Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We continue our lessons with the four Pesukim that we read at Bikurim , which is also format of our Hagadah Shel Pesach story. The next two words are VaYered Mitzraimah / And he ( Yaakov Avinu) went down to Mitzrayim . Says the Baal Hagadah , ' Annus al pi hadibur/He was forced based on the word of God.' Anoos or Onness means forced . The Yalkut Shimoni on Bereshit chapter 39, letter 145, says on the pasuk "VaYosef hurad/Yosef was brought down , or, he brought down others, that Horid Avinu Yaakov / Yosef caused Yaakov to come down. A mashal is given- of a cow that did not want to go where it was supposed to go. What did they do? They put its calf in front of it and it followed, against its will. So too, Yaakov Avinu was supposed to go down to Egypt in chains of steel. Imagine Yaakov Avinu in steel chains! But Hashem said, Bni Bechori hu ? Yaakov is my firstborn son, V'ani morido b'bizayon / Am I going to take him down in disgrace? No. His son would go down first, and he would follow. This is an important concept. Hashem made a gezera and it had to happen. Hashem makes it happen. However, he was originally supposed to go down as a slave, but Hashem was able to change the gezera and make it happen in the best possible way. In Shmuel א , Perek יב , Pasuk ו – ח Shmuel HaNavi describes to the people their history, in short. It says there, " Listen my nation, to what Hashem did to Moshe and Aharon who took you out of Mitzrayim. And let me tell you ," he says, " all the good things that He did with you and your forefathers: Ka'asher ba Yaakov Mitzrayim / When Yaakov came to Mitzrayim, and your fathers cried out, Hashem sent Moshe and Aharon, and they and they came." The Chida , in his sefer Chomat Anach on that pasuk in Shmuel asks, What does it mean Ka'asher ba Yaakov/When Yaakov came ? He says, this is a hint to us. Ba means he came on his own. He was really supposed to go down in steel chains, but Shmuel is hinting to the fact that he came on his own. And he says that the four words, K a'asher B a Y aakov M itzrayim , כ אשר ב א י עקוב מ צרים have the Rashei Teivot of מכבי Makabi which stands for Mi Kamocha Ba'elim Hashem / Who is like You among the strong ones ? God was able to undo the Gezera in the Zechut of Yaakov, and he went down through Yosef. This is an important lesson in Hashgacha Pratit . Hashem will make things happen. How? With tremendous intermediary causes. The sefer Tzror HaMor on Bereshit 41:1 tells us in the pasuk, U'Paroh cholem / And Paroah had a dream , as well as " Vayehi miketz shnatayim yamim, U'Paroah ," that it should have said Paroh cholem / Paroah dreamed . Why does it say, And Paroah dreamed? He says it goes back to another dream. The Vav / and is mosif / adding on . What's it adding on to? It's adding on to the dreams of Yosef . Yosef had two dreams, both with the same theme, and Paroah also had two dreams with the same theme. He says this was all in order to fulfill the word of God that: Ki ger yihyeh zar'acha b'eretz lo lahem / For Your children will be sojourners in a land that's not theirs. As the Gemara in Shabbat 89b says, Yaakov should have gone down with steel chains, but Hashem brought it about that he went down b'kavod gadol/ great honor. This was all in order to fulfill the ma'amar or the dibbur . So Annus al pi hadibur / Yaakov was forced down . How? With respect, with kavod . But at the end of the day, he was forced . Everyone is forced. Sometimes we are forced in limousines , but we're all forced , because everything that happens is there to fulfill a gezera . You can be forced in a respected way, or chas v'shalom , forced in a disrespectful way. Yaakov Avinu came down through dreams, through famine, but he came b'kavod gadol. But ultimately, Vayered Mitzrayim a. He didn't go because he decided to go. He went because he had no choice. Hashem set it up that he had to go. This is an important lesson called Anoos al pi hadibur . Everything that we do happens because of Hashem . Of course, we have freedom of choice. We make our choices, but at the end of the day, Hashem is going to make it happen. To illustrate can look to Yosef- He was out looking for his brothers but couldn't find them, so he was ready to go back home. Then he saw a man on the road. Who was that man on the road? Rashi tells us, it was the angel Gavriel . Yosef was lost. He never would have found his brothers. He was going back home. But Hashem needed to get Yaakov down to Mitzrayim so He sent down an angel tour guide , so to speak, to send him where he had to go. And Paroah had dreams. Why? Well, how could we get Paroah to meet Yosef? No problem. We'll have a fly land in the cup, the Sar Hamashkim will have to go to jail and meet Yosef, and eventually Yosef will interpret the dreams. All of this falls under this rule of Anoos al pi hadibur . It's fascinating how HaKadosh Baruch Hu makes things happen in so many steps!

Welcome to Daily Bitachon . We are now up to the section of the Hagadah which talks about the story in short, with four Pesukim excerpted from Devarim 26 ,5 and on , in the context of Bikkurim which is relevant for us now, as Shavuot is the time that we bring Bikkurim . As we march from Pesach to Shavuot, we are in a time of Hakarat HaTov and appreciation. The outcome of Yetziat Mitzrayim is supposed to be Hakarat HaTov , gratitude and appreciation for God. That is why these four Pesukim , which we base our Hagadah on, were said with the baskets of fruit in hand overflowing, thanking God. The first pasuk they said was: אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה Arami oved avi vayered Mitzraima . ( A man called) Lavan HaArami tried to destroy ( or destroyed) my father… Rashi says that God considered what Lavan wanted to do as if he did it. But before we proceed with the rest of the pesukim , we have to stop and ask: Why are we mentioning Lavan here? And what does this have to do with the basket of fruit? If you want to tell me we went to Mitzrayim and now we got the land, I got it. Vayevienu el hamakom hazeh , it says and He brought us to this place after the four Pesukim , we're saying God brought us here . But that was 250 years after we entered the land and way after the story of Lavan and Yaakov. The answer is, as Yaakov and Lavan were going through this story, it was not very clear what was going on. It started with Lavan swindling Yaakov , and making him work twice as long as he needed, not seven but 14 years. But if not for that swindling, he would have just walked out with Rachel. No Leah, no Bilhah or Zilpah. Who knows how many children would not have been born? Rachel gave him only two children. With the four wives he ended up with 12. Additionally, Yaakov Avinu also walked in as a man with no money, but he walked out a very wealthy man. And let's go into the story of Egypt: We grew even more due to the oppression. We left with tremendous wealth, became purified and refined, and were ready to receive the Torah . But, it only became clear after the story was over. You can't understand a book if you only read the middle chapter. One of my favorite mashals told by the Chafetz Chaim is that of a man who visited a town for the weekend. He was a Gabbai (or Misader) in his hometown shul, and gave out the Aliyot and the other honors in the shul , like who gets to open the Heichal, who gets the first Aliyah , who gets Shlishi or Shishi (which is important depending on what your customs are.) who gets Maftir and so on. So there he was in the new shul, looking around, imagining that he was back home, deciding whom he would give each Aliyah to. 