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Unfettered Feeling
Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe
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Tishrei 5732
[September 1971]
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Greeting and Blessing:
A question:
As we know and see, there are situations in which Jews, regardless of their best intentions, regardless even of their self-sacrifice, are truly unable to fulfill the will of G‑d, due to circumstances beyond their control. As the parable goes, self-sacrifice can enable one to jump off a roof down to the ground, but it cannot enable one to jump from the ground up onto the roof . . .
But G‑d is the master of the entire world. Since G‑d Himself has commanded and spelled out how every Jew should behave in his daily life, how is it possible that there should be a situation in which a Jew is unable to carry out the will of G‑d, in every detail?
The answer:
There are two components to a mitzvah: the deed, and the kavanah and feeling that accompany it. It is true that “the deed is the primary thing,” but the kavanah and feeling are also of great importance.
When it happens that there is a situation in which it is impossible for a Jew to actually carry out the will of G‑d despite his self-sacrifice, this stimulates in him a deep spiritual pain that pervades him to the very core of his soul, bringing him to a deeper connection with G‑d, and with Torah and mitzvot and his Jewishness, the likes of which he could never have attained without this painful experience.
The fact that he did not actually do the mitzvah has no adverse effect on his relationship with G‑d, since he was prevented from doing it by forces beyond his control. On the other hand, the feeling element of the mitzvah achieves a height otherwise unobtainable, and the experience imparts to his spiritual life a depth and perfection that only this situation can generate.
Freely translated excerpt from a letter by the Rebbe.
Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Clinging to the Sages
Daily Quote
http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/139989/jewish/Day-8-of-339.htm
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp?tDate=2/12/2013
Rabbi Chanina the son of Dosa would say: One whose fear of sin takes precedence to his wisdom, his wisdom endures. But one whose wisdom takes precedence to his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure
Clinging to the Sages Clinging to the Sages
"And cleave to Him"—Deuteronomy 11:22.
We are instructed to mingle with the sages and interact with them whenever possible: join in their meals, do business with them, etc. This way we will learn from their ways and come to adopt their true beliefs.
The verse tells us to "cleave" to G‑d—but is it possible to cleave to G‑d who is likened to a consuming fire? Rather this means that we must cleave to Torah scholars.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 6th mitzvah is that we are commanded to be close to the wise and to associate with them. We should constantly be close to them and to be with them in all possible ways of friendship, such as eating, drinking and doing business, in order to thereby succeed in emulating their actions and knowing from their words the true way of looking at things.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),1 "And cling to Him." This commandment is repeated,2 "To Him you shall cling," and is explained in the words of the Sifri: "Cleave to the Sages and their students."
Our Sages also derived from the verse, "To Him you shall cling," that one must marry the daughter of a talmid chacham, marry one's daughter to a talmid chacham, give benefits to talmidei chachamim and to do business with them. Our Sages say3 "Is it possible for a person to cling to the Divine Presence, when the verse says,4 'G‑d your Lord is [like] a consuming fire'?! Rather, whoever marries the daughter of a talmid chacham [is considered to have cleaved to the Divine Presence]."
FOOTNOTES
1. Deut. 11:22.
2. Deut. 10:20.
3. Ketubot 111b.
4. Deut. 4:22.
Positive Commandment 206 (Digest)
"And cleave to Him"—Deuteronomy 11:22.
We are instructed to mingle with the sages and interact with them whenever possible: join in their meals, do business with them, etc. This way we will learn from their ways and come to adopt their true beliefs.
The verse tells us to "cleave" to G‑d—but is it possible to cleave to G‑d who is likened to a consuming fire? Rather this means that we must cleave to Torah scholars.
Daily Quote
"I will make your progeny like the dust of the earth" (G-d's blessing to Abraham, Genesis 13:17). Just as the dust of the earth is from one end of the world to the other, so, too, will your children be scattered from one end of the world to the other. Just as dust is treaded upon by all, so, too, your children are destined to be treaded upon by the nations. Just as the dust of the earth is made fertile only with water, so, too, the people of Israel are blessed only in the merit of the Torah which is analogous to water. Just as dust erodes all metal utensils while it itself lasts forever, so is it with Israel: all idolatrous nations disintegrate, while they persist.
–Midrash Rabbah
Negative Commandment 64 (Digest)
Testing G‑d
"Do not test the L-rd, your G‑d"—Deuteronomy 6:16.
