Modern Masters: Lech Lecha- Coming Home | Rabbi Sam Shor

Good morning, good afternoon, everyone. Obviously, we are this coming Shabbos we will have the enormous zchus to read Parshas Lech Lecha. Of course, Parshas Lech Lecha uh is the first call to Avraham Avinu and really to all subsequent generations to come to Eretz Yisrael. And probably uh the religious personality of the past 100 to 150 years most closely associated with that call to uh the modern call, the modern push to come back to Eretz Yisrael is Rav Kook zt"l. And Rav Kook in 1907 wrote an article called HaKriah HaGedolah l'Eretz Yisrael, the great call [snorts] to Eretz Yisrael. And I'm just going to share with you a couple of lines from that beautiful essay. And Rav Kook writes these words, l'Eretz Yisrael, rabotai, to Eretz Yisrael, my honored ones, l'Eretz Yisrael, to Eretz Yisrael, bo'u l'Eretz Yisrael, come to Eretz Yisrael, achim ne'emanim, cherished brothers, bo'u l'Eretz Yisrael, come to Eretz Yisrael Yisrael, hatzilu et nafshoteichem, rescue your souls, et nefesh doroteichem, the soul of your generations, et nefesh amenu kulah, and the soul of the entire of our entire nation. Al kein hineni kor'im aleichem, therefore, we turn and call to you, achim yekarim, dear brothers, b'chol lashon shel chibah u'v'chol lashon shel zerizus, with all with every language of affection and with every language of encouragement. Al ta'akvu, do not delay or ignore this call, v'al tachmitzu et ha'mitzvah ha'yekarah zot, and don't push aside or delay this sacred mitzvah says Rav Kook. Shahar Ha'aretz Ha'Kodesh that is the right of entry, the immigration to Eretz to our holy land. So, Rav Kook touches on use the language that it is a mitzvah to come to Eretz Yisrael, to come and settle the land of Eretz Yisrael. And that's a famous question because the Rambam in Sefer Mitzvot and the Rambam's elucidation of the Taryag Mitzvot, the Rambam does not include the mitzvah of Yeshuv Eretz in his listing of the 613 mitzvot. So, it's a famous question that's asked and there many, many answers, but Rav Kook's son, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook okay, a giant of Torah in his own right, Rav Tzvi Yehuda addresses this question. Rav Tzvi Yehuda writes Masha ain HaRamba HaRamba mona Yeshivat Eretz Yisrael be klal Taryag Mitzvot, ain zeh mi nesheela dato pa chota mi mitzvah. He says, "The fact that the Rambam does not include, okay, in his listing of 613 mitzvot, the mitzvah of Yeshuv Eretz as one of those 613, is not because he didn't he considered it any less than a mitzvah. Ela ad rabba, rather the contrary. Mi neshe yo ter mi mitzvah, because it's greater than any simple mitzvah. HaRambam kovea klalei ma pihem yesh mitzvot she ainam nichlalot be Taryag. The Rambam categorizes and spells out that there certain principles in which he determined which of those mitzvot are going to be included in the 613 the list of 613 and which mitzvot are that others might have included, he decided to leave out and why. He says there are certain principles that guided the Rambam. And what are the what are the principles? Ke God missed with the rabbinum shiva me miss the right one example would be miss of the rabbinum that the rabbinum obviously and it makes sense considered as being less than miss of the right now. Oh, miss of the cloud leads and this is the important part or what the rabbinum categorizes overriding fundamental principles okay, that did not need to be elucidated as a specific miss of the okay and one of those overriding fundamental principles okay, he says she mala Hana shamitza that this is a a fundamental idea that's whose value has to be measured beyond any ordinary simple miss of the. The mashallah and he gives an example yesh in a rabbinum the rabbinum in miss of the rabbinum whether the miss of a rabbinum okay needed to be included in the 613 miss of the rabbinum of the rabbinum not simply the idea of of answering questions of faith Ella at rabbinum but the idea of having faith in a sham in and of itself okay. That wasn't listed as one of the rabbinum it was assumed right it's an assumption that if a Jew is committed to the system of miss of the it means what because they believe in a college rabbinum so you don't have to list that as one of the 613 it's understood it's a cloud come over here you should have a rabbinum he miss of the cloud leads so too the miss of the settle in the land of Israel is one of those overarching principles. The rabbinum as the rabbinum also wrote can you shiver a rabbinum he miss of the cloud leads