'Oh, that guy looks important, I'd give him this. That guy I think looks I'd give him that….' But in the end, nothing went the way he thought it should go. A fellow that looked like he couldn't read even got the Maftir ! He couldn't understand what was going on. He approached the man in charge and asked, " Could you please explain what's going on here? I run the shul back in my hometown, and I wouldn't have done it this way." The man in charge responded, " How long have you been here?" The guest answered, " I'm here for the weekend." The gabbai then said, " Well, if you've only been here for the weekend, you can't really question what I'm doing. You weren't here last week; you don't know what's going to happen next week. The fellow that got Maftir, who looked like he couldn't read, has his father's Yahrzeit this week. The fellow that you think should have gotten an Aliyah got one last week, and the other one is getting it next week. You can't comment when you're only here for a weekend!" So too, says the Chafetz Chaim , in life, we're only here for a short period of time. We don't see the whole story, and therefore we can't question. God wanted to teach us an important, short history lesson. He knew we were going to enter into future exiles. He wanted us to read this lesson and apply it to life in general. That's why the real message of the night of the Seder is Matchil bignut umesayem beshevach . Start with the negative and end with the positive. Rabbenu Manoac h , one of the Rishonim , in his commentary on the Rambam on the laws of Chametz U'Matzah , chapter seven, Halacha 6 , says something fascinating: With this remembering, Tihiyeh yirat Hashem al panav tamid / The fear of God will be on his face continuousl y, When he sees Hashem's supervision, And you'll never forget about Hashem . With this story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, you will see Hashem is watching you. You'll be on His mind and He'll be on your mind. And even if its times are very difficult, Yiftach b'Hashem, he'll still rely on God, Mikveh Yisrael, the One the Jewish people hope to, Moshio b'eit tzara, the One that saves us in time of difficulty . And just like the difficulty of the exile of Mitzrayim, Hayta sibah l'heitiv lahem b'achritam/Was a cause to end up doing better for them in the end, Ken kol tzarot hagalut hazeh / So too with all of these difficulties in our exile, hem sibah l'Yisrael / They will be a cause for the Jewish people, l'hoshi'am t'shuat olamim, an everlasting saving- Which is the rule we call Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'banim . The actions of the father are a sign for the future. That's our opening lesson for Maggid, the story of the Hagadah shel Pesach . And as we said, it's not just for the night of Pesach , it's every day of our lives. We have to remember Yetziat Mitzrayim . This is one of the underlying messages of Yetziat Mitzrayim , says Rabbeinu Manoach , is that it ain't over 'til it's over.

Welcome to Daily Bitachon as we continue in our journey from Mitzrayim. We spoke yesterday of the Brit Ben HaBetarim , the promise that God made to Avraham Avinu about the Jews in exile that would last over 400 years. As we explained, it's been close to 4,000 years if we go count from the time of Avraham Avinu! And that because we did not finish the purifications of Mitzrayim due to the fact that we left early. Therefore, as the famous saying goes, history repeats itself . There were 4 stages of exile they went through in Mitzrayim : 1-Ger yiheyeh zaracha /Y our children will be sojourners , 2- Be'eretz lo lahem/In a land that's not theirs, 3-Va'avadum/And they will work them, 4-. Ve'inu otam/And they will persecute them, And these 4 stages continue to repeat themselves until we eventually cry out to God and are redeemed. As long as the Jew realizes that he is in exile and gets the messages of Galut , he's okay in that first stage of being a stranger or maybe being out of your land. But it may lead to being subjugated, or ultimately, even being persecuted because the Jew needs to learn the lessons of exile, one way or the other. When we say history repeats itself , there are two connotations. One is the regular secular concept that if you don't learn from history, you're condemned to repeat it , which means there are certain lessons that you can pick up and if you don't learn the lessons, you just make the same mistakes. It's like saying if people don't exercise and diet, they have heart attacks. And if you don't learn the lesson of history, then the next generation will have heart attacks too. It's just nature and if you don't follow the rules of nature, you're going to suffer the consequences. But the Jewish way of looking at it offers a deeper meaning, which is that God made us certain promises and guidelines for how to live life and if we don't follow those guidelines, then we are going to suffer the consequences. There's a beautiful Meshech Chochmah that we've quoted in the past that is prophetic ( Vayikra 26:44). The Meshech Chochmah describes how the Jewish people repeat the same cycle of Galut : He explains how the Jew is exiled from land one, and comes into a new land. In that new land, what usually happens is that first generation is not so learned, much like what happened in America. Then, as they start to settle down, a spirit of God comes upon them and they start searching for their roots. They learn, they spread Torah , and they are at a great height. Then the next generation comes along. There's nothing more for them to add so they start questioning and possibly criticizing. They get too comfortable and start forgetting their roots. They start learning the language of the land. And here he says a most prophetic line. Yachshov , Ki Berlin hu Yerushalayim / They think Berlin is Jerusalem. He was talking to the German people at that time who became extremely secularized. And then he adds, What happens then? Then a wind, a tornado comes, uproots them from their land and throws them into another land. And the cycle repeats itself. It's a prophetic statement, but the Meshech Chochmah wasn't using prophecy. He was using his Da'at Torah to look and see how the system works. And it goes back to the Brit Ben HaBetarim . Once we start getting too comfortable, again, the tornado comes. The Meshech Chochmah in that same piece beautifully explains how Yaakov Avinu was afraid of this. He was afraid that the Jew would once again fall into the trap of being too comfortable. That's why he made sure that they wouldn't change their names, their clothing, or their language- to ensure that they would stay separate. They didn't have the Torah yet, so this was his strategy to keep the Jewish people separate. Furthermore, Yaakov Avinu was afraid that if he were to be be buried in Egypt, they would forget about Eretz Yisrael entirely and consider Egypt their ancestral land. So he commanded his son, with great force, to bury him in the land of Canaan, so that they would know that the founders of the nation were in Eretz Yisrael , which created a natural bond with his children in the land of Eretz Yisrael . That brings us back to the beginning of the Pesukim , where it says that when Yaakov Avinu came down to Mitzrayim , it was Lagur sham . He did not come to be there for a long period of time. Throughout the generations, he explains, different decrees were made to protect us in Galut from forgetting that we are separate from our host nation. Whether it's the laws of Bishul Yisrael , Yayin shel goyim or others, throughout the generations, decrees were made to separate us and remind us of who we are. As we, chas veshalom , forget that, we go from stage to stage of that original promise of the Brit Ben HaBetarim . But as far as may go, we always have that promise from Hashem that He will protect us and we will remain and we will survive.