Once a prophet has been established as a true prophet – either through accurately forecasting the future on several occasions, or through the testimony of another established prophet – it is forbidden to further test or doubt his words.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 64th prohibition is that we are forbidden from testing His promises and warnings (exalted be He), that He has promised or warned us through His prophets. This would be done by doubting his words once we know that the one who has spoken to us is truly a prophet.1
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,2 "Do not test G‑d your Lord as you tested Him in Massah."
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
Emulating G‑d
"And walk in His ways"—Deuteronomy 28:9.
We are commanded to emulate G‑d's ways. As the Midrash explains, "Just as G‑d is merciful, you should be merciful; just as G‑d is gracious, you should be gracious; G‑d is righteous, you too should be righteous; G‑d is pious, you too should be pious."
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 8th mitzvah is that we are commanded to emulate G‑d, blessed be He, to the best of our ability.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),1 "And you shall walk in His paths."
This commandment is repeated in the verse,2 "To walk in all his ways." This is explained in the words of the Sifri3: "Just as G‑d is called merciful, so too, you must be merciful. Just as G‑d is called kind, so too, you must be kind. Just as G‑d is called righteous, so too, you must be righteous. Just as G‑d is called pious, so too, you must be pious."
This commandment is also repeated in the verse,4 "Walk after G‑d your Lord." This too is explained5 as emulating the good deeds and fine attributes which are used to allegorically describe G‑d (exalted be He), Who is immeasurably exalted over everything.
FOOTNOTES
1. Deut. 28:9.
2. Deut. 11:22.
3. Parshat Eikev.
4. Deut. 13:5.
5. Sotah 14a: "Just as G‑d clothes the naked, ... so too, you must clothe the naked. Just as G‑d visits the sick, ... so too, you must visit the sick. Just as G‑d comforts mourners, ... so too, you must comfort mourners."
Loving Our Fellow
"Love your fellow as yourself"—Leviticus 19:18.
We are commanded to love and care for our fellow Jew as we love and care for ourselves. We should treasure our fellow and his possessions as we treasure our own. Whatever I wish for myself, I wish also for my fellow; and whatever I dislike for myself, I should also not want to befall him.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 206th mitzvah is that we are commanded to love each other as we love ourselves. I should have mercy for and love my brother as faithfully as I love and have mercy for myself. This applies to his financial and physical state, and whatever he has or desires. What I want for myself I should want for him, and whatever I don't want for myself or my friends, I shouldn't want for him.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "You must love your neighbor as [you love] yourself."
FOOTNOTES
1. Lev.19:18.
http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/139989/jewish/Day-8-of-339.htm
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp?tDate=2/12/2013
Rabbi Chanina the son of Dosa would say: One whose fear of sin takes precedence to his wisdom, his wisdom endures. But one whose wisdom takes precedence to his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure
Clinging to the Sages Clinging to the Sages
"And cleave to Him"—Deuteronomy 11:22.
We are instructed to mingle with the sages and interact with them whenever possible: join in their meals, do business with them, etc. This way we will learn from their ways and come to adopt their true beliefs.
The verse tells us to "cleave" to G‑d—but is it possible to cleave to G‑d who is likened to a consuming fire? Rather this means that we must cleave to Torah scholars.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 6th mitzvah is that we are commanded to be close to the wise and to associate with them. We should constantly be close to them and to be with them in all possible ways of friendship, such as eating, drinking and doing business, in order to thereby succeed in emulating their actions and knowing from their words the true way of looking at things.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),1 "And cling to Him." This commandment is repeated,2 "To Him you shall cling," and is explained in the words of the Sifri: "Cleave to the Sages and their students."
Our Sages also derived from the verse, "To Him you shall cling," that one must marry the daughter of a talmid chacham, marry one's daughter to a talmid chacham, give benefits to talmidei chachamim and to do business with them. Our Sages say3 "Is it possible for a person to cling to the Divine Presence, when the verse says,4 'G‑d your Lord is [like] a consuming fire'?! Rather, whoever marries the daughter of a talmid chacham [is considered to have cleaved to the Divine Presence]."
FOOTNOTES
1. Deut. 11:22.
2. Deut. 10:20.
3. Ketubot 111b.
4. Deut. 4:22.
Positive Commandment 206 (Digest)
"And cleave to Him"—Deuteronomy 11:22.
