Dvar Torah for Parshat Shemot

Yosef, all his brothers and that entire generation died (Exodus 1:6).

Is Rebbe Nachman dead?

The old-timers are all gone. We're the old-timers now. How do we ensure
that those who follow stay true to their Jewishness and don't become
Egyptianized and enslaved?

What we have to do as the older generation is much the same as we had to do
as the younger generation. We have to seek what is eternal in our
tradition, what has made it exciting and interesting to Jews across the
globe and across the centuries. Having made it engaging to ourselves, we
have to make it engaging to others.

When Rebbe Nachman said to let our children know what happened in Breslov
("Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom" #209), he did not mean to tell them that he wore
boots or buttoned his coat in a certain way. He meant that we need to make
them aware that Judaism is not a mummy (Genesis 50:2); that they not be
Pharaoh-like and "not know Yosef" (Exodus 1:8). In telling us to share his
teachings with our children, Rebbe Nachman paraphrases the mitzvah of
remembering the Revelation at Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:10), an implicit
comparison which is staggering.

Rebbe Nachman pointed out that a particular suggestion or insight of his
may not strike a resonant chord with you, but by sharing it with another --
and s/he with another -- the suggestion will eventually reach its intended
address. He also said that it could take a while for a suggestion to make
its impact on a person. This is very important for parents to remember when
dealing with their little darlings, in particular those of the teen-age
variety.

The Torah lives and Rebbe Nachman lives. If we think of ourselves as
old-timers, it is a sign that we think of the Torah as old. If G' forbid
that is the case. when we go, and even before, those who follow will seek
something new and Egyptian. That won't work. Stay young. Stay fresh.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!