The God of Our Forefathers Parashat Ki Tavo

0:03We're always going to have to remember that we were in Egypt. We were slaves, we were being murdered, we were being tortured, but eventually HaKadosh Baruch Hu heard our prayers. Just so you know, this same HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the God of our forefathers. Like, what's the, wh- why do I... Okay, I understand He's God. Why do I have to constantly mention that God is the God of our forefathers? Either you know it or you don't know it. If you already told me once that He's God, obviously He's the God of everyone. And if you want to make sure that I know, you tell me one time in the Torah, "Hashem, the God of our forefathers." But it doesn't do that. Almost every single time that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is mentioned, it constantly says, "God, the God of our forefathers." In your prayer, every single day you start off the Amidah with, "The God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak, the God of Yaakov."

1:12Why do I have to constantly mention that He's the God of the forefathers? If you need that reminder because you have that kind of memory, you're probably a shoteh, and you probably don't have to do mitzvot, you probably have to be institutionalized somewhere. So it's not for that. There has to be a bigger reason why Moshe Rabbeinu is telling us here, "We prayed before Hashem, the God of our forefathers." And this is repeated across the entire Torah. I thought, b'siyata d'shamaya, that you have, at the very least, a few reasons. The first reason is because every Jew has to remember where he came from. Not just that you came from your parents and you grew up in New York, or you grew up in Haiti, or you grew up in, uh, Netanya, or you grew up in, uh, California. No, no, no.

2:16Where'd you come from? What, where, where, where did you come from? Where does this neshama (soul) that's called you, where did it come from? Why? Because once a person understands where he comes from truly, it gives him a certain amount of obligation. For example, if you meet somebody and you see the guy walking around like a lot of people today, they're walking around with a T-shirt and shorts, they almost look homeless. And then the guy walks into, uh, opens up a car, he has a little remote control fob thingy, and he's opening up the door to a $500,000 car. You're about to give him a dollar to help him out, hopefully to get some food to eat, and he's opening a door to a $500,000 car. It happens all the time. And then the guy walks up to a car, opens it with a remote control fob, and he's opening the door to a $500,000 car. You're about to give him a dollar to help him out, hoping he uses it for some food, and he's opening a door to a $500,000 car. This happens all the time. It's this new look. I guess there's a new fashion statement called "homelessness." But the car and the watch, you could buy five houses with them. So now all of a sudden it's, "Oh, so he comes from something, he comes from money, the guy." All of a sudden, you have a different level of respect for him because, uh, it's probably stylish homeless clothes. It's probably like a, you know, $500 homeless shirt and $1,000 homeless, uh, jeans.

3:30And even the flip-flops are probably at least $600 homeless flip-flops. The designer probably lives in a garbage bag that's probably at least $1,000. But that's what it is. But once you see where he's coming from, where he's going, you have a different level of respect for the guy. When a Jew understands where he comes from, that he comes from Avraham, who was happy to go sacrifice the love of his life, his son Yitzchak, just for the sake of doing what Hashem said. Yitzchak, who was willing to be the sacrifice. Why? Because that's what Hashem said. Yaakov, who lived an entire life of suffering with the exception of the last 17 years of his life. Whether it was the suffering from Lavan chasing him, trying to torture him in every different way, or Esav trying to kill him, or different issues with his wife, or the problems with his kids—like Yosef—literally a life of suffering. Whether it's the suffering from Lavan chasing him, trying to, you know, torture him in every different way, or it's Esav trying to kill him, or it's different issues with his wife, or it's, uh, you know, the problems with his kids, Yosef, it's literally a life of suffering.

4:42Never once do you see any questions in the mind of Yaakov about what his responsibility in the world is. When a Jew understands where he comes from, it automatically gives him a certain sense of responsibility, but also a certain sense of self-respect. This is where I come from. But if he stops at that, it doesn't help. That's why HaKadosh Baruch Hu reminds us not once, not twice, but many, many times, that He is the God of our forefathers and we are their descendants. Because the second thing is that a person needs to be reminded to compare their actions to those of their forefathers. Avraham Avinu was willing to sacrifice his son just to do the will of Hashem. Are you willing to sacrifice your time to even hear what Hashem said? Are you willing to sacrifice a day out of the week to connect to Hashem? It's called Shabbat. Are you willing to sacrifice some of the money that you have in order to publicize the name of Hashem?