We are instructed to mingle with the sages and interact with them whenever possible: join in their meals, do business with them, etc. This way we will learn from their ways and come to adopt their true beliefs.
The verse tells us to "cleave" to G‑d—but is it possible to cleave to G‑d who is likened to a consuming fire? Rather this means that we must cleave to Torah scholars.
Daily Quote
"I will make your progeny like the dust of the earth" (G-d's blessing to Abraham, Genesis 13:17). Just as the dust of the earth is from one end of the world to the other, so, too, will your children be scattered from one end of the world to the other. Just as dust is treaded upon by all, so, too, your children are destined to be treaded upon by the nations. Just as the dust of the earth is made fertile only with water, so, too, the people of Israel are blessed only in the merit of the Torah which is analogous to water. Just as dust erodes all metal utensils while it itself lasts forever, so is it with Israel: all idolatrous nations disintegrate, while they persist.
–Midrash Rabbah
Negative Commandment 64 (Digest)
Testing G‑d
"Do not test the L-rd, your G‑d"—Deuteronomy 6:16.
Once a prophet has been established as a true prophet – either through accurately forecasting the future on several occasions, or through the testimony of another established prophet – it is forbidden to further test or doubt his words.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 64th prohibition is that we are forbidden from testing His promises and warnings (exalted be He), that He has promised or warned us through His prophets. This would be done by doubting his words once we know that the one who has spoken to us is truly a prophet.1
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,2 "Do not test G‑d your Lord as you tested Him in Massah."
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
Emulating G‑d
"And walk in His ways"—Deuteronomy 28:9.
We are commanded to emulate G‑d's ways. As the Midrash explains, "Just as G‑d is merciful, you should be merciful; just as G‑d is gracious, you should be gracious; G‑d is righteous, you too should be righteous; G‑d is pious, you too should be pious."
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 8th mitzvah is that we are commanded to emulate G‑d, blessed be He, to the best of our ability.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),1 "And you shall walk in His paths."
This commandment is repeated in the verse,2 "To walk in all his ways." This is explained in the words of the Sifri3: "Just as G‑d is called merciful, so too, you must be merciful. Just as G‑d is called kind, so too, you must be kind. Just as G‑d is called righteous, so too, you must be righteous. Just as G‑d is called pious, so too, you must be pious."
This commandment is also repeated in the verse,4 "Walk after G‑d your Lord." This too is explained5 as emulating the good deeds and fine attributes which are used to allegorically describe G‑d (exalted be He), Who is immeasurably exalted over everything.
FOOTNOTES
1. Deut. 28:9.
2. Deut. 11:22.
3. Parshat Eikev.
4. Deut. 13:5.
5. Sotah 14a: "Just as G‑d clothes the naked, ... so too, you must clothe the naked. Just as G‑d visits the sick, ... so too, you must visit the sick. Just as G‑d comforts mourners, ... so too, you must comfort mourners."
Loving Our Fellow
"Love your fellow as yourself"—Leviticus 19:18.
We are commanded to love and care for our fellow Jew as we love and care for ourselves. We should treasure our fellow and his possessions as we treasure our own. Whatever I wish for myself, I wish also for my fellow; and whatever I dislike for myself, I should also not want to befall him.
Unabridged English Text of this Mitzvah »
« Close
The 206th mitzvah is that we are commanded to love each other as we love ourselves. I should have mercy for and love my brother as faithfully as I love and have mercy for myself. This applies to his financial and physical state, and whatever he has or desires. What I want for myself I should want for him, and whatever I don't want for myself or my friends, I shouldn't want for him.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "You must love your neighbor as [you love] yourself."
FOOTNOTES
1. Lev.19:18.
The Sitra Achra
Adar 2, 5773 · February 12, 2013
Today's Tanya Lesson
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 29
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והטעם: לפי שבאמת אין שום ממשות כלל בסטרא אחרא, שלכן נמשלה לחשך שאין בו שום ממשות כלל, וממילא נדחה מפני האור
The reason that humbling the spirit of the sitra achra is effective in crushing it is that in truth there is no substance whatever in the sitra achra. That is why it is compared to darkness, which has no substance whatsoever, and is automatically banished by the presence of light.