call it so raw because the miss of the settle in the land of Israel is a mitzvah that encompasses the entire Torah. So how With that as our introduction, now we can turn to our sheets. And the just uh in terms of an earlier source for this idea calling the this a great mitzvah, the mitzvah of Yeshivat Arets, the Sifrei. The Sifrei of the one of the which is a collection of of Midrashim on Sefer Devarim. The Sifrei in Parshat Re'eh says the following, "Gedolah mitzvah yeshivat ha'aretz yeshivat ha'aretz v'shikula neged kol ha'Torah kulah. Great is the mitzvah to settle the land of Israel and it's equivalent to what? The entire Torah. And we know that if you take a look in the in the source in the box, we know that this coming Shabbat will will hear that first call. The first call for given to Avraham Avinu, "Leave behind everything that is familiar to you. Everything that is comfortable to you. And go to the land that I will show you." And this this call to Avraham really begins to spell out for us just how important the move to Eretz Yisrael is. Okay? It's not good doesn't Hashem doesn't promise it's going to be easy. Hashem doesn't promise it's going to it's going to be smooth sailing from the moment you get here, but it will be does promise a what? It will be for a blessing. Okay? It will you will find blessing by coming here. And and what's interesting is that this pasuk acknowledges that it was it's not simple what what Hashem was asking Avraham. Leave behind your family. Leave behind everything that's familiar to you. Leave behind everything that's comfortable to you and come here. Take that leap of faith. It's very interesting. The famous Gemara in Ketubot, which is the next text on our sheet. Okay, Tanna Rabbanan, "We olam yedur adam be'Eretz Yisrael, afilu be'ir she'rubah goyim." Okay, a Jew should always live in Eretz Yisrael, even if he's living in a place in Eretz Yisrael that doesn't have a Jewish majority, okay? "V'al yedur b'Chutz la'Aretz, afilu be'ir she'rubah Yisrael." And a Jew should not live in Chutz la'Aretz, says the Gemara. It's a famous Gemara. This is not This is not, you know, some some mitnachel, some some uh, you know, settler in the middle of of Judea and Samaria. This is Chazal, the Gemara in Ketubot, okay? It's better to live in Eretz Yisrael, even in a place that's not fully populated by Jews, than to live in Chutz la'Aretz, in a city that's populated but mostly by Jews. And I won't name those cities. We all know some of those those areas. "Shekol adam be'Eretz Yisrael domeh k'mishayesh lo Eloka." Now, listen to what the Gemara the hemshech of the Gemara. "Anyone who lives in Eretz Yisrael, it's considered as if what? They have God. They believe in God. V'chol adam b'Chutz la'Aretz domeh k'mishayesh lo Eloka." And anyone who lives outside the land of Israel can be likened to someone who does not have God. So, this Gemara, it's a famous Gemara that many of us have probably heard before, at least parts of it quoted before. It spells out very, very strongly that the mitzvah to live that the mitzvah to live in the land of Israel is incumbent on every single Jew. That's this part of the Gemara. Now, the the we know that in the same daf, the Gemara also lists numerous reasons and legitimate reasons that prevent a Jew from being able to do this. And and list those legitimate reasons. We'll talk about those in in a few moments. Now, Reb Moshe Feinstein, zichron tzaddik livracha, famously posts points to a Tosafot on this Gemara. We're going to look at that Tosafot in a minute, okay? Okay, but Reb Moshe Feinstein deals with the question of whether there is a mitzvah bizman hazeh in our generation. Again, he wrote this teshuvah, I think, in the 19 late 1950s. Okay, whether there is a mitzvah bizman hazeh to settle in the land of Israel. This is the 1 2 3 fourth text on our sheets here. Rebbi Elazar in Yeshivat Ledorav Yisrael. Okay, in regard to your question, whether there is a mitzvah achshav, meaning right now in our days, to dwell in the land of Israel, ke haRambam, which is consistent with the shittah of the Ramban. The Ramban says that that mitzvah is eternally eternally incumbent upon us. Oh, or maybe, says Reb Moshe, we should hold like ke Reb Reb Chaim in Tosafot Ketuvot daf kuf yud. Or maybe we should hold like the Tosafot the the opinion that's cited in the Tosafot from this Rebbi Chaim Rebbi Chaim in the Tosafot on our Gemara, de'eina mitzvah bizman hazeh, who says that it's not a mitzvah in bizman hazeh, by the way. When were the Tosafot written? Like 13th 