MAOR

14/02/2025

WHERE ARE ALL THE YISROS?

Antisemitism has exploded across Australia. It started just after October 7 with calls of “gas the Jews” or “where are the Jews” (as if there is a difference!). This was followed by a string of graffiti and vandalism attacks. And every Sunday the city streets have been taken over by protesters, spewing anti-Israel and antisemitic vitriol and making the city a no-go for Jews.

Without firm condemnations and serious steps to stamp out the hate, antisemitism was allowed to fester. The attacks increased I frequency and severity, culminating in the firebombing of the Adass Shule and this week’s unashamed declaration by 2 nurses that they would kill Israeli patients and intimation that they had actually already done so.

Now the politicians, police, professional bodies and media have woken up and seem to be taking a strong stance. But where were they all along when their voices and actions could have made a difference and stopped us from reaching this point?

The Talmud teaches that when Pharaoh enacted his genocidal plans against the Jewish people, three of his advisors were present; Bilaam, Iyov and Yisro.

Bilaam, supported and encouraged Pharaoh’s antisemitic ambitions, advising him to drown the baby Jewish boys in the river. Bilaam was punished years later by being slain in battle at the hand of Bnei Yisrael, the very people he wanted to kill.

Driven by an inner voice of morality, Yisro protested against Pharaoh’s heinous plan. He did so at great personal risk. Pharaoh stripped Yisro of his position and honours and he was banished to the desert.

Iyov saw what had happened to his colleagues and decided to keep quiet and play the diplomat. By staying silent, he could argue that he did not support the decree. At the same time he could protect his own skin by saying that he did not criticise or try to stop Pharoah’s plan. He would be able to avoid facing the backlash that Yisro had received and at the same time still see himself as a good guy.

But you cannot fool Hashem. Iyov could have spoken up and perhaps his voice could have made a difference. Even if not, how could he be silent and allow such suffering to come to Bnei Yisrael without trying to do something about it? For his part, Iyov was punished with the most horrific suffering imaginable.

When facing his own suffering, Iyov did not keep quiet. He cried out bitterly in anguish and distress. When it was others who would suffer, he was silent. Iyov was punished for his hypocrisy as much as his silence.

Hashem rewarded Yisro by naming this Parsha after him and he merited descendants who would sit on the Sanhedrin. Yisro was a man who stood up for truth, justice and righteousness. This week’s Parsha details his recommendation to establish a hierarchy of judges and the qualities of justice that they should embody.

In relation to antisemitism on our shores, we have seen all three approaches being followed.

The Bilaam’s have sided with the genocidal terrorists, either engaging in antisemitic acts themselves or celebrating, encouraging and justifying antisemitism and attacks on an innocent population.

We have also had our Yisro’s, the upstanding politicians, citizens and media personalities who have consistently and unequivocally condemned antisemitism. They have not bowed to social pressures or concerns of political fallout. They have stood for justice and right no matter the cost.

But unfortunately there are too many Iyov’s; Leaders and politicians who are too weak to call out and address antisemitism because of their personal electorate concerns, and bystanders who find it easier to pretend it is not happening in our country or that it is not a problem. Their silence allows it to continue and shows tacit consent and support.

Silence and fence-sitting is not an option. Let’s learn from Yisro’s courage to take a clear stand on the side of right, no matter the cost. Hashem sees, and He will certainly not let righteousness go unrewarded.

06/02/2025

THE PATH OF EMUNAH

Last Thursday, we joyously celebrated the return of more Israeli hostages. In a photo taken on board a helicopter to hospital, Agam Berger, one of the freed captives, held up a sign, which has now been publicised across the world. Quoting words of Tehillim, it read “I chose the path of Emunah and in the way of Emunah I returned.”

It was her Emunah in Hashem and belief that she would emerge, that carried her through the most unimaginable darkness, and ultimately saw her come safely home back to her family.

The theme of Emunah is central in our Parsha.

The Midrash on Parshas Beshalach, teaches עתידין ישראל לומר שירה לעתיד לבא, “In the future, the Jewish people will sing a song in the future to come”. This is a reference to the song that we will sing at the time of the future redemption with Moshiach.

This Midrash seems unnecessarily repetitive, repeating “in the future”. It could have taught “in the future, the Jewish people will sing a song” or “the Jewish people will sing a song in the future to come.”