וכך הסטרא אחרא, אף שיש בה חיות הרבה, להחיות כל בעלי חיים הטמאים, ונפשות אומות העולם, וגם נפש הבהמית שבישראל, כנ״ל, מכל מקום הרי כל חיותה אינה מצד עצמה, חס ושלום, אלא מצד הקדושה, כנ״ל, ולכן היא בטלה לגמרי מפני הקדושה, כביטול החשך מפני האור הגשמי, רק שלגבי קדושת נפש האלקית שבאדם, נתן לה הקב״ה רשות ויכולת להגביה עצמה כנגדה, כדי שהאדם יתעורר להתגבר עליה להשפילה על ידי שפלות ונמיכת רוחו, ונבזה בעיניו נמאס
Similarly with the sitra achra. Indeed, it possesses abundant vitality with which to animate all the impure animals and the souls of the nations of the world, and also the animal soul of the Jew, as has been explained. 1 Yet this vitality is not its own, G‑d forbid, but stems from the realm of holiness, for the realm of holiness is the source of all life, including even the life-force of the sitra achra, as has been explained above. 2 Therefore it is completely nullified in the presence of holiness, as darkness is nullified in the presence of physical light. Its power lies only in the fact that in regard to the holiness of man’s divine soul, G‑d has given it (— the sitra achra) permission and ability to raise itself against it (— the divine soul), in order that man should be roused to overpower it and to humble it by means of the humility and submission of his spirit, and by being abhorrent and despised in his own eyes — for through this he humbles the sitra achra and abhors it.
ובאתערותא דלתתא: אתערותא דלעילא, לקיים מה שכתוב: משם אורידך, נאם ה׳
The arousal of man below to crush the sitra achra causes an arousal above, to fulfill what is written: 3 “From there will I bring you down, says G‑d” to the sitra achra, which seeks to rise against G‑dliness and to obscure it.
דהיינו שמסירה מממשלתה ויכלתה, ומסלק ממנה הכח ורשות שנתן לה להגביה עצמה נגד אור קדושת נפש האלקית
This means that He deprives it of its dominion and power, and withdraws from it the strength and authority which had been given it to rise up against the light of the holiness of the divine soul.
ואזי ממילא בטילה ונדחית, כביטול החשך מפני אור הגשמי
Thereupon it automatically becomes nullified and is banished, just as darkness is nullified before physical light.
וכמו שמצינו דבר זה מפורש בתורה גבי מרגלים, שמתחלה אמרו: כי חזק הוא ממנו, אל תקרי ממנו כו׳, שלא האמינו ביכולת ה׳, ואחר כך חזרו ואמרו: הננו ועלינו וגו׳
Indeed, we find this explicitly stated in the Torah in connection with the Spies sent by Moses to scout out the Holy Land. At the outset they declared: 4 “For he (the enemy) is stronger than we,” and, interpreting the word ממנו , the Sages say: 5
“Read not ’than we,‘ but ’than He,‘” meaning that they had no faith in G‑d’s ability to lead them into the Holy Land. But afterwards they reversed themselves and announced: 6 “We will readily go up [to conquer the Land].”
ומאין חזרה ובאה אליהם האמונה ביכולת ה׳, הרי לא הראה להם משה רבנו עליו השלום שום אות ומופת על זה בנתיים, רק שאמר להם איך שקצף ה׳ עליהם ונשבע שלא להביאם אל האר׳
Whence did their faith in G‑d’s ability return to them? Our teacher Moses, peace unto him, had not shown them in the interim any sign or miracle concerning this, which would restore their faith. He had merely told them that G‑d was angry with them and had sworn not to allow them to enter the Land. 7
ומה הועיל זה להם אם לא היו מאמינים ביכולת ה׳, חס ושלום, לכבוש ל״א מלכים, ומפני זה לא רצו כלל ליכנס לאר׳
What value did this Divine anger and oath have to them, if in any case they did not believe in G‑d’s ability to subdue the thirty-one kings8 who reigned in the Land at that time, for which reason they had had no desire whatever to enter the Land?
אלא ודאי מפני שישראל עצמן הם מאמינים בני מאמינים, רק שהסטרא אחרא המלובשת בגופם הגביה עצמה על אור קדושת נפשם האלקית, בגסות רוחה וגבהותה בחוצפה בלי טעם ודעת
Surely, then, the explanation is as follows: Israelites themselves are9 “believers, [being] the descendants of believers.” Even while they stated, “The enemy is stronger than He,” their divine soul still believed in G‑d. They professed a lack of faith in His ability only because the sitra achra clothed in their body in the person of their animal soul had risen against the light of the holiness of the divine soul, with its characteristic impudent arrogance and haughtiness, without sense or reason.