One of the things that the Baal HaHaggadah mentions that is relevant to our days, although it doesn't seem so, is the Brit Ben HaBetarim , the deal that Hashem made with Avraham Avinu, where He tells Avraham, " Your children will be sojourners in a land that's not theirs, they'll work them, they'll pain them over 400 years. I will judge that nation and they will walk out with a great wealth." Right after that, we say, Hi She'amdah Lavoteinu Velanu . That promise of the Brit Ben HaBetarim stood for our forefathers and for us . And we all know it as a song, Shelo Echad Bilvad, Amad Alenu Lechaloteinu / Not only one wanted to destroy us, rather, in every generation they try to destroy us, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu Matzilenu M'Yadam saves us from their hand All that protection is traced back to the promise that God gave Avraham. But God promised Avraham Avinu about the exile of Egypt. What does that have to do with the exile that we're in today? The rabbis explain that Avraham Avinu was told his children would be in exile for 400 years. And yes, God did calculate the end, as it says, HaKadosh Baruch Hu chishav et haketz /He worked it out to get us out early so that we wouldn't be assimilated and reach the 50th level of tumah . But we really should have been there 400 years. And although God was able to work out the legalities and get us out earlier, we really did not get the full cleansing and purification that needed to happen. That is why we went back into future exiles. The Midrashim find hints in the Brit Ben HaBetarim , Avraham is going through his vision,to the four exiles. Because it was hinted there that we're going to end up going through four exiles, and the promise that Avraham Avinu got was for all four exiles, and the protection was also for all four exiles. This is important because in order for something to be defined as a miracle it has to be predetermined, pre-announced. The Ramban explains that Moshe Rabbenu's birth, which occurred when Yocheved was 130 years old, is not called a miracle in the Torah, because it was not mentioned, whereas the birth of Yitzchak from Sarah Imenu is, because Sarah Imenu's miracle was announced beforehand by the angels. It can't be after the fact. And this Brit Ben HaBetarim , which refers to our exile as well, means that God will protect us through our exile as well, and it turns our survival into a miracle, every single day. Like Yaakov Shwekey's song, We are a miracle. Rav Yaakov Emden states in the Hakdamah to his Siddur , in the section that's called Sulam Bet El , he says, I swear that I see something that's greater than the miracles of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Greater than the miracles performed then is the fact the Jewish people have survived throughout the long and difficult Galut that we're in. That's a greater wonder. It's been more years, it's been more time. Similarly, the Chovot HaLevavot says, if you want to look for a miracle today, similar to that of Yetziat Mitzrayim , look at us; look at the survival of the Jewish people. We are a miracle .And this is not just true on the national level, but every individual has to feel that way. One of the lessons of Yetziat Mitzrayim is that from the open miracles, we see the hidden miracles. The beautiful words of Yaakov Shwekey's song, We Are a Miracle, lyrics by Sophia Franco, really make this point. A nation in the desert We started out as slaves Made it to the motherland, and then came the Crusades It's been so many years crying so many tears don't you know don't you really know? We are pushed to the ground through our faith we are found standing strong. The Spanish Inquisition wanted us to bow But our backs ain't gonna bend Never then, and never now It's been so many years crying so many tears don't you know don't you really know? We are pushed to the ground through our faith we are found standing strong. Extermination was the plan When the devil was a man Oh oh But the few who carried on Live for millions who are gone It's been so many years crying so many tears Don't you know, don't you really know? Generations have passed Only we're here to last…. Standing strong. Every day we fight a battle On the news we are the stars As history repeats itself And makes us who we are Hate is all around us But we'll be here to sing this song… CHORUS : We are a miracle We are a miracle Through it all, we remain… Who can explain? We are a miracle… And that is really the story and the message of Vehi She'amdah . It's also worthwhile to quote the from the famous essay by Mark Twain concerning the Jews: He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all the ages, and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonian, the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream stuff and passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out and they sit in twilight now or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his mortality? Obviously, we know the answer.

Welcome to our daily Bitachon series. We're talking about living Yetziat Mitzrayim every day of our lives. As we say in Haggadah shel Pesach , Kol Yemei chayecha / All the days of your life. There was a great Ba'al Musar named Rav Yechezkel Levenstein. He was the Mashgiach of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe, and later of the Mirrer Yeshiva in America, and finally of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael . He was one of the greatest Baalei Emunah of his generation, one of the greatest believers of his generation. And he based it all on constantly strengthening his belief in Yetziat Mitzrayim and living with it in a very, very real way every single day. So much so, that at his funeral, Rav Wolbe eulogized him saying, " We just lost the last person to leave Egypt." That sounds strange. We left Egypt in the year 2448. Rav Levenstein passed away in the year 5734. That's thousands of years. He wasn't a thousand years old! What Rav Wolbe meant to say is, in every generation you have to feel like you left. And Rav Levenstein was from the last of the people that really felt that way. He lived like he himself left. So at least during this time of the year, as we just marched out of Egypt and we're on our way to Har Sinai , we should still be in that state of mind. An example of this mindset is revealed in a story told about Chacham Avraham Ades, the grandfather of Chacham Yehuda Ades Shlita , Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Yaakov. He lived in Aleppo in the days when you didn't get a taxi ride, you got a donkey or camel ride through the desert. Rav Avraham was once waiting for a donkey to hire. He ended up hiring a Jewish donkey rider. But certain mafia- like Muslim donkey riders felt they owned that turf and were upset that a Jewish donkey rider was giving the rabbi a ride rather than one of them, not unlike today in different industries where people control the industry. One of these Muslim ruffians threatened the Rabbi, saying, " Wait until you get to the desert where no one's looking. Then you'll see what I'll do to you! " And what was Rabbi Ades's response Although this didn't necessarily happen during Pesach season, he replied, " God that took our forefathers through Egypt will protect me and watch over me. His outstretched hand is larger than your hand." He was full of courage and did not feel at all threatened. Sure enough, in the middle of the desert, when the Muslim driver bent down to pick something up, his donkey kicked him in the side and broke his ribs. He cried the rest of the way home, begging the rabbi for forgiveness. The lesson of the story is Rabbi Ades's immediate answer… God that took me out of Egypt. That was his feeling. Ke'ilu hu yatza / Like you got out. It's an event that happened to me . That's what's supposed to be on our minds. Who is Hashem? Hashem that took me out of Egypt. The biggest proof to this understanding is how Hashem introduced Himself to us the first time He spoke to us as a nation: " Anochi Hashem Elokecha Asher Hotzeticha Me'eretz Mitzrayim / I am Hashem your God that took you out of Egypt ." All the Rishonim ask, Why doesn't it say, "I am Hashem that created the world? Isn't that a seemingly greater feat?" We see from here that, no, creation is not enough to give us the Emunah and the understanding of Hashem. We have to have Yetziat Mitzrayim lenses on. We have to have the lens of getting out of Egypt. According to Rambam's list, Mitzvah number one, is to believe in the existence of God as is stated, Anochi Hashem Elokecha asher hotzeticha me'eretz Mitzraim / I am Hashem your God that took you out of Egypt . The more that I understand Hashem that took me out of Egypt, the more faith I have in Hashem, in His ability, in His power, in His control, in His supervision. That all came from Yetziat Mitzrayim . We have to live with that every single day of our lives. As the Rosh says in the Sefer Orchot Chaim , If you don't believe in, Asher Hotzeticha Me'eretz Mitzrayim, if you don't believe in the concept that God took us out of Egypt, with all those lessons, you don't believe in God. Because without that piece, it's not the God of the Jewish people. The Muslims believe in God, the Christians believe in God. But belief in the God of the Jews , is predicated on understanding Yetziat Mitzrayim . And as we've mentioned before, the Rabbis set it up in our daily prayers. Every Shahachrit prayer is full of Yetziat Mitzrayim . Keriat Yam Suf , Ga'al Yisrael . And as Rashi in Berachot quotes from the Yerushalmi , the way we prepare to pray every day is by bringing God down, by knocking on the door through talking about Yetziat Mitzrayim . I can't pray to God without wearing the lens of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Because Who am I asking? Who is this God? What can He do? How has He proven Himself? The credentials of God are Yetziat Mitzrayim . We read His diploma, so to say, every single day, before we ask Him. It's like when you walk into the doctor's office, and want to check out the diplomas on his wall before you ask him his opinion on a condition. That's what we do every single day. We read the diploma of Yetziat Mitzrayim, to have the proper lens and understanding of our Creator.

