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שבת שלום - פרשת שמות
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Video Shiur
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Click play to watch the video shiur by Rav Yosef Kaminetsky
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News and Notes
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Everyone at Yesodei HaTorah is happy to welcome back Rav Yaakov Arram, who returned to the yeshiva after two weeks of recruiting in Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, and Memphis.
This past Sunday, the yeshiva was pleased to welcome David Olesker of the Jerusalem Centre for Communications and Advocacy Training. Mr. Olesker, an annual visitor to Yesodei HaTorah, gave a fascinating and entertaining presentation designed to help our students become effective advocates for Israel on their future college campuses.
The whole yeshiva wishes Mazal Tov to Sara Baruch, our cook, on the occasion of the wedding of her daughter.
This Shabbat is an in-Shabbat, and will feature Rav Eliezer Kwass as the scholar in residence. Apart from our regular schedule of davening, shiurim, and meals, Joe Hyams, the founder of Honest Reporting, will be hosting an oneg Shabbat in his home in Beit Shemesh.
On Sunday through Tuesday, the entire yeshiva will be heading south for our annual Negev tiyul. We will be visiting Machtesh Rimon, Eilat and Har Shlomo, and activities will include rappelling, kayaking and paint-ball.
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Memory and the Redemption
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
When G-d sent Moshe to redeem Bnei Yisrael from Egypt, Moshe worried that the people would not believe him and that he was not worthy of the task. G-d put Moshe's fears to rest by giving him signs to perform and by telling him exactly what to tell the people. There is one phrase in particular that is singled out for special mention by our sages.
"Go and gather the elders of Yisrael and say to them, Hashem, the G-d or your fathers appeared to me; the G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov saying, 'I have surely remembered you - Pakod Pakadeti Etchem - and that which has been done to you in Egypt.'" (Shemot 3:16)
Rashi comments:
"Since you will speak these exact words to them, they will listen to you, for this sign is already passed down to them by Yaakov and Yosef that with these words they will be redeemed. As Yosef said 'G-d will surely remember you...' [pakod yifkod Elokim etchem]"
The words "I have surely remembered - pakod pakadeti" were the cue to Israel that Moshe was the true redeemer of Israel.
"Moshe and Aharon came to the elders of Israel and they performed the signs for them. They [the elders] went to their elder, Serach the daughter of Asher, and said to her: 'A man has come and performed such and such signs before our eyes.' She said to them: 'These signs don't mean a thing.' They said to her: 'Behold, he said "I have surely remembered you [pakod pakadeti etchem]"'. She said to them: 'He is the man who is destined to redeem Israel from Egypt.'" (Pirkei deRabi Eliezer ch.48)
Serach - well over the age of 200 - knew the significance of these words because she was the last living person who was alive when these words were spoken by Yosef shortly before his death.
"Yosef said to his brothers, 'I will die and G-d will surely remember you [pakod yifkod etchem] and bring you up out of this land, to the land which He swore to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov.' Yosef made the sons of Israel swear saying, 'G-d will surely remember you [pakod yifkod etchem] and you shall bring my bones up from here.' Yosef died [being] one hundred ten years old. They embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt." (Ber. 50:24-26)
An obvious problem arises. Inasmuch as G-d cannot forget anything, what is the meaning of G-d remembering?
Hebrew contains no word for History. When the Torah wants us to be aware of the past we are told to "remember". The difference between history and memory is - at first glance - simple. Memory is my experience. It is what I remember. I cannot remember an event unless I was there. However, the Torah commands us to remember events that we did not experience.
By commanding us to remember ancient events, the Torah teaches us the true meaning of memory. Memories are events that shape identity. History is an event that happened to other people. In other words, it has nothing to do with my life. Memory is personal. It is part of who I am. Serach represents this idea on the human level. The words spoken by Yosef, the existence of Yaakov Avinu, the Land of Israel, all are part of her memories. They are not history. They are identity. Serach is the key to the redemption as a symbol that, for the redemption to come, Jewish history must reach every Jew at the level of identity.
To say that Hashem "remembers" is to say that the information in question is essential to His "identity", so to speak - to his Presence in the world.
Now we can return to our original verse with a new understanding. There is a powerful message in the words "'I have surely remembered you - Pakod Pakadeti Etchem." The redemption of the Jewish People from Egypt is essential and inextricably linked to the very essence of G-d's presence in this world - to His identity.
We "remember" G-d and G-d "remembers" us. Our identity and His Presence in the world are inter-dependent. This is the secret of Jewish eternity.
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