Hebron Fund Podcast

Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron talk about the Torah portion of Mishpatim and what it has to say about signing treaties with one's enemies.

Shalom my friends this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing in the room of Yaakov Avinu and Leah. This Shabbat in parsha Yitro the Jewish nation is ready to receive the greatest gift in the world, the receiving of the Torah when God comes down on to Mount Sinai and gives us the infinite gift, the infinite lifeline, our connection to Hashem through the Torah and mitzvot. But before that, we have the story of Yitro.

The question always is, what did Yitro hear all of the sudden that he decided to join the Jewish nation? We know in life a lot of times we read the news, we hear about traumatic events. We hear about great events of joy, and somehow or other there are those who change and there are those who just stay the same.

When Yitro heard about the Jewish nation crossing the sea, when Yitro heard about the Jewish nation defeating Amalek, all of the sudden that gave him the strength to be able to transform himself to change from that pagan, to become monotheistic, and to join the Jewish nation, to join Moshe Rabeinu and the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.

After October 7th, everyone heard what happened. Everyone heard about the atrocities of Hamas. Everyone sees what's going on, the mind games, the psychological warfare Hamas is putting the Jewish people through. There are those who are changing their conceptions, changing their political views. Understanding what the enemy really is.

We should be privileged to open our eyes, to learn from Yitro to transform ourselves, to be like that Red Sea to change from water, to dry land, dry land to water, to be able to hear about the victory over Amalek and to know what it means to defeat our enemy until the end and not stop until all the enemies are destroyed.

And Be’ezrat Hashem, this is our preparation to come to Mount Sinai and hear God’s voice. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Har Sinai. We should be able to hear and see that great revelation.

Amen v’Amen, Shabbat Shalom.

Shalom my friends this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing outside the Maarat HaMachpela. Thursday morning is Rosh Hodesh, the new moon. The new month of Shvat is coming in. You know, this Shabbat before we leave Egypt, God gives us a prerequisite. Before you can become a free people, before you can change from a slave mentality to becoming a people of freedom and walk through Mount Sinai, you need this mitzvah of Rosh Hodesh.

There are many, many teachings of why the Jewish nation is compared specifically to the moon. But we know the moon only appears after there is complete darkness, complete state of abstractness, complete state where everything seems to be dim, the end of the month when we can't see any light. From the creation the world there was always this pattern of evening and then day. It was always Tohu Va'vohu complete desolation. And then God said, “let there be light.”

And so too during these very, very unique days, you have to remember when things seem to be lost, and we’re so, so distraught and there's so many emotions running throughout the Jewish nation, sometimes the light davka appears after the great, great darkness. One thing we learn from the moon is that no matter what state we’re in, whether we're waning, whether we're waxing, the moon is always filled with Simcha, it’s always filled with joy.

And every time no matter what state I'm in, I find a way to serve God with great, great joy. We should be able to celebrate that first ray of light. The first hostages is getting freed. We should be able to see the new moon, that new light that's coming down. And not to only celebrate when everything is complete, the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th of the month, but every time you see another ray of light to have hope. We make a bracha, we say Hallel. We dance by the moon.

And God willing, Hashem should bring back that glory of the Jewish people when the moon is in its full state, the Jewish nation is strong once again proud in our land, not letting terrorists dictate their terms but us being able to be a proud, strong nation of outside influences, of being able to be the sun and the moon dancing together its full glory.

Shabbat Shalom.

Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing outside the Maarat haMachpela.

Sometimes in life we can express ourselves in words. We can express our emotions, our feelings about what we're going through.

Sometimes in life, experiences are so painful, experiences are so exalted that it goes beyond words.

And there the Torah describes וגם אני שמעתי את נאקת בני ישראל

I heard their cries, their krechtz, the pain of the Jewish people. And there Hashem said, once I heard that, I realized, I have to remember the covenant I made with the forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.

Therefore Hashem gives us four expressions of geula, of redemption.

והוצאתי I'll take you out.
וגאלת I’ll redeem you
ולקחתי I’ll betroth you
והבאתי אתכם אל הארץ I’ll bring you to the Holy Land.

And God willing, this week, with so many emotions, there's a lot of talk shows. There are people expressing views. Really all of Israel had that beyond word experience.

There’s something going on, the joy, the euphoria of Am Yisrael getting reunited, families once again having seen their beloved for over 470 days, able to reunite parents and children.

On the other hand, there is the pain of the conditions of that deal and all the fear and the trepidation, how much future blood may be spilled as a result of such a such a deal.

We have to know, when Hashem sees that the Jewish people hear each other's cries, that Hashem hears our cry and He remembers the covenant that He made with the patriarchs and matriarchs.

