashem says to moshe no stretch forth your hand and take hold of its tail so moisture stretches forth his hand and he grasps the tail of the snake and it becomes once again a staff in his hand and as the verse continues so that they will believe you this is the first sign then hashem says to marsha i want you to put your hand into your bosom so moshe takes his hand and he puts it into his bosom he takes it out and yaday mitsura's kashalak looks like he's a leper his hand is white like snow hashem says put your hand back into your bosom he puts his hand back into his bosom when he takes out his hand of his bosom again it has become like regular normal flesh then god tells moshe you shall take water of the nile and spill it upon the dry land and the water that you take from the nile will become blood on the dry land these are the three signs the three initial wondrous miraculous events that hashem entrusts into marsha's hands in order to perform in egypt for the purpose that the people the people of israel should not be able to say this is bluff this is fake news they should be able to embrace what i want to ask you today is are these just cute charming fun divine magic tricks we take a snake stick becomes a snake becomes a stick we take our hand suddenly became white like snow then it's normal flesh we take water it becomes blood or is there a deeper message or theme or meaning behind us how are we supposed to understand this so i want to present to you one possible thematic interpretation that gives new depth to the story based on various of the mafarian various of the commentators throughout these portions that deal with the egyptian exile bondage and then the ultimate redemption i'm also thankful to my dear colleague rabbi david forman for his classes and writings lovely classes and writings on this subject for this you have to really read through the story and read through the story very carefully and then a deeper theme emerges why did moishe reject the mission what was he afraid of god says i want to send you to liberate the people you say great i'm going just out of simple empathy but moishe explains why he doesn't want to go he is daunted by three major concerns that really make him feel that he should not be doing this first of all he says that people won't believe me they won't listen to me they're going to say god never appeared to me fake news remember the people have been oppressed for so long they're accustomed to the norms of slavery they're accustomed to bondage to oppression they won't believe him they're downtrodden they're dejected they're weak they're crushed they may not even be capable of hearing a voice of liberation of emancipation second moisha was also afraid for himself he felt he is not suited for a task of such magnitude the torah says that moshe says to this is in exodus chapter 3 at the burning bush he says who am i that i should go to pharaoh and that i should take the children of israel out of egypt where do i come to fill such incredibly big shoes and he continues he says god i peace i'm not a man of words neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday nor from the time that you have spoken to your servant i am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue but there's a third concern moisture is afraid of power he's afraid of the people he's afraid of himself am i up to this task i can't even speak i can't even articulate my words but he's also afraid of the king how can he an ordinary person with a speech disability confront and triumph over the most powerful man in the world the monarch of egypt which was considered somewhat of the superpower of the time why would paris listen to me as he says he says to god how can pirate listen to me since i speak with faltering lips ania ralph's facade unplugged you want paris paris is going to obey me he's going to respond to me as it turns out moshe was cracked on all three counts despite his initial success in persuading the people when he comes to egypt they believe him things soon start to go very wrong and they continue downhill he was right furthermore martial's first appearance before para is disastrous not only does the king reject moshe's request to let the people travel into the wilderness for a holiday he makes life much worse for the israelites they must still make the same quota of bricks but now they have to gather their own straw the people turn against my shanaran as deposit says at the end of shmooze they tell them may god look at you and judge you you have made us obnoxious to parry and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to murder us moshe and iron return to pirate to renew their request they perform a sign they turn a staff into a snake pari is unimpressed his own magicians can do the same thing they can also take a stag stack stick and turn it into a serpent next they bring the first of the plagues where the water of the nile indeed turns into blood in other words they do the first and third sign that hashem showed moshe when they first met at the burning bush you remember the three signs the first and third sign they do for para the stake becomes a snake and then the water becomes blood but power is not moved he will not let the hebrew slaves go and so it goes on and on nine times moshe does everything in his power and finds that nothing makes a difference the israelites are still slaves we can sense when we read the story if i can express myself so