Welcome to Daily Bitachon. Pesach is over, and we'd all like to go back to our regular lives; start eating less and whatever else. We'd like to get back to normal . But back to normal doesn't mean forgetting the lessons that we learned over the holiday. It says in Devarim 16:1, where the Torah talks about Pesach, שָׁמוֹר֙ אֶת־חֹ֣דֶשׁ הָאָבִ֔יב וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ פֶּ֔סַח לַיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֞י בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽאָבִ֗יב הוֹצִ֨יאֲךָ֜ יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם לָֽיְלָה׃ In the spring month, slaughter Korban Pesach, don't eat any חמץ for seven days, because Hashem took you out of Mitzrayim, and you went in a rush. And what's the purpose of the this holiday? למען תזכור את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים, so that you should remember the day you got out of Mitzrayim, כל ימי חייך, all the days of your life . Rashi says, what does למען תזכור that you should remember mean? That through the Korban Pesach and Matzah, you will remember. How will you remember? כל ימי חייך . We know from the Haggadah that ימי חייך is the days and , כל ימי חייך is the day and the night. So we have to remember Yetziat Mitzrayim in the day and night. When? When we say Keriat Shema twice a day. So the Torah is clearly telling us that the goal of the seder , and the seven days of Pesach is so that we will remember getting out of Mitzrayim all the days of our life, every day. And we do it, twice a day in Keriat Shema. This is a very important fundamental that we're recharging on Pesach, but Pesach is not the only day. I want to share a beautiful Kaf HaChaim from Rabbi Palaggi, chapter 15, Halacha1, that was shared with me by Rabbi Nathan Kairey. Rabbi Chaim Palaggi is explaining a custom brought down by one of the Mekubalim , known as the Matzat Shemurim, Rabbi Natan Shapira, that before he prays, when a person walks back the three steps, he's supposed to make a little wave to the people that are behind him out of respect. Where exactly does that come from? What's the reason for that? I was always raised on the Ben Ish Chai that tells us that when we pray, we are replicating angels with our feet standing together like angels. And since the about angels, it says נותנים רשות זה לזה, they give each other permission, we mimic the angels and we give permission, so to say, by waving to our friends as if we're asking their consent. Rav Chaim Palaggi brings that as a second reason. But the first reason he gives is his own Chiddush: that in the Keriat Shema of both Shaharit and Arbit, we talk about Keriat Yam Suf the splitting of the sea, and the miracles of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Rashi in Berachot tells us we do this because what brings Hashem close to us, so that we can pray to Him, is the recognition of His miracles of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Rashi cites a beautiful Yerushalmi Mashal that explains why it says you have to be סומך גאולה לתפילה, you can't separate between the words Ga'al Yisrael and the start of the Amidah, and you have to go straight in. It's compared to a person that went to the king's palace and knocked on his door. It takes a minute for the king to get there. Imagine if, before the king gets there, the fellow walks away and he's not there to ask the king his question! He says, similarly, when we're praying, as we mention Yetziat Mitzrayim and the miracles that happened there, we're knocking on the King's door. The King is about to come down, so you can't walk away, you have to be go right into the Amida. We see from this that what brings Hashem down is the mentioning of these miracles. And what do we say, both at night and in the morning? We quote from Az Yashir, Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Va'ed- the ultimate message of Keriat Yam Suf- that Hashem is, was and will be King forever. And therefore, he says, since the rule is that Hashem is only king upon us only when we're united (like it says ויהי בישורון מלך, בהתאסף ראשי עם /When is God king of the Jewish people? When the Jewish people are united and together) . He says, and this is the big Chiddush-since חייב אדם לראות את עצמו בכל פרט ופרט כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים, קריעת ים סוף. Every one is obligated, (not just on the night of the Seder), every day to mimic the going out of Egypt and Keriat Yam Suf. And therefore, as we prepare to begin the Amida, we want to say that right now, together, we're accepting Hashem's kingdom, the yoke of His kingdom , B'Lev Echad/ with one heart, as we go to pray to Hashem. So we give that little wave to one another as a gesture, in order to unite, in one heart, in our accepting God as a King, and then we pray. Similarly, in Minha, he says, we also have the line at the end of Ashrei , where we say, ואנחנו נברך י-ה / We are going to bless God, we together. So in two out of the three prayers, we are reminding ourselves of Yetziat Mitzrayim, and we want to make it real- to the extent that we act out the togetherness that we had at Keriat Yam Suf , by gesturing to each other. This is just an example of how we have to keep Yetziat Mitzrayim alive every single day. Therefore, B'Ezrat Hashem, we are going to continue at least until Shavuot, discussing Yetziat Mitzrayim. There is proof for this practice: The Sefer HaChinuch asks why don't we count up, "Today is the first day of the Omer, the second day of the Omer?" Normally I'd count down. If my wedding is in two months, I'd say, " 59 days to go, 58 days to go. " I wouldn't say, " One day since my engagement party, " " Two days since my engagement party.. " The engagement party is not the main event. I want to get to that end goal of the wedding. So I count down 60, 59, 58. But with the Omer , it's not just about the end goal, it's about the beginning. I am coming from Yetziat Mitzrayim. " It's one day since Yetziat Mitzrayim, two days since Yetziat Mitzrayim…." I'm not counting down, I'm counting up. And therefore I have to build on what I have already. So we definitely have full permission, as long as we're in Sefirat HaOmer and we're really taking it seriously, to continue our feeling of Yetziat Mitzrayim. The goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim was to get to Matan Torah , but not with a split. It's united. So much so that the commentaries say that just like we have the first day of Succot and we have a few days in between till שמיני Shimon Aseret, likewise on Pesach we have the first day of Pesach (the seventh day of פסח is not its own holiday, we don't say a special Shehechianu), and we go until שבועות, which is also called עצרת and it here means the eighth week . So these days are like a Chol Hamoed between the first day of Pesach and Shavuot, but instead of having seven days, we have seven weeks. So we're going to take advantage of those Chol Hamoed weeks to continue discussing the fundamentals of our faith which come out of Yetziat Mitzrayim.