ולכן מיד שקצף ה׳ עליהם והרעים בקול רעש ורוגז: עד מתי לעדה הרעה הזאת וגו׳ במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם וגו׳ אני ה׳ דברתי אם לא זאת אעשה לכל העדה הרעה הזאת וגו׳, וכששמעו דברים קשים אלו, נכנע ונשבר לבם בקרבם, כדכתיב: ויתאבלו העם מאד, וממילא נפלה הסטרא אחרא מממשלתה וגבהותה וגסות רוחה
Therefore as soon as G‑d became angry with them, and thundered angrily: 10 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation…,Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness…I, G‑d, have spoken: I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation...,” — their heart was humbled and broken within them when they heard these stern words, as it is written, 11 “And the people mourned greatly.” Consequently, the sitra achra toppled from its dominion, from its haughtiness and arrogance.
וישראל עצמן הם מאמינים
But the Israelites themselves i.e., as far as their divine soul was concerned had believed in G‑d all along.
Therefore, as soon as they were released from the dominion of the sitra achra, they proclaimed, “We will readily go up...” There was no need of a miracle to convince them of G‑d’s ability. All that was necessary was to divest the sitra achra of its arrogance, and this was accomplished by G‑d’s “raging” at them.
Similarly with every Jew: When the light of his soul does not penetrate his heart, it is merely due to the arrogance of the sitra achra, which will vanish as soon as he rages at it.
ומזה יכול ללמוד כל אדם שנופלים לו במחשבתו ספיקות על אמונה כי הם דברי רוח הסטרא אחרא לבדה, המגביה עצמה על נפשו, אבל ישראל עצמן הם מאמינים כו׳
Every person in whose mind there occur doubts concerning faith in G‑d can deduce from this episode of the Spies that these doubts are nothing but the empty words of the sitra achra which raises itself against his divine soul. But Israelites themselves are believers...
וגם הסטרא אחרא עצמה אין לה ספיקות כלל באמונה, רק שניתן לה רשות לבלבל האדם בדברי שקר ומרמה להרבות שכרו
Furthermore, the sitra achra itself entertains no doubts at all concerning faith. As explained in ch. 22, the kelipah in its spiritual state (i.e., when not clothed in the human body) does not deny G‑d’s sovereignty. It has merely been granted permission to confuse man with false and deceitful words, in order that he may be more richly rewarded for mastering it.
כפיתויי הזונה לבן המלך בשקר ומרמה ברשות המלך, כמו שכתוב בזהר הקדוש
In this it is similar to the harlot who attempts to seduce the king’s son through falsehood and deceit, with the king’s approval, as in the parable narrated in the holy Zohar.12
The parable: A king hires a harlot to seduce his son, so that the prince will reveal his wisdom in resisting her wiles. The harlot herself, knowing the king’s intention, does not want the prince to submit to temptation. Similarly with the sitra achra: it is merely fulfilling its G‑d-given task in attempting to lure man away from G‑d, but actually desires that man resist it, thereby earning a greater reward.
However, this is true only of the spiritual kelipah which is the source of the animal soul. The animal soul and evil impulse as clothed within man, on the other hand, are truly evil, and their unequivocal aim is to entice man to do evil.
In the context of the parable, this may be described as follows: The harlot originally commissioned by the king subcontracts a second harlot, and the second a third, and so on. As the actual executor of the mission becomes successively further removed from the king, the original intention is lost, and finally the prince is approached by a harlot who has her own intentions in mind, not those of the king, as she attempts to seduce the prince.
In any event, we see that any doubts one may have concerning faith in G‑d, are merely the empty words of the sitra achra. The soul within every Jew, however, believes in G‑d with a perfect faith.
