The player is loading ...
March 25, 2021
The Meaning of Passover with Rabbi Shmuel Bowman (Going Deeper Series)
Susan interviews Rabbi Shmuel Bowman who shares the meaning of the Passover events and annual celebration from his perspective as an orthodox Rabbi living in Israel.
https://www.instagram.com/outofzion_icej/
https://www.facebook.com/susanmichaelicej/about/
Sign up for emails about upcoming shows: http://www.outofzionshow.com
More info on Susan: https://www.icejusa.org/susans-blog
Transcript
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,640
Welcome to Out of Zion with Susan Michael, an exploration of the Bible and the land of
2
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:08,800
Israel.
3
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,560
From ancient biblical sites to the story behind the stories, join Susan on a journey through
4
00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,120
the most exciting book on the planet.
5
00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,040
Hit the subscribe button for future episodes, which will deepen your faith and bring the
6
00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,840
Bible to life.
7
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,720
And now here's our host, Susan Michael.
8
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,600
Well, hey there.
9
00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:33,240
We want to welcome everyone back to our Going Deeper series.
10
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:39,160
This is our fourth episode, a third episode actually, and we're going to be discussing
11
00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:45,600
the Passover that we've read about in our biblical readings each week as part of Walk
12
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:46,600
Through the Bible.
13
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:52,680
And today we have a special guest with us who is joining us all the way from Israel.
14
00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,960
It's Rabbi Shmuel Bolman, and he's going to share with us from a Jewish perspective the
15
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:06,680
significance of the story of Passover and also the observance of the annual holiday of Passover.
16
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,720
So Rabbi Bolman was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and he made Aliyah, which means he
17
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:18,560
immigrated to Israel, became a citizen in 1993.
18
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:27,880
He is an ordained Torah scribe and is passionate about teaching the wisdom of the sacred letters
19
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,280
of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the rabbinic laws.
20
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:38,160
And so this is just the first of probably several interviews that we'll do with Rabbi
21
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:39,160
Bolman.
22
00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:48,440
Since its founding in 2006, he has been the executive director of Operation Life Shield.
23
00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:54,040
And that's how our organization, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, has come to know
24
00:01:54,040 --> 00:02:01,400
him and to love him as a friend and a partner in our ministry in Israel, that through his
25
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:10,640
ministry we are able to raise funds and purchase bomb shelters that we have placed mainly throughout
26
00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,160
southern Israel, which is close to the Gaza Strip.
27
00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:22,120
And so together, I think we've placed well over 110 shelters by now.
28
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,800
And I'm sure we've got others in the pipeline.
29
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,600
And we really value our partnership with Rabbi Bolman.
30
00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:38,160
We value his friendship and that he is very much a part of the development of Jewish Christian
31
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:43,080
relations and he helps us and advises us along the way.
32
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,040
And it's just a tremendous partner.
33
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,240
So Rabbi Bolman, I just want to welcome you and I thank you for giving of your time to
34
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,000
speak to our audience today.
35
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,000
Thank you Shalom.
36
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,120
It's it's great to be here and great to have this conversation.
37
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,480
And please God, we will have many more.
38
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,600
Yes, yes, yes.
39
00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,360
So let's jump right in to the Passover.
40
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:14,720
I mean, we've been reading about this for several weeks now in our daily Bible readings
41
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,280
as we're reading through the Bible in a year.
42
00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,240
And it's quite a story.
43
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:28,840
It's quite a spectacular event, but it's a real historic event, a turning point in the
44
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,400
whole history of the Jewish people.
45
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:37,400
And that's why we want to hear from you the significance of this story in the history
46
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,400
of your people, if you would share that with us.
47
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:41,400
Right.
48
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:52,840
So first and foremost, the story of being slaves, being in bondage in Egypt, and then
49
00:03:52,840 --> 00:04:03,360
the being redeemed and the Exodus, the escape and then the journey in the wilderness for
50
00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:04,560
40 years.
51
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,520
That is our national story.
52
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,640
That's our national story.
53
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:17,840
And that's what I mean by that is that is that's really when the Jewish people, which
54
00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:29,320
is the continuation of the nation of Israel became a nation, became a people.
55
00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:36,240
Prior to that, we were a collection of families and clans with a great mission, with great
56
00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,240
leadership.
57
00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:38,240
Okay.
58
00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,840
We talk about Abraham and Sarah.
59
00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:47,720
We talk about Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Lea and Rachel.
60
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,160
Those are moms and dads.
61
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:51,160
Right.
62
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,840
But just like being in a family, your mom and dad isn't necessarily your president or
63
00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:58,340
your prime minister.
64
00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:03,560
And I think what happens when we leave Egypt is now we have that kind of leadership.
65
00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:09,120
Now we have the leadership of Moses, later on Joshua, and all the things that are involved.
66
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,040
And so what's going to happen is that everything that happens from the time we escape or leave
67
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:23,680
Egypt, that becomes this painful growing process where we need to figure out how are we going
68
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,120
to make this work?
69
00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:31,000
Is this experiment called the Jewish nation?
70
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,880
Is it going to fly or is it going to sink?
71
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,040
And as you know, the Bible is replete with almosts.
72
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:39,040
Right.
73
00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,720
There are a few close calls when God is ready to like, I've had it with these people.
74
00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,960
I've had it with them.
75
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,600
And so when I say an experiment, it was like a lot of experiments.
76
00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:52,600
It could touch and go.
77
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,000
But it's our national story.
78
00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:02,160
And as such, when a nation, I don't care what nation is, but when a nation, if a nation
79
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:12,520
wants to preserve itself and to flourish, it repeats and tells its story over and over
80
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:19,520
and over again, because part of the DNA, it's how we're hardwired.
81
00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:20,520
That's our story.
82
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:26,280
And just to give you an example, every single day, every single day from the moment you wake
83
00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:30,160
up in the morning, the morning that a Jew wakes up in the morning to the moment that
84
00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:37,120
a Jewish person goes to sleep at night, he or she has mentioned through his prayers and
85
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:45,480
blessings, which means in remembrance of the Exodus of Egypt.
86
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:50,760
And we say this over and over and over again to the point where you could say, okay, enough
87
00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:51,760
already.
88
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:53,760
Did we hear that yesterday?
89
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:54,760
Did we hear it last week?
90
00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,280
Did we say it when we did the benediction over the wine at Shabbat on the Sabbath?
91
00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,040
Didn't we do it during our blessing after the meal?
92
00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,760
Every single moment we have to remember the Exodus from Egypt.
93
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,040
And the answer is yes, that's our national story.
94
00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,160
And if you forget your national story, you forget your identity.
95
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:13,560
So it's part of our, we're hardwired.
96
00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:14,560
That's our essence.
97
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:22,280
Well, you know, we've been aware that in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, here,
98
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,160
God promised this land to Abraham.
99
00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:31,240
And as soon as Abraham enters the land, he's faced with famine and he has to go to Egypt
100
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:38,080
for food and then Isaac has to go to the king of Gerar and then here's Jacob, his whole
101
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:43,440
family has to go to Egypt because it's like God gave them this land or he's going to give
102
00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:48,080
them this land, but it's a very hard land and they're faced with difficulties from day
103
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:49,080
one.
104
00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,760
And in a way, I see the same parallel, but I'd love to hear from you.
105
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,320
How do you see that God allowed this slavery to happen in Egypt?
106
00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:05,520
And is that a part of the forming of your people as a nation?
107
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:12,800
So the first answer is I don't know what nobody knows.
108
00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,360
We don't know, we don't know God's ways.
109
00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:25,000
We try so hard, Susan, we try so hard and God asks of us to do everything we can, right?
110
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:32,760
To study and to do our very, very best to get to know God, but as tries we may, there's
111
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:40,720
a huge, huge, in Hebrew we call it a par, there's a huge space between us and what God
112
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,160
is and that's on purpose.
113
00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,760
That's on purpose and we have our role to play.
114
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:52,760
So at first blush, I'm going to say I've no idea, but as we look into it a little bit
115
00:08:52,760 --> 00:09:02,280
more, a little bit more, if we try and put on our thinking hats, we discover that as
116
00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:13,760
painful as it was and by no means, by no means do I mean to make light of suffering.
117
00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:23,120
But suffering often results in going to the next level.
118
00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:29,360
One example I like to give is the poor grape.
119
00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:35,800
We live outside of Jerusalem, we live in the Judean hills and God blessed this area with
120
00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:36,800
lots of grapes.
121
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,080
This is the blessing of Judah, we live in the Judean hills.
122
00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,800
So you take a grape and now you want to turn it into grape juice or wine.
