Parashat Bo - Trapped By Sins

0:01who is asking us until when is this going to be a trap for us and in this particular case whether the plagues were for seven days and then a break of three weeks or 21 days and then a break for one week either way, from here we see that each and every single plague was arranged with divine precision based on the level of suffering that Pharaoh and the Egyptians could handle without being destroyed completely, meaning pushing them to their absolute limits. Human tolerance for pain. The second it got to that limit, the plague stopped. Therefore, the servants are coming to Pharaoh, asking, "How long? How long are we going to continue with this?" This is a mokesh, a trap. So, the Be'er Mayim Chaim says, "What's the trap?"

1:24Why are they calling it a trap? Number one, it was sophisticated, but even more so, it shows that there are extraordinary teachings about human nature. When someone is following the satan, you see people that mean well... that do not agree with what Pol Pot did, do not agree with what Hitler did, do not agree with any evil people. In fact, some people that could sometimes be religious people, good people, they give tzedakah, sometimes they pray, and certainly some people that don't, but they sometimes act like Pol Pot in this regard. Why? Because they experience extraordinary suffering—financial suffering, physical suffering, and horrible things. They cry at night. They cry during the day. But the suffering doesn't stop. Now you're going to say, wait a minute, what are you talking about? If they could stop the suffering, they would do it right away. Well, let's see. Years ago,

2:51There was an extraordinary tzaddik, Rav Moshe Aryeh Freund. He was a Satmar Hasid and became the Av Beit Din of the Edah Haredis in Jerusalem. Rav Moshe Aryeh Freund and his family were sent to Auschwitz, where his wife and nine children were murdered by the Nazis. He was the only survivor of his entire family. After surviving the Holocaust, he made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael and became one of the most important tzaddikim in Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael during his generation. In these years, Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund had a couple come to him one time.

3:52And this couple was a religious couple. They keep mitzvot. They believe in Chachamim. They have Emunat Chachamim. And they came to the rabbi crying hysterically. And the rabbi asked why. Hashem, the wife had some discomfort. She went to the doctor, and they discovered that she has stage four cancer. incurable, there's nothing the doctors can do. In fact, she only has days to live; they don't know how many. When the Rav hears this, he says, "You need a miracle." "Yes, that's why we came to the Rav, please help us," they implore. The Rav, who is speaking to them, says, "If you..."

4:52Take on removing the wig that you're wearing and put on a mitpachat, a kerchief, a scarf, or a hat. I promise you that you will see a salvation. The woman says, "What do you mean? How could I wear a scarf? I'm gonna look, uh, I'm gonna look old! I'm gonna look like a grandmother, and my wig is so beautiful—it accentuates my face. Can't the Rav maybe give us something else to take on? I'm more than happy to, you know, read a couple of halachot every day, or maybe I'll do it every week. Perhaps I'll even accept Shabbat 20 minutes early every week. Maybe that's better, Rabbi." no, no, as I said, take off the wig and replace it with the kerchief. Replace it with a mitpachat, and the woman continues to argue, "I can’t bring myself to do it! It’s such a beautiful wig! I just got this one. It’s a ten thousand dollar wig. You want me to get rid of it, and not just for a short time? Forever?"

6:10Please, that does not make sense. When the husband saw that his wife is literally under the complete control of the Satan, where she doesn't make any sense whatsoever, he says to her, "My dear wife, we came here because we have emunat chachamim. We came here for guidance. We came here for a blessing. We came here with hope. The Rav is telling us..." You need a miracle. We already knew that before we came here. And he's willing to vouch for this miracle. He's saying if you just remove the wig, you'll live. Okay, okay, let me think about it, she says. And nothing that her husband would say could change her. And she went home. And as soon as she got home, she called some of her sisters-in-law. asked him what they think about this, and of course, the satan had already worked his magic on the sisters-in-law, and they, of course, agreed with her. How could you possibly take off your wig? What are you talking about? You look like a grandmother! You want to walk around like that? Who's going to look? No mapeetom. We'll pray for you. We'll pray for you. We'll read some Tehillim for you in our community. Everything is going to be fine. When the husband heard this...

7:39He immediately called them and told them, "How can you do this? How can you possibly do this? Don't you realize that if she dies, I'm going to be a widower. Our kids are all going to be orphans, and it's all going to be your fault. I'm the one who loses, not you." And he spoke to them with stern words. With this attitude, she said, "Okay, maybe I could try it." They spoke to her, and she was battling it tooth and nail until her husband said things clearly: "What are you worried so much about this week? According to the doctors, according to logic, according to everything that makes sense," and... There's not going to be anybody to wear a kerchief or a wig in the coming days if you don't change, if we don't get a miracle. When things were put into that perspective, she said, fine. They went to the rabbi and told him, okay, I'm willing to take it on. She removed her wig already. She came there with a mitpachat. And Rav Moshe Eli, her friend, told her, I promise you,

9:06Because of the zechut (merit) of this mitzvah that you just took upon yourself, you will see an extraordinary salvation. A week later, she went to the doctor. They did the tests and then another test and then another test because they could not believe what their eyes were seeing, as the cancer that was already supposed to kill this woman had disappeared into thin air with no traces of existence. Who is asking us until when is this going to be a trap for us? has disappeared into thin air with no traces of existence. Who is asking us, "Until when is this going to be a trap for us?" strong lectures, similar and different to the one that you heard tonight, that are simply full of sources, honesty that's brutal, but effective. Tikun HaBrit, it helped countless people get closer to Hashem because, for the first time in their life, they heard that there are serious ramifications for their bad actions, whatever those bad actions are.