Parshat Shemot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
"...And He remembers the kindness of Fathers and brings a redeemer for the children of their children for the sake of His Name with love..." It is the memory of our Fathers of Hebron that sparked HaShem's love and compassion to redeem us in Egypt, and it is this same memory that will spark our future redemption, may it come speedily.
It is also this memory and connection to our Avos among the People which awakened the faith in redemption in Egypt as we see in our title quote, and so too this very connection awakens our faith towards our future redemption. Indeed, it is via our Forefathers and Hebron-Mamreh that we touch on a key part of breaking from bondage to become truly free, not only from Egypt or other historic bondages, but also from the bondages of every-day life that enslave us from noticing God in our lives, from perceiving the Holy Presence.
As Moshe describes HaShem to Pharoh as God of the "Hebrews - Ivrim", a term coined with the inception of our Patriarchs, we understand that in the eyes of those people or matters that enslave us, a beginning crucial point in breaking free is the knowledge that our God is "the God of the Hebrews".
In explaining the meaning of "Hebrews -Ivrim" in its first context in regard to Avraham, our Sages say that Avraham was on one side - "ever" (sing. of "ivrim") of the world in the service of the True God, while the rest of the world was on the other side of the world, in foreign worship.
Thus, to be a "Hebrew" means to have the courage to surpass ("laavor" - same Hebrew root as "ivrim") the conventional modes of thinking that keep the rest of the world bound in spiritual slavery, to arise to the "side" of Truth. Our Patriarchs, the original "ivrim" bravely paved the path for us to continue in their ways despite the rest of the world on "the other side", thereby emancipating our people to be subject only to the True God and no other power.
Similarly, we find in halacha that a slave who takes the courage to flee from his master to the Land of Israel, the Land of the Holy Presence, is thereby let free. Therefore, it is not surprising that the location our Patriarchs cherished both in life and death, Hebron, is called Mamreh, meaning to go "despite - lamrot (same root as 'mamreh')" the conventional. Thus, by connecting to our Patriarchs and Hebron-Mamreh, we are instilled with the strength and courage to surpass bondage despite all that blocks us. "Free is only one who studies Torah". "Hebron refers to Torah, for one who involves oneself with Torah study is called haber..."
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"ה' א-הי אבתיכם נראה אלי א-הי אברהם יצחק ויעקב לאמר פקד פקדתי אתכם..ואומר אעלה אתכם..אל ארץ זבת חלב ודבש"(שמות ג)
It is also this memory and connection to our Avos among the People which awakened the faith in redemption in Egypt as we see in our title quote, and so too this very connection awakens our faith towards our future redemption. Indeed, it is via our Forefathers and Hebron-Mamreh that we touch on a key part of breaking from bondage to become truly free, not only from Egypt or other historic bondages, but also from the bondages of every-day life that enslave us from noticing God in our lives, from perceiving the Holy Presence.
As Moshe describes HaShem to Pharoh as God of the "Hebrews - Ivrim", a term coined with the inception of our Patriarchs, we understand that in the eyes of those people or matters that enslave us, a beginning crucial point in breaking free is the knowledge that our God is "the God of the Hebrews".
In explaining the meaning of "Hebrews -Ivrim" in its first context in regard to Avraham, our Sages say that Avraham was on one side - "ever" (sing. of "ivrim") of the world in the service of the True God, while the rest of the world was on the other side of the world, in foreign worship.
Thus, to be a "Hebrew" means to have the courage to surpass ("laavor" - same Hebrew root as "ivrim") the conventional modes of thinking that keep the rest of the world bound in spiritual slavery, to arise to the "side" of Truth. Our Patriarchs, the original "ivrim" bravely paved the path for us to continue in their ways despite the rest of the world on "the other side", thereby emancipating our people to be subject only to the True God and no other power.
Similarly, we find in halacha that a slave who takes the courage to flee from his master to the Land of Israel, the Land of the Holy Presence, is thereby let free. Therefore, it is not surprising that the location our Patriarchs cherished both in life and death, Hebron, is called Mamreh, meaning to go "despite - lamrot (same root as 'mamreh')" the conventional. Thus, by connecting to our Patriarchs and Hebron-Mamreh, we are instilled with the strength and courage to surpass bondage despite all that blocks us. "Free is only one who studies Torah". "Hebron refers to Torah, for one who involves oneself with Torah study is called haber..."
Real Stories from the Holy Land #49: "Our boiler had been causing numerous power-outages in our private home in Kiryat Arba. One evening, my wife decided to change the boiler "shabbos-clock" in hope that this would solve the problem. At the very second she just finished installing the new "shabbos-clock" there was a power-outage, what seemed to be obviously connected to a faulty installation. However, we were wrong - at that very second, there was a general power-outage in the entire city/neighborhood. This taught us the value of giving benefit of the doubt..."
To share your story too please contactgmoshemoran613@gmail.com
Sources: Breshit Raba Lech Lecha 41, Rambam Avadim 5, 10, Avot, 6, 2, Zohar Shlah