Geulah is bound up with Emunah. The Midrash teaches that the Jewish people went out of Egypt in the merit of their Emunah. The splitting of the sea and their ability to sing Shirah to Hashem, also took place in the merit of their Emunah. And the final redemption too will come in the merit of our Emunah in the Geulah. Emunah is expressed in song - Shirah.

There are different degrees of Emunah. One level of Emunah is one that comes only after one has already experienced Hashem’s salvation. After we see Hashem’ miracles materialise and unfold, after seeing the “happy ending”, our faith is strengthened and we can praise and thank Hashem.

But there is a deeper, more powerful level of Emunah. This is where even while we are in the midst of darkness and facing threats, our trust in Hashem is so strong that we believe with certainty that He will perform miracles for us and we don’t need to first wait for them to be fulfilled. With this Emunah, we sing with faith in Hashem, already before the salvation has taken place.

The Emunah required to bring the final redemption, is this higher level of Emunah.

With this distinction, the Shel”ah explains a fascinating Gemara. In the times of the righteous king Chizkiyahu, Sancheirev the king of Assyria led a massive army against Jerusalem. On the first night of Pesach, a great miracle took place. An angel of Hashem slew the generals of the army and the rest of the army fled in disarray.

At that time, Hashem wanted to make Chizkiyahu Moshiach and the war of Sancheirev would have been the battle of Gog and Magog that will precede the Geulah. However, the Middas Hadin - the Attribute of Justice came before Hashem with an accusation; “You made miracles for Dovid Hamelech and he sang songs of praise before you, yet you did not make him Moshiach. Yet, Chizkiyahu who you performed multiple miracles for, did not sing a song before You - and You wish to make him Moshiach?”

As a result of this accusation, the Geulah did not take place and we are still in Golus thousands of years later, because Chizkiyahu did not sing Shirah.

The Shel”ah points out that in the Tanach, we see that Chizkiyahu did send a letter praising Hashem for his miracles. So what is the Gemara referring to?

The words of the Gemara are that “He did not sing Shirah before You”. The Gemara does not mean that Chizkiyahu did not sing any song of praise. The deficiency that disqualified him from being Moshiach, was that he did not sing the song of praise “before” Hashem’s miraculous salvation took place.

This is the meaning of our Midrash, which is not being repetitious, but rather, teaches us the secret of the Emunah that will bring the Geulah. The Midrash can be read as “In the future, the Jewish people will sing a song for the future to come”. The belief in Moshiach will be so strong, that the song of the future Geulah will be sung before the future Geulah comes itself.

We find this quality in the song of the women at the Yam Suf. After experiencing the great miracle of the splitting of the sea and seeing their Egyptians persecutors drowned, the men, led by Moshe burst into song. But it was אז, only “then”, after the miracle had already occurred and they could see the corpses lying on the seashore.

Whilst the women, led by Miriam, also sang their Shirah after Krias Yam Suf, their readiness to sing this song began a week before. Rashi quotes the Midrash that the righteous women of that generation were so certain that Hashem would perform miracles that they took tambourines with them to be ready to praise Hashem with music and joy.

As Klal Yisroel face challenging times and suffering, particularly in Eretz Yisrael, let us look to the faith of the Jewish women, the Agams amongst our people. In our difficulty let us choose the path of Emunah, to strengthen our faith. And in the Zechus of our Emunah, may we all return, together with all of the captives, to our homeland, with the Geulah Shleima.

05/02/2025

After witnessing Kriyas Yam Suf, Moshe led the men in the singing the song of the sea (Shiras Hayam). Miriam led the women in singing and dancing, accompanied with tambourines.

The content of the Haftorah reflects and parallels a similarity with the Parsha of the week. Since the Parsha contains the song of the sea, the Haftorah of Beshalach contains the Song of Devorah, which she sang after the miraculous victory of Bnei Yisrael over Sisera and the Canaanite army.

But why specifically was this song chosedn for the Hafotrah? There are a number of sings recorded in the Neviim, including the Song of David, which he sang after Hashem delivered him from the hands of Avshalom in his rebellion.

The Parsha contains the song of Moshe and the men and of Miriam and the women. Seemingly the song of the men is the greater of the two, recorded in greater length and detail. So why was the song of a woman (Devorah) selected for the Haftorah instead of the song of a man (Dovid)?

The Frierdike Rebbe explains that the sages chose this Haftorah because there was a greater quality in the song of Miriam and the women at the sea, than that of their male counterparts. Their song was infused with greater Simcha, accompanied with tambourines and dancing.

Not only was their song more joyous, it was also a deeper expression of Emunah.

