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Now man has free will. Now man can just as easily choose good as bad because his inner sight, his wisdom, is blurred. Much like the drunk yeshiva bachur, he can’t see the consequences and doesn’t relate to the danger.

This seems to be the answer to Yisro. He saw two miracles. One was very lofty, a clear miracle; the other was very mundane, something that spoke directly to his nefesh ha’bahami, his animal soul. When he heard about the splitting of the sea, that is G-d-type of stuff. Hurricanes, typhoons, droughts –those are the things G-d controls. But this was war, and war is here and now. War is very concrete. There was a part of him that very powerfully moved by the danger, the realness of the moment. Even though the war with Amalek paled in comparison to the splitting of the sea, it spoke directly to the animal soul of Yisro, and he was moved.

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By being aware of our inner makeup and understanding the different forces that play out in our personality, we are able to become wise to ourselves and better accomplish our mission in life. The key is to allow that wise part of me, the brilliant neshamah, to control my physical side so I can reach the greatness that all human are destined for.

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Rabbi Shafier is the founder of TheShmuz.com. The Shmuz is an engaging, motivating shiur that deals with real life issues. All of the Shmuzin are available free of charge at www.TheShmuz.com or on the Shmuz App for iphone or Android.