FOOTNOTES
1. Chs. 6, 7.
2. Chs. 6, 22.
3. Ovadiah 1:4.
4. Bamidbar 13:31.
5. Sotah 35a; Menachot 53b.
6. Bamidbar 14:40.
7. Ibid., v. 39.
8. Enumerated in Yehoshua 12.
9. Bamidbar Rabbah 7:5.
10. Bamidbar 14:27, 29, 35.
11. Ibid., v. 39.
12. II, 163a. See above, end of ch. 9
Today's Tanya Lesson
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 29
Listen Online
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והטעם: לפי שבאמת אין שום ממשות כלל בסטרא אחרא, שלכן נמשלה לחשך שאין בו שום ממשות כלל, וממילא נדחה מפני האור
The reason that humbling the spirit of the sitra achra is effective in crushing it is that in truth there is no substance whatever in the sitra achra. That is why it is compared to darkness, which has no substance whatsoever, and is automatically banished by the presence of light.
וכך הסטרא אחרא, אף שיש בה חיות הרבה, להחיות כל בעלי חיים הטמאים, ונפשות אומות העולם, וגם נפש הבהמית שבישראל, כנ״ל, מכל מקום הרי כל חיותה אינה מצד עצמה, חס ושלום, אלא מצד הקדושה, כנ״ל, ולכן היא בטלה לגמרי מפני הקדושה, כביטול החשך מפני האור הגשמי, רק שלגבי קדושת נפש האלקית שבאדם, נתן לה הקב״ה רשות ויכולת להגביה עצמה כנגדה, כדי שהאדם יתעורר להתגבר עליה להשפילה על ידי שפלות ונמיכת רוחו, ונבזה בעיניו נמאס
Similarly with the sitra achra. Indeed, it possesses abundant vitality with which to animate all the impure animals and the souls of the nations of the world, and also the animal soul of the Jew, as has been explained. 1 Yet this vitality is not its own, G‑d forbid, but stems from the realm of holiness, for the realm of holiness is the source of all life, including even the life-force of the sitra achra, as has been explained above. 2 Therefore it is completely nullified in the presence of holiness, as darkness is nullified in the presence of physical light. Its power lies only in the fact that in regard to the holiness of man’s divine soul, G‑d has given it (— the sitra achra) permission and ability to raise itself against it (— the divine soul), in order that man should be roused to overpower it and to humble it by means of the humility and submission of his spirit, and by being abhorrent and despised in his own eyes — for through this he humbles the sitra achra and abhors it.
ובאתערותא דלתתא: אתערותא דלעילא, לקיים מה שכתוב: משם אורידך, נאם ה׳
The arousal of man below to crush the sitra achra causes an arousal above, to fulfill what is written: 3 “From there will I bring you down, says G‑d” to the sitra achra, which seeks to rise against G‑dliness and to obscure it.
דהיינו שמסירה מממשלתה ויכלתה, ומסלק ממנה הכח ורשות שנתן לה להגביה עצמה נגד אור קדושת נפש האלקית
This means that He deprives it of its dominion and power, and withdraws from it the strength and authority which had been given it to rise up against the light of the holiness of the divine soul.
ואזי ממילא בטילה ונדחית, כביטול החשך מפני אור הגשמי
Thereupon it automatically becomes nullified and is banished, just as darkness is nullified before physical light.
וכמו שמצינו דבר זה מפורש בתורה גבי מרגלים, שמתחלה אמרו: כי חזק הוא ממנו, אל תקרי ממנו כו׳, שלא האמינו ביכולת ה׳, ואחר כך חזרו ואמרו: הננו ועלינו וגו׳
Indeed, we find this explicitly stated in the Torah in connection with the Spies sent by Moses to scout out the Holy Land. At the outset they declared: 4 “For he (the enemy) is stronger than we,” and, interpreting the word ממנו , the Sages say: 5
“Read not ’than we,‘ but ’than He,‘” meaning that they had no faith in G‑d’s ability to lead them into the Holy Land. But afterwards they reversed themselves and announced: 6 “We will readily go up [to conquer the Land].”
ומאין חזרה ובאה אליהם האמונה ביכולת ה׳, הרי לא הראה להם משה רבנו עליו השלום שום אות ומופת על זה בנתיים, רק שאמר להם איך שקצף ה׳ עליהם ונשבע שלא להביאם אל האר׳
Whence did their faith in G‑d’s ability return to them? Our teacher Moses, peace unto him, had not shown them in the interim any sign or miracle concerning this, which would restore their faith. He had merely told them that G‑d was angry with them and had sworn not to allow them to enter the Land. 7
ומה הועיל זה להם אם לא היו מאמינים ביכולת ה׳, חס ושלום