14th century 11th 12th No, 12th 13th century. So, so when he's saying bizman hazeh, we have to take that with a grain of salt, also, right? So, but there's it said that he and we're going to look at that Tosafot in a moment. So, the So, Reb Moshe says, "To answer your question, is it a mitzvah that's eternally eternally incumbent upon us, okay, that we're required that's required of us, like the Ramban says, "Oh, do we hold like the Shita that's cited in the Tosfos that what? That B'zman Hazeh it's not it's out of it's fun." Hinei Rov HaPoskim Sarai D'hu Mitzvah. Most of the Poskim hold that it is a Mitzvah. Aval Pashut Now, listen to Rav Moshe. Aval Pashut She'ein Zeh B'zman Hazeh Mitzvah Kiyuvit. Shal Aguf. Im Kein Hayah Memeilah Nitzach Asur L'dor B'chutz Ha'aretz Mishum She'over Al Aseh. He says, "But we can't say that what? >> [cough] >> That today it's a Mitzvah that's incumbent upon every single individual because then it would be prohibited for us to live outside the land of Israel. So, how do we understand it? Okay? Aval Mitzvah Na'aseh Aseh Einah Kiyuvit Ela K'Shidarsham M'kayem Mitzvah. So, we can say that therefore L'halacha L'ma'aseh it's not uh an obligation. It's not an obligatory Mitzvah, but one who takes the plunge to go live there certainly fulfills a Mitzvah. Okay? So, Rav Moshe Rav Moshe Feinstein Rav Moshe Feinstein says clearly in this T'shuvah. It's a famous T'shuvah of Rav Moshe. We're going to talk about the challenges of this T'shuvah in a moment. It's a famous T'shuvah of Rav Moshe. Rav Moshe says clearly that it's certainly a Mitzvah to live here and you certainly fulfill a Mitzvah by living here, but there's no Kiyuv, okay, to pick up your life to move here. Okay. So, what was that Tosfos that he quotes? So, take a look at That's the next step. The Tosfos that he quotes says the following. We're going to talk about this Tosfos a little bit more. First, let's learn it and then we'll talk about it a little bit more in just a few moments. Who Al May La'alot K'dei The Tosfos quotes the Gemara where it says, "This one says you shall surely go up to Eretz Yisrael. Ain't no no egg was mana za. This it shh This is not applicable. Okay, it says this the Tosafos bizmana za in our times because of because what? It's dangerous there. So again, this is the time of Tosafos the ba'alei Tosafos. But now comes the next piece, which is a piece that Ramash quotes. Vayomer Rabbeinu And Rabbeinu said the ain't no mitzvah to go to Eretz Yisrael. There's no mitzvah now to dwell in Eretz Yisrael. Why? Because all the mitzvahs that are in Eretz Yisrael and all the punishments that ain't on you by them. We're talking about the mitzvahs that are in Eretz Yisrael and and and trumah and ma'aser. We talked about this earlier, right? So he says says this Rabbeinu that there because there are the mitzvahs that are in Eretz Yisrael the agricultural mitzvahs that are that are dependent only here and because there are punishments that the Torah spells out meaning bad things that will befall the Jewish people if we do not succeed in in being careful with these mitzvahs. Therefore, bizmana za because it'll be difficult to keep these mitzvahs agriculturally, bizmana za again um there's no mitzvah to there's no to go there's no mitzvah bizmana za says this sheetah the Tosafos. That's very interesting. If you look at the the thousands of years that the Jewish people were in galut, it was difficult for crops to bloom here. But what happened once we started coming back? Miraculously. Miraculously. Today, you think about what Rabbi Gold who we're going to hear from in a moment, Rabbi Gold, who is Shalom Gold, used to say if a person wants to wants to speak to God, they should go to the Kotel, right? But if a person wants to feel God speaking to them, they should go to Shuk Machaneh Yehudah. Because they'll see the miracle of the land coming back to life with their own eyes. The produce of Eretz Yisrael returning, the produce that for centuries the land was was was desolate until who until when until the Jewish people started coming home. And then suddenly miracles happened. Rabbi Gold zt"l can Often often he actually wrote about this and this quote here is actually partially something that he wrote and partially something that I heard from his mouth directly, so I kind of put the two together. Rabbi Gold Come on, every time I would sit with him we we talk I I mean anyone who had the zchus to spend time with Rabbi Gold z"l kasher moreinu v'rabbeinu knows that this is someone who lived and breathed the