The Real Escape from Slavery

“It happened that when Pharaoh sent out the nation...Hashem didn't lead them near the Land of the Pilishtim because it was near. Hashem said that when they see a war they will want to return to Egypt.”(Exodus 13:17)

Rashi asks what was the reason that Hashem didn't want to lead the Benai Yisrael near the land of the Pilishtim? And why would going near there cause the Benei Yisrael to want to return to Egypt where they had been slaves for 210 years? And what does it mean “it was near?” What was it near? and what was the significance of mentioning that?

To understand this we need to look back at a previous parsha, and look at the kal vechomer in Parshas Vaera.
Hashem has instructed Moshe to tell Paraoh that he is planning on taking the Jews out of Egypt. Moshe responds, “I can't speak.” (Exodus 6:30)
Why is Moshe saying that he can't speak? Hashem just told him to do something! Why is making this apparent excuse?
Moshe's point was “I just got back from speaking to the Benai Yisrael, and they (who my message is beneficial for) wouldn't listen to me. Why would Pharaoh (who my message is detrimental for) listen to me?

What Moshe didn't understand was that there was a reason that Hashem wanted these events to take place. He wanted Pharaoh to be warned and he wanted the Mitzriyam to go through all of the Makkos, because it wouldn't be enough for the Jews to simply be taken physically out of Mitzriyam, they needed to have the emotional and mental burdens lifted off of them, and psychologically exit Egypt as well. They needed to see the Mitzriyam humiliated and they needed to feel that they were strong.

Hashem's goal is for the Benai Yisrael to be able to walk on their own two feet and throw off the mentality of two centuries of slavery.

But the process didn't end with the Makkos. As we see in this week's Parsha, when the Benai Yisrael are standing by the Yam Suf, and the Mitzriyam are chasing after them, they still have that fear of the Mitzriyam. Yes everything was going great when Hashem was throwing frogs, lice and hail on them, but now they're out and exposed on the water and they still feel helpless and that Hashem is not really with them.

Perhaps the reason that Hashem didn't want to expose the Benai Yisrael to the Pilishtim, was because they still felt, in however small a way, like they were still slaves to the Mitzriyam. To be presented, right out of Egypt, to another nation that wants to start a war with them, will cause them to run back to Egypt, where, as their rational goes, “It's better to be a slave in Egypt then dead out in the desert.” (Exodus 14:12)
They're still clinging to that idea of slavery, that idea of, even if it's hard work, it's steady, it's stable, and it's predictable. Fear of the unknown.
And that's what Hashem's goal is for them to get to the point where they say, “We trust 100% in Hashem, no matter how unpredictable our lives are.”
So Hashem puts them on the rock, with the Mitzriyam bearing down on them, waiting for someone to take that first move and walk forwards by themselves. And as the Midrash explains, Nachson ben Aminadav did take that first step, the step that finally freed the B”Y from the Mitzriyam.

Yes...You Can

I was coming on the bus back from Yerushalayim tonight with a few of the guys. As we got on our bus I say down somewhere in the middle in front of a Charedi man.
One of my guys walked past me and asked, "Can I sit in the back."
I answered, "Yes, you can."
At which point the Charedi guy says, "Shas, Yes We Can."
I turn around and correct him, "Um, Barak Obama, Yes We Can.

He tilts his head and says, "Ah, he stole it from Shas.

The Tax Form has Arrived!...and it's all in Hebrew

Well, I returned for Yerushalayim today to an email informing me that my tax form is in my box, waiting to be filled out and returned to the office. I open up the envelope, and discover that the entire form (all 3 pages) are "Rak BeIvrit."
So what do I do?
Utilize mostly from the Hebrew I learned in in Ulpan which helped me fill out about 70% of the form (I knew that darn thing was good for something!) and then used Google Translate for the rest of the words I didn't know.
I did discover that you have to be careful how you conjugate the words and try to strip to word down to the root, otherwise the word could be changed from "Parents" to "Saponaria," (and I have no clue what that means.)

But this is just a reminder to me (and to all of those in America who are biting their fingernails-which is not healthy by the way) that even with a war life goes on. And we do have to remember that there are people who are literally putting their lives on the line in order for me to sit here comfortably in front of the computer, filling out a tax form, in the Land of Israel.

Thoughts on Yesterday's Levaya

The yeshiva went to Kfar Chabad yesterday to take part of the Holtzberg levaya (funeral). I don't think that I am capable of expressing the pain that the entire Jewish world felt at the loss of these two incredible people. What I can tell over is something unique that I experienced to put even more perspective on the incredible Jewish unity we have in this country.
We were not able to stay for the entire levaya and we arrived back in Ramat Beit Shemesh at about the time it was ending.
One of our Rabbeim who travels from Bar Ilan to RBS everyday mentioned some of the things that had been mentioned by the final speaker.
We asked him how he knew what was being spoken about at the levaya.
The hespadim (eulogies) were being brodcast on the radio as well as television all over the country. And the bus that he was on was tuned to that station.