the terrible pressure and pain that moishes experience moisture is experiencing after his first setback when para increased the torture the bondage at the end of shema's he turns to hashem and he complains bitterly he says why have you bought brought such trouble on this people why did you send me ever since i went to paris to speak in your name he has brought more trouble on his people you have not rescued your people at all hashem has reassured him that he will eventually succeed god says atari you'll see it's going to be good i will remain loyal to my promise and my covenant but the terrorist says when moshe comes back to the jewish people now they cannot listen to moshe because of the shortness of their breath and because of their crushing hard labor moshe turns to hashem and says if the jews will not listen to me why would paris listen to me since i speak with faltering lips if the jews can't listen you expect the king of egypt to listen to me alas all of maisha's initial fears were confirmed the people rejected him he is really inadequate for his calling and para will not be taken down paris is not budging moshe is not the one who can accomplish this with paris ah now when you study this narrative we can appreciate the three original signs which hashem showed maisha when they first met at the burning bush and the following insight into the meaning of the signs is based on a commentary known as yakov and apparatus it was written by one of the great rabbinic figures of the 18th and 19th century of lisa he was born in 1706 he passed away in 1832. he is well known in the world of torah learning of the yeshiva as the author of the classic halachic work the nesivas which means the pathways of justice as well as the source of life chavez das showing knowledge among many other works in 1809 he became the rabbi of lisa which is today known as lisna lisner l-e-s-z-n-o it's in poland there he built a major yeshiva and he is considered to be one of the great sages of polish jury during his time often just known as the nisivois people call him the nesivas and as often the case authors become known by the name of their book and people don't even know their name but this was his classic commentary on kharshan mishpat which is the fourth section of the jewish code of law that deals with civil law monetary issues partnership etc so the insights on the follow their following insight is based somewhat on his say for nachos yaakov by rabbi yakov of lisa denis but the insight into the third sign is also based on the above and as i mentioned before an insight and reading by my dear colleague rabbi forman what was the first sign hashem tells moshe what is in your hand he says a staff he says cast it to the ground he casts it to the ground and becomes a snake moisture runs away god says no hold on to the tail moisture holds on to the tail and becomes a staff in his hand the words that god tells maisha hashem tells mercies what is in your hand so he says staff now the torah calls the staff of moshe mate kim the divine staff it's so clearly shema's parakeet out of shema's parents in exodus chapter 17 calls it the divine stuff this was the staff with which moshe would confront para perform all the miracles hashem told them initially take this staff and with this staff in your hand you will perform the signs but now god tells moshe to cast it to the ground and it's transformed into a snake moshe runs away what happens when it's thrown into the dirt even a sacred staff will turn into a scary serpent the stick is intrinsically sacred it's called mataya kim it's god's thick but the harsh impact of the fall to the ground and the dirt and the gravel and the filth of the earth can cause even something so sacred as god's staff to appear as a venomous snake the symbolism was acute the jewish people are sacred they're divine they're holy there are god's stick in this world in fact the jews are called matays the tribes are called matas which means sticks amata means a tribe and the tribes of israel are called matus they are god's sticks in the world chosen to be his ambassadors to execute his will to carry out his purpose they are the king's scepter the sharvathazov but this holy stick has been cast down into the ground a proud people has been subjected to enormous humiliation and agony the trauma and suffering of egyptian bondage caused them to become despondent and give up hope now they emit bitterness and venom they may even bite you this is not who they are it happened because they were cast into an abyss subjected to oppression persecution slave labor torture and death of their children moshe ran away from the snake as he fled from the thought of leadership over an oppressed and bitter people he already had an experience when he tried saving a jew from an egyptian oppressor other jews informed on him and as we're going to see power was brilliant in the sense that jews were unaware that the abuse was coming from the top of susie was an informer not compared to a snake someone who kills with the venom of his mouth isn't that's what a snake does a musser an informer and a snake are exactly the same thing moshe was bitten by the snake he remembered in his youth when he tried to save a jew from an egyptian and what happened he killed the egyptian he saved the drew and then a jew informed on him to pharaoh and masha was almost murdered he had to run away to midyan he had to flee egypt mush already had experience