Special message about why PeSach is a Time To Remember (Jerusalem)

0:02Hello, Am Yisrael, this is Yaron Rubin speaking to you here from Jerusalem, and we're a few days away from Pesach, celebrating the exodus from Mitzrayim. Many Jews around the world, unfortunately, are no longer close to Hashem, no longer close to Torah and mitzvot, and we're here to remind you that this is a time when we became Am Yisrael. Am Yisrael later on saw many, many miracles and eventually received the Torah. Now, this part about the Torah is the part that we all forgot. We like the stories, we like the plagues, we like the fact that Am Yisrael still lives on till today despite the fact that many of its enemies throughout the generations have been destroyed. But one thing that Pesach is supposed to remind us of is why. Why was Am Yisrael chosen by the Creator above all other nations? This is a fundamental question that we must keep in mind during this significant time of year. These stories are not just tales of survival but are meant to lead us towards a deeper understanding of our purpose as a people.

1:20to lead the world, to be a light to the nations, to be the one that's going to be an example for each other and for everyone around us. Why is it a small civilization, yet the one that survived all of the wars, all of the destruction, all of the Holocausts that have happened throughout generations? Many people can connect to the Holocaust that happened just around seventy years ago, unfortunately, to Am Yisrael, where six million Jews were killed, and tortured day after day. But what many of us don't know is that the story of the Exodus begins with something much, much worse than the Holocaust ever was. Millions upon millions of Jews were killed over 210 years by the evil Egyptians. And this unfortunately is continuing till today. Maybe we're not being killed by the same force like we were in the past. Maybe we're not being killed by guns or swords or whips. But what we are being killed by is ignorance. By not knowing the roots of our nation. Paro, the evil Paro, when his story began in the beginning of Exodus, says that he did not remember Moses, did not remember Yosef HaTzadik. What does it mean he did not remember him? It means that despite all of the good that Yosef did for the nation of Egypt, making them wealthy, putting them on the map, Paro forgot. We must ensure that we do not follow in Paro's footsteps, forgetting our past and our heritage. Understanding our history is vital in preserving our future as Klal Yisrael.

2:21Pharaoh, the evil Pharaoh, when his story began at the beginning of Exodus, is described as not remembering Moses, not remembering Yosef HaTzadik. What does it mean he did not remember him? It means that despite all of the good that Joseph did for the nation of Egypt—making them wealthy and putting them on the map—Pharaoh forgot. but electively forgot. He forgot not because he didn't have the money anymore, forgot not because there was no recollection of who Yosef was, but rather forgot because remembering a favor that someone did for you is very difficult for some people. And this is the way the story begins. The lack of gratefulness by Pharaoh made him hated by Hashem Yitbarach. This, as the sages tell us in the Gemara, HaShem hates certain types of people. One of them is someone who is ungrateful. The first thing we need to learn about Pesach is that it's a time to be grateful. Another lesson that we learn is that despite the difficulties that we went through in Mitzrayim, despite the hardships that we faced day after day, being tortured and having our children killed on a daily basis, HaShem never forgot us. HaShem will never forget us.

3:45Hashem was just putting us to a test to see if we truly love Him, to see if we're going to yearn for Him, scream for Him, ask for Him. Eventually, we did. Eventually, we reached the point where Hashem answered our call, and when He did, miracle after miracle continued to happen until we left. not only left Egypt in such an extraordinary, miraculous way, but left Egypt in a way where they no longer ever wanted to be involved with us, and they were no longer remembered. The Egypt of today is not the Egypt that we had 3,300 years ago. How did Hashem do all of this without necessarily making it so obvious to the point where after only one plague, the Egyptians would let us go? Hashem's punishments and Hashem's reward are always midah k'neged midah, measure for measure. Just like the Egyptians did not let Jews do the mitzvah of peru u'revu, the way that they're supposed to by going to the mikveh each month.

5:00did not let us bathe, did not let us maintain our hygiene. Hashem said, oh, you don't want My children to commit this big mitzvah that I gave since the beginning of time? Fine. You're also not going to be able to use this water. And He turned the water into blood. But not just turning the water into blood, turning everything that has any connection whatsoever to water, to blood. Just like Rabbi Ephraim Kachlon just said, we learned that even the oranges, even the walls, Any fruit, anything that had any water in it whatsoever at one point or another, that water turned into blood. So this answers the question of why the Egyptians didn't just drink orange juice or milk or something else. Because Hashem wanted to make sure that everyone knows He has complete control over nature. So everything and anything that had anything to do with water turned into blood. The same goes with the frogs. Initially, we see that the plague is mentioned in the Torah as Tzfardeim, which is frogs. But later, when the plague actually arrives, it says Tzfardea. It says one frog. What happened to the Tzfardeim? What happened to the plural? Here we learn that initially, Hashem sent one giant frog to test the Egyptians. This one frog was intended to demonstrate how terrible the Egyptians could be to themselves. It also serves as a lesson on how destructive anger can be to us. We see that the plague is mentioned in the Torah as Tzefarde'im, which means frogs. But later, when the plague actually arrives, it says Tzefarde'a. It says one frog. What happened to the Tzefarde'im? What happened to the plural? Here we learn that originally, Hashem sent one giant frog. One frog to see how terrible the Egyptians really are to themselves. How terrible anger is to us.