We should be privileged to drink the four cups of redemption, and the ultimate fifth cup will bring us to the Holy Land and give it to us as a great ancestral inheritance.

We'll be able to see complete geula, body and soul, physically, emotionally. פקוד פקדתי God should be able to take us out from all our emotional scars from this whole trauma since October 7th and be able to heal in a great, great way.

Shabbat shalom.

Shalom my friends this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing by Yaakov Avinu, and this Shabbat, Parshat Vayechi Yaakov Avinu’s last words before he dies is all about Hebron, Maarat HaMachpela, ensuring that his children carry him up and bring him to his final resting place not in Egypt but rather here in Eretz Yisrael. Yaakov understands he has to go back to his ancestral homeland has to go back together and reunite with his father and mother Yitzchak and Rivka together with his grandparents Avraham and Sarah. But Yaakov has another last word this Shabbat. And those words are when he blesses his children. The last shevet to be blessed is the shevet of Dan. And Yaakov Avinu says the wordsלִֽישׁוּעָֽתְךָ֖ קִוִּ֥יתִי יְהֹוָֽה - For your salvation I long and I yearn, Hashem. And Yaakov is teaching us the secrets, is telling us that there’s different ways to bring the geula. There's different ways to bring that great day. One is the set time, a fixed time called beita,, that God designated and designed already from the creation of the world. And that's the last possible time moshiach could come. There’s another way to bring redemption and that's achishena. We could hasten it through good deeds, Torah, mitzvot, kindness. But then there's a third way, and that is called I called hakol b’kivui, all in the merit of longing, of yearning, of desiring and imagining that great, great day. When we long for the great day, we make that a reality. And we can do our longing and yearning, hastening that great day and make that our current reality. לִֽישׁוּעָֽתְךָ֖ קִוִּ֥יתִי יְהֹוָֽה is said to the shevet of Dan which the great leader Shimshon came out from who fought the Philistines in Aza. We should be able to bring just like Shimshon brought so much victory and honor to the Jewish people in Aza. We should be able to see Shimshon’s last prayer zochreini na ve'chazkeini na - God should remember us and strengthen us and bring freedom to all the captives, bring victory to the IDF. We should be privileged this Shabbat לִֽישׁוּעָֽתְךָ֖ קִוִּ֥יתִי יְהֹוָֽה - to long, to yearn, to see the ultimate victory for Am Yisroel and in that merit to hasten the great day. Shabbat shalom. Amen.

Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron. We’re coming to the very end of Chanukah and this Shabbat is the unbelievable unity between Yosef and his brothers. The final revelation of when Yosef reveals himself to his brothers. The drama and the saga of these last few weeks finally comes to an end.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach would teach that the downfall of everything began with the way the brothers looked at Yosef. The brothers when they saw Yosef coming from Hebron to Shchem the passuk describes וַיִּרְא֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ מֵֽרָחֹ֑ק they saw from a distance. They saw him from afar. They didn't see him as a karov, as a relative, as a brother. They saw him as some foreign person that has ideas that are different than his and has dreams and visions that are not the same visions that they have. And therefore they saw Yosef with those eyes.

Chanukah is the fixing of the eyes. And over Chanukah we learn how to look at each other. We learn to see each other with eyes of Chanukah.

This Shabbat we're going to read about וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה when Yehuda once again draws close to Yosef. and he sees him to longer as a threat but he realizes he’s a brother. And we read וַיַּ֥רְא יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶת־אֶחָ֖יו When Yosef first met his brothers when they came down to Egypt for food Yosef recognized the brothers. וְהֵ֖ם לֹ֥א הִכִּרֻֽהוּ they didn’t recognize him.

It's not only about physically recognizing, but they didn't recognize his attributes, they didn’t recognize his specialness. They didn't see his qualities. They didn't see how, through Yosef so much greatness will come out and so much light for the Jewish people.

There are two different attributes. There's the attribute of Yosef and the attribute of Yehuda. Moshiach Ben Yosef is bringing redemption in the physical body of the land of Israel building the land, fighting for the land. And Yehuda is that spiritual revelation that spiritual redemption of the great, great soul of Torah and tefillah. Only when Yosef will see the attributes of Yehuda, and Yehuda will see the attributes of Yosef then we’ll have the ultimate geula and the unity of the two meshichim.

Let the lights of Chanukah shine and be that great, great oneness to Yosef and his brothers. Amen. Shabbat shalom.

Shalom my friends, Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing outside the Maarat HaMachpela.

Tonight Chanukah comes in, “she’asa nissim laavoteinu bayamim haheim lazman hazeh.”