this is not easy and god does not disagree with moshe god does not say that the snake is not venomous the snake is not scary but he shows maisha profound truth trauma causes us to often lose our innate identity to forfeit our inner beauty and sacredness the scars and wounds and frustrations and bitterness and disappointment and sadness and agony and suffering and pain of life cause people to become misaligned with their higher angels they lose impulse control they're reacting from their amygdala from their reptilian brains if you want to use that language they're not fully aligned with themselves with their own power the people are not bad but you have to understand the distress that they're in and the tears that they have endured don't judge them don't dismiss them don't cast them away don't be afraid of them and don't run away from them they are god's staff i know your instinct is to run away very very far you're afraid of that snake don't be afraid the last thing they need from you is to be afraid of them you remain there and you hold on to them stretch forth your hand and hold on to its tail you know what you need to do lift them up take that snake and lift it up lift them up from the earth and the scary snake will suddenly become god's staff lift them up from their tail do not be afraid even of the tail end of the snake the lowest part of the serpent if you can only lift it up if you can extract it from the dirt and show it its potential elevate it to a more sublime place show its possibilities the pristine divine holiness will emerge at this point they may not believe in themselves how can they believe in you god tells moshe you want them to believe in you they don't believe in themselves you want them to believe in you they see themselves as snakes as serpents as venomous moisture show them a vision of who they can be of who they really are and they will live up to it then comes the second sign what was the second sign put your hand into your bosom he puts his hand into his bosom he takes it out the hand is now like he's a leopard it's white snow somebody says put your hand back in your bosom he puts it back in his bosom he takes it out it returned to normal flesh there's a powerful possible powerful verse in psalms chapter 74 why do you withdraw your hand even your right hand draw it out from within your bosom holding your hand in your bosom symbolizes confining your influence suppressing your potential holding back your power that's why the psalmist says in chapter 74 why do you withdraw your hand even your right hand take it out from your bosom take it out from you let's see it let's see your influence let's see your power you remember this the verse in the song of songs my dove is hiding in the clefts of the rock but says under a hidden step you know the the the bird is so afraid to get caught to get hurt so the bird is hanging is hiding in that rock in the cleft of the rock in the secret of the step and the deity says the lover says show me your countenance let me hear your voice your voice is so sweet and your countenance so beautiful so delicious was this not what moisha was doing obscuring his radiance and potential living in isolation when he can change the world is this not what marsha was doing keeping his hand tucked into his bosom there's also an expression in yiddish it's a lovely edition which literally means don't deceive yourself don't tell yourself fake stories like birds in the bosom you can't keep birds in the bosom they're not made to be in the bosom your wallet you can keep in your bosom you could keep a pen in your bosom you can get a piece of paper in your bosom why is your hand in your bosom your hand is made to change the world isn't this what moisture is doing moisture's reluctance is logical he's a spiritual giant why would he abandon a life of heavenly transcendence shepherding the flock of his father-in-law in the desert surrounded by mother nature immersed in meditation and singing the praises of god marveling at the beauty of god's world why would he now choose to become a leader of a challenging and stubborn nation remaining tucked in the bosom of the cosmos would seem to be the road to perfection it would seem to be the logical thing to do favors as your grandmother would say you don't take a healthy head and put it into a sick bed knew a thing or two about the jewish people we mentioned earlier the informers that he had to deal with for which he almost died musha had a hunch of all the dassans and the avirams and the kyraks and the grouchy complainers and rabble rousers who will not stop staging mutinies and revolts and screaming at him and hollering at him and insulting at him to the point that lady is going to say oi ma'ato scaloni they're going to stone me remember marsha is not somebody who's looking for attention he's not an attention seeker he doesn't have problems with self-confidence a void and he needs people to validate him some people chose choose leadership because of a deep insecurity i need everybody to know me i need everybody to compliment me i need everybody to applaud me i need everybody to say how great i am marsha is not that person for him leadership is a punishment he's in a desert communing in communion with nature with transcendence in an innocent and pure world with sheep who don't sin and are not corrupt and are very docile and compassionate and lovely animals the road to perfection remains in the bosom so