DECEMBER 23 • 2021 | 33

SPIRIT

Embrace Yourself
S

o, they set 
taskmasters over 
them to oppress 
them with forced labor; 
and they built storage 
cities” for Pharaoh Pithom 
and Raamses. “But 
the more they were 
oppressed, the more 
they increased 
and spread out, so 
that the Egyptians 
came to dread the 
Israelites.”
The last phrase 
can be also be 
translated as: “and 
the Egyptians became 
disgusted with 
themselves due to 
the Israelites.” Why 
were the Egyptians 
so intimidated or 
annoyed by the Jewish 
people? After all, we were 
contributing members 
of Egyptian society 
and economy, harmless 
newcomers who simply 
wanted to live in peace. 
Why did the Egyptians feel 
that we would “join their 
enemies and overtake them 
in war?”
The answer is that it is, 
indeed, irrational. People 
that have intense dislike 
for others seem not to need 
justifiable reasons for doing 
so. Their hatred extends 
far and wide; their fears 
are without basis, but they 
make it seem that a basis 
is obvious. The Egyptians 
saw a new people coming 
up and immediately were 
turned off by them, but 
they could not explain why 
so they created all sorts of 
far-fetched rationales.

We have all met people 
that seem to dislike us 
off the bat for no reason 
whatsoever. Is it something 
that should bother us?
The answer in this 
week’s portion is no. 
Being self-critical is 
a positive idea but 
being needlessly self-
conscious is not. The 
Egyptian mentality 
was to demean and 
belittle those that 
were different. The 
Jewish mentality is to 
either say, “Yes, I am 
different; and that’s 
actually pretty neat. 
Why don’t you get 
to know me and my 
lifestyle a little better” 
or, alternatively, “No, 
we are actually all similar 
to each other deep down. 
There is no need to target 
me.”
Love your neighbor as 
yourself means that we have 
to come to a place of self-
confidence and security 
with who we are. We do 
not need to look over our 
shoulders at what we are 
missing; we can look inside 
ourselves and see what we 
can contribute to the world. 
We have to love ourselves 
even if others find fault 
with us. 
Let us reject the pettiness 
of the Egyptian way of 
thinking and, instead, 
baselessly love ourselves, 
our fellow Jews and our 
fellow human beings. 
Shabbat Shalom. 

Rabbi Yaacov Lasson is chaplain at 

Ascension Providence Hospitals.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi 
Yaacov 
Lasson

Parshat 

Shemot: 

Exodus 1:1-6:1; 

Isaiah 

27:6-28:13, 

29:22-23.

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3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI

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DFAA:

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DetroitFineArtAppraisals@gmail.com

ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE, 
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR AND LIGHTING

PHOTO CREDIT: JAMIE BUSH + CO. AND LAURA HULL

WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS

248.709.9648

Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too & Changing 
Hands handle your Estate Sale needs. Your items can 
be valued and consigned or auctioned at our store. 
We offer hands free-hassle free estate sales.

Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation

changinghandsestates.com

3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI

248.481.8884

www.leshoppetoo.com

UPSCALE CONSIGNMENT & AUCTION HOUSE

ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE, 
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING

Support Local 
Businesses

HOURS

TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed
SUN & evenings by appointment only

FREE
preliminary
art appraisals 
Wednesday’s 12-4
with Terri

DFAA:

248.672.3207
DetroitFAA.com

DetroitFineArtAppraisals@gmail.com

NOW ACCEPTING 
CONSIGNMENT 
FOR OUR UPCOMING 
MARCH AUCTION

WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS

Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too 
& Changing Hands handle your Estate Sale needs.

PHOTO CREDIT: JAMIE BUSH + CO. AND LAURA HULL

WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS

248.709.9648

Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too & Changing 
Hands handle your Estate Sale needs. Your items can 
be valued and consigned or auctioned at our store. 
We offer hands free-hassle free estate sales.

Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation

changinghandsestates.com

3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI

248.481.8884

www.leshoppetoo.com

UPSCALE CONSIGNMENT & AUCTION HOUSE

ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE, 
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING

Support Local 
Businesses

HOURS

TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed

SUN & evenings by appointment only

FREE
preliminary
art appraisals 
Wednesday’s 12-4
with Terri

DFAA:

248.672.3207
DetroitFAA.com

DetroitFineArtAppraisals@gmail.com

Call Leslie Weisberg today for a 
free consultation: 248.709.9648
changinghandsestates.com

Your items of high value can be:

Auctioned • Consigned
We offer hands free estate sales

