Mussar Drosha: Bo

Mussar Drosha: Bo:

 

Baruch Hashem, we are able to learn together the Parsha another week - now, Parshas Bo.  So, we read in the first Aliyah about how Moshe Rabbeinu relays a warning to Paroah from Hashem.  

The Torah records that Moshe Rabbeinu said (Shemos 10:3) ‘“So said the G-d of the Hebrews; ‘how long will you refuse to be humbled before Me?  Send out My People so they can serve Me!”’ We may ask; what lesson does this carry for all of us today? 

So, the Rambam zt”l brings down (Hilchos Gerushin 2:20) that, in reality, every single Jewish Soul - which is our true selves - wants to do what is right; Hashem’s Will. (Maybe every Soul in general does).  And likewise it is taught (Pirkei Avos 6:2) ‘There is no free man like the one who is involved with the study of Torah.’  

Some people, Rachmana Litzlan/may the Merciful One save us, actually think that listening to Hashem is limiting and keeping us from doing what we want.  But they aren’t realizing what free is.  

Unfortunately, (sigh), oftentimes we enslave ourselves to our Yetzer Hara and it’s desires, treating him like our master (Chas V’Shalom), by following his orders, etc.  We, on our own accord, are choosing not to be free!  Can you imagine that?!  The Yetzer Hara is trying to enslave us! 

And this is what was happening in Mitzraim:  Paroah, who represents the Yetzer Hara, enslaved us, trying to make us do his will instead of Hashem’s - and ours.  We all have a personal Paroah:  He is always trying to enslave us and make us do what he tells us to instead of Hashem’s Commandments, Rachmana Litzlan.  And sometimes we actually submit to it!  

At these times, the words we quoted above are directed towards us:  Hashem is telling us ‘Send out My People’ - we are all part of His People, (thank Him!), but if we, Chas V’Shalom, enslave ourselves to the Yetzer Hara, that is not the real us.  Hashem wants us to send out ourselves - His People - from under our personal Paroah.  Then we will be able to serve Him as we should!! 

And then we can also reaccept the Torah and rededicate ourselves to it (as the Jews accepted it after being taken out from under Paroah) and become as we are supposed to be.  We must take the words which we quoted above - that are directed at all of us at times - to heart and free ourselves from our personal Paroah, with His Help, and bring out our true selves.  Then we will see who we really are.  

And now, after discussing what freedom really is, we can come to better appreciate the Yetzias Mitzraim/Going out From Egypt:  Hashem took us out from under Paroah, who was enslaving us in the worst way - physically and spiritually - and gave us the Torah, which is the Ultimate Freedom.  

And, as we read about in the Torah how Hashem took us out from Mitzraim, may we also leave our personal Mitzraim with them.  May Hashem free us from this Galus as well, very, very swiftly, Amein vi’Amein. 

I wish everyone and their families and wonderful week!