hashem shows maisha that the truth was otherwise hiding your hands in your bosom turns you into a leper you know why because now you assume responsibility for all the things that you could have prevented as a result of your leadership whereas the gemara puts it in shabbos call me if i can make a difference and yet i decide to stay in the bosom i assume partial responsibility your hands are now white they are lifeless they are drained of their blood and their vitality because to shirk responsibility even for noble reasons is to detach from your source of life from your soul's oxygen the life of spiritual insulation can at times be compared to the leper what is the law of the leper buddha the aisha he is quarantined no pun intended the leper was quarantined that was the law of the leper buddha he was also isolated but nobody saw that as a compliment it was considered a terrible predicament because of his or her state of tsaras of leprosy i know that leprosy is not the accurate translation for serra's but i'm just using the best english word we have for it because of his or her horrible skin disease they had to leave the camp and go into isolation they were in isolation they remained in the bosom but this was a sign of leprosy moshe must realize that for a person who can change the world who can lead the nation who could transform the landscape of civilization and liberate the slaves and bring them from darkness to light from bondage to freedom from grief to rejuvenation and jubilation for such a person to say i want to be isolated this is a form of a death sentence because i'm killing my potential my soul's calling my destiny my vocation abandoning my mission in the world moshe must reinvent himself and his perception of his destiny he must put his hand back into his bosom and change course indeed when he took it out of his bosom it had become again normal flesh moshe can't remain in hiding any longer when you're given a calling in life squandering it even for the most noble and holy of reasons is a sin this is why the first time around it says moshe took his hand out and it was white it doesn't say he took his hand out of his bosom the second time around the turret changes the language when he took it out of his bosom it became again like normal flesh why this change because the first time around he physically removed his hand from his bosom but this was simply a physical motion not a change of philosophy the second time around moisha took his hand out of his bosom he became a new person he discovered that now it was time for him to actualize his potential to assume the responsibility of changing the course of history never run from your calling never suppress your potential never keep your hands tucked away in your bosom lama the minha mekhedev we addressed his fear with the people we addressed his fear with himself but how can i take on the mighty and seemingly indestructible para how do i do that for this god gives him one more message take the water of the nile spill it upon the dry land and the water that you take from the nile vahayu la damba abbasis they will become blood on the dry land this is of course also the first of the ten plagues to before egypt why was this the first plague why is this sign so important isn't just just another magic trick we take the water pour it down on the ground becomes blood okay wonderful and this becomes the first and famous plague dam the opening of all the ten plagues the water becomes blood to appreciate the significance of this we must learn a little bit about denial now we're going to have a short lesson about the nile the nile river is approximately four thousand miles long four thousand one hundred and eighty four miles long it's assumed to be the longest river in the world there is some debate over this title some scientists argue that the amazon river the amazon river in south america is a longer river but it's a close competition between the nile and amazon it stretches as long as the distance from warsaw to new york did you know that yeah the nile stretches literally the distance from warsaw poland to new york and its story begins in the western desert of egypt you see here there is no water there is no rain it's a martian landscape it doesn't it's not conducive for inhabitants except for a few scattered oasis it's a sharon playground for dust storms and for locusts where shovel snouted lizards dance on two feet to avoid the scorching sands of midday this is egypt without the nile small wonder that the ancient egyptians prized and venerated the nile river it was their god as the madrid rashi the commentators point out again and again they worship the nile literally how can a river be a god because the nile single-handedly saved their civilization how did the nile allow the ancient egyptians to live and farm on dry desert land the answer is that the river flooded every single august and when it did all the nutrient-rich soil carried in the water spread across the riverbanks leaving a thick moist mud perfect for growing crops from its cooling waters came a tremendous diversity of fish and not just fists fish perch fish bigger than the fishermen from its loamy riverbanks came mud used for bricks and papparus for books and boats the river and its banks became home to lots of extraordinary wildlife too including many diverse fish and birds turtles snakes hippos and one of our planet's largest reptiles the nile crocodile indeed the prophet