***CORRECTED TRANSCRIPT*** Welcome to a special edition of Perek Shira. In the introduction to Perek Shira , it says about David Hamelech, that when he finished sefer Tehilim , זחה דעתו עליו/ He became a little proud, and said, Hashem, is there any creature in the world that says more songs than I do? At that moment, a frog appeared, and told David, אל תזוח דעתך עליך , Don't be proud, I say more songs than you do. I'm involved in a great Mitzvah. On the edge of the river, there is a certain creature, and when he's hungry, he eats me, and that's the Mitzvah that I do. That's the basic message of Chazal. Very strange. What exactly is going on over here? The frog is greater than David Hamelech? What does that mean? The Zohar HaKadosh, in Pinchas 232B cites this story as well, but with a different response from the frog, which is, " David, don't be proud. I do more than you, because I was Moser Nefesh on the command of my Creator. When it came to the plague of frogs, I jumped into the ovens, and I was Moser Nefesh ." The frog actually does sing all day, it's croaks all day. It could be that in the merit of his Mesirut Nefesh, he's the ultimate singer. The Mabit , in his commentary, brings this down as well. The Zohar says at that moment, David Hamelech said this song in Tehilim 131,1 lה' לא גבה לבי, לא רמו עיני, My heart is not arrogant, my eyes are not lifted up . So let us understand, what is this great song of the frog? The sefer Imrei Emet on Parashat Vaera brings down from the Tanna D'veh Eliyahu , that the Hebrew word for frog צפרדע Sefardea , is a contraction of two words, ציפור, a bird , that has דעה , that has understanding . It's Bird because the frog is always flying around, but what is his דעת ? The Imrei Emet says that the ultimate level of Da'at , the highest level of intellect, is when a person is Moser Nefesh , when he jumps into the fire. Avraham Avinu was the one that recognized his Creator, and he was the first one to jump into the fire. What does that mean? The Meshech Chochma in Shemot 35,30 explains something fascinating. The chief architect of the Mishkan was Betzalel Ben Ouri, Ben Chur. And what happens to him? Hashem filled him with all knowledge in the world. Why was he zocheh to that? Says the Meshech Chochma, Mesirut Nefesh . When a person jumps into a fiery furnace, it is the ultimate shutting off of one's brain- not thinking, just trusting Hashem. Hashem says it's right, so I'm doing it. Chur was Moser Nefesh at the Chet HaEgel . He made a protest and they killed him. This is not something philosophical. Philosophically, would you say, For this one second, I'm giving up my whole life and all the things that I could do ? No . The Chasid Yaavetz says that in the times of the Spanish Inquisition, those that were tainted by philosophy did not withstand the test and became Moranos. The simpler people jumped in, because with too much philosophy, you're not going to do it. But, says the Meshech Chochma , that is the ultimate Da'at . The ultimate level of understanding is knowing, I don't understand, I'm going to dive in and do what God says . That's why Chur had a great-grandson, Betzalel , who was so full of wisdom. So, ציפור דעה, the message of the frog is, he jumps in and he is Moser Nefesh , and that's the greatest Shira . Furthermore, the sefer Shem M'Shimon quotes from a sefer Baalei Chayim by Rav Klonimus, that says that the frog did something earlier in history that caused it to merit to be the first creature in the plagues, after the blood. When Nimrod threw Avraham into the fiery furnace, the frogs jumped in and squirted water to try to cool down the fire to save Avraham. Additionally, when Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah questioned whether they should jump into the fiery furnace, they said, " If the frogs did it, surely we should do it." So the frogs are the messengers of Moser Nefesh . The chiddush here is that the song of creation is not necessarily the outward , loud song. Mesirut Nefesh, even in privacy, creates a great song. The Midrash tells us that there were two approaches (Bereshit 71,5) The approach of לאה was called פלח הודיה. She took the unit of praise, and out of her came Yehuda who praised, David Hamelech who praised, and Daniel…all of her children were praisers. Rachel, on the other hand, took the unit of being quiet. She didn't say when the signs were given over to Leah. Her child, Binyamin his stone is ישפה ,. יש פה He could have revealed the sale of Yosef, but he didn't. Esther, who comes from Shaul, and Shaul…They're quiet, undercover people. Whose Mesirut Nefesh is greater? Interestingly, when it comes to the splitting of the sea, Nachshon, who comes from Yehuda jumps in and splits the sea. But behind the scenes we know, that it says, the sea saw something and ran . What did it see? It saw the bones of Yosef. It says, the sea ran away because he ran away, and the sea split. So who split the sea? Nachshon, yes, on the outside. But behind the scenes, the quiet, self-control, Mesirut Nefesh of Yosef did it. As the Rambam in Yad Hazaka , in the laws of Yesodeh HaTorah , chapter 5, Halacha 10, says, that when a person does a sin in public, it's called Chillul Hashem B'Rabim. And he says, But קול הפורש מעבירה, someone that stays away from a sin, and does it, not out of fear, not for honor, but only because God said so, like Yosef HaSaddik, that controlled himself from the wife of his master, this is a kiddush Hashem. So there are two types of Kiddush Hashem. There's a Kiddush Hashem in public, and there's a Kiddush Hashem in private. The Mesirut Nefesh that doesn't make the big, loud noise, still does something. That's the message of the frog. Yes, there are great songs that we hear, but there are songs that we don't hear, of those people that just jump into the fiery furnace. There's a great story that is told over, of a man, Joe, who was a very successful Israeli, the son of Holocaust survivors. He rose from a childhood of poverty, in the mid-80s, and built up a huge, successful high-tech company. One day, his wife called, asking to pick up some meat on his way home from the office. He stopped at a trendy take-out place, to order what they called in, Israel Basar Lavan/white meat, which is code for חזיר, pork. As he stood in line, he began to feel uneasy. He began to remember a story he had heard from his parents. He always knew the story, but now it took on a heightened meaning. Joe's maternal grandfather was Rav Shraga Feivel of Hungary. Rav Shraga Feivel was captured by the Nazis, about a year before the war ended, and imprisoned as a slave in a slave labor camp. After a year, Rav Shraga Feivel was about to be freed. The war was over, and the Allied forces were going from camp to camp, liberating the prisoners. They could already see the smoke of the Allied forces marching their way. Freedom was mere hours away. At that moment, the head SS officer gathered the Jewish prisoners together and announced, The war has ended. In a few hours, you'll be free. All but you, he said, pointing to Rav Shraga Feivel. You must pass one more test. You must eat this piece of pig's meat. Only then will you be allowed to go free. Refuse it, and I'll shoot you in the head right here and now. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Rav Shraga Feivel had been meticulous all through his days at the camp, not to eat unkosher meat. He didn't even eat soup, which might contain meat. Rav Shraga Feivel proclaimed, I will not eat chazir-flesh /I will not eat pork. A shot rang out, and Rav Shraga Feivel soul was returned to its creator. And now, 40 years later, Rav Shraga Feivel's grandson stood thinking to himself, I'm waiting in line to pay money to eat that which my grandfather gave his life not to consume? All he had to do was eat that one small piece of pork, and he'd be set free! He'd be allowed to return to his family, yet he wouldn't do it. I have everything. I'm free to live with my family. I have anything I want, yet I'm about to purchase this meat?Either my grandfather was crazy, or I'm crazy. And I cannot believe that he was crazy, thought Joe, as he got off the line and went to buy dinner elsewhere. When he got home, he spoke to his wife about his feelings and the emptiness he had been experiencing. They both had to acknowledge that despite all their material prosperity, a certain spiritual emptiness gnawed at him. They were missing something, but never knew exactly what. They spoke for a long time about values and what is important in life. They decided to attend an Arachim seminar. Joe was enthralled by the seminar. It penetrated the murky mysteriousness of God, Torah, and Judaism. It rocked his world and shook his soul. Who was that Joe? That Joe was well known as Yossi Wallis. He eventually became the CEO of the Arachim organization and built it to a huge movement of Baaleh Teshuva. Tens of thousands of Jews have already come back. We ask ourselves, what did this man, Rav Shraga Feivel, accomplish by dying and not living the rest of his life for that moment of Kiddush Hashem, shutting off his brain? He got a grandson full of Da'at and Chochma . And that's the Song of the Frog. *If you're interested in learning more about Yossi Wallis, there's a book written about him written by Rav Nacan Seltzer called Incredible , a bestseller by Artscroll. Have a wonderful day.