The Shala”h explains that there are two types of Emunah. The lower level of Emunah is one that we feel only once we have experienced and seen Hashem’s salvation and miracles. A deeper level of Emunah is the implicit trust and faith that Hashem will do miracles for us, even before having seen them realised.

Shiras Hayam begins with the introductory words Az Yashir - then Moshe and the Jewish people sang. Only then, after seeing the splitting of the sea and the drowning of the Egyptians, did the men give voice to their Emunah.

Whilst the women also sang their song after crossing the sea, their song began while they were still in Egypt. Rashi quotes the Midrash, that these righteous women took their tambourines with them when they left Egypt because they were certain that Hashem was going to perform miracles for them and they would use them in their song of thanks. In the great haste of leaving Egypt, this was what was on their minds.

With this he explains a grammatical nuance in Torah’s description of Miriam’s song; “She called out to them ‘sing to Hashem for He is very exalted, a horse and its rider He cast into the sea’.” Even though she was addressing the women, the Torah uses the word masculine term for ‘them’ (Lahem instead of Lahen).

In Torah literature, strength is described as a masculine trait, based on the generalisation that physically men are created with a stronger build. But strength is not limited to physical power.

The faith of the Jewish women in their song was incredibly strong. Miriam highlighted this strength by addressing the women with a masculine term.

Just as it was in our first redemption, the same Emunah and faith in Geulah will bring about the Final Redemption, led by the righteous women in our generation who radiate Emunah to their husbands, their homes and to the entire Jewish people.

31/01/2025

SPIRITUAL MORALE FOR OUR SOLDIERS AND OUR PEOPLE

The Zohar describes how Hashem led Moshe through the chambers of unholiness, taking him deeper and deeper, chamber within chamber inside the realms of evil.
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As he approached the evil force of Pharaoh, the great serpent, Moshe became paralysed with fright and could not advance further.

Seeing Moshe’s fear, Hashem said “Behold I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great serpent that crouches in his streams…”. Only Hashem could wage war with this evil.

With this, the Zohar explains why Hashem said to Moshe בא אל פרעה - "Come to Pharaoh". Since Hashem was sending Moshe to Pharaoh, He should have said לך אל פרעה - "Go to Pharaoh".

But in reality, Hashem was not sending Moshe alone to face the great evil embodied in Pharaoh. Rather, He Himself was going to wage war against Pharaoh and was calling Moshe to “come” with Him. Moshe would not be alone and had no reason the fear.

In 1973, in the months following the Yom Kippur War in which Israel suffered tremendous losses, the Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke about the need to boost the morale of the IDF.

The morale of the soldiers is crucial. An army can be equipped with the best weapons and strong forces in a physical sense. But if they lack morale, if they are not psychologically strong, they will struggle to be victorious.

It is vital to victory, that the soldiers believe in and are passionate about what they are defending or fighting for and why.

Many armies try to uplift the spirits and morale of their troops with forms of entertainment. But these are devoid of substance and meaning. They are just temporary distractions in the moment.

Real morale strengthens and empowers the troops with pride, purpose, courage and meaning. For the army of the Jewish people, morale is bound up with the need for Ruchaniyut, spirituality.

Fundamental to spiritual morale is knowing that Hashem is always with you and protecting you. Spiritual morale stems from Emunah and Bitachon.

Whilst the political echelons at the time did not support or believe in bringing spirituality into the army, the soldiers themselves were craving and demanding it. They did not care for politics. They were the one's fighting and they were seeking strength. Their needs had to come before political views.

The Rebbe spoke about the soldiers' desire for Tefillin and Tzitzis. In addition to fortifying faith and courage, these Mitzvos elicit Divine protection and assistance.

Like in 1973, today we are seeing a thirst for Spiritual morale on an unprecedented level.

Soldiers from secular backgrounds are begging for Tzitzis to wear into battle. Volunteers have been making Tzitzis to cope with the booming demand.

Our social media feeds stream moving scenes of soldiers dancing before going into Gaza. The lyrics of their songs are filled with Bitachon;

They sing ה' מלך ה' מלך ה' ימלוך - Hashem is King forever. מי שמאמין לא מפחד - The one who believes is not afraid. וה' יתברך תמיד אוהב אותי - Hashem always loves me and will only do good for me.

And before entering into battle, they pray. Religious soldiers with Kippot and secular soldiers with their comrades' hands on their heads answer Amen to the Tefillot and their Shema echoes out loud.