We thank Hashem who made great miracles for us back then and enabled the Maccabim to take on the great Greek army and all the legions and advanced technology of the Greeks.

We thank Hashem who made the miracles back them until today.

Today we’re living here in Hebron with modern-day Maccabim surrounded by all types of enemies are trying to darken us. But Israel as a whole is fighting that war of Chanukah.

All the miracles, all the holidays that we have are all miracles from above. Hashem made supernatural miracles. He took us out from Egypt with the Ten Plagues and the Splitting of the Sea.

He gave us the Torah and we were passive recipients. He surrounded us with the clouds of glory on the holiday of Succot.

But Chanukah is a miracle of Am Yisrael. The Jewish nation has an awakening of passion, of longing and yearning to fight for their freedom to fight for the Holy Temple. To fight against the darkness of the Greeks and to light that menorah when we had enough for one night.

We have to get that spirit of the Maccabim that awakening that we’ve had since the war. And our chalayim who are fighting today with so much strength, with so much courage against so many odds, against so many condemnations.

God willing, the One who brought us to victory back then will bring us to great victory today and we should be able to see the light prevail over the darkness. be able to see our light being Mosif V'holech in our personal life also every night another candle, another candle, we should just get stronger and stronger. We should be able to prevail and be victorious over all our enemies.

Shabbat shalom. Chanukah sameach.

Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing outside the Maarat HaMachpela. We are living in a world where friendships are so fragile. We are living in a world where sometimes it's so hard for me to express my faults and my shortcomings to anyone, to let people know my struggles and my inner battles.

But at the same time, it's sometimes even harder to tell people about all my successes, about all my accomplishments about all that I succeeded to bring down to the world.

A lot of times we hide our light. We don't want to share with people what's really going on, and sometimes the fact that our children are doing well, and how we’re succeeding in business, or in learning or in spirituality.

Yosef thought this Shabbat he could share with his brothers all his dreams about him becoming the Second in Command, about everybody bowing down to him and all the brothers becoming subservient to Yosef. And he would be the leader, he would be the provider, the sustainer of that entire generation during the times of famine.

The brothers instead of celebrating Yosef’s success, they threw him into a pit with snakes and scorpions. He was sold to the Egyptians, going into prison for 12 years.

The fixing of Yosef and his brothers is Chanukah candles. There’s a special halacha by Chanukah that doesn't exist by any other mitzvot. When I see my friend putting on tefillin, doing something good, I don't make a blessing over the fact that he's doing the mitzvah. On Chanukah there’s a special halacha called Birchat HaRoeh. I see my friend lighting Chanukah candles, I see his light in the window, even if I already blessed, even if I didn't bless yet, I celebrate my friend’s light, according to the Rambam, I make that blessing Birchat HaRoeh.

Thank you Hashem for making miracles for our forefathers back then and today.

I see my friend’s light and I'm so happy for him see my friend’s children that they're successful in learning, that they're continuing the path of the forefathers. Instead of being jealous I'm actually happy for them.

We should be privileged this Shabbat to fix the sin of Yosef and his brothers, to celebrate each other's successes, to be able to make brachot on each other's light.

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum talks about the Torah portion of Vayishlach and how Jacob expresses gratitude for what he has and thanks to God as opposed to Esau.

Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron. This Shabbat we read about Yaakov Avinu’s adventures in finding a wife, when Yaakov struggles with living with his father-in-law Lavan. But also it’s all about Yaakov’s business ethics. Yaakov Avinu and this book of Beresheet is called by many Sefer Yesharim, the Book of the Righteous. The Rambam refers to Yaakov as Yaakov HaTzadik. We know we refer to Yaakov in Birkat HaMazon, Kidosheinu kidosh Yaakov, the Holiness of our patriarch Jacob. What made Yaakov so unique and so holy? It was Yaakov’s business ethics, his hard work, his labor, his toiling, working for his father-in-law seven years to get Rachel. Even after being ripped off, Yaakov didn't allow himself to fall into the trap of stealing from a thief, but rather he worked with the same fervor, with the same energy for Rachel the second set of seven years. When Yaakov says I’ve toiled and I’ve labored, and ate from the fruit of my labors, it was in that merit that he prayed to Hashem that God saved from any attack from Lavan both monetarily or physically. Today, unfortunately sometimes hard work is a dirty word. We want everything to come easy and everything to just fall into our hands. But Yaakov Avinu teaches us how to have clean hands how to be yashar, straight in business ethics, how to work and toil and labor to receive the gifts of life. God willing we should see the fruits of our hands in Eretz Yisrael, all the hard work, all the mesirat nefesh, both on the battlefield and in settling here in Hebron. We should be able to taste those great fruits. Shabbat shalom.