SHEMOT5784 Hadran Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK
This is my first Hamizrachi after a two-week break. I, along with my family, spent most of that in Israel. After 10 days in the incredible country that is Medinat Yisrael, it was very hard to come back to the UK. We spent time volunteering, as well as spending time with family, some of whom who are serving in Gaza and the North. The unity and sense of mission is inspiring to behold. The country is ready to strengthen themselves in the long battle against the forces of evil, and the message was loud and clear from everyone I spoke to - we will prevail, Am Yisrael Chai. For me the highlights of the trip were not just stories of soldiers and the nation but stories of the soul. First, we spent every day attending morning Seder at my son’s Yeshiva. We all learnt with a Chavruta and then went to shiur. My chavruta experience was certainly unique for me, for all my years in Yeshiva I never had a female chavruta, but my wife was excellent to learn with! To be back in Yeshiva was just wonderful, especially to see my son getting so much out of Yeshiva. It was also so fulfilling to apply myself to a difficult Tosfot or a challenging Rashi. It took me back to those wonderful years when I had the honour and privilege to learn full time both before University and then for Semicha – there is nothing like it! Second, for the last 18 months I have been learning Daf Yomi through Mercaz Daf Yomi, set up by the indefatigable Rav Eli Stefansky. Every night, I watch the shiur, which is seen by thousands across the world and learn the Daf. The shiur is given every weekday morning at 7:15am in the MDY centre in Ramat Beit Shemesh. This is just one mile from my brother’s house where we were for Shabbat, so I suggested to my son that we get the live experience on Sunday morning! So, we got up early on Sunday at 6:45am and made our way to the shiur followed by Shacharit. We were a few minutes late, but he still welcomed us warmly to the shiur (A video of the shiur is embedded below)! One of the beauties of Daf Yomi, is the amount you cover. Since I rejoined in July 2022, I have been a part of six siyumim , (the completion of the masechet – tractate
of Gemara). The most memorable was the siyum for Ketuvot when Rav Eli came to London for the Siyum and we celebrated with hundreds. At a Siyum, we recite the Hadran. It is a beautiful prayer which I have always enjoyed saying. It speaks of the sweetness of Torah and our determination to return to study the tractate again. One of the most interesting paragraphs is when we thank Hashem for our lot in life: We give thanks before You, Lord, our God and God of our fathers, for you gave us a share among those who sit in the study hall, and not among those who sit on street corners. For we arise early, and they arise early; we arise for words of Torah, and they arise for words of emptiness. We work, and they work; we work and receive a reward, and they work and do not receive a reward. We run, and they run; we run towards eternal life, and they run to destruction. As it says: (Psalms 55:24) "And You, O Lord, bring them down to destruction, people of blood and deceit will not live out half of their days; and I, I will trust in You." This paragraph has always made me think. Who are we comparing ourselves to? The opening verses could be contrasting a devout Jew with the average secular lifestyle. However, it gets a bit more serious when comparing us to eternal life and ‘others’ to destruction. I had never really grasped who this could be referring to until recently. When you see the gulf between the humanity of the Jewish people and the barbarism of Hamas, that part of the Hadran makes more sense. We all know the horrors that the savages of Hamas subjected our people to on and after October 7th and I didn’t think I could be shocked anymore – until I watched the video of the testimony of Mia Schem this week. I presumed that all hostages were taken by the terrorists to the underground nightmare network of tunnels and kept together. Not Mia, she was taken by the terrorist that abducted her… to his family! She stayed in the kid’s bedroom where she was visited by the children of the household, who in one case brought in a bag of sweets – held them up to Mia and then closed them and ran out! Shocking beyond words. The day I saw this, I went to see a film with my family. I hadn’t been to the cinema for a while, and certainly not since Oct 7th, but this film was different and I wanted to see it specifically at this moment. The film is called ‘One Life’ and is the incredible true story of the heroism of Nicholas Winton who rescued 669 children from the horrors of the Shoah and brought them to safety in the UK. I recommend the film highly. There are so many powerful moments, but what struck me, in relation to the above in Gaza, was the goodness of the hundreds of British, mostly non-Jewish families who took in the scared Jewish children and gave them a home. For us, for civilised people, that is what a home is, it is a sanctuary, a place of love, of kindness of security. Not so with Hamas, their homes are places of poison, raising children to hate, imprisoning innocent hostages, a place of hatred and fear. We run, and they run; we run towards eternal life, and they run to destruction. Never have I seen it more clearly. This week we begin the monumental parshiot detailing the miraculous Exodus of Bnei Yisrael from Egypt. We read about the cruelty of the slavery, the bitterness of their existence. Yet many years later, towards the end of his life Moshe tells the
Jewish People startling statement.
Do not hate an Egyptian, because you lived as a stranger in his land. Devarim 23:7 Rabbi Sacks explains beautifully:
This is remarkable. The Israelites had been enslaved by the Egyptians. They owed them no debt of gratitude. On the contrary, they were entitled to feel a lingering resentment. Yet Moses insists that they should not do so. They should bear the Egyptians no ill will. Why? In this brief command we have one of the most profound insights into the nature of a free society. A people driven by hate are not – cannot be – free. Had the people carried with them a burden of hatred and a desire for revenge, Moses would have taken the Israelites out of Egypt, but he would not have taken Egypt out of the Israelites. They would still be there, bound by chains of anger as restricting as any metal. To be free you have to let go of hate. We all know that there have been multiple offers of peace with the Palestinians including the withdrawal from the entire Gaza strip in 2005. Yet Hamas and many others have not let go of hate, and so they will never be free. We must hope and pray that we are successful in removing the evil in our midst which will please God, lead to peace in the region and a return of all the hostages. Let us finish with the end of theHadran:
May your great name be made holier and greater, in this world that He is destined to renew and to give life to the dead and raise them to eternal life, to build the rebuilt city of Yerushalayim, and complete the Beis HaMikdash in its midst. And to uproot evil from the Land, return the service of the Heaven to its place, and the Holy One Blessed Be He shall rule in his majesty and splendour in our lives, and in the lifetime of the entire household of Israel, swiftly and in the near future; and say, Amen. May his great name be blessed, forever and ever. Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honoured elevated and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He above and beyond any blessings and hymns, Praises and consolations which are uttered in the world; and say Amen. May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life, upon us and upon all Israel; and say, Amen. Shabbat Shalom
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