Warped Reflection

“Now it came to pass… that the king of Mitzrayim died, and Bnei Yisrael sighed from the labor.” (Shemos 2:23)

T

he Or HaChaim explains that as long as there was someone from the generation of Yosef who was still alive, the Mitzrim respected Bnei Yisrael and couldn’t enslave them. This was because anyone in Bnei Yisrael who was connected to Yosef and his generation respected themselves, and someone with self-respect cannot be enslaved.

This lesson can be applied to the yetzer hara’s war inside us as well. Many aveiros are intertwined with shame. The yetzer hara tries to lower the way a person perceives himself, so he can then ensnare him in aveiros. A person with self-worth refrains from sinning because he doesn’t want to shame himself. (Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, Sichos Mussar)

Students come, students go. Some stay in touch, others never look back. But I never forget them. I may misplace the names, but their faces, their personalities, their ups and downs are all embedded within me.