5:52What are you willing to, what are you willing to sacrifice for HaKadosh Baruch Hu? A fool who doesn't connect to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov is going to say, "Oh, why does Hashem need my sacrifice?" Who says He needs it? Who says He needs it? Only heretics say He needs anything. You need it. If you understand that you are connected to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov at the very least, compare yourself to where they are. I'm not saying become Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, but at the very least, in your own capabilities, what are you doing that shows that you really come from that family? The third thing, which I think is the nail that really seals everything in... If you understand that you are connected to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, at the very least, compare yourself to where they were. I'm not saying you should become Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, but at the very least, within your own capabilities, what are you doing that shows that you truly come from that family? The third aspect, which I think is the point that really solidifies everything, is... It's a reminder to each and every single one of us that when we see Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov in our prayer, in every parashah, in every book, everywhere you constantly see Hashem, the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, it reminds us of the reward that HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives to somebody that does His will. Just think about it. Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov lived almost 4,000 years ago.

7:26Almost 4,000 years ago... When we got the Torah 3,334 years ago, almost 3,335. Right? Yaakov came to Egypt 210 years before that. Two hundred and ten years before that, you're already at over 3,500 years ago. By the time you get to Avraham and the Akeidah, you're talking about a few hundred years before now. We're discussing events that took place almost 4,000 years ago with Avraham and the Akeidah, as well as almost 4,000 years ago with Yitzchak and the Akeidah. Almost 4,000 years ago, it was Yaakov and all of the nisyonot that he had, all those different difficulties that he faced. But we're still mentioning his name. Every single Orthodox Jew, every Jew that prays every day, every Jew that learns Torah, whether he's four years old, six years old, nine years old, 50 years old, 500 years old, whatever age he is, every single Jew mentions his name every single day. Why?

8:37They did the will of Hashem almost 4,000 years ago. This is HaKadosh Baruch Hu reminding you, if HaKadosh Baruch Hu is rewarding them in this world, they're not even here. They're in Shamayim getting the greatest benefit they could possibly get, but they're still getting rewarded here. They're still getting the honor here. For what? For doing the will of Hashem a few thousand years ago. What is HaKadosh Baruch Hu gonna give you if you do the will of Hashem? For almost 4,000 years, they're getting their name mentioned, they're getting their name honored for doing the will of Hashem. What is a Jew gonna get for keeping Shabbat? What is a Jew going to get for giving tzedakah? What is a Jew going to get for learning Torah and publicizing the name of Hashem? What is a Jew going to get if he's protecting his brit, and he doesn't look at immodest things? What is he gonna get? If Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, for almost 4,000 years, are mentioned by every single Jew, for all of the generations and forever, every single day, all day, the Torah is never gonna change. That means that in Shamayim, they're learning the same thing.

9:49In Shamayim, when David HaMelech is learning Torah, when Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is learning Torah, he has a yeshiva in Shamayim. There's a yeshiva of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, there's a yeshiva of David HaMelech. There's a yeshiva of Avraham, there's a yeshiva... Everyone has a yeshiva. They have students. They're learning the same exact Torah. And this week's Parashah is saying, "Yes, you know, it says over here, it says Hashem." But it doesn't just say Hashem. It says Hashem, Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. And this week's parashah is saying, "Yes, you know, it says over here, it says Hashem." But it doesn't just say Hashem. It says Hashem, Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. I'm Avraham. I'm here. I'm in, I'm in the Torah. For what? For 4,000 years ago. Every single kid, one of the first things he learns in the Torah is Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, Elohei Yaakov. For what? For almost 4,000 years ago. Every single kid, one of the first things he learns in the Torah is Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. Why? Because they did the will of Hashem almost 4,000 years ago. What are you going to get for coming to a shiur Torah on a Wednesday at nine o'clock? What is a woman going to gain by putting a mitpachat on her head instead of one of these, uh, uh, ponytails?