It's not just the soldiers. The whole country is seeking spiritual morale. In these difficult times, they are seeking and turning to Hashem. Who would have ever imagined the number one hit, the "second anthem", would ever be a song with lyrics about Hashem!

Like liberating the Jewish people from Egypt, returning our captives, destroying our enemies and protecting our people is G-d's war. Like Moshe, the brave and holy soldiers are His agents and partners to bring victory.

With the words בא אל פרעה, Hashem gave Moshe the greatest possible morale. And this is the greatest morale for our soldiers; Wherever they go into battle, be it Gaza, Jenin, Lebanon or anywhere else, they are not "going", they are "coming". Because they are going there with G-d at their side.

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24/01/2025

An empowering meditation for when we face the challenging and difficult times in our lives.

24/01/2025

What if Egypt was Gaza and the Exodus was now?

For too long, the entire Jewish people were being held captive by Pharaoh and subjected to unbearable suffering. In addition to their enslavement, they were subject to decrees of genocide and attempts of ethnic cleansing.

Whilst the decrees were made by the king and enforced by his military, the Egyptian populace were not without guilt. They were all willful participants or supporters of the enslavement. They held Jews as slaves in their homes and benefitted from their labour. There were no innocent civilians.

Now they would face the wrath of Hashem, with no one to blame but themselves.

Moshe came to Pharaoh with an unequivocal and non-negotiable demand, “Let my people go.”

This was not just a demand, but a warning and threat. Should Pharaoh refuse to set the Jewish people free, Hashem would raise His Hand against Egypt and wreak destruction on the land and its populace.

Confident in his own strength and denying the power of Hashem, Pharaoh ignored and mocked Moshe’s warning. Without the force of a “strong hand” Pharoah would not yield. And so, the onslaught began.

After the initial plagues and suffering, Pharaoh begged Moshe to stop the plagues. With crocodile tears he confessed “I am wrong”. But each time there was relief; a cease-fire, Pharaoh only further hardened his heart and returned to his stubborn defiance.

As the plagues continued, meeting out even further and greater destruction, Pharaoh was ready to negotiate his way out.

First, he proposed that they “Sacrifice in the land. Go but don’t go too far”. Then he proposed a partial release of the captive slaves, the men can go, but the children must remain behind.

Moshe did not budge. He would not give up on one Jew. There would be no partial or staged releases. “We shall go with our youth and with our elders, we shall go with our sons and our daughters, we shall go with our flock and with our cattle.”

Moshe was coming from a position of strength and dominance and had no reason to compromise. Pharaoh was in no position to dictate terms. If he would not surrender, the bombardment would continue with even greater force.

After the subsequent plagues of locusts and darkness, Pharaoh offered a further compromise. “You may even take your children,” but your cattle and flocks must remain.

It sounded fair. At least all of the people would be free and safe.

But Moshe stood firm, responding that “not a hoof will remain”. The victory over Egypt and their surrender, had to be total and complete. There was no room for any weakness and with Egypt basically destroyed, why should Moshe accept Pharaoh’s terms and allow them to claim any form of “victory”. They would be broken into submission and the Jewish people would leave on their terms. Only then would the plagues end.

More pressure was required to bring Pharaoh and Egypt to their knees.

The plague of locusts brought starvation to the Egyptian population. Only when they were starved into submission, the Egyptian people came to their leaders, demanding that they release the slaves, “send out the men… do you not yet know that Egypt is lost?”.

As long as his own people supported him, Pharaoh could remain defiant. The Egyptian spirit had to be broken, so that they would realize that if they did not let the Jewish people go, they would all die. The pressure had to reach a level where the people of Egypt would storm their own streets and demand that their leaders release the captive Jews.

With the warning of the final plague and staring death in the face, the Egyptian people had finally had enough of the path of destruction that their leader had taken them down. They turned on their leaders sparking an internal revolt as they attempted to overthrow their regime.

Finally with the final plague, the suffering was so great that the Egyptians themselves urged the Jewish people to leave, coming to the realisation that otherwise “all of us are dead”. Pharoah was brought to his knees. In utter defeat, he surrendered unconditionally to Moshe and consented to let all the Jewish people go. There would be no “victory” celebrations in the streets of Egypt and no defiant parades of soldiers and chariots in the streets.

Now, imagine if the United Nations, ICC or EU existed back then. Imagine if the Exodus had taken place in the age of Facebook and TikTok. Imagine the outcry!

Of course, there would have been nary a peep that millions of Jewish people were being held in captivity as slaves. There would have been not a word of condemnation of the wholesale attempted murder of the Jewish baby boys. And there would have been silence over the abduction and assault of the Jewish women.