123
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,280
And so you got to crush them and you got to this and some people step on them and the
124
00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:55,520
poor grape is saying, what are you doing to me?
125
00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:00,320
I'm being stepped on and crushed and more crushed.
126
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:01,880
Leave me alone.
127
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,440
I was perfectly fine as a grape.
128
00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,840
And you say, it's true, but wait till you see what happens.
129
00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,960
You're about to become delicious wine.
130
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,120
This is what suffering does.
131
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,120
Suffering does this and by no means am I celebrating suffering.
132
00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:25,840
I mean, we need to understand at the heart of slavery in Egypt and we say those words,
133
00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:32,920
those words come out of our, we say those words so lightly, they're not lightly.
134
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:40,520
Ask anybody who has ever felt servitude, anybody who's ever felt oppressed, you know, it's
135
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:47,160
not that long in your country where only like a hundred and something years ago, right,
136
00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:54,200
slavery existed, you know, and people still have stories in the African American community
137
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:59,320
have stories from their ancestors, not too many generations early of what it meant to
138
00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,640
be a piece of property.
139
00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,320
So it's clearly very painful.
140
00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,800
Egypt was Auschwitz.
141
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:16,040
Okay, it wasn't only about putting, it wasn't only about slavery.
142
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,280
It was about the wholesale murder of the nation of Israel.
143
00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,480
Okay, and there's some gruesome details.
144
00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:31,200
I'm not going to go into them, but our rabbis teach us about how Jewish babies were used
145
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,800
as mortar between the bricks between the stones.
146
00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:42,920
And it was just, you know, an Egyptian taskmaster could come along and take your child and alive
147
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,960
just crushing between stones in order to make that filling.
148
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:57,280
And you know, we hear similar stories from only 75 years ago in Nazi Germany and the
149
00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:02,760
areas of Europe that were occupied by the Nazis of the way that children were also just
150
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,800
murdered on the spot.
151
00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,920
And so we need to understand Egypt as Auschwitz.
152
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:14,040
So therefore it's very, very painful, but out from this pain, and it's hard when you're
153
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:20,080
in there, but from this pain and suffering comes something really, really important and
154
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:26,640
incredible and just like the grape being turned into wine, one could say, and I'm not, it's
155
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:33,480
something for discussion, but one could say that from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their
156
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:40,320
wives to that point, there needed to be something to get them to become a nation.
157
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,360
There needed to be something that would transform them.
158
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,400
Okay, to the next step.
159
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,160
And God has God's ways.
160
00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,240
And those are things that we can't question.
161
00:12:53,240 --> 00:13:00,560
It's a matter of faith, but the result we see was clearly horrible, horrible slavery
162
00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:09,360
that crushed us to the point where out of that came the nation of Israel.
163
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,560
Wow, that's really profound.
164
00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:18,600
And I'm very moved by that, that you would liken it to Auschwitz.
165
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:24,840
And of course, we're very familiar with what came out of Auschwitz, which is the rebirth
166
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,120
of the state of Israel.
167
00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:36,720
So there seems to be some kind of necessary suffering that brings about a unity of purpose
168
00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:42,680
within your people to go that next step, which is a huge step that very few people have actually
169
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,560
made that kind of transition.
170
00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:55,520
I'll say it like this, I'll say it like this, because I am a father to five children, I
171
00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,560
have a son-in-law and I have a granddaughter.
172
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,280
You have children, you know this.
173
00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:11,320
What wouldn't we do to ease the suffering of our children?
174
00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,480
What wouldn't we do, Susan?
175
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,880
I mean anything, right?
176
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:17,120
Anything.
177
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:21,760
So there's no question that, you know, to say, oh, we need to suffer in terms to get to the
178
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:28,280
next level, but when suffering happens, when suffering happens, if all that happens when
179
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:38,280
the suffering ends is that we go back to the way we were, that's a tragedy.
180
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:45,240
I want to be able to, when suffering happens, and again, I'm not saying it happens, that's
181
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:50,120
God's will, I want to make sure that I come out of that suffering different.
182
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,320
I want to come out different.
183
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:59,040
And so I want to come out of Egypt, if all I'm going to do after Egypt is just return
184
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:06,640
to a loose client, a loose kind of gathering of families, what was that all about?
185
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:13,480
If all that happens after Auschwitz is that we return to being a diaspora and scattered
186
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:20,240
people without a nation, what did my family, what did my grandfather's family who were
187
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,720
all murdered in Poland, what was that all about?
188
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:25,720
What was that for?
189
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,880
And so I think about, you know, so it's very interesting because when we talk about, for
190
00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,480
example, let's give this example to Jacob, right?
191
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,040
And I know, you know, you've taught about this and I listen to your podcast every week
192
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,040
and I love it.
193
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,000
And you were just talking actually about, when you're going through the Bible, you're
194
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,200
talking about Jacob wrestling with the angel.
195
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:54,640
And I was reminded, and you said it very beautifully, and you talked about the idea that Jacob says
196
00:15:54,640 --> 00:16:00,680
to the angel after an entire night of fighting, and he even gets wounded, a permanent wound,
197
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,200
to a sciatic nerve causing him a limb forever.
198
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,440
And the morning is coming and he turns to the angel.
199
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,520
And what does he say to the angel?
200
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:12,520
Bless me.
201
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:19,240
Now, Susan and dear friends who are watching this, if you have been involved in a brawl,
202
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:25,160
a fight all night long and you're battered and you've become disabled, permanently disabled,
203
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:26,360
right?
204
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,000
And the person who has been beating you up all night or you've been in fighting with
205
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000
him says, oh, you know what?
206
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000
I got to go.
207
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,800
I don't know about you, but I'm going to go get out of here.
208
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:35,800
I'm calling 911.
209
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:41,000
And Jacob comes along and says, I'm not letting you go until you bless me.
210
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,000
Why?
211
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:47,440
Because Jacob is saying after everything we've been through, after a night of turmoil, after
212
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:54,560
a darkness that we've just experienced, that I've just experienced, I am not leaving until
213
00:16:54,560 --> 00:17:01,120
I've been blessed, until I leave a better person, until I leave with something unless
214
00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,920
I leave enriched by the suffering.
215
00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,600
And that's what is happening in Egypt.
216
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,200
We want to become enriched by that suffering.
217
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,200
Okay?
218
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,680
When we talk about Yitzi'at meets Ryan and what it was like to be slaves, it's not that
219
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,320
the Jewish people, we're not sadists.
220
00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,240
We're not talking about, oh, let's glorify slavery.
221
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:29,880
No, we're saying out of that suffering came something very, very holy and very special.
222
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:35,560
Well, now that we understand the magnitude of the suffering, because honestly, we can
223
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,080
kind of throw around the word slavery.
224
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,360
Slavery is slavery, but it was much more than slavery.
225
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,840
It was a brutal slavery.
226
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,440
It was, to describe it as Auschwitz, really gets my attention.
227
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:54,840
So now we understand, I think the magnitude of the deliverance.
228
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,080
And so the deliverance wasn't just like an overnight deliverance.
229
00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:06,160
This took months and God confronted all of the gods of Egypt and Pharaoh himself, who
230
00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:10,520
was considered divine through these plagues.
231
00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,400
And of course, the deliverance is amazing.
232
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:23,960
But how do you as a rabbi teach then on the plagues and on Pharaoh's heart, heartening?
233
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:30,520
And but God delivered your people in a magnificent way.
234
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,680
So it's a great question.
235
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:39,960
So look, everything that's going on in terms of the redemption process, which includes
236
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:50,440
these plagues, and then we'll later on also include things like pillars of fire and clouds
237
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:52,360
and it's splitting at the red sea.
238
00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,320
But let's go to the plexus.
239
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,160
Everything that's happening is what's called, is an open miracle.
240
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,280
They're all open miracles.
241
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,920
Okay.
242
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:08,280
And when you've got open miracles going on, that's the social media of that day.
243
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:09,560
That's the Facebook.
244
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:10,800
That's the Instagram.
245
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,280
That's the Twitter of 3,300 years ago.
246
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,400
Okay.
247
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,040
That's what open miracles are because everybody's watching.
248
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,880
Egypt is the epicenter.
249
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,320
That's the most powerful empire in the world.
250
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:30,920
And you're getting the most powerful, as you said, Pharaoh is godlike.
251
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,200
It doesn't get higher than that.
252
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,880
And all these things are happening to him and to his people.
253
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,440
You better believe it's getting everybody's attention in the world.
254
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,920
It is a national social media campaign that God is doing.