6:29Egyptians saw this large frog and hit it, and they hit it, and more frogs came out of it. They hit it again, and more frogs would come out of it. It got to the point where, despite knowing that after hundreds and hundreds of times of hitting this frog, more and more frogs would come out of it, they knew this was not working. Yet, their anger, just like the Ramban says, when someone has anger, all types of Gehinnom control him—their anger did not let them stop. made sure that they continued hitting it, thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could hurt it. Even though I'm gonna die with it, at least I know I'm gonna hurt it. And this is the second thing we need to learn about Pesach. This is a time that we gather together with family from all over the world, from all over the neighborhoods. It's a time when it's easy to get angry. It's a time when it's easy to lose your temper. But it's the worst possible time to do that. Because all the little children that have never heard the true story behind Egypt, the true story of Am Yisrael, the true story of Hashem Yitbarach, and the miracle of the Exodus, of Yetziat Mitzrayim, they're not going to be able to tolerate it. If you show anger during this time, you could easily lose a child forever. Not lose him physically, but lose the connection that he has with Hashem. Because if he associates Hashem and the Exodus with anger in the home, he's no longer going to want to celebrate it. It's crucial to create a loving and welcoming environment, especially during discussions about our sacred history and the miracles that define us as a people.

7:44Not lose him physically, but lose the connection that he has with Hashem. Because if he associates Hashem and the Exodus with anger in the home, he's no longer going to want to celebrate it. The same goes with every single one of the plagues. This is why one of the major obligations of Passover is to learn the Midrashim. You should use Midrash Rabbah, Me'am Loez, and many other Midrashim that tell you the story of Egypt and what truly happened there. It's not the movie. Trust me when I tell you. It's much more than the movie could ever tell you. Rather, immerse yourself in these teachings to understand the depth of our heritage and the true essence of emunah, faith. The same goes with every single one of the plagues. This is why one of the major obligations of Pesach is to learn the Midrashim. You should use Midrash Rabbah, Me'am Loez, and many other Midrashim that tell you the story of Mitzrayim and what truly happened there. It's not the movie. Trust me when I tell you. It's much more than the movie could ever tell you. It tells you the story behind the story, to prepare for Pesach, to prepare for L'ilot Sipur Yetziat Mitzraim. Why? Because when your kids arrive, when your uncles and aunts arrive, when your cousins that are far away from Torah and Mitzvot arrive, it's your obligation to bring them back. Chazal tells us that only two things are going to save us at the time of Mashiach: Torah and Gemilut Chasadim. Torah obviously doesn't just mean to know what a Torah is. Torah means complying with it, reading it, learning it, and connecting to it. Because this is our direct contact with Hashem. This is the most important obligation a Jew could ever have. This is why Hashem says, let them leave me but not my Torah. Because He knows that once we have the Torah, we know our way back home.

9:05But when it comes to Gemilut Chasadim, many people are confused. They think that if they give someone a ride to the laundromat, or to the movie theater, or to somewhere else, that's going to save them at the time of Mashiach. Yes, it's nice. Yes, it's wonderful. But unfortunately, it's not going to save us. The reason why is because even if you helped that one person get to the laundromat, if right after the laundromat he gets his clothes dry cleaned so he can go to the club, and he never knows what Hashem is, he never knows that there's a din and there's a dayan. There's a judge, there's judgment, and there's a judge. to the laundromat, or to the movie theater, or to somewhere else, it's not going to save them at the time of Mashiach. Yes, it's nice. Yes, it's wonderful. But unfortunately, it's not going to save us. The reason why is that even if you helped that one person get to the laundromat, if right after he gets his clothes dry cleaned so he can go to the club, and he never knows who Hashem is, he never knows that there's a din and a dayan. There's a judge, there's judgment, and there's a judge. If he doesn't know that the Torah is not just a history book, but rather a book of laws, a book of instructions on how to live life, then you did him no favor at all. All you helped him do is make another sin. The most important chesed that one can do in our generation and any generation before or after us, is to help them do teshuva, help them come back to Hashem in such a way that they'll never leave again. The only way they can do that is by finding out the story, finding out the true love that Hashem has for Am Yisrael, that's so unique, that's so extraordinary, that's so beyond anything we could ever comprehend. That by itself makes that person fall in love with Hashem because when you know someone loves you, immediately...

10:00is to help them do teshuva, help them come back to Hashem in such a way that they'll never leave again. The only way they can do that is by finding out the story, finding out the true love that Hashem has for Am Yisrael that's so unique, that's so extraordinary, that's so beyond anything we could ever comprehend. That by itself makes that person fall in love with Hashem because when you know someone loves you, you immediately you fall in love with Him too. When you know that Hashem is doing everything He's doing it just for you. Yes, you, the one who's watching this. Every single one of you. Everything that's created, the heaven and the earth and everything in between, was created for you. It's actually an obligation for a Jew to remind himself of that, that everything in the world was created for them. Not to make them egotistical, not to make them selfish, but rather to make them realize that they themselves can change the world.

11:00This is what we are supposed to do during Pesach. Each one of us is supposed to change the world in one way or another. Each one of us is supposed to tell the story of Hashem, the story of how Hashem created the world, and within this amazing, perfect world, He created a unique nation, a chosen nation, which He called Am Yisrael. And for this nation, He did everything and anything possible to make sure that they realize this love exists. Ultimately, to arrive to give them the love letter that we call the Torah, it's your obligation, dear Jew, to remind yourself of this, to remind your children, to remind your family of why we celebrate this holiday. It's not just about food. It's not about hotels, and it's not just about the fun part. It's about knowing where we came from, and if we know where we came from, our direction ahead, our road ahead becomes much, much clearer. So may all of you have a happy Pesach, a Chag Sameach, a Chag that's full of blessing and connection to Hashem that's never going to be broken. Not today, not in the past, and not in the future. becomes much, much clearer. So may all of you have a happy Pesach, a Chag Sameach, a Chag that's full of blessing and connection to Hashem that's never going to be broken. Not today, not in the past, and not in the future.