Speak on it, Rabbi

You know that earthquake that happened Friday night near Alhambra? Yeah, that was caused by the earth-shaking speech given by Rabbi Moshe Greenwald of Downtown Los Angeles’ Chabad. Just kidding, Rabbis don’t cause earthquakes, duh. What they do often cause, especially in R’ Greenwald’s case, is thought-provoking, inspiring, meaningful lessons. The lessons learned have endless wonder and depth, and the results of that are undeniable. Can you imagine? You don’t have to. Take a deep breath, smile, and hear the story told by R’ Greenwald. The next major Jewish holiday is Passover, or Pesach, in which we celebrate being freed from slavery in Egypt/Mitzrayim. Like all stories in Jewish history, there is the part where we say Yes! We are free! and there’s the part where we say what can we learn from this?  As it turns out, each and every one of us has a little Mitzrayim in us. Apparently, you can take the Jew out of Egypt, but you can’t take the Egypt out of the Jew. What does she mean you wonder. Imagine this: you have a dream. A goal. A mission. A way of life you envision for yourself. Yet something holds you back. Enslaves you. Just as the story tells us that Jews were slaves in Egypt, you are a slave to your own personal Egypt. Whatever it may be that’s preventing you from being you, recognize it. Understand it. Take action in moving forward, away from the people or decisions that enslave you. I looked around the room where R’ Greenwald and his amazing wife Rivky hosted. It was obvious that his words effected every single person that night. People were nodding their heads in approval. Out loud, I said Speak on it, Rabbi, to which the beautiful people at my table responded Yes, preach on, Rabbi!  Hopefully this lesson will be taken to heart; by me, you, and Jews worldwide.