But as soon as the plagues would have commenced, these impotent bodies would have quickly discovered their voices.

With the water-supply cut-off with the plague of blood, the livestock destroyed by pestilence and the crops decimated by locusts, they would have surely slammed the unfolding humanitarian crisis. They would have ordered Moshe to provide aid and food for the “innocent” starving Egyptian civilians, the very people who celebrated, supported and enabled the enslavement.

They would have slammed the disproportionate use of force. How dare Moshe bring the infinite power of G-d against the finite, human military capabilities of the Egyptians! How dare G-d unleash plagues that would strike the Egyptians but leave the Jewish homes untouched!

They would have decried the genocide of the Egyptians and labelled Moshe a murderer of innocent civilians, a baby-killer, with the plague of the firstborn.

Moshe and Aharon would have been put on trial and branded war-criminals who should be arrested in any country that they set foot.

We would have heard incessant calls and resolutions demanding ceasefires (cease-plagues?) throughout the year-long campaign of the Makkos. Pro-Egypt demonstrators would hold protests and rallies in cities and universities across the world, accusing the Jews of committing genocide. Social justice warriors would be jumping up and down with moral outrage and social media would be awash with posts that glorified the brave resistance fighters of the Egyptian army.

The sympathetic media would display the misery and suffering of Egypt; the buildings reduced to rubble by the hail, the animals strewn dead across the ground in the pestilence, children with bleeding boils.

And there would have been immense pressure to accept one of Pharaoh’s “generous” offers to negotiate a compromise that would have left him in power and seen at least some of the Jews remain captive.

The truth would be conveniently ignored and the facts distorted. Logical arguments of Hasbara would fall on deaf ears.

No one would consider that if Pharaoh had never enslaved and oppressed the people in the first place, there would have been no plagues. Had he agreed to let the Jewish people go with the first warning, there would have been no plagues.

And after each plague the destruction of Egypt could have been halted, if they would have let the Jewish captives go free. Moshe gave them ample chances. Each plague came with 3 weeks of advanced warning.

Thank G-d the Exodus happened in those times and not in ours. If not, the world would have ensured what we say in the Hahgadah, that we and our children and our children’s children would still be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.

22/01/2025

EVERY JEW IS A BELIEVER
My most recent article featured on Israelnationalnews.

A lesson from Moshe's lapse.

09/01/2025

THE BLESSING TO BE LIKE FISH - Vayechi 5785

Before passing away, Yaakov blessed Yosef’s sons, Menashe and Ephraim with the blessing Hamalach Hagoel Osi which concludes with the words וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ, “May they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

The word וידגו derives from the word דג - fish. Yaakov was blessing Ephraim and Menashe that they should resemble fish.

The great Chassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, shares a powerful insight on the significance of the blessing to be like fish.

The word דג is made up of the letters Dalet and Gimmel. The Talmud teaches that the word Dalet means to be impoverished. Gimmel on the other hand means to be a benefactor. Dalet represents a state of lowliness and suffering. As the benefactor, Gimmel represents a source of blessing, success and good fortune.

In the Hebrew alphabet, Gimmel precedes Dalet. But in the word דג, the letters are reversed.

When Yaakov blessed Ephraim and Menashe to be like fish, he was blessing them with the sequence of the letters in the word דג; that when they inevitably face hardship and suffering, they should merit to see it transformed and followed by greater goodness and to then understand how their challenges were what led to this greater goodness and success.

This blessing is especially connected to Ephraim and Menashe, whose names reflect the life experience of their father Yosef.

Yosef named his firstborn son Menashe, saying that “G-d has caused me to forget… my father’s house”. This name embodied Yosef’s pain and his years of suffering, having been sold as a slave and finding himself in a land far away from his father’s home.

His second son was named Ephraim, “because G-d has made me fruitful in the land of suffering”. In giving this name, Yosef recognised that his suffering was part of a plan that ultimately brought him to tremendous success and accomplishment. Had he not been sold into slavery and later ended up in prison, he would not have become viceroy of Egypt and would not have been able to save his family.

Each of the 12 months of the year corresponds to one of the 12 Tribes. The month of Adar corresponds to the Tribe of Yosef. Just as Yosef is divided into the two tribes of Ephraim and Menashe, in a leap year there are two Adars. The zodiac sign for the month of Adar is Mazal Dagim (Pisces).