255
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,480
And basically saying, I want everyone to pay attention.
256
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,960
I'm doing something for this people.
257
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:50,120
Pay attention.
258
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:52,960
Something very, very special is going on here.
259
00:19:52,960 --> 00:20:02,800
And what's interesting is that by using natural phenomena, the water turns to blood.
260
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:03,800
That's fine.
261
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:04,800
There's water in his blood.
262
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:10,000
And you get that, but not at the same time that there's an epidemic of frogs.
263
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000
And it goes on and on.
264
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,640
And the lights and the head.
265
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:20,120
All these things are all natural in terms of identity, but they're happening in an unnatural
266
00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:21,120
way.
267
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,720
And that upends people's worldview.
268
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,440
I thought I understood what a frog is supposed to do.
269
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,360
It's supposed to jump over there in the Lulipad.
270
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,880
What is it doing in my pillow?
271
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,880
Okay.
272
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,720
I get, in other words, these are some of the things that are going on.
273
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,800
So what God is doing is a social media broadcast saying something untracking all everything
274
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,440
that you've understood about nature.
275
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,000
I'm upending it because you need to pay attention to who these people are.
276
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,040
What's going on with Pharaoh?
277
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:53,720
His heart keeps getting hardened.
278
00:20:53,720 --> 00:21:00,920
Actually, in the Hebrew, there are at least at least three different ways of describing
279
00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,560
how Pharaoh's heart is hardened.
280
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,680
There's three different ways.
281
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,160
Strengthened is one word.
282
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,600
Hardened in terms of like a shell.
283
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,600
And other different ways of describing it.
284
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:23,960
And I think one idea, and there's many, many ideas, we're only really touching that our
285
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:29,160
toe is in the very, very surface of the surface.
286
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:40,400
But one idea might very well be that actually it was free will.
287
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,280
It was free will that God was giving Pharaoh.
288
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:52,000
And what was happening is that by heartening his heart, he was actually being denied that
289
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,000
free will.
290
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,960
In other words, his free will should have been, okay, I've had enough, get out of here.
291
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,920
When God comes along and hardens his heart and takes away, suspends that free will.
292
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:11,120
Because it seems completely strange that you would want to watch the suffering of your
293
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:13,280
people over and over and over again.
294
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,640
What does this someone wants to describe that the definition of stupidity is to continually
295
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,080
repeat the same mistake over and over and over again?
296
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,840
It's one thing to make a mistake the first time.
297
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,320
But when you go, oh, let's try walking into that post again.
298
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:28,320
Let's try it again.
299
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,280
That becomes a definition of stupidity.
300
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,880
So he's not a stupid man.
301
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,320
So it's a possible that what God is doing, and this is just one possible of many ideas
302
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,520
by heartening his heart, is actually removing free will from him in order so that he can
303
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,520
send out another tweet.
304
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,520
To the whole world.
305
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:48,520
That's just fascinating.
306
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,080
I've never thought about it that way.
307
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:57,520
But this was going out to the whole world that the God of the slaves was confronting
308
00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,400
the Almighty Pharaoh, the leader of the world.
309
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,560
And in the end brought down Egypt.
310
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,160
They paid a price for what they did to your people.
311
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,160
They did.
312
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,800
You know, it's they paid a price.
313
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:22,120
And it's interesting that that, you know, it's not in the Jewish psyche to celebrate
314
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,480
the fall of anybody, even our enemies.
315
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:33,320
And so, and so we actually, you know, people may think this is very strange, but we actually
316
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:40,480
feel a certain compassion and sorrow for the fact that there had to be this suffering.
317
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:46,400
It seems to be it seems to be conflict, but it does exist there.
318
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:53,360
And it's like, we wrestle with that as a moral as a moral value that isn't it's too bad
319
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,080
that people had to suffer in order for this to happen.
320
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,880
And we don't we do not take joy in the suffering of other people, even when there are enemies.
321
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,480
Well, and well said.
322
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,880
But OK, so we've got this amazing moment.
323
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:13,800
Freeze your people, miracles, Red Sea parting, the whole thing.
324
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:20,360
And then he tells your leaders through Moses that you should remember this every year with
325
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:26,760
an annual remembrance of a feast or festival of Passover.
326
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:35,520
So could you describe to us what it means to celebrate this moment or to remember this
327
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,200
moment every year and how you how you do that?
328
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:47,440
OK, so there are there are basically two components to the midst of which means commandment or
329
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:48,440
obligation.
330
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:53,800
This is what the the laws, the law of the laws of Moses will be discussing will be assessing
331
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,600
that in more detail at an upcoming conversation.
332
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:04,080
But the there's two primary myths, both two primary commandments that it comes to Passover.
333
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:11,720
The first one is coming from Exodus 13 verse eight.
334
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:17,400
And in Hebrew, it's he got a talavimchah, beyom ahudah amor, bavur zehasa, adhanayi,
335
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,000
libet, satimimit's rime.
336
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:26,360
That's the Hebrew, which means and you shall explain to your child on that day is because
337
00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:29,920
of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.
338
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:41,120
OK, so there's a couple of this one little line is packed, packed with all sorts of stuff,
339
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,880
but he got it as the first word and you shall tell, but he got it.
340
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,840
If you hear it, it sounds like the word Haga da.
341
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:53,320
And Haga da is the book is one copy.
342
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,320
This is a beautiful leather bound Haga da.
343
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,360
We actually call it a Haga da.
344
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:03,400
And inside there's in Hebrew, but you can get it also Hebrew and English and actually
345
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,000
every single language in the world.
346
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:16,680
Inside is the is the agenda or the table of contents, if you will, for telling that story.
347
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:26,240
And we use this Haga da to walk us through this mitzvah of telling your child on that
348
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,360
day, what day Passover.
349
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:31,840
In other words, the festival Passover.
350
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,920
OK, and then what's the second part?
351
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,880
And then what's the next segment is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free
352
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,360
from Egypt.
353
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,400
Now, think about this.
354
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:49,760
It's in Hebrew, it says, Zea Asa Hashem li, what God did for me when I went up for Egypt.
355
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:58,840
It doesn't say what God did for the nation of Israel when they went free from Egypt,
356
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:06,920
which means that and God's not writing a Torah for a very Bible for a very specific period
357
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:07,920
in time.
358
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,480
It's for all time and it's for everybody.
359
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:16,440
And so when it says Asa li, it means that I personally left Egypt.
360
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:21,880
Shmuel Bowman left Egypt, Susan Michaels left Egypt, we left Egypt.
361
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,240
OK, that's very, very important.
362
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:28,640
So when we tell our children and your children are going to look at you go, I thought you're
363
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,640
born in Toronto.
364
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:40,720
Yeah, but my DNA, my essence was part of that experience.
365
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,040
And therefore, it's a personal story.
366
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,600
It's not a historical tale.
367
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,880
It is a historical tale, but it's my history.
368
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,760
It's what it's my family story and it happened to me.
369
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,000
So that line is very important.
370
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,040
We do that every every year.
371
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:07,600
The second mitzvah is eating matzah, which is unleavened bread.
372
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:15,720
And that's very interesting because we are commanded to eat.
373
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,400
OK, that's very interesting.
374
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,880
And we're supposed to eat this specific kind of bread and all sorts of questions start
375
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:22,880
coming up.
376
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,840
Why are we eating this bread and why do we have to eat it with a certain period of time
377
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,360
and so forth.
378
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:37,120
And we begin to discuss why this bread, which then becomes an educational moment, an educational
379
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:43,720
opportunity to teach our children and ourselves about what Passover is all about.
380
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,160
Well, we were in a hurry.
381
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:50,680
And you know, when you're when you're a slave and you're being in your escaping or you're
382
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,480
being told get out of here, you're not you're not waiting for the late flight.
383
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:59,160
OK, you're not you're not you're not you're not you're not booking something with Expedia
384
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:00,160
in a year from now.
385
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,680
OK, you are you are going now.
386
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,240
You're grabbing whatever you have and you're going.
387
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:14,520
OK, now my wife, Lea and my daughters bake challah.
388
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:15,520
Before Shabbat.
389
00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,440
OK, that's the twisted, beautiful, delicious bread.
390
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:24,200
And but you and everybody to come to our house for Shabbat and to have this the aroma in our
391
00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,200
house is amazing.
392
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:32,120
But I got to tell you, in order for that bread to rise before you can actually stick it in
393
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,240
the oven, you got to wait a while.
394
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:40,240
Not only you got to wait a while, but I really truly believe that it's how my daughters,
395
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,800
daughters and wife do their physical fitness because they're punching this dough.
