Remembering our history. That we were once slaves in Egypt.<\/p>\n
In Judaism it\u2019s an obligation.<\/p>\n
Something we should never forget.<\/p>\n
And that we should teach to our children.<\/p>\n
\u2026 It\u2019s an obligation the Torah stresses many times.<\/p>\n
And it seems a little strange.<\/p>\n
After all, it happened thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n
Why is it so important?<\/p>\n
Why can\u2019t we just forget about it? And go on with our lives?<\/p>\n
\u2026 The answer? It\u2019s not just about history.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s about responsibility.<\/p>\n
Because sometimes we think that having suffered gives us privileges.<\/p>\n
The Torah says no!<\/p>\n
It gives us responsibilities.<\/p>\n
To remember what it was like.<\/p>\n
So we are always sensitive to the suffering of others.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Yekusiel Halberstam \u2013 the late Chassidic Rabbi of Klausenberg \u2013 is a good example.<\/p>\n
He spent years in Nazi concentration camps. His wife and children were killed.<\/p>\n
He survived. And went on to rebuild his community and its institutions.<\/p>\n
\u2026 But he also built something else.<\/p>\n
Laniado Hospital. In Netanya, Israel.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Because while he was in the concentration camp, he made a promise.<\/p>\n
That if he survives the war, he would dedicate his life to others.<\/p>\n
To help relieve their suffering. To make their lives better.<\/p>\n
\u2026 And that\u2019s exactly what he did.<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t just the idea of building a hospital.<\/p>\n
Which is a pretty amazing in its own right.<\/p>\n
His commitment to help relieve suffering was felt in every little detail of the hospital.<\/p>\n
Which is why he told the staff that their goal must always be “to cure the patient not just cure the disease”.<\/p>\n
And he insisted that concern with their pain was crucial to that goal.<\/p>\n
One example?<\/p>\n
Asked which of two types of syringe needles the hospital should purchase – one that was slightly less painful or one that was half the price – he immediately ordered the more expensive needles.<\/p>\n
\u2026 It\u2019s the lesson of the Exodus.<\/p>\n
Remember what you went through.<\/p>\n
And help others because of it.<\/p>\n
… And it\u2019s not just about the \u201cbig things.”<\/p>\n
Like building and running hospitals.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also about everyday situations. For each and every one of us.<\/p>\n
\u2026 Let\u2019s say you had a really hard time when you were new at your job.<\/p>\n
You made some major mistakes.<\/p>\n
And your supervisor really gave it to you. Wasn\u2019t understanding at all.<\/p>\n
\u2026 It was really bad.<\/p>\n
But now that\u2019s behind you.<\/p>\n
And someone else is new.<\/p>\n
And going through the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u2026 The Torah says you have a special obligation.<\/p>\n
Because you were there. You know what it\u2019s like.<\/p>\n
So you should be there for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Remembering our history. That we were once slaves in Egypt. In Judaism it\u2019s an obligation. Something we should never forget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-chicago-torah-network-shabbat-fax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1941"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1945,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1941\/revisions\/1945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torahnetwork.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}