jessica the prophet ezekiel in the haftarah of the eider compares pharaoh to the awesome crocodile crouching in the nile now most people you know you read these chapters in tanakh and we don't even take note of it but think why would ezekiel use this as a metaphor hathan hagodel harovich besikta if you want to understand para look at the crocodile in the nile the nile became the umbilical cord for egypt each year in august to this very day they have a two-week holiday called waffle annal to celebrate the ancient flooding of the nile a vital natural event which allowed their civilization to grow and prosper even today a common blessing in egypt is may you always drink from the nile the nile no longer floods each year because in 1970 the aswan high dam was built this huge dam controls the flow of the river to generate electricity irrigate farms and provide homes with drinking water this fascinating river remains an invaluable source of life for egyptians to this very day more than 95 of the country's population depends on its water and live within a few miles of the river banks but there was another darker side to the nile the nile looked like a most exquisite and beautiful water but what was the truth the truth was that the nile was really a river of blood it was not a river of water as the terrorist says in exodus chapter one power told his entire nation you shall cast every male born into the nile the ramban the great 13th century physician leader sage talmudist rabbi philosopher in spain explains the verse the torah says pari told his whole nation cast every male born into the nile and this is what he explains he says this was not an instruction to his soldiers or his police force he doesn't say he told his policeman it was an instruction to his entire nation paris did not show his true colors to the people of israel he wanted them to think that he is benign he can work with them that's why the jews get so upset that mahesh and iron for causing pirate to hate us because his evil plans were executed stillfully so the jews would not revolt against him paris was brilliant the jews thought he's a good guy he's benign he never made an official decree against them he wanted they should think they could work with him this was paris brilliant psychology fascinating inside of the rambam so he did not command the executioners to take jewish babies and throw them into them all no he said to the nation that when each of them any of them might find a jewish boy cast him into the nile now the father the mother gonna come crying to the king crying to the municipal authorities they would say okay bring witnesses and then we can avenge the killer of course there was no evidence there were no witnesses the nile covered all the evidence no corpse was ever discovered the king would say i would love to punish him show me but i need some evidence we had a baby we have pictures no pictures in egypt at least not three and a half thousand years ago so where's the evidence show me the corpse you can't show under the corpse it's in the nile are there egyptian witnesses that he killed them there's no witnesses a mecha so there was no officially targeted person that was killing the jewish babies no this was a command to the nation this says he says the ramban was a secret genocide paris officially was a fine man he even claimed that some of his best friends were jewish but the masses of egyptians in whom he planted a hatred to the hebrews knew that they had a right to cast jewish boys into the nile and no penalties no consequences would come their way what did pyro use to cover his traces how would para be able to remain this good person the german germans conceived of the crematoriums to hide the evidence what did para use to hide the evidence of what he's doing in egypt and the answer is you guessed it the nile the beautiful and splendid river continued to flow its lush fresh sparkling waters conveyed an ear of serenity tranquility and peace sunrise came and the warm sunrays mixed with the bluish royal color of the nile the egyptians sat at their beloved river as they still do today drinking pina colada reading schopenhauer and listening to bach people would take their beach cheers go out to the nile bring some drinks bring some toys bring the kids these were these people were jogging these were playing frisbee or ball and these were relaxing and enjoying that magical synthesis of the sun rays with the blueish smile looking at the splendid river enjoying the ambiance appreciating the atmosphere and enjoying the book they were reading or the drink they were tasting or the conversation they were having with their family members and friends the nile was the propaganda machine of ancient egypt not like not unlike the propaganda machines created and perfected in stalinist russia in the germany of joseph goebbels in the china of matsutung and in paul potts cambodia and not unlike the propaganda and contemporary islamist regimes who have each created their own niles to cover up unspeakable crimes against innocent people and sometimes even in a more civilized countries where people know how to cover up traces of lies and falsehood and deception as the egyptians are sitting in their beach chairs listening to wonderful classic music under the stunning bed of water lay on unspeakable crime by day the nile is a paradise of serenity a paradise of tranquility of love of romance of enlightenment at night or even by