"Please Take My Blood"

I've learned that in this country it generally takes three tries before you can actually get anything done, and giving blood is no exception.
Attempt #1: Yeshiva had a blood drive, but we run out of time and I'm am forced to walk away without being able to do this great mitzvah.
Attempt #2: Last Sunday I go to the Blood Bank and and am told that I can't give because I had an upset stomach that morning (the price one pays for eating all of that Shabbos food)
Attempt #3: Success!
For those of you who have never had the privilege of giving blood, I'll tall you a little about my experience.
When you walk into the blood bank you are asked to fill out a form consisting of questions like "Did you live in England between the years of 1985 and 1998?" and other's that are too inappropriate for this blog.
They then take you into a room where they repeat every single question to you-all while completely ignoring the answers that you are are giving them.
Then you sit in a bed for the actual procedure. I happened to be feeling a little queasy at this point (I'm not the biggest fan of needles) and without really any warning the woman there grabbed my are strapped a rubber band around my bicep and JAM, stuck the needle straight in (I'm assuming that these people are professionals-at least the blood started coming out right away and they didn't have to "dig" for it).
Then I'm basically sitting there for about 10 minutes waiting for this machine to fill up the little bag that contains enough room for one "unit" of blood (not sure exactly how much a unit is...). Then the Jamming Lady comes back and yanks the needle out of my arm and tells me to eat cookies (who am I to argue with that...), and press the cotton on the whole that the needle made.
Then I walked out and actually felt completely fine. I had been expecting to feel a little queasy but the only symptom was that I felt a little more tired later in the day. Got a good night's sleep and was back to normal the next morning.
Now for the request: If you are in Israel, whether you live here or are only visiting, it is a tremendous mitzvah to give blood. I can personally vouch for the (relativly) painless process, in which you're in and out in under an hour. Think about it, the more blood they get in the bank the better.

A Joke and...Duh!

Well I finally reached a milestone I understood my first joke in Hebrew (more of a funny comment then a joke, but hey I'll take anything).
We were driving this past Friday from Ramat Beit Shemesh to Yerushalyim and as we enter the center of RBS on our way out one of the other madrichim (who actually KNOWS how to speak Hebrew) had the following conversation witht he bus driver (translation will be at the bottom-pardon the Hebrew words with English letters):

Madrich: Aifoh ata l'Shabbat?
Bus Driver: Ani Po
Madrich: Ahhh...BaAuotobus?

Madrich: Where are you for Shabbat?
BD: I'm here (in RBS)
M: Ahh...in the bus?

All right I know, not that funny, but this one had me rolling...(my eyes at least).

A few week's ago I was at the train station and as I approached the entrance there was a metal detector (which is not uncommon in this country).
Now being a veteran at these I immedietly reached into my pockets and started emptying it. The security guard said: "Ahh I see you have done this before."

My Day (sorta)

For all of the fans out there who are wondering why I've stopped posting, don't worry, here comes another one.
The reason I haven't been posting as often as I did during the summer is mostly to do without a solid internet connection for two months, added on top of that a lot more responsibilities as well as a lot of repetition in my day. But I will do my best to bring you a taste of what life is like in the part of that world. (and by "this part of the world" I mean Ramat Beit Shemesh.)
So the day is basically like this, wake up, wake the guys up and get everyone to davening on time at 7:45. As soon as davening is over grab my backpack and run out the door for my 20 minute hike up the hill that is Ramat Beit Shemesh (we're all the way at the bottom and the place where we have our ulpan is all the way at the top). Show up to Upan 20 minutes late, have the teacher say something to me in Hebrew along the lines of "why are you late," stare at her blankly because I have no idea what she just asked me then have her smile because she knows exactly why I'm late (because I told her.)
Sit throught a lot of Shamaru, Shamarti, Shamrtah, Shamartem Shamar-"which one are we on again?" Until 12:45 when I then walk back down the hill (otherwise known as Ramat Beit Shemesh) to get back to the yeshiva in time for lunch.
Enjoy your not-so-typical yeshiva lunch, ususally consisting of Lasanga, Fetuchini, Spaghetti (darn Italian words-I'm learning Hebrew!), bagels, fish, salad, (and now that it's winter here) soup.
Then I have a few options, I can go back to my room for a short nap, but usually I do one of two things. 1. Learn or 2. Get my computer and, seeing that we actually have internet now, check my mail and the news.
I then have a chavrusa at 3 and learn until 3:45 Mincha. After I mincha I take care of any administration stuff that I have to do for the yeshiva, and then when I'm done with that, I learn until 6:00 when Rav Machlis's shiur starts.
Go to his shiur, go to dinner, come back to the Beis, learn some more, have my daf yomi chavrusa, daven maariv, take care of any other thngs that have popped up since 4:00 when I was supposed to be working, and then eventually go to bed.
Of course sprinkle through our my day, talking with guys, cleaning EVERYTHING, and other commitments I've made with people in the community, my day can be quite full and exhasting. But all in all it quite good to go to bed at the end of the day and feel that you've accomplished something.