mitzvah of of yishuv Eretz Yisrael of aliyah with every fiber of his entire being. And even the last the very last meeting that I had with him when I went to visit him just a few a few months before his passing in Beit Tovei Air, the last few years of his life he lived in Beit Tovei Air. Rabbi Gold came back to this question of this teshuvah of Rav Moshe Feinstein. And let's listen to Rabbi Rabbi Gold's words talking about the words of Rav Moshe Feinstein. For many years I struggled with Rav Moshe's psak. How could Rav Moshe say that there was no chiyuv to make aliyah? But then I finally realized and concluded that if we accept Rav Moshe's Rav Moshe's psak that yishuv Eretz Yisrael is an optional mitzvah, then there opens up the magnificent opportunity for religious Jew to truly perform a great mitzvah with absolutely no coercion at all. The Jew is a free agent unfettered, unchained, unbound, and he can choose to live in Eretz Yisrael not out of a sense of obligation, not because he has no other place to go, but rather because he longs with all his heart to build his life in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Gold's words, as always, I hear his voice saying saying these words, but it's such a vivid, powerful message for all of us. Now, before before we the world was with the Torah of Rabbi Gold, just a few decades before, there was another great great luminary who came came on Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, and that's Rabbi Yaakov Friedman, the Rebbe of Hasiduta. The Rebbe of Hasiduta is lovingly known as the Admor Atzioni, the Zionist Admor. He was a Hasidic Rebbe from the dynasties of Ruzhin, who made Aliyah in 1938 to downtown Tel Aviv. He lived the last 19 years of his life in Tel Aviv from 1938 to 1957, and he often gives us not only beautiful messages about his love for Eretz Yisrael, for those the those who were involved in building up the Yishuv here in Eretz Yisrael, and his support for that effort to build the Yishuv in Eretz Yisrael, but he also often contextualized and sometimes gives us a glimpse of some of the push-pull and the tensions that are going on during that period. If you think about that period in Jewish life, those 19 years, those last 19 years of his life, so you're talking about this the years of the Shoah. You're talking about the years of the the fight, both in terms of on the battlefield as well as diplomatically, to establish the state of Israel, and you're talking about the early first fundamental years after the state was established, where people lived in very very difficult conditions. And so, he he really gives us a bird's-eye view, like a uh, know, a clear picture of what all that tension, of all the things we're we're seeing, and and contextualizes those tensions within the greater picture, the greater scheme of of Jewish history. So, he addresses this idea both of our Tosafos and other Aliyah related challenges, and he in an essay where he cites that there are two reasons that are all again, he said wrote this in in the 1940s. He said there are two reasons that are often often, you know, cited as for as as arguments against making Aliyah. And he said this in within the context in the fallout of the Shoah and everything. So, there are two reasons that are that the leadership, the rabbinic personalities in Europe and elsewhere were against Aliyah. And he's going to spell them out for us. The first, where it says alef here on on the on the next page. Okay, alef, "Echa mi baalei Tosafos, Rabbeinu Chaim Shimao." Okay, he's quoting our Tosafos. There's one of the the the baalei Tosafos named Rabbeinu Chaim was his name. "Omer baalei Tosafos Kesuvos." That's cited in the Gemara, the Tosafos in the Gemara Kesuvos on daf kuf kuf yud that we just learned together. "De achshav einam mitzvah d'oraita d'Eretz Yisrael, ki yesh kama mitzvos atulos ba'aretz, v'kama anashim she'einam y'cholim l'kayeman, v'lo l'amdan." Our Tosafos that we just learned. That's the first primary source that people often turn to to say the the reason why they don't make Aliyah. What's the second reason? "Harbei parnaseh o she'einam shomrim Torah u'mitzvos." "Kavu dirasa b'Yishuv Chadash." Oh, the second reason is what? Many of those who involved in building the Yishuv here in Eretz Yisrael and who established their homes here in Eretz Yisrael were what? People who weren't from. Okay? So, those are the two big reasons, the two big excuses. We have the the the the day in the Tosafos that says what? Because of we're concerned of being able to keep all the