396
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:46,800
It's you're right.
397
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,880
They're doing all they're twisting.
398
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:50,040
It takes time.
399
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,000
If you are rushing, you don't have time for any of that stuff.
400
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,840
So you're saying, I have to eat something and I don't have any time for it to rise.
401
00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:58,960
What am I going to eat?
402
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,960
I need travel food right away.
403
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:02,960
That's Mutsa.
404
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,320
OK, so we eat it.
405
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:11,440
And again, by eating it, we experience and it's a really great, I encourage people to
406
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:15,280
try this, eat that Mutsa and focus.
407
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,440
What does it mean to be in a hurry?
408
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,640
What does it mean to eat something in a rush?
409
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:26,000
What does it mean to you got to get out of there because if you stay in Egypt one more
410
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:33,600
second, right, you're you're not going to you never come in.
411
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,600
So those are the two main things accompanying all that.
412
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,200
Susan is the is a feast.
413
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:40,800
We're talking about a wonderful meal.
414
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:46,280
We're talking, as I mentioned about the Passover Seder, the Passover Seder is going to be following
415
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:52,640
the the Hakadah, the the the storyline.
416
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:59,480
So there's going to be a whole series of rituals and questions and discussions and foods and
417
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,840
things like that, all for the purpose of evoking questions and discussions.
418
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,120
It is a night of conversation.
419
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,120
It's about telling our story.
420
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:14,080
Well, I have to say, I love Passover and I love being invited to someone's home for a
421
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,440
Passover Seder.
422
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,360
And it we really enjoy it.
423
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:25,440
We we relive it as though we were with the Jewish people as they were delivered and for
424
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,600
taking of the bitter herbs and the salty water.
425
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:37,920
And it's it's a very educational time, great for children of all ages, meaning, including
426
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:38,920
us.
427
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:39,920
Absolutely.
428
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,320
And those and those foods that you're describing, they are they're all triggers, they're all
429
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,120
educational triggers.
430
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:50,040
They're when you take the bitter herbs and you and you dip it and you eat it and the tears
431
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:57,160
literally stream out of your eyes because it's so it's so hot and spicy or or or eating
432
00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:05,240
of the the egg or having having the carpus, which is the spring vegetable, dipping it.
433
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:10,120
And you begin to realize this is not this.
434
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,680
Why is this night different than all other nights, which is one of the questions that
435
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:14,680
we asked?
436
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:21,480
Or, you know, why am I different on this night is perhaps the even deeper question.
437
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,120
And we begin to use these moments for triggers.
438
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,320
We uncover the months and we recover it and then we know this and then the wine and then
439
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:30,680
we have four glasses of wine.
440
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:35,680
What does for me, there's a whole bunch of themes that have to do with for all these
441
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:43,040
things are you you you you spend the night going, why, why, why, why, why, why.
442
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:48,840
And the entire night is white and the parents or the grandparents have the obligation of
443
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,320
saying, let me tell you our story.
444
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,840
And it's an incredible it's an incredible I keep going back to the second.
445
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,160
It's a it's a pedagogic philosophy.
446
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:03,120
It's an educational opportunity to have this discussion to complete and use all these trigger
447
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,080
point these triggers to evoke those those conversations, the songs.
448
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:12,720
And then what happens is that depending on which culture you came from, right?
449
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:19,040
So my family right comes from Ashkenaz, Poland, Poland, Poland, Russia area.
450
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:25,960
So we have certain traditions, whereas my son-in-law, he's coming from Tunisia, his
451
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:31,000
parents, grandparents come from Tunisia and Iran.
452
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000
Very very different.
453
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:40,120
So just to give you one example, the Higata says dip a carpac, which is a spring vegetable,
454
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,000
a springtime vegetable in the saltwater.
455
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:49,360
Well, my family's from Eastern Poland, Russia, and spring, they're still about a foot of
456
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:51,040
snow.
457
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:56,680
And the only thing that's growing is last year's potato.
458
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,360
That's our spring vegetable.
459
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:03,480
My son's family comes from lush green Tunisia and Iran.
460
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,960
They're using parsley and celery.
461
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,720
And what we do is wonderful, so Jews come together in this in-gathering of the exiles.
462
00:34:10,720 --> 00:34:17,400
We come to Israel, Jews from Yemen, Ethiopia, and Europe, and Iran, and they're coming
463
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:21,000
with their own with their with their interpretations of their traditions.
464
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:27,200
And then we come together in this amazing, this amazing place, and we start to learn
465
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,240
each other's recipes and traditions.
466
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:31,960
And it's, it's fabulous.
467
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:32,960
Fabulous.
468
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:34,080
It's so beautiful.
469
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,720
We make all of us want to be part of a Passover Seder just this week.
470
00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:42,600
And hopefully some of our listeners will.
471
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,800
But let's I'm afraid we have come to the end of our time.
472
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:51,760
And I wondered if you wanted to share maybe a universal message from the Passover story
473
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,840
that it's not just for the Jewish people.
474
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:56,640
Right.
475
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:01,160
So just, I'm just going to say one quick thing as it connects to that.
476
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:09,000
One thing is that the challenge, even as we go through the Haggadah, is that we're, we're
477
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,480
operating in a not an enormous situation.
478
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:19,840
2000 years ago, if you were celebrating Passover, so there would be a temple in Jerusalem, and
479
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,600
we'd be offering sacrifices.
480
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,680
And there would be different, different types of foods being eaten.
481
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:31,080
We're still telling the story because it's commanded in the Bible, but we would be going
482
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,320
through the process differently.
483
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:38,760
And what law things that we're doing today are reminders of how things were 2000 years
484
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,040
ago up to the destruction of the second temple.
485
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:50,840
And a reminder is almost like a placeholder about how we then will return to those customs
486
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:56,560
when the third and final temple, please God, is rebuilt speedily in our days.
487
00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,200
The universal message is as follows.
488
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,200
People are not meant to be slaves.
489
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,760
People are meant to be free.
490
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,560
God wants us to be free.
491
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,160
And unfortunately, there's been a lot of suffering in the world.
492
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:16,480
And time and time again, different cultures have turned to the Jewish message of Passover
493
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,160
as a, as a, as a hope.
494
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:25,960
So for example, we again go back to the slaves, the African American slaves who told their
495
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:33,760
stories using imagery of, you know, when Israel was, you know, the song, when Israel was in
496
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:42,280
Pharaoh's land, let my people go, go down Moses way down in Egypt's land, tell, oh,
497
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,240
Pharaoh, to let my people go.
498
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:50,880
That's the African American song, not a Jewish song.
499
00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,320
And they're using that imagery to say we can also be free.
500
00:36:54,320 --> 00:37:00,800
And so when the Dalai Lama, after the Tibetan people were persecuted by the Chinese and kick
501
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:06,760
and literally Tibet was taken over and was taken over by the communists, so the Tibetan
502
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:12,320
people who fled Tibet and became a diaspora of their own wanted to know what to do.
503
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:19,080
And the Dalai Lama turned to rabbis and said, help, what, what should we do?
504
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:27,240
And rabbis helped the Dalai Lama create a Tibetan Passover Seder, not a Jewish Seder,
505
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:32,280
but a Tibetan Seder that would help them tell their story from generation to generation
506
00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:33,720
and keep their nation going.
507
00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:38,560
And Susan, we have many, many more examples because God's message is really a universal
508
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,000
message, isn't it?
509
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:46,160
And we can also relate, whether it's on a personal level or a national level, we can
510
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:51,600
relate to difficult times and looking to God for deliverance from them.
511
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:57,000
And so your story has been an inspiration to many, many, many, many people for many,
512
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,480
many, many, many years.
513
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:04,000
So I just want to thank you so much for sharing your heart with our listeners today.
514
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,440
I know that it's been a great blessing.
515
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:14,360
It's very exciting for me to hear, and I know that many in our audience are excited to hear
516
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:20,320
from you what Passover means to the Jewish people and the lessons that we can all take
517
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:21,320
from it.
518
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,120
So thank you so much, Rabbi Bowman.
519
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,600
We look forward to having you back on in a few weeks where we're going to go the next
520
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:29,760
level in our conversation.
521
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:33,800
And until then, I want to thank everyone for joining us.
522
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:41,400
And please check out in the show notes for today's program links to more information
523
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:47,760
on Rabbi Bowman, Operation Life Shield and the ICEJ and what we do together in Israel.
524
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:49,920
And we will see you back here next time.
525
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,040
And until then, God bless.
526
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,960
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of Out of Zion with Susan Michael.