Like the word דג, the beginning of the month of Adar was negative, as the Jewish people in the Persian empire faced the threat of annihilation under Haman’s decree. But in the middle of the month, their fortune changed. They defeated their enemies, and the festival of Purim was established, transforming the month of Adar “from anguish to joy and from mourning to a festival.”

The blessing that Yaakov gave to Ephraim and Menashe to be like fish, was a blessing to every Jew. We specifically bless our children to be like Ephraim and Menashe and we bless them with the words of Hamalach Hagoel Osi, that they too be like fish.

The blessing is a message of hope and strength for when we face both the personal challenges in our lives as well as our national, collective suffering as a people in exile.

As real and painful as the hardship and suffering is, we are blessed with faith, resilience and optimism, knowing that from the Dalet we will come to the Gimmel. We will emerge from our darkness to greater light, strength and growth and see a brighter future.

Like this week where we go immediately from the fast of the 10th of Teves into Shabbos, we will triumph over our enemies and we will emerge from the darkness of exile to the light of Geulah and the ultimate and everlasting Shabbos.

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27/11/2024

As parents, one of our greatest desires is to see our children continue in our ways and embrace the values that we raise them with. We invest in their education and try to set an example. We deeply treasure the beauty of our Torah way-of-life and our deepest wish is to be able to pass that on.

These wishes and dreams do not always materialise and we see what we describe as children going “off the Derech” (perhaps more appropriately children who are on their Derech).

Ultimately, we don’t know why a child goes “off the Derech”. There can be many reasons, many of which are beyond our control and we can’t blame ourselves. It happens to the best families and cuts across all communities. Like everything in our lives, everything is directed by Hashgocha Protis and is in Hashem’s control. Hashem has His plans for each one of us.

We can only do our best to educate them and guide them for as long as we can, in the best way possible. As they grow up and become more independent, our influence lessens as they start to make their own choices in life.

We cannot control the choices they make as young adults and we have to let them grow on their personal life journey.

All we can do is love them; Love them for who they are. Love them because they are your child. Love them because they are a precious Neshama.

Yitzchak and Rivka had two sons. For thirteen years they were provided with the very best Chinuch, with Avraham himself as their Rebbi. Their parents were super role-models, beacons of spirituality.

But even in this home of purity, from the age of 13 Eisav gravitated away and by the age of 15 he was openly rebelling against the values of his upbringing.

Yitzchak knew who Eisav was and what he was up to. Yet the Torah tells us that Yitzchak loved Eisav. The Midrash asks how Yitzchak could love such a wayward child?

The Midrash explains that this illustrates the Torah’s paradigm of ימין מקרבת, that we should always draw close with the right hand. If Eisav went so far away with his father’s love, imagine how much further away he would have gone without it.

Sometimes our children may seem far away. We may feel hurt, loss, rejection, anger, sadness. But we need to put our personal feelings aside and show our unconditional love. Indeed, it is the child that makes it hardest to love, that needs our love the most.

The unconditional love that we give and continue to share and express to them, is the most important thing that we can give. Without it, who knows where they could end up.

Wherever they are at and wherever they are, deep in their heart they know that their parents genuinely love and care for them, unconditionally. They will carry this with them as they go on their own path and it will anchor them and cocoon them and hopefully keep them safe.

The Gemara teaches that in the future, Hashem will come to Avraham and say “your children have sinned against Me”. Avraham will respond “Let them be erased to sanctify Your Name.” Hashem will go to Yaakov (Yisroel), who experienced the pains of raising children, perhaps he will ask for mercy on their behalf. But Yaakov too will say “Let them be erased to sanctify Your Name.”

Finally Hashem will come to Yitzchak, who will respond “Master of the World, are they my children and not Your children? Just as You called them Your child when they accepted the Torah at Har Sinai, they are still Your child even if they have sinned.”

Reb Meir of Premishlan explains why Yitzchak will be the one to appease Hashem’s anger. Yitzchak will tell Hashem “I, a mere mortal, had a son who rebelled and still I loved him. You, who are a merciful and compassionate, certainly you should love your children Yisroel, even if they have sinned”.

This is the meaning of the verse ויאהב יצחק את עשו כי ציד בפיו. With this, that Yitzchak loved Eisav, he will ensnare Hashem with his mouth in his defence of the Jewish people, that Hashem should always love them with the unconditional love as a father loves their child.

By loving each of our children unconditionally, we cause Hashem to do the same; so that even if we are in Golus because of our sins, He will bring us back home and shower us with love.

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