A Thought From the Amazing "Bein Ish" Shabbaton

0:00This Torah class is brought to you by Torahanytime.com This past Shabbos I had this khus to participate in the annual Bain Isha Bain Akhif Shabbaton an organization dedicated to helping people that are facing serious illness to navigate their overwhelming journey and to alleviate some of the many burdens they carry. Bain Isha does more than provide guidance and practical assistance they provide something even more essential to people to talk to and to shoulder to lean on. So I'd like to share with you a thought that I share with the crowd on Shabbos. When Hashem appears to Moshe Rabbainu for the very first time at the snare at the burning bush Hashem asks Moshe to become the leader, to become the Redeemer of Qahisrael. After some dialogue, Moshe finally agrees. So Hashem tells Moshe, quote him at Sarayim and tell Paray that I command them to release the Jewish people from servitude. Moshe then asks Hashem, if Qahisrael should ask me, who sent you?

1:02What should I tell them? What is your name? As we know, Hashem has many names. But here, Hashem gives Moshe a name that we never heard of before or after. Ekiha, Hashem. I will be what I shall be. What does that mean exactly? I will be what I shall be. So the word Ekiha is in future tense. I will be. Hashem is conveying something incredibly powerful and deeply comforting to the Jewish people. He was telling them, do not despair. Ekiha, I will be with you in the near future. Asher Ekiha, and I will continue to be with you in every future you will ever face. I will never abandon you. Think about it. At that moment, the Eden had been enslaved and enshrined for 210 years. They had never experienced freedom in their lives. Their appearance were slaves. Their grandparents were slaves. Even their great grandparents were slaves. From their vantage point, there was no light.

2:02There was no future. No hope for freedom. Hashem was telling Qahisrael, whatever darkness you are in right now will not last forever. This is not the end of the story. Things will turn around. And this message is relevant for all generations. Sometimes the person is married and darkness. Struggling with illness or Shaducham, Parnasa, and fertility, financial pressure. And they think, I will never get out of this. This will be my reality forever. But Hashem promises us Ekiha, Asher Ekiha. It will come a day when the darkness will lift. It will be a future that looks nothing like the present. Your pain will one day subside. That belief gives us the strength to keep going. To carry whatever life places on our shoulders with the confidence that a brighter future awaits. I saw this optimism on full display this past chapter. People were openly sharing their struggles.

3:02And at the same time, giving each other hisic. There was such pain in the room, but there was also hope. There was tremendous sadness, but there was also deep amuna. And that perhaps is the deepest meaning of Ekiha, Asher Ekiha. Not that everything is perfect right now. But that Hashem is with us and helping us navigate our journey. Hashem is with us in the waiting room. He is with us in the uncertainty. He is with us in the darkness. And we have been talking that he will turn that darkness into light. May it be, Bukarov. And now, we know. Have a wonderful day.