527
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:04,400
Be sure to subscribe to Out of Zion Now on Apple Podcasts, cpnshows.com, YouTube, or
528
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,680
wherever you like to listen and learn.
529
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,520
Out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of ICEJ USA All Rights Reserved.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,640
Welcome to Out of Zion with Susan Michael, an exploration of the Bible and the land of
2
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:08,800
Israel.
3
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,560
From ancient biblical sites to the story behind the stories, join Susan on a journey through
4
00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,120
the most exciting book on the planet.
5
00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,040
Hit the subscribe button for future episodes, which will deepen your faith and bring the
6
00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,840
Bible to life.
7
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,720
And now here's our host, Susan Michael.
8
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,600
Well, hey there.
9
00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:33,240
We want to welcome everyone back to our Going Deeper series.
10
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:39,160
This is our fourth episode, a third episode actually, and we're going to be discussing
11
00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:45,600
the Passover that we've read about in our biblical readings each week as part of Walk
12
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:46,600
Through the Bible.
13
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:52,680
And today we have a special guest with us who is joining us all the way from Israel.
14
00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,960
It's Rabbi Shmuel Bolman, and he's going to share with us from a Jewish perspective the
15
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:06,680
significance of the story of Passover and also the observance of the annual holiday of Passover.
16
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:12,720
So Rabbi Bolman was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and he made Aliyah, which means he
17
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:18,560
immigrated to Israel, became a citizen in 1993.
18
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:27,880
He is an ordained Torah scribe and is passionate about teaching the wisdom of the sacred letters
19
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,280
of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the rabbinic laws.
20
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:38,160
And so this is just the first of probably several interviews that we'll do with Rabbi
21
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:39,160
Bolman.
22
00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:48,440
Since its founding in 2006, he has been the executive director of Operation Life Shield.
23
00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:54,040
And that's how our organization, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, has come to know
24
00:01:54,040 --> 00:02:01,400
him and to love him as a friend and a partner in our ministry in Israel, that through his
25
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:10,640
ministry we are able to raise funds and purchase bomb shelters that we have placed mainly throughout
26
00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,160
southern Israel, which is close to the Gaza Strip.
27
00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:22,120
And so together, I think we've placed well over 110 shelters by now.
28
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,800
And I'm sure we've got others in the pipeline.
29
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,600
And we really value our partnership with Rabbi Bolman.
30
00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:38,160
We value his friendship and that he is very much a part of the development of Jewish Christian
31
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:43,080
relations and he helps us and advises us along the way.
32
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,040
And it's just a tremendous partner.
33
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,240
So Rabbi Bolman, I just want to welcome you and I thank you for giving of your time to
34
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,000
speak to our audience today.
35
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,000
Thank you Shalom.
36
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,120
It's it's great to be here and great to have this conversation.
37
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,480
And please God, we will have many more.
38
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,600
Yes, yes, yes.
39
00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,360
So let's jump right in to the Passover.
40
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:14,720
I mean, we've been reading about this for several weeks now in our daily Bible readings
41
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,280
as we're reading through the Bible in a year.
42
00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,240
And it's quite a story.
43
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:28,840
It's quite a spectacular event, but it's a real historic event, a turning point in the
44
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,400
whole history of the Jewish people.
45
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:37,400
And that's why we want to hear from you the significance of this story in the history
46
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,400
of your people, if you would share that with us.
47
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:41,400
Right.
48
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:52,840
So first and foremost, the story of being slaves, being in bondage in Egypt, and then
49
00:03:52,840 --> 00:04:03,360
the being redeemed and the Exodus, the escape and then the journey in the wilderness for
50
00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:04,560
40 years.
51
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,520
That is our national story.
52
00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,640
That's our national story.
53
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:17,840
And that's what I mean by that is that is that's really when the Jewish people, which
54
00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:29,320
is the continuation of the nation of Israel became a nation, became a people.
55
00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:36,240
Prior to that, we were a collection of families and clans with a great mission, with great
56
00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,240
leadership.
57
00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:38,240
Okay.
58
00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,840
We talk about Abraham and Sarah.
59
00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:47,720
We talk about Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Lea and Rachel.
60
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,160
Those are moms and dads.
61
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:51,160
Right.
62
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:56,840
But just like being in a family, your mom and dad isn't necessarily your president or
63
00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:58,340
your prime minister.
64
00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:03,560
And I think what happens when we leave Egypt is now we have that kind of leadership.
65
00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:09,120
Now we have the leadership of Moses, later on Joshua, and all the things that are involved.
66
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,040
And so what's going to happen is that everything that happens from the time we escape or leave
67
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:23,680
Egypt, that becomes this painful growing process where we need to figure out how are we going
68
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,120
to make this work?
69
00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:31,000
Is this experiment called the Jewish nation?
70
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,880
Is it going to fly or is it going to sink?
71
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,040
And as you know, the Bible is replete with almosts.
72
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:39,040
Right.
73
00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,720
There are a few close calls when God is ready to like, I've had it with these people.
74
00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,960
I've had it with them.
75
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,600
And so when I say an experiment, it was like a lot of experiments.
76
00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:52,600
It could touch and go.
77
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,000
But it's our national story.
78
00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:02,160
And as such, when a nation, I don't care what nation is, but when a nation, if a nation
79
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:12,520
wants to preserve itself and to flourish, it repeats and tells its story over and over
80
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:19,520
and over again, because part of the DNA, it's how we're hardwired.
81
00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:20,520
That's our story.
82
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:26,280
And just to give you an example, every single day, every single day from the moment you wake
83
00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:30,160
up in the morning, the morning that a Jew wakes up in the morning to the moment that
84
00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:37,120
a Jewish person goes to sleep at night, he or she has mentioned through his prayers and
85
00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:45,480
blessings, which means in remembrance of the Exodus of Egypt.
86
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:50,760
And we say this over and over and over again to the point where you could say, okay, enough
87
00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:51,760
already.
88
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:53,760
Did we hear that yesterday?
89
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:54,760
Did we hear it last week?
90
00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,280
Did we say it when we did the benediction over the wine at Shabbat on the Sabbath?
91
00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,040
Didn't we do it during our blessing after the meal?
92
00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,760
Every single moment we have to remember the Exodus from Egypt.
93
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,040
And the answer is yes, that's our national story.
94
00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,160
And if you forget your national story, you forget your identity.
95
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:13,560
So it's part of our, we're hardwired.
96
00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:14,560
That's our essence.
97
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:22,280
Well, you know, we've been aware that in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, here,
98
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,160
God promised this land to Abraham.
99
00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:31,240
And as soon as Abraham enters the land, he's faced with famine and he has to go to Egypt
100
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:38,080
for food and then Isaac has to go to the king of Gerar and then here's Jacob, his whole
101
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:43,440
family has to go to Egypt because it's like God gave them this land or he's going to give
102
00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:48,080
them this land, but it's a very hard land and they're faced with difficulties from day
103
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:49,080
one.
104
00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,760
And in a way, I see the same parallel, but I'd love to hear from you.
105
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,320
How do you see that God allowed this slavery to happen in Egypt?
106
00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:05,520
And is that a part of the forming of your people as a nation?
107
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:12,800
So the first answer is I don't know what nobody knows.
108
00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,360
We don't know, we don't know God's ways.
109
00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:25,000
We try so hard, Susan, we try so hard and God asks of us to do everything we can, right?
110
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:32,760
To study and to do our very, very best to get to know God, but as tries we may, there's
111
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:40,720
a huge, huge, in Hebrew we call it a par, there's a huge space between us and what God
112
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,160
is and that's on purpose.
113
00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,760
That's on purpose and we have our role to play.
114
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:52,760
So at first blush, I'm going to say I've no idea, but as we look into it a little bit
115
00:08:52,760 --> 00:09:02,280
more, a little bit more, if we try and put on our thinking hats, we discover that as
116
00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:13,760
painful as it was and by no means, by no means do I mean to make light of suffering.
117
00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:23,120
But suffering often results in going to the next level.
118
00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:29,360
One example I like to give is the poor grape.
119
00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:35,800
We live outside of Jerusalem, we live in the Judean hills and God blessed this area with
120
00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:36,800
lots of grapes.
121
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,080
This is the blessing of Judah, we live in the Judean hills.
122
00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,800
So you take a grape and now you want to turn it into grape juice or wine.
123
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,280
And so you got to crush them and you got to this and some people step on them and the
124
00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:55,520
poor grape is saying, what are you doing to me?
125
00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:00,320
I'm being stepped on and crushed and more crushed.
126
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:01,880
Leave me alone.
127
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,440
I was perfectly fine as a grape.