mitzvos hatluyos ba'aretz, and that's going to be difficult, and and therefore, that's what we're we're we're afraid that we're going to be able to achieve that and overcome those challenges. And the second reason is what? Cuz the people that many of the people that helped build up the issue of Arns from. Okay. So, now listen to what the the Rebbe of Hasidim says about both of these reasons or excuses. Neither of these reasons, and even if you take them together, they're completely not correct. Okay, the great 17th century Ahara Okay, regarding our Tosafos says the Maharit This Rabbeinu Chaim was not one of the Ba'alei Tosafos, says the Maharit. Okay? Rather, he's one of the students of the Ba'alei Tosafos who was involved in editing and putting together the Tosafos, and he inserted his own mistaken opinion, and he is not to be relied upon. So, the Maharit in the 17th century already rejects this shita that's cited in the Tosafos in Ketubot as being what? From a not reliable source. He's not really one of the Ba'alei Tosafos. also wrote this. Okay, this this is not a credible source, and we don't rely on his words. Okay? So, the first reason of relying or or citing this Rabbeinu Chaim that's cited in the Tosafos is that he's not really one of the Ba'alei Tosafos, and it's and and he's is and he shouldn't be take considered seriously. And the second reason, we will know the more in terms of the second reason, which is what? That many of the people involved in building up the issue here in Israel were not that team or that Shabbat mitzvahs. Here in the first we have the first Gamara that we just learned together from two votes, okay? Person should always dwell in Israel even if he's living in a city that's populated mostly by non-Jews, and a person should never live outside the land of Israel. Now listen to his words. The Rebbe the Rebbe of Hasidic time. He says and the are we just to understand this Gamara to suggest that that non-Jews are to live amongst non-Jews is is is is is better or worse than to live amongst Jews who are what? Who aren't aren't exactly like us? And the answer is of course not Hashem. So the Rebbe of Hasidic time says both of these reasons, okay? Are irrelevant. A Jew has to make exert every effort to try to come and build their lives here. Now it's sure we're going to come back to some of the in cuz there's another piece of the Hasidic Rebbe that we're going to learn together in just a few moments, but and we're going to come back to the legitimate reasons and what how the Hasidic understands those legitimate reasons that are stated by the Gamara also, and and how he how he kind of helps us to work through some of those legitimate reasons in a very very strong way. Okay. So now we're going to take a we're going to shift our direction a little bit for the next few moments, and there's a second call that we're all familiar with. I mean, there are multiple multiple pesukim throughout the entire Chumash that tell us about the importance of the land of Israel and the Jewish people are meant to live there and and the mitzvahs that we're meant to keep here and how we're meant to build our society here. But the second most famous call, probably besides the call to Adam and Lecha L'cha, is the story of the Meraglim. Okay? We're all familiar with the story of the Meraglim. Moshe Rabbeinu sends the Meraglim, if you take a look, this is on the bottom of the third uh the second the third page second page of our sources. And Moshe Rabbeinu sends the Meraglim to scout out the land and he okay and he says to them, "U'ritem et ha'aretz mah hi. You should look at the land and tell me everything about it." And he tells them, "Tell me about the good, the bad, and ha'aretz ha'shana ba'al ha'tov v'ha'ra. Tell me about the people there. Tell me the land itself, the topography. Is it good? Is it going to be difficult?" Okay? That's the instructions. And now as you take a look at the pesukim on the bottom, this is after the Meraglim come back. Vayisapru lo vayamru, they came and they speak to him and say, "Banu el ha'aretz asher shlachtanu. We went into the land that you sent us. V'gam zavat chalav u'dvash v'zeh v'zeh priyah. It's true, it's a land that's flowing with milk and honey and it's very fruitful. But then efes ki az ha'am hayoshev ba'aretz. But the people living there are very fierce. V'ha'arim betzurot gedolot me'od and the cities there are very heavily fortified. V'gam yal'dei ha'anakim sham we saw children of giants, so to speak, living there. Amalek and then all the nations tells