Weekly Dvar Torah: Breakout West, East, North, and South
ופרצת ימה וקדמה צפונה ונגבה
Ufaratzta Yama Vakeidma Tzafona Vanegba.
Jacob (Yaacov), is on the run, his brother Esau (Eisav) is out to kill him, his mother advises him to run to her brother Lavan in Charan, to hide until Eisav calms down.
In Charan it’s no peaches and cream, his uncle is a knifing backstabber, a con-artist, a charlatan, he will twist and turn on every commitment he makes, he will slave-drive him to his barebones, he’ll outfox him from his engaged daughter Rachel as a wife, and the list goes on and on.
On his escape route, Yaacov has a dream.
G-d says; Breakout West, East, North, and South.
Yaacov is in fear for his life, he’s homeless and penniless, he has no clue what trials and tribulations await him in Charan.
There’s nothing to look forward to, yet Yaacov wakes up invigorated and goes out marching confidently and triumphantly.
G-d is telling Yaacov BREAKOUT!!!
Yaacov is alone, he has no support, his parents sent him away, just keep me safe, give me food and shelter, breakout to where, with what, what does this mean?
G-d says, get out of the box, hold your head high.
Breakout of your limitations, imposed on you or otherwise, the future is bright, but it depends on you breaking out, and not allowing circumstances to determine your fate.
Don’t limit yourself just to survival.
The forever wandering Jew has thousands of years of wandering and exile, persecuted and prosecuted, Babylonia, Spain, European pogroms, Stalinist Russia, Hitler and more, just give me a moment to breathe.
In Babylon we wrote the Talmud, in Spain the giants of the Rishonim codified Jewish law, in Europe thousands of scholars wrote Jewish responsa, we looked Stalin in the eye and triumphed, and after Hitler Torah is blossoming in Israel, the USA, and the world over.
The secret is UFARATZTA = breakout, Jews are never controlled by circumstances, they breakout.
A Jew has limited time to study Torah, he pushes the envelope to study a little more.
A Jew has a limited amount of money, he squeezes out just a little more to give extra Tzedaka.
A Jew is toiling and sweating to earn a living, he stops and takes a break to Daven Mincha.
A Jew works six days a week, just to breakout to a sumptuous Shabbos.
In Stalinist Russia Brissen were made in the underground, and in Auschwitz they lit Chanukah candles from threads pulled from the prisoner uniforms and some grease they wiped off the bowls of soup served by the Nazis.
In America, where Jewish education was at a premium, thousands of young men and women broke out from their comfort zone to set up schools and educate thousands, against all odds.
This is what a Jew does, he breaks out from limitations by circumstance, when Yaacov only started his journey in exile, G-d already said; BREAKOUT.
This is empowerment given by G-d to all of Yaacov’s children through the ages, and breakout they did.
In 1959 this became the Rebbe’s slogan, the Rebbe commanded us, and empowered us all, to breakout, West, East, North, and South, UFARATZTA!
Language is not a barrier, money is not a stopper, culture doesn’t get in the way, resistance is just another opportunity, and your biggest detractors become your partners.
There is nothing in the way to stop you, if you see a barrier just breakout.
And breakout they did, overcoming every limit and all constraints, 6000 strong in 108 countries and counting.
ופרצת ימה וקדמה צפונה ונגבה
Ufaratzta Yama Vakeidma Tzafona Vanegba.
Breakout West, East, North and South
Have a breakout of a Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Yosef Katzman