128
00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,840
And you say, it's true, but wait till you see what happens.
129
00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,960
You're about to become delicious wine.
130
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,120
This is what suffering does.
131
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,120
Suffering does this and by no means am I celebrating suffering.
132
00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:25,840
I mean, we need to understand at the heart of slavery in Egypt and we say those words,
133
00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:32,920
those words come out of our, we say those words so lightly, they're not lightly.
134
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:40,520
Ask anybody who has ever felt servitude, anybody who's ever felt oppressed, you know, it's
135
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:47,160
not that long in your country where only like a hundred and something years ago, right,
136
00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:54,200
slavery existed, you know, and people still have stories in the African American community
137
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:59,320
have stories from their ancestors, not too many generations early of what it meant to
138
00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,640
be a piece of property.
139
00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,320
So it's clearly very painful.
140
00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,800
Egypt was Auschwitz.
141
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:16,040
Okay, it wasn't only about putting, it wasn't only about slavery.
142
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,280
It was about the wholesale murder of the nation of Israel.
143
00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,480
Okay, and there's some gruesome details.
144
00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:31,200
I'm not going to go into them, but our rabbis teach us about how Jewish babies were used
145
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,800
as mortar between the bricks between the stones.
146
00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:42,920
And it was just, you know, an Egyptian taskmaster could come along and take your child and alive
147
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,960
just crushing between stones in order to make that filling.
148
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:57,280
And you know, we hear similar stories from only 75 years ago in Nazi Germany and the
149
00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:02,760
areas of Europe that were occupied by the Nazis of the way that children were also just
150
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,800
murdered on the spot.
151
00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:08,920
And so we need to understand Egypt as Auschwitz.
152
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:14,040
So therefore it's very, very painful, but out from this pain, and it's hard when you're
153
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:20,080
in there, but from this pain and suffering comes something really, really important and
154
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:26,640
incredible and just like the grape being turned into wine, one could say, and I'm not, it's
155
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:33,480
something for discussion, but one could say that from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their
156
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:40,320
wives to that point, there needed to be something to get them to become a nation.
157
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,360
There needed to be something that would transform them.
158
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,400
Okay, to the next step.
159
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,160
And God has God's ways.
160
00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,240
And those are things that we can't question.
161
00:12:53,240 --> 00:13:00,560
It's a matter of faith, but the result we see was clearly horrible, horrible slavery
162
00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:09,360
that crushed us to the point where out of that came the nation of Israel.
163
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,560
Wow, that's really profound.
164
00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:18,600
And I'm very moved by that, that you would liken it to Auschwitz.
165
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:24,840
And of course, we're very familiar with what came out of Auschwitz, which is the rebirth
166
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:26,120
of the state of Israel.
167
00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:36,720
So there seems to be some kind of necessary suffering that brings about a unity of purpose
168
00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:42,680
within your people to go that next step, which is a huge step that very few people have actually
169
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,560
made that kind of transition.
170
00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:55,520
I'll say it like this, I'll say it like this, because I am a father to five children, I
171
00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,560
have a son-in-law and I have a granddaughter.
172
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,280
You have children, you know this.
173
00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:11,320
What wouldn't we do to ease the suffering of our children?
174
00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,480
What wouldn't we do, Susan?
175
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,880
I mean anything, right?
176
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:17,120
Anything.
177
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:21,760
So there's no question that, you know, to say, oh, we need to suffer in terms to get to the
178
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:28,280
next level, but when suffering happens, when suffering happens, if all that happens when
179
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:38,280
the suffering ends is that we go back to the way we were, that's a tragedy.
180
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:45,240
I want to be able to, when suffering happens, and again, I'm not saying it happens, that's
181
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:50,120
God's will, I want to make sure that I come out of that suffering different.
182
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,320
I want to come out different.
183
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:59,040
And so I want to come out of Egypt, if all I'm going to do after Egypt is just return
184
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:06,640
to a loose client, a loose kind of gathering of families, what was that all about?
185
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:13,480
If all that happens after Auschwitz is that we return to being a diaspora and scattered
186
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:20,240
people without a nation, what did my family, what did my grandfather's family who were
187
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,720
all murdered in Poland, what was that all about?
188
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:25,720
What was that for?
189
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,880
And so I think about, you know, so it's very interesting because when we talk about, for
190
00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,480
example, let's give this example to Jacob, right?
191
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,040
And I know, you know, you've taught about this and I listen to your podcast every week
192
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,040
and I love it.
193
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,000
And you were just talking actually about, when you're going through the Bible, you're
194
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,200
talking about Jacob wrestling with the angel.
195
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:54,640
And I was reminded, and you said it very beautifully, and you talked about the idea that Jacob says
196
00:15:54,640 --> 00:16:00,680
to the angel after an entire night of fighting, and he even gets wounded, a permanent wound,
197
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,200
to a sciatic nerve causing him a limb forever.
198
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,440
And the morning is coming and he turns to the angel.
199
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,520
And what does he say to the angel?
200
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:12,520
Bless me.
201
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:19,240
Now, Susan and dear friends who are watching this, if you have been involved in a brawl,
202
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:25,160
a fight all night long and you're battered and you've become disabled, permanently disabled,
203
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:26,360
right?
204
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,000
And the person who has been beating you up all night or you've been in fighting with
205
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000
him says, oh, you know what?
206
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000
I got to go.
207
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,800
I don't know about you, but I'm going to go get out of here.
208
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:35,800
I'm calling 911.
209
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:41,000
And Jacob comes along and says, I'm not letting you go until you bless me.
210
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,000
Why?
211
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:47,440
Because Jacob is saying after everything we've been through, after a night of turmoil, after
212
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:54,560
a darkness that we've just experienced, that I've just experienced, I am not leaving until
213
00:16:54,560 --> 00:17:01,120
I've been blessed, until I leave a better person, until I leave with something unless
214
00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,920
I leave enriched by the suffering.
215
00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,600
And that's what is happening in Egypt.
216
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,200
We want to become enriched by that suffering.
217
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,200
Okay?
218
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,680
When we talk about Yitzi'at meets Ryan and what it was like to be slaves, it's not that
219
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,320
the Jewish people, we're not sadists.
220
00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,240
We're not talking about, oh, let's glorify slavery.
221
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:29,880
No, we're saying out of that suffering came something very, very holy and very special.
222
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:35,560
Well, now that we understand the magnitude of the suffering, because honestly, we can
223
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,080
kind of throw around the word slavery.
224
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,360
Slavery is slavery, but it was much more than slavery.
225
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,840
It was a brutal slavery.
226
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,440
It was, to describe it as Auschwitz, really gets my attention.
227
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:54,840
So now we understand, I think the magnitude of the deliverance.
228
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,080
And so the deliverance wasn't just like an overnight deliverance.
229
00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:06,160
This took months and God confronted all of the gods of Egypt and Pharaoh himself, who
230
00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:10,520
was considered divine through these plagues.
231
00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,400
And of course, the deliverance is amazing.
232
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:23,960
But how do you as a rabbi teach then on the plagues and on Pharaoh's heart, heartening?
233
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:30,520
And but God delivered your people in a magnificent way.
234
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,680
So it's a great question.
235
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:39,960
So look, everything that's going on in terms of the redemption process, which includes
236
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:50,440
these plagues, and then we'll later on also include things like pillars of fire and clouds
237
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:52,360
and it's splitting at the red sea.
238
00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,320
But let's go to the plexus.
239
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,160
Everything that's happening is what's called, is an open miracle.
240
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,280
They're all open miracles.
241
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,920
Okay.
242
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:08,280
And when you've got open miracles going on, that's the social media of that day.
243
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:09,560
That's the Facebook.
244
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:10,800
That's the Instagram.
245
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,280
That's the Twitter of 3,300 years ago.
246
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,400
Okay.
247
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,040
That's what open miracles are because everybody's watching.
248
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,880
Egypt is the epicenter.
249
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,320
That's the most powerful empire in the world.
250
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:30,920
And you're getting the most powerful, as you said, Pharaoh is godlike.
251
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,200
It doesn't get higher than that.
252
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,880
And all these things are happening to him and to his people.
253
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,440
You better believe it's getting everybody's attention in the world.
254
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,920
It is a national social media campaign that God is doing.
255
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,480
And basically saying, I want everyone to pay attention.
256
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,960
I'm doing something for this people.
257
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:50,120
Pay attention.
258
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:52,960
Something very, very special is going on here.
259
00:19:52,960 --> 00:20:02,800
And what's interesting is that by using natural phenomena, the water turns to blood.
260
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:03,800
That's fine.