about all the enemy nations that will will surround us from every direction. And then in the midst of all this, the pasuk tells us, "Vayisa kal lev ha'am k'lev ish echad." Okay? The Meraglim come back, they report all these challenges that are awaiting us to come to Eretz Yisrael that it's going to be to build our lives there. We might face some challenges." And you can imagine when that report comes back, all of the sudden, okay? This is before social media, but they all of a sudden, the the the people get very agitated. And And so, the Torah tells us, "Vayas Kalev et ha'am el Moshe." And Caleb quiets down the people before Moshe. Vayomer, again, he says, "Alona aleh, we shall surely go up the irrational and settle the land." Ki yakhol nukhalah. Because we're capable to do so. We're able to do so. So, the Piasetzna Rebbe, the Aish Kodesh, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto, in a very, very powerful teaching, takes the language of Caleb and he contextualizes the language of Caleb as a paradigm of the leap of faith that a Jew has to take in all circumstances and all moments. Take a look. Now, we go to the the last page of the source sheets. And these are the words of the Aish Kodesh. And again, he said these words in the Warsaw Ghetto, Shabbat Shlach in the Warsaw Ghetto. Alona aleh virashna otah ki yakhol nukhalah. We shall surely go up and settle there ki yakhol nukhalah. Because it's within our capabilities to do so. And so, the Rebbe asks, "Even navi na'am meraglim dvarim shel tam besekhlam." We have to understand, the Rebbe says, that the the words of the meraglim that are very rational and they're very logical. Okay? "Efes ki az ha'am bakolel." And the people are very fierce. "Ve'arim betzurot gedolot." And the cities are heavily fortified, etc. Velamah lo hitvake'ah Kalev im hem listoret sichlam bedivrei tameh. So, why doesn't Caleb try to argue with them and point out the flaws of their logic and their mistakes. Okay? Why doesn't Caleb any Typically any good defense attorney, right? When when when the prosecution makes its case, okay, to say X, Y, and Z are the facts, what's the job of a defense attorney? To try to plug holes in the theories presented as facts by the prosecution. So, why doesn't Caleb try to refute at all the logic and the and the rationale that's presented by by the by the Miraglim, okay? Rakstam Al Elokim Hashem Elokeinu. Rather, he just simply says what? We shall surely go up and settle land ki yakhol nukhalo because we can. Now, listen to the Rebbe's words. This is how a Jew the faith of a Jew has to always be. >> [snorts] >> Not only when it's clear, okay, according to our own human intellect and understanding of the laws of nature, must a Jew believe that Hashem will provide salvation to us in all circumstances. Again, think about what he's saying. He's saying that he's taking the message of Caleb to to okay to to the to the to Am Yisrael and contextualizing this to those the Jews in the depths of hell, the worst situation. He says, "Not only when according to our human intellect and our human perspective, we can intuit a way out and see the possibility that we have to have faith that Hashem will bring will bring that salvation, okay? But most but rather especially in those times when what? When it seems to us that there's no hope. That according to the laws of nature and the way we understand the laws of nature and our human intellect and logic and okay, and our intelligence, we can't perceive any any possible way out. Even in those circumstances, we have to put our full faith and trust in that he indeed will bring that Yeshua. And quite the contrary, he says, in these times, a person shouldn't even think about, you know, is there a way out? Is there a natural way out? A person shouldn't even go there. Because as soon as it becomes clear to him what? That there's simply no way he can perceive a way out, a way to salvation, at the Yeshua okay, what can happen? Yeah, call. Okay, so sorry. Okay. I'm going to tell you to call what sorry. What could happen when he comes to the realization that there's no logical way out? God forbid his faith could become damaged. Because a person whose faith is damaged, what could happen? Then God forbid that damage, that deficiency of faith can prevent our salvation. Now, many of us have learned together when we talked about Pesach. Okay, the the beautiful Torah from Hakham Lublin about the idea of matzah. I don't know if you remember this Torah, but I'll share it again. Okay, in the same Seder, the Seder begins