This Shabbat, the Jewish nation goes down into Egypt. 210 years of going through a living hell, of being oppressed and afflicted by the Egyptians through all types of backbreaking labor.
But God doesn’t leave us without a healing. God doesn’t leave us without salvation. The Torah introduces us to the birth of Moshe Rabeinu this Shabbat.
Moshe gets his first revelation in the desert by a burning bush. A burning bush that’s never consumed despite the fact that the fire is inside of it.
It represents the eternity of the Jewish nation. No matter how much we go through, no matter how much pain we go through, Hashem tells us “I am with you in your pain and sorrow and you’ll never, ever be extinguished.”
God tells Moshe some very important instructions. “Take off the shoes from upon your feet because the land and the ground you’re standing upon is very, very holy.”
The Chofetz Chaim tells us this is a message for every single Jew. It’s not just Mount Sinai or the Temple Mount that is holy where one has to remove his shoes. But every person, wherever you are in life, whether you’re doing well financially and everyone is healthy or whether everything is going wrong in your life — a Jew has to adapt himself and know the situation I’m in right now is holy ground.
Wherever I am in life, I shouldn’t procrastinate and say, when my parnassa, when my livelihood is more stable then I’ll start to serve Hashem. Or, when my health is a little better, then I’ll start being more careful and giving charity, but already the place your standing at that moment, make that holy. Find a way to serve Hashem in that circumstance.
Whether we’re in college, whether we’re on vacation, know the ground you’re standing on has potential for greater revelation of Godliness.
May we be privileged this Shabbat to come out of our bondage, to come out of our slavery and to realize Moshe Rabeinu, the redeemer of the Jewish people will once again take us out of our current exile.
Amen.