261
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:04,800
There's water in his blood.
262
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:10,000
And you get that, but not at the same time that there's an epidemic of frogs.
263
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000
And it goes on and on.
264
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,640
And the lights and the head.
265
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:20,120
All these things are all natural in terms of identity, but they're happening in an unnatural
266
00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:21,120
way.
267
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,720
And that upends people's worldview.
268
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,440
I thought I understood what a frog is supposed to do.
269
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:30,360
It's supposed to jump over there in the Lulipad.
270
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,880
What is it doing in my pillow?
271
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,880
Okay.
272
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,720
I get, in other words, these are some of the things that are going on.
273
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,800
So what God is doing is a social media broadcast saying something untracking all everything
274
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,440
that you've understood about nature.
275
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,000
I'm upending it because you need to pay attention to who these people are.
276
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,040
What's going on with Pharaoh?
277
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:53,720
His heart keeps getting hardened.
278
00:20:53,720 --> 00:21:00,920
Actually, in the Hebrew, there are at least at least three different ways of describing
279
00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,560
how Pharaoh's heart is hardened.
280
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,680
There's three different ways.
281
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,160
Strengthened is one word.
282
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,600
Hardened in terms of like a shell.
283
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,600
And other different ways of describing it.
284
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:23,960
And I think one idea, and there's many, many ideas, we're only really touching that our
285
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:29,160
toe is in the very, very surface of the surface.
286
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:40,400
But one idea might very well be that actually it was free will.
287
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,280
It was free will that God was giving Pharaoh.
288
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:52,000
And what was happening is that by heartening his heart, he was actually being denied that
289
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,000
free will.
290
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,960
In other words, his free will should have been, okay, I've had enough, get out of here.
291
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,920
When God comes along and hardens his heart and takes away, suspends that free will.
292
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:11,120
Because it seems completely strange that you would want to watch the suffering of your
293
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:13,280
people over and over and over again.
294
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,640
What does this someone wants to describe that the definition of stupidity is to continually
295
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,080
repeat the same mistake over and over and over again?
296
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,840
It's one thing to make a mistake the first time.
297
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,320
But when you go, oh, let's try walking into that post again.
298
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:28,320
Let's try it again.
299
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,280
That becomes a definition of stupidity.
300
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,880
So he's not a stupid man.
301
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,320
So it's a possible that what God is doing, and this is just one possible of many ideas
302
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,520
by heartening his heart, is actually removing free will from him in order so that he can
303
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,520
send out another tweet.
304
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,520
To the whole world.
305
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:48,520
That's just fascinating.
306
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,080
I've never thought about it that way.
307
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:57,520
But this was going out to the whole world that the God of the slaves was confronting
308
00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,400
the Almighty Pharaoh, the leader of the world.
309
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,560
And in the end brought down Egypt.
310
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,160
They paid a price for what they did to your people.
311
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,160
They did.
312
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,800
You know, it's they paid a price.
313
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:22,120
And it's interesting that that, you know, it's not in the Jewish psyche to celebrate
314
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,480
the fall of anybody, even our enemies.
315
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:33,320
And so, and so we actually, you know, people may think this is very strange, but we actually
316
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:40,480
feel a certain compassion and sorrow for the fact that there had to be this suffering.
317
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:46,400
It seems to be it seems to be conflict, but it does exist there.
318
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:53,360
And it's like, we wrestle with that as a moral as a moral value that isn't it's too bad
319
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,080
that people had to suffer in order for this to happen.
320
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,880
And we don't we do not take joy in the suffering of other people, even when there are enemies.
321
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,480
Well, and well said.
322
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,880
But OK, so we've got this amazing moment.
323
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:13,800
Freeze your people, miracles, Red Sea parting, the whole thing.
324
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:20,360
And then he tells your leaders through Moses that you should remember this every year with
325
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:26,760
an annual remembrance of a feast or festival of Passover.
326
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:35,520
So could you describe to us what it means to celebrate this moment or to remember this
327
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,200
moment every year and how you how you do that?
328
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:47,440
OK, so there are there are basically two components to the midst of which means commandment or
329
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:48,440
obligation.
330
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:53,800
This is what the the laws, the law of the laws of Moses will be discussing will be assessing
331
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,600
that in more detail at an upcoming conversation.
332
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:04,080
But the there's two primary myths, both two primary commandments that it comes to Passover.
333
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:11,720
The first one is coming from Exodus 13 verse eight.
334
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:17,400
And in Hebrew, it's he got a talavimchah, beyom ahudah amor, bavur zehasa, adhanayi,
335
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,000
libet, satimimit's rime.
336
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:26,360
That's the Hebrew, which means and you shall explain to your child on that day is because
337
00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:29,920
of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.
338
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:41,120
OK, so there's a couple of this one little line is packed, packed with all sorts of stuff,
339
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,880
but he got it as the first word and you shall tell, but he got it.
340
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,840
If you hear it, it sounds like the word Haga da.
341
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:53,320
And Haga da is the book is one copy.
342
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,320
This is a beautiful leather bound Haga da.
343
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,360
We actually call it a Haga da.
344
00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:03,400
And inside there's in Hebrew, but you can get it also Hebrew and English and actually
345
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,000
every single language in the world.
346
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:16,680
Inside is the is the agenda or the table of contents, if you will, for telling that story.
347
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:26,240
And we use this Haga da to walk us through this mitzvah of telling your child on that
348
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,360
day, what day Passover.
349
00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:31,840
In other words, the festival Passover.
350
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,920
OK, and then what's the second part?
351
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,880
And then what's the next segment is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free
352
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,360
from Egypt.
353
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,400
Now, think about this.
354
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:49,760
It's in Hebrew, it says, Zea Asa Hashem li, what God did for me when I went up for Egypt.
355
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:58,840
It doesn't say what God did for the nation of Israel when they went free from Egypt,
356
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:06,920
which means that and God's not writing a Torah for a very Bible for a very specific period
357
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:07,920
in time.
358
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,480
It's for all time and it's for everybody.
359
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:16,440
And so when it says Asa li, it means that I personally left Egypt.
360
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:21,880
Shmuel Bowman left Egypt, Susan Michaels left Egypt, we left Egypt.
361
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,240
OK, that's very, very important.
362
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:28,640
So when we tell our children and your children are going to look at you go, I thought you're
363
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,640
born in Toronto.
364
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:40,720
Yeah, but my DNA, my essence was part of that experience.
365
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,040
And therefore, it's a personal story.
366
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,600
It's not a historical tale.
367
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,880
It is a historical tale, but it's my history.
368
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,760
It's what it's my family story and it happened to me.
369
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,000
So that line is very important.
370
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,040
We do that every every year.
371
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:07,600
The second mitzvah is eating matzah, which is unleavened bread.
372
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:15,720
And that's very interesting because we are commanded to eat.
373
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,400
OK, that's very interesting.
374
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,880
And we're supposed to eat this specific kind of bread and all sorts of questions start
375
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:22,880
coming up.
376
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,840
Why are we eating this bread and why do we have to eat it with a certain period of time
377
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,360
and so forth.
378
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:37,120
And we begin to discuss why this bread, which then becomes an educational moment, an educational
379
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:43,720
opportunity to teach our children and ourselves about what Passover is all about.
380
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,160
Well, we were in a hurry.
381
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:50,680
And you know, when you're when you're a slave and you're being in your escaping or you're
382
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,480
being told get out of here, you're not you're not waiting for the late flight.
383
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:59,160
OK, you're not you're not you're not you're not you're not booking something with Expedia
384
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:00,160
in a year from now.
385
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,680
OK, you are you are going now.
386
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,240
You're grabbing whatever you have and you're going.
387
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:14,520
OK, now my wife, Lea and my daughters bake challah.
388
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:15,520
Before Shabbat.
389
00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,440
OK, that's the twisted, beautiful, delicious bread.
390
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:24,200
And but you and everybody to come to our house for Shabbat and to have this the aroma in our
391
00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,200
house is amazing.
392
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:32,120
But I got to tell you, in order for that bread to rise before you can actually stick it in
393
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,240
the oven, you got to wait a while.
394
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:40,240
Not only you got to wait a while, but I really truly believe that it's how my daughters,
395
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,800
daughters and wife do their physical fitness because they're punching this dough.
396
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:46,800
It's you're right.
397
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,880
They're doing all they're twisting.
398
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:50,040
It takes time.
399
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,000
If you are rushing, you don't have time for any of that stuff.
400
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,840
So you're saying, I have to eat something and I don't have any time for it to rise.
401
00:29:57,840 --> 00:29:58,960
What am I going to eat?
402
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,960
I need travel food right away.
403
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:02,960
That's Mutsa.
404
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,320
OK, so we eat it.
405
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:11,440
And again, by eating it, we experience and it's a really great, I encourage people to
406
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:15,280
try this, eat that Mutsa and focus.
407
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,440
What does it mean to be in a hurry?
408
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,640
What does it mean to eat something in a rush?
409
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:26,000
What does it mean to you got to get out of there because if you stay in Egypt one more
410
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:33,600
second, right, you're you're not going to you never come in.
411
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,600
So those are the two main things accompanying all that.
412
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,200
Susan is the is a feast.
413
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:40,800
We're talking about a wonderful meal.
414
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:46,280
We're talking, as I mentioned about the Passover Seder, the Passover Seder is going to be following
415
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:52,640
the the Hakadah, the the the storyline.
416
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:59,480
So there's going to be a whole series of rituals and questions and discussions and foods and
417
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,840
things like that, all for the purpose of evoking questions and discussions.
418
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,120
It is a night of conversation.
419
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,120
It's about telling our story.
420
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:14,080
Well, I have to say, I love Passover and I love being invited to someone's home for a
421
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,440
Passover Seder.
422
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,360
And it we really enjoy it.
423
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:25,440
We we relive it as though we were with the Jewish people as they were delivered and for
424
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,600
taking of the bitter herbs and the salty water.
425
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:37,920
And it's it's a very educational time, great for children of all ages, meaning, including
426
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:38,920
us.
427
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:39,920
Absolutely.
428
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,320
And those and those foods that you're describing, they are they're all triggers, they're all
429
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,120
educational triggers.
430
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:50,040
They're when you take the bitter herbs and you and you dip it and you eat it and the tears
431
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:57,160
literally stream out of your eyes because it's so it's so hot and spicy or or or eating
432
00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:05,240
of the the egg or having having the carpus, which is the spring vegetable, dipping it.
433
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:10,120
And you begin to realize this is not this.
434
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,680
Why is this night different than all other nights, which is one of the questions that
435
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:14,680
we asked?
436
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:21,480
Or, you know, why am I different on this night is perhaps the even deeper question.
437
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,120
And we begin to use these moments for triggers.
438
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,320
We uncover the months and we recover it and then we know this and then the wine and then
439
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:30,680
we have four glasses of wine.
440
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:35,680
What does for me, there's a whole bunch of themes that have to do with for all these
441
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:43,040
things are you you you you spend the night going, why, why, why, why, why, why.
442
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:48,840
And the entire night is white and the parents or the grandparents have the obligation of
443
00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,320
saying, let me tell you our story.
444
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,840
And it's an incredible it's an incredible I keep going back to the second.
445
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,160
It's a it's a pedagogic philosophy.
446
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:03,120
It's an educational opportunity to have this discussion to complete and use all these trigger
447
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,080
point these triggers to evoke those those conversations, the songs.
448
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:12,720
And then what happens is that depending on which culture you came from, right?
449
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:19,040
So my family right comes from Ashkenaz, Poland, Poland, Poland, Russia area.
450
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:25,960
So we have certain traditions, whereas my son-in-law, he's coming from Tunisia, his
451
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:31,000
parents, grandparents come from Tunisia and Iran.
452
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000
Very very different.
453
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:40,120
So just to give you one example, the Higata says dip a carpac, which is a spring vegetable,
454
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,000
a springtime vegetable in the saltwater.
455
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:49,360
Well, my family's from Eastern Poland, Russia, and spring, they're still about a foot of
456
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:51,040
snow.
457
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:56,680
And the only thing that's growing is last year's potato.
458
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,360
That's our spring vegetable.
459
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:03,480
My son's family comes from lush green Tunisia and Iran.
460
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,960
They're using parsley and celery.
461
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,720
And what we do is wonderful, so Jews come together in this in-gathering of the exiles.
462
00:34:10,720 --> 00:34:17,400
We come to Israel, Jews from Yemen, Ethiopia, and Europe, and Iran, and they're coming
463
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:21,000
with their own with their with their interpretations of their traditions.
464
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:27,200
And then we come together in this amazing, this amazing place, and we start to learn
465
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,240
each other's recipes and traditions.
466
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:31,960
And it's, it's fabulous.
467
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:32,960
Fabulous.
468
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:34,080
It's so beautiful.
469
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,720
We make all of us want to be part of a Passover Seder just this week.
470
00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:42,600
And hopefully some of our listeners will.
471
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,800
But let's I'm afraid we have come to the end of our time.
472
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:51,760
And I wondered if you wanted to share maybe a universal message from the Passover story
473
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,840
that it's not just for the Jewish people.
474
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:56,640
Right.
475
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:01,160
So just, I'm just going to say one quick thing as it connects to that.
476
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:09,000
One thing is that the challenge, even as we go through the Haggadah, is that we're, we're
477
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,480
operating in a not an enormous situation.
478
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:19,840
2000 years ago, if you were celebrating Passover, so there would be a temple in Jerusalem, and
479
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:22,600
we'd be offering sacrifices.
480
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,680
And there would be different, different types of foods being eaten.
481
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:31,080
We're still telling the story because it's commanded in the Bible, but we would be going
482
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,320
through the process differently.
483
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:38,760
And what law things that we're doing today are reminders of how things were 2000 years
484
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:42,040
ago up to the destruction of the second temple.
485
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:50,840
And a reminder is almost like a placeholder about how we then will return to those customs
486
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:56,560
when the third and final temple, please God, is rebuilt speedily in our days.
487
00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,200
The universal message is as follows.
488
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,200
People are not meant to be slaves.
489
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,760
People are meant to be free.
490
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,560
God wants us to be free.
491
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,160
And unfortunately, there's been a lot of suffering in the world.
492
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:16,480
And time and time again, different cultures have turned to the Jewish message of Passover
493
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,160
as a, as a, as a hope.
494
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:25,960
So for example, we again go back to the slaves, the African American slaves who told their
495
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:33,760
stories using imagery of, you know, when Israel was, you know, the song, when Israel was in
496
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:42,280
Pharaoh's land, let my people go, go down Moses way down in Egypt's land, tell, oh,
497
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,240
Pharaoh, to let my people go.
498
00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:50,880
That's the African American song, not a Jewish song.
499
00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,320
And they're using that imagery to say we can also be free.
500
00:36:54,320 --> 00:37:00,800
And so when the Dalai Lama, after the Tibetan people were persecuted by the Chinese and kick
501
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:06,760
and literally Tibet was taken over and was taken over by the communists, so the Tibetan
502
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:12,320
people who fled Tibet and became a diaspora of their own wanted to know what to do.
503
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:19,080
And the Dalai Lama turned to rabbis and said, help, what, what should we do?
504
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:27,240
And rabbis helped the Dalai Lama create a Tibetan Passover Seder, not a Jewish Seder,
505
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:32,280
but a Tibetan Seder that would help them tell their story from generation to generation
506
00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:33,720
and keep their nation going.
507
00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:38,560
And Susan, we have many, many more examples because God's message is really a universal
508
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,000
message, isn't it?
509
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:46,160
And we can also relate, whether it's on a personal level or a national level, we can
510
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:51,600
relate to difficult times and looking to God for deliverance from them.
511
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:57,000
And so your story has been an inspiration to many, many, many, many people for many,
512
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,480
many, many, many years.
513
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:04,000
So I just want to thank you so much for sharing your heart with our listeners today.
514
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,440
I know that it's been a great blessing.
515
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:14,360
It's very exciting for me to hear, and I know that many in our audience are excited to hear
516
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:20,320
from you what Passover means to the Jewish people and the lessons that we can all take
517
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:21,320
from it.
518
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,120
So thank you so much, Rabbi Bowman.
519
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,600
We look forward to having you back on in a few weeks where we're going to go the next
520
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:29,760
level in our conversation.
521
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:33,800
And until then, I want to thank everyone for joining us.
522
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:41,400
And please check out in the show notes for today's program links to more information
523
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:47,760
on Rabbi Bowman, Operation Life Shield and the ICEJ and what we do together in Israel.
524
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:49,920
And we will see you back here next time.
525
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,040
And until then, God bless.
526
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,960
We hope you have enjoyed this episode of Out of Zion with Susan Michael.
527
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:04,400
Be sure to subscribe to Out of Zion Now on Apple Podcasts, cpnshows.com, YouTube, or
528
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,680
wherever you like to listen and learn.
529
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,520
Out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of ICEJ USA All Rights Reserved.
Join the Email List
Listen On