and we talk about matzah as being halakhma anya vatala de ar'a Mitzrayim. This is the slaves rations that our ancestors ate the whole 210 years they were enslaved in Mitzrayim. And then later in the seder Rabban Gamliel tells us, "Whoever doesn't speak about these three things, they didn't fulfill the mitzvah of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim." And one thing is we need to speak about is matzah. And what is the reason given for eating matzah at that moment? Because we left Okay, we left Mitzrayim in great haste. Okay, when Hashem took the Jewish people out and told the Jewish people you're going to go forth, they didn't hesitate at all. There was no hesitation. They went with great enthusiasm and zrizus. So, Reb Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, first he asks the question. He says, "So, which is it? The seder begins by saying that the matzah represents the slaves rations. And then the seder to come comes towards its conclusion, we say what? That the matzah represents that we went forth in great haste." So, the answer of course is that the matzah represents both of these ideas. But then Reb Tzadok asks a follow question. He says, "If that's true, if the Jews all they had to eat for 210 years was matzah, and they see that Hashem has their back. Hashem is performing all these miracles to bring them forth, okay? To set the stage they could go forth. So, they could find they're finally going to be free and they know Hashem is watching out for them. So, why not at that moment let the dough rise a little bit more? You're finally going to go free. All you've had to eat for all these all this time is matzah. Okay, why not let the dough rise a little more? You'll finally have a nice rye bread, right? A nice a nice a nice bilkele. So, says Reb Tzadok the most beautiful answer. Sometimes Hakadosh Baruch Hu opens up windows of opportunity to experience miracles. A Jew whose heart is open and puts his full trust in the Ribono shel Olam and has that perspective that no matter what's unfolding around them, they put their faith in Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So, when those windows open up, they're ready to run. They seize that moment. And that's exactly what happened at the time that Amas Israel was ready to go forth from Mitzrayim. Hashem opened the window, the Jewish people saw and put their full trust in Hashem. They didn't wait around another moment. That window was open cuz they didn't want to miss that opportunity. And so too, says the the Piasetzna Rebbe, sometimes if a person's faith is is damaged, okay? If they let logic become an impediment to faith, then what could happen? Then when those miraculous opportunities open up, we could miss the boat. We could miss that window for departure, that window for salvation, okay? And then he So therefore, he says, "Roch sarich l'mor kol akol emes." Rather, a person has to say, "It's all true." And I was going to borrow once again the words of the Meraglim. "She'as Am Yisrael It's true that the people sit surrounding us." Meaning, he's talking about his circumstances. "The people around us are very fierce." "Kein em hadvarim." The the the words are accurate. "Sha'arim betzurot v'chulei." That the cities are heavily for- fortified. "U'mi kol makom" Despite this, says the Piasetzna Rebbe, "Hineni ma'amin ba'Hashem shehu l'ma'alah me'agvul v'hateva yoshi'enu." I believe wholeheartedly in Hashem and put my trust in Hashem that he's beyond the any any limits and beyond the laws of nature and that he indeed will bring that yeshua, yeshua Hashem k'heref ayin. That Hashem can bring that salvation in the blink of of an eye. And therefore, he once again quotes Calev, okay? "Alon na'aleh v'hirashnuha." We should surely go up and settle the land. "Belo sechel, belo sevara." Without any thought and without any without any theory, no logic. "V'emunah u'vitachon kazeh ba'Hashem" And this level of faith and trust in Hashem mikarev et yeshuatenu will bring will speed up speedily bring our salvation. So interesting Rav Kook in a beautiful essay that's not here on your sheets Rav Kook writes that sometimes logic can become an impediment to spiritual clarity and growth. When a person holds on to the things that they perceive as absolutes, okay? And don't and doesn't allow themselves to believe that Kadosh Baruch Hu is beyond all the laws of nature and Kadosh Baruch Hu can bring a miracle at the blink of an eye, so that logic can sometimes can become an impediment to spiritual growth and clarity. And now I want to