Welcome to our daily Bitachon series. We are now on the last lesson of Chol Hamoed. The pasuk in Bereshit 15,14 tells us וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל / After that (referring to the 10 plagues ), we will leave with a great wealth which Rashi explains - בממון גדול with a lot of money, as it says in Shemot 12 וינצלו את מצרים/They emptied out Mitzrayim Of course, Rashi is giving the simple explanation. Rechush Gadol means a lot of money . But the Chida in his sefer Nachal Kedumim on Bereshit 15,14 quotes the Arizal that says it means they sifted out and took out the sparks of holiness that were in Mitzrayim. What does that mean exactly? So the Sefer Pri Etz Chaim Shaar Keriat Shema perek asks, why is it that every day, we have to remember Yetziat Mitzrayim more than any other of the Geulot . He says that whenever the Jewish people go to a certain place, their job is to take out the Kedusha from that place. I once heard from Rav Wolbe, that every nation has in it good qualities. When Adam HaRishon sinned, he caused the good and bad to be mixed. So there are good qualities in every nation. The Germans are very meticulous and exacting. That's nice when it comes to being perfect with Mitzvot and having the right shiurim and sizes, but it could go a little haywire when it comes to creating extermination camps and gas chambers and use it that way. The French are very romantic. That might be good for developing Ahavat Hashem but it could go in the wrong way if you misuse it, and so on. So there are sparks of holiness in every nation, and throughout our years of exile, our job is integrate the holiness of each of the nations into our ways and lift it up and take out that Kedushah. In general, it doesn't happen that we take everything out. Only when Mashiach comes will we be able to fully integrate all of those qualities into the Jewish people. But the spot of Kedusha of Mitzrayim , he says, was totally taken out. That's what it means Vayinatzlu Et Mitzrayim , the same pasuk that Rashi says they emptied out Egypt monetarily also means they spiritually emptied it out and took everything out with it. With the other Geulot , we did not have that full cleansing. And he says with that, we can understand a unbelievable concept. Why is it that it specifically says we're never allowed to go back to Egypt again? Why are we stricter about going back to Egypt than other any place? Because there's no need to go back to Egypt. We took everything out of it. So why go back? The sefer HaKatav V'HaKabbalah was written by Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi from Kallenberg, who lived from 1785 to 1865. One of the great rabbis of Germany, he was very famous for his sefer, and was one of the original fighters against the Reform. movement. He quotes his Yedidi, Marash Chen Tov in Bereshit 15,14 and concurs that when talking about leaving Egypt and taking everything out, it means taking out the spiritual wealth. He points out that when we use the word Rechush for general wealth, it says Rechush Rav, like in perek 13 of Bereshit , which means they had a lot of wealth. The term Rav usually indicates a quantitative concept and it's used for money, generally speaking. Here however, we see a strange terminology. It says Rechush Gadol , not a lot, but great . The word great is usually qualitative. Li Gadol Hashem, Ish Moshe Gadol… Adam Gadol doesn't mean he's large in weight , it means he's qualitatively great. So the great wealth , is not a lot of wealth, but qualitatively great, which is a spiritual wealth. So continuing with this theme of going from place to place and sucking out the Kedusha, the sefer Shem Gedolim also from the Chida, in the section on Sefarim in an appendix on the topic of Talmud , says, an unbelievable concept. He says in the city where there were many great Amoraim who set up the Talmud, there was a pillar of fire there twice a year. They were great Geonim. But in his times (the Chida lived about 300 years ago), the Torah had dwindled so much in that place that they didn't even know how to pray-not by heart and not from a siddur. Most of them only know how to say Ashrei Yoshveh Betecha and Shema Yisrael. They go to the Mikveh before they pray. They're quiet throughout the prayers. And when they get up to Ashrei, they all say Ashrei together. They say Keriat Shema until V'Ahavtah and that's it. He says, What's going on over here? He says, this is not a coincidence, because there was such a strong, powerful force of Torah in that place through the Limud HaTorah (which is one of the main ways we suck out Kedusha) that the Kedusha was taken out and therefore there's not that much left. Then he says, they went to Spain, and Torah moved to Spain, and then again the Torah was developing until they were sent out to a new spot. Because we didn't need it anymore. So as we leave a city, it rarely comes back to its greatness. The great Spanish golden era is no longer. Then they went to Turkey, then it went to France, Germany and it went to different places.. Every time we go from place to place, it's for one goal for us to be there and integrate into ourselves, into our ways, the qualities of that nation. Certain Jews might be very hospitable. They were more hospitable towns, and they took that Kedusha out. And he says דכל עניני ישראל הם בכלל ופרט וגם כשהאדם הולך מעיר לעיר הכל היא סיבה לברר ניצוצי הקדושה , . Every concept of the Jewish people, whether it's in general or specific, when a person goes from city to city, it's all because there's some holiness there. There's something you have to integrate into yourself. Jews are traveling all over the world and there's a reason for it. He says this is all from the wonders of the God Who's perfect in His ways. We don't know why we move from place to place but it's not a coincidence. Suddenly all the Sephardic Jews left the Muslim countries, the Ashkenazi Jews leave Europe. And we go basically to America and Eretz Yisrael. No Jew lived in America. It was new country and it introduced a new concept. There's a some Kedusha that's here and we have to take out. What is that Kedusha? I suggest ( it's my own humble opinion, I have no backing for this) that America is a melting pot. America is all about tolerance and being open-minded and so on. There are people from China with people from Argentina, Mexico and New Zealand all living together; possibly we have to integrate that (what I'll call) tolerance because when Mashiach comes, we're going to have all different kinds of Jews together. We never had Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Hasidim, all praying in the same shtiebl or Bet Knesset. We have get to know each other and reconcile with each other. That American trait might be what's necessary for us to integrate into our ways. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh, in Shemot 19,5 says the same concept. He says that if we would have been learning Torah more intensely in Eretz Yisrael, we'd have no need to search the globe to bring back the kedusha.Rather, it would be like a magnetic force that would suck everything out without even going there. Additionally, the Chida says in sefer Chomat Anach in Melachim 1, chapter 11, Pasuk 1, that that's why Shlomo Hamelech married all of those wives- they were princesses from countries all over the world, because he thought that way he would be able to avoid the Galut by taking out the Kedusha from each nation. The Bitachon lesson for us is that sometimes we get stuck in situations and we don't know why. Why did the plane divert to a certain place and land on a certain runway and sit there for an hour? Because there's some Kedusha on the runway in Virginia, and you had to say Birkat HaMazon there at that spot. Everything is planned. Everything has a reason. Everything is an opportunity for us to gain and grow from. The Ramchal in his commentary to Nevi'im on Micha on the pasuk אל תשמחי אויבתי לי כי נפלתי קמתי כי אשב בחושך ה ' אור לי / Enemy don't be happy that I fell, because I got up, I'm in the darkness. Hashem is my light, he says, we go down to Galut in order to take out the Kedusha . And he says, when the negative forces see that the Jewish people are going to Galut , they say, Wow, we're controlling the Jewish people. That's it. They think we're going to sink down further. But the evil forces don't know that we're coming down here for a Tikkun and that's why it says Don't be happy, my enemies, when I fell in Galut, I'll get up and come out stronger and get even more. . And that's an important rule. Sometimes we see people fall and drop, but they bounce back. Sheva yipol Sadik v'kam A Sadik falls seven times and gets up.

Welcome to our daily Bitachon class as we are continue with the Haggadah, even though we're past the Seder , with important lessons that are timely. In the piece Baruch Shomer Havtachato we quote the Brit Ben HaBetarim where Hashem tells Avraham, Your children are going to be sojourners in a land that's not theirs, work for 400 years and toil. A nd also the nation that's going to work them, Dan Anokhi, I'm going to judge them." Rabbenu Yonah quotes this pasuk with an important lesson in his commentary to Pirkei Avot , Perek 1 Mishna 15 where the Tanna tells us אמור מעט ועשה הרבה. / Say a little and do a lot Rabbenu Yonah explains, כשתבטיח את חבירך לעשות בעבורו דבר, אמור לו מעט ועשה הרבה, והוא מדרך המוסר והחסידות,. /When you guarantee your friend (we're getting in the wording of Baruch Shomer Havtachato ) to do something, say a little bit and do a lot. This is the way of Musar , it's the way of Hasidut . You don't say I'm going to give you a million dollars. Say, I'll help you out with your house, I'll give you a hundred thousand and then you give the guy the million. Where do we learn this from? ולמדנו אותו מאברהם אבינו ע"ה שאמר, "ואקחה פת לחם" (בראשית יח, ה-ח) ואחר כך, "ויקח חמאה וחלב ובן הבקר אשר עשה" We learn it form Avraham Avinu , who said, I'll get some bread, and he ended up getting butter milk, and the cow. This is a very high midah. It's learned from Hashem , as are all our great Middot . Havei Domeh Lo , We have to be like Him. Hashem has these Middot . Where do we see it? Say Chazal , in Avot d'Rabbi Natan , למדוהו מהבורא ית' שלא הבטיח אלא בשתי אותיות שנאמר (בראשית טו, יד), "דן אנכי", - וגאלם בעשרים ושבעה מלות, Hashem promised Avraham Avinu with two words, Dan Anokhi , but He he ended up redeeming them with 27 words… הנסה אלקים לבוא לקחת לו גוי מקרב …גו" או I n Devarim 4,34, He uses so many words to describe how He punished the goyim . Not just the two words, Dan Anokhi . It developed into so many more words. And Rav Saadia Gaon says something unbelievable: . אם כשהבטיח את אבותינו בשני אותיות נעשה להם כמה נסים ונפלאות, על הגאולה העתידה לבוא שנכתבו בה כמה דפין וכמה קונדריסין וכמה ספרים מהבטחות, וכמה נחמות בישעיה, ירמיה, יחזקאל, ותרי עשר, על אחת כמה וכמה כי נפלאים יהיו מעשיו ונפשינו יודעת מאד, Hashem promised our forefathers with two words (Dan Anochi), And yet how many wonders, how many miracles, which are 50, which are 250, broken down over here, from two words. So on the redemption that's going to come in the future, how many pages? How many notebooks? how many books? How many promises are there? How much consolation is there? In Yeshaya, Yirmiyah, Yehezkiel and Tre Asar? The Navi is full of promises and comforts. Imagine what that's going to be- exponentially. It's going to be wondrous. How wondrous His deeds are going to be, and we're going to know it good and well. What does that have to do with us, every day of our lives? ויש לאדם לחשוב בדבר ולתת אותו אל לבו כי שכר גדול יהיה לו מפני הבטחון/ Think about this. and to put it on your heart. You get great reward from the bitachon, great reward from relying on Hashem about these things. This is something extremely important. When you sit down and learn some Navi , and you read of the promises, say , I believe that. I know Hashem is Baruch Shomei Havtachato, He keeps it. History proves it. Look what two words did! Now imagine what we're getting in the future. That is an opportunity. Rav Yerucham Levovitz, in his sefer , Daat Chochma U'Musar , volume 3, page 2, says something unbelievable. He says there is a fundamental way that Hashem acts. First, He promises. Why does He promise? Why does He guarantee? The reason is that the one that was guaranteed this will have full faith, and feel guaranteed. And that's what brings about the fulfillment. Hashem promises, and then we earn the zechut, by relying on Him. That's what makes it come true. He says, that's the only way it happens. He says this is an important understanding of the ways of Hashem, and it's a tremendous foundation. You can't get there if you don't go through the emunah and bitachon . And in order to exercise emunah and bitachon , Hashem gives us a havtacha , He gives us a guarantee , And our job is to be batuach , to feel guaranteed in His promise. He says that's what happened with Avraham Avinu . In Bereshit 15:6 .it says וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהֹוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לּ֖וֹ צְדָקָֽה׃ / This emunah gave Avraham Sedaka , meaning it gave us righteousness . And if we'd be lacking in that, we wouldn't have the fulfillment of the promise. He says we see the same concept by Yetziyat Mitzrayim . In Shemot 6,7-9 , where it says, Vyedatem Ki Ani Hashem/ And you will know I am Hashem, the Seforno says, Your job is to think and delve that all of this is going to come true. Because if I am the All-powerful, supervising God, there's no question I'll do what I promised. I'm going to bring it upon you. And when you think about this, then you'll be fit that I bring it about. So why didn't it happen right away? Because They were enslaved in work and therefore not able to have bitachon, like Avraham Avinu who did have the bitachon . Rav Yerucham says something fascinating – It was not their fault. The Torah says clearly that it was not their fault. They couldn't have bitachon because they were so oppressed. But he says, that's the system. That's the way it works. You need to have bitachon . And if you don't have bitachon , we can't bring it about. That's Darkei Hashem Yitbarach / the way of Hashem. You can't get anything unless you first rely on Hashem. That's the way Hashem works. And if you're missing a little bitachon , it's not going to come through. Rav Yerucham continues and says, every step of Yetziat Mitzrayim worked like this. He quotes another Seforno , on the pasuk in Shemot 12,11 where it talks about how to eat the korban Pesach - With girded loins, your shoes on your feet, your stick in your hand. Why? Says the Seforno, To show their reliance, without a doubt, to Hashem. They were ready to get on the road, ready to leave the jail while in the jail! Hashem set it up. Like the Gemara in Eruvim , 22A says, Hayom la'Asotam , Today we do, Machar lekabel sachar, Tomorrow we get paid off . Why did Hashem set it up that way? Because that's our Avodah , to work hard here, not to see anything and believe it's going to happen in the future. He goes on and says, when they went out into the desert, the pasuk in Shemot 12,39 says, Sedah lo Asu lahem / They did not prepare provisions for themselves. Rashi says, This tells the praise of Jewish people. They didn't say 'How can we go out to a desert without any food?' They relied on Hashem , they went out, and that's why Hashem says, I remember the kindness of youth, when you followed Me into the deser t. He says, this level of emunah only happens if a person has bitachon , bli safek klal , with no doubt at all . He has it in actuality . It's not in theory, he has it in his pocket. That's how we went out. How do you take your family out to the desert? Because I see the food in front of me.

Welcome to Daily Bitachon We are reviewing the Haggadah shel Pesach with timely lessons We're in the Baruch Shomer Havtachato L'Yisrael And the question is, What is the greatness of Hashem that He keeps His promise? The commentaries explain that the word Shomer has more than one meaning( they are actually related). The common meaning of Shomer is a watchman or, to guard something But Shomer also means to wait. We see this when the Torah, in Bereshit 37,11 describes that the brothers were jealous of Yosef. And it says, וְאָבִ֖יו שָׁמַ֥ר אֶת־הַדָּבָֽר What does that mean? Rashi says Shamar et ha-davar means hayah mamtin/he's waiting, umtzapeh/ looking forward, matay yavo/when is it going to happen? Rashi then brings other cases where the word Shomer in Tanach means to wait. The Sefer Ikarim , in the 4th essay chapter 47, explains that the root of the word שמר Shomer / watchman or guard , really comes from waiting , because a watchman is waiting for his watch to be over. It's probably the most boring job in the world So he's called a Shomer because he's waiting נַפְשִׁ֥י לַאדֹנָ֑י מִשֹּׁמְרִ֥ים לַ֝בֹּ֗קֶר שֹׁמְרִ֥ים לַבֹּֽקֶר׃ David HaMelech in Tehillim 130,6 Nafshi l'Hashem , My soul is to God, Mi shomrim la-boker , from those watchmen that are waiting for the morning, shomrim la-boker, they can't wait for the morning to come In Shemot , Perek 12 , Pasuk 42 , it says that the night of the Seder is called Lel Shimurim , which most people understand means the night that we are guarded, but that's not what Rashi says. He says it's called the night of waiting because Hashem was waiting, looking forward, L'kayim Havtachatoh , to fulfill His guarantee and promise. So now we have a new understanding, Baruch Shomer Havatachatoh Yisrael , means Blessed is the One, Hashem, that was looking forward to keep His promise - not that he kept His promise- He was looking forward to it This commentary is brought down by Rabbi Yitzchak Meltzen in his Haggadah shel Pesach , Siach Yitzchak , and many others bring it down as well. Additionally, the Seforno, on the pasuk of Lel Shimurim L'Hashem says Hashem was looking forward to save them. And he asks, Why didn't He just save them earlier? Why is He waiting? The answer is, They weren't yet ready or fit for the Ge'ulah . Hashem was waiting for the right time, Ki Chafetz Chesed Hu He wants to do it, and that's what it means, HaKadosh Baruch Hu Chishev Et Haketz He figured out a way to make it happen, at the right time. These explanations are all related, because Hashem wanted the Jewish people to survive, and He knew if He waited any longer, we'd disintegrate. He had to work out a way to get us out at that time This is all part of Hashem's waiting and looking forward, but He couldn't wait anymore, He had to let us out early. And this explanation is relevant to us as well, every day of the year. We're responsible every single day of the year to look forward to Mashiach That is one of the 13 principles of faith. We must not just know he's coming, we have to be Mechakeh , we have to look forward , we have to wait for him to come. We wait, and Hashem waits at the same time. The Shibbole HaLeket says an unbelievable line- that Hashem is always working this out, and saying matai yavo haketz, when is the time, when is the end going to come for this Galut? When is the Geulah going to come? This was not just a one-time thing at Yetziat Mitzrayim. Hashem is always waiting, and not just for Klal Yisrael at large, but He's also waiting for every individual to come back home already. Rav Chaim Palagi, in his sefer Moed L'Kol Chai , siman 15, quotes the Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu perek 31- where Eliyahu HaNavi says, God is waiting for them to come, more than a father waiting for a son, or a woman waiting for a husband, that we should do Teshuvah, so that He can redeem us and build the Bet HaMikdash. Rav Chaim Palagi writes, I honestly say that whenever I read this Tanna Devi Eliyahu, I cry. How could it be that the Melech HaKavod, the Honorable King, G-d and King of the world, is waiting for us to do Teshuvah? Why? To do unbelievable goodness for us, and we are not paying attention! He says, Imagine, someone has a dear child, and it's 11 o'clock at night, he's not back, (I'll add that he's calling his cell phone, and he's answering). He's an hour late. The father starts peeking through the windows, worrying, Where's my son? When's he coming home? Or it's like a lady that's waiting for her husband to come back from an overseas trip, and now his flight is delayed. How much pain does it cause? That's the pain of Hashem . Look how much pain He's taking. Come on, He says. He ends with a prayer Hashem Elohim , Hashem our G-d, Ten b'lev Amecha Yisrael, Put into the heart of the Jewish people, do Teshuvah. L'olano Hashem, not for us, ki l'shimcha ten kavod but to give You honor. That's Baruch Shomei Havtachato Yisrael , He's still waiting, to this day, He wants us to get out of this. This goes all the way back to Yetziat Mitzrayim , but as we see, we still didn't get out of it. We're still in the same Galut , and Hashem is waiting for it to come to an end. The pasuk says, לֵ֣יל שִׁמֻּרִ֥ים הוּא֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה לְהוֹצִיאָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם הֽוּא־הַלַּ֤יְלָה הַזֶּה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה שִׁמֻּרִ֛ים לְכׇל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃ {פ} It's a day that Hashem is waiting for, It's Shimurim L'chol B'nei Yisrael . Rashi says it's a term of protection here in the end of the Pasuk . But the Balai Tosafot s ays Shimurim L'chol B'nei Yisrael , Gam Yisrael Mitzra'im L'zeh Laylah , we're also looking forward to this night. And the night of Ge'ulah , not just then, but even now. We should be looking forward on this night. That's why on this night, we say This year we are here in Chutz L'aretz, next year we'll be in Eretz Yisrael. This year we're slaves, next year we in freedom. That's the term, Tzipita L'Yishua , we're looking forward. Every single day, we say in Et Tzmach David , that we're looking forward, we're waiting for that great day to come. And that's one of the questions they ask after 120 years, Tzipita L'Yishua , Did you look forward to 's Hashem's salvation? Hashem is waiting and we are waiting. Bezrat Hashem it will be fulfilled soon.