Page 53 - HaMizrachi #28 Pesach USA 2021

RELATIONSHIPS GENERAL INTEREST

Lizzie Rubin

Lessons From Our

Forefathers and Mothers

f there is one thing we have learned with great excitement. He runs to Sarah Egypt. There were certainly differences
from Covid-19, it’s that we have no and asks her to bake matzot for their of opinion, yet they listened to Moshe
Iidea what will happen next. It is the guests. He doesn’t even know who they and respected his guidance.
uncertainty of it all that makes us feel are. Sarah fulfills his wish with no com- Exactly 14 years later, on Pesach, Ya’akov
so uneasy and feeling like we have no plaints because, after all, they share the leaves the yeshiva of Shem and Ever and
control. same mindset. A husband and wife may meets Rachel. Ya’akov falls in love with
Following the original Pesach, Am Yis- be different, but the closer they agree on her and realizes this is the beginning of
rael were just beginning to trust and common goals, the greater the shalom the geula. This was the seed that became
put faith in G-d and Moshe. They too bayit. Hosting guests was Avraham and Am Yisrael many years after, on this
were uncertain about what was going Sarah’s mutual dream. Avraham and exact same day, Pesach. Rachel came
to happen next. Sure, the plagues were Sarah worked in unison. They shared with 70 goats, alluding to the 70 souls
open miracles and their slave mentality that value. Certainly being unified and who would eventually head down to
was beginning to wane. But could they sharing a dream enabled Am Yisrael to Egypt. When Ya’akov saw her, he cried.
leave their homes in Egypt and jump cross the Red Sea. Rashi says he saw that they would not be
into a dry river bed with two walls of The day Yitzchak gave the blessing to buried together. And yet Ya’akov loved
water imminently waiting to come Ya’akov was the day of Avraham’s pass- her and worked tirelessly for seven years
crashing down upon them? ing. Rivka asks Ya’akov to fetch two until she became his wife. Love and
How did the Jews cope? Where did they goats, so she can make food that tasted commitment are a basis for marriage.
possess a roadmap to enable this grand like the venison Yitzchak requested from It is a model for what couples should
exodus so successfully? Surely, they must Esav. Rashi says it was Pesach. On that aspire to. Am Yisrael were learning to
have looked towards their ancestors for day, Rivka realized that Esav could not love and commit to G-d because they
guidance. be the guide for generations in the phys- saw that He would do anything for them.
ical world. Yitzchak was hoping it would The Avot and Imahot teach us that
In my initial therapy session with cou-
ples, I typically ask them who their role give Esav the opportunity to change and Pesach, the beginning of the year, is
models are. What did the role models do lead the world in the proper way but the time to renew our relationships by
that the couple seeks to emulate? This Rivka knew this was not going to work. sharing goals and showing respect with
establishes a roadmap for finding the How could she achieve this without an abundance of love and commitment.
good qualities they would like to incor- disrespecting her husband, the gadol With these traits incorporated in our
porate into their marriage. hador? Eventually, Yitzchak understood marriages, we too, BeEzrat Hashem, can
that Rivka had the correct approach, and become the role models for our children,
Some of my personal role models are we never hear a word of anger from him. bringing us closer to the final redemp-
the Avot and the Imahot. Pesach is inter- By not embarrassing her husband, she tion. May we see the geula very soon!
twined throughout significant times in merited being a key factor in enabling
the lives of our forefathers and mothers. Am Yisrael to receive the berachot they
What is the connection between the deserved. This could only have been
Avot, our role models, and Pesach? done without hurting or embarrassing
Avraham Avinu greets the angels in her esteemed husband. They gave each Lizzie Rubin is an individual, couples and
Chevron on Erev Pesach, in pain but other respect. Three million Jews left intimacy therapist. lizzierubin1@gmail.com

| 53