day at some locations the nile is a killing field the nile is a war zone the nile is a cemetery for innocent jewish babies as the pure small bodies are cast into the nile the sparkling bluish water covers up the cries the moans and the bodies the river was one bloody hell and its beautiful bed eclipsed one of the most horrific crimes in the history of humanity with the third sign to maisha and the first plague to befall egypt god uncovered the truth unbeknowest to anybody but para and his people nobody knew this there were no traces of any bodies oh you said you had a baby the jews knew about the crime para knew about the crime his people knew about the crime but the dark deep secret of the nile continued to prevail what was its dark deep secret that it was a blood soaked river but the blood was under the surface all the corpses were below but then this dark steep secret rose to the surface the venerated god of egypt the beautiful nile the source of life and prosperity was a hiding place for unspeakable cruelty god showed moishe and then to the entire land of egypt that it was all a lie and that you can't hide your big fat lies from the ultimate source of truth you may fool the world much of the time most of the world all the time all over the world some of the time but god knows everything you cannot hide behind your propaganda to eclipse your bloody evil parry is powerful but the truth is more powerful you will not be able to hide your lies forever ultimately this river will emerge for what it really is a cemetery filled with blood with the miracle of the nile god showed para that i know everything the sinister schemes will not be hidden forever para you are mighty but reality will prevail such is its nature it's real reality prevails the blood on the bottom of the nile will rise to the top and it will bring your downfall even if not as fast as we would crave the stain of blood would appear everywhere the evil will be exposed the jews would learn the truth all the jews would learn the truth the jews knew what's happening to their babies but they didn't know where it's coming from many egyptians bystanders who did not know would learn the truth the true color of para the color of blood and his regime would come to the surface redemption would begin these three signs contain a timeless lesson for each of us the holiest staff in the world can behave like a snake if it's cast into the mud if it's traumatized by suffering if it's entrenched in filth don't fear it lift it up from the ground caress it and it will be metamorphosized you may have a child a friend a relative a disciple who sometimes looks scary you don't think redemption might ever be possible you don't think they can ever listen to you you don't think they could ever believe in anything you want to run away you don't want to confront this person hashem tells maisha and he tells the maisha inside of us fear not what seems like a serpent lift it up lift it up then comes the second lesson i tell myself i'm just a nobody i'm a simple guy i'm a simple woman i'm a simple man i'm a simple child teen older person i can't make a difference i have been tucked away throughout my entire life let me remain that way forever let me keep my hands tucked away comfortably in my bosom let me hide in my bosom so that nobody will see me but the problem is you don't even see yourself in life and in today's world this is not an option god says show me your countenance allow me to hear your voice you have such a beautiful voice and such an extraordinary countenance you have so much goodness there's so much in you to give to teach you are an ambassador of love light hope healing authenticity wisdom redemption please don't run away from your potential the world is waiting for your music humanity is waiting for your light and that one individual whose life you can touch is waiting for your embrace and for your magical touch of love and gestures of kindness and wisdom finally you may fear the various pharaohs in your life and in the world you may fear to tackle injustice abuse corruption violence lies falsehood narcissism selfishness domestic abuse child abuse of children or of young people or of anybody how can you take on the powerful pharaoh how can you take on the powerful mile remember god knows everything nobody can hide behind the nile forever to escape their bloody evil as long as you are loyal to truth fear not reality always prevails such is its nature those are the three signs god shows the first moment addressing his three major fears the fear of the people the fear of himself and the fear of para those are the three signs that still inspire us three and a half thousand years later each one in our own way to bring healing and redemption to the world thank you have a wonderful week we'll take some questions let me start with the chat [Music] um [Applause] [Music] mm-hmm okay no questions wow wonderful you guys are giving me a break today so let me just announce uh thursday morning 7 30 we will god willing have our hasidah's class continue a mimer of the balhatanya in torah sunday morning 9 30 a.m we will stream live our third part of basilagani 57221 discussing the three streams of kabbalah in the meantime i wish you all a beautiful week and an inspiring week and hatslacher everything okay let me see if there's questions okay bye bye and thank you everybody for joining us and coming and gracing us with your presence we know god willing