return we're going to learn two more short ideas together. I want now want to return to the Oholei Yaakov, the the Rebbe of Hasidut and I want to preface this for those not here obviously for those here in the in the audience I'm preaching to the choir with this topic. Um but for those who are joining us you're virtually or watching this recording, our brothers and sisters around the world, I share this next piece with great sensitivity and I want to preface by saying that I share this next piece with not with any judgement or any condescension, but rather um with encouragement as a as a as a as a means of encouragement to to to look inward, to contemplate and at least wrestle with this topic. Listen to the words of Rav Yaakov Friedman of the Rebbe of Hasidut. He says "Hein amam miniyot ein mispar hayu lechol achad shelo alah al od." There are many many countless reasons for those who have not chosen not or to make aliyah or haven't been able to make aliyah yet. We know the Gemara talks about several legitimate reasons whether because whether because of family life, whether because of financial circumstances, what whether whether stat- contribution to society outside the land of Israel, and those are all legitimate reasons that a person struggles with. And the Rebbe's going to talk about this. Lazmaniyut Kalkaliyot, for one person their their reason for not coming might be what? Financial circumstances. Lazmaniyut Mishpachtiyot, for another person might be their family circumstances. Lazmaniyut Mitzad Tafkido V'hatziyato, for another may be his his contribution to society, his stature in the community. V'yeish Shayulim Kolotan Min Hayotzyot, and there are those that really all these factors are are contributing to their inability to take that leap of faith and come home. Ulam Rabim Nem, now listen to the Rebbe's words, and he said this in the 1940s. Okay? Ulam Rabim Nem Lo Umilu La'alot L'Eretz Yisrael, but many just simply prevent themselves from coming on Aliyah Mitzad Ahavat Tam Et Artzot Hagolah, because they love the lands of the diaspora. Again, there Those who are struggling via the the screen, there's no intention at all, not a sham it's of condescension here, but rather I share this powerful teaching from the Rebbe of Chassiyatan to encourage you to at least look inward, to at least wrestle with this question every single day, to at least put this this this question, this target, this destination on your radar screen. That this is something that should be on our consciousness, not something we don't think about, not something we we put away and and and and and never come back to, but should be something we're at least contemplating and struggling and thinking about every single day. And I'll close once again, even though we learned this together cuz but I just think his words are the are the perfect closing to to entire shiur. We'll close once again with the powerful words of Marina Verbinu, Rabbi Dr. Shalom Gold, zichron tzaddik livracha. For many years, I struggled with Rav Moshe's psak. How could Rav Moshe say that there is no chiyuv to make aliyah? But then I really finally realized and concluded that if we accept Rav Moshe's psak that yishuv Eretz Yisrael is an optional mitzvah, then there opens up the magnificent opportunity for religious Jew to truly perform a great mitzvah with absolutely no coercion at all. The Jew is a free agent, unfettered, unchained, unbound, and he can choose to live in Eretz Yisrael not out of a sense of obligation, not because he has no other place to go, and I bolded this, okay, for us to remember, but rather because he longs with all his heart to build his life in Eretz Yisrael. My friends, as we get ready to read of that first sacred call to Avraham Avinu, that call that first sacred call to Eretz Yisrael given by Hakadosh Baruchu to Avraham to come to make that the first to take that plunge, that might have been, and I'm sure was very uncomfortable for him, to leave behind all that was familiar, all that was comfortable, to come to the land of blessing, the land of destiny. And Hashem doesn't promise Avraham it's going to be smooth sailing from the minute he lands, but that there will be ultimate fulfillment and blessing. And I think for those of us that are here, certainly zachinu, we've merited to get a taste of that blessing, baruch Hashem. And I my my blessing to all the all those joining us virtually from around the world is that you too should soon be able to be zoche to taste and experience those blessings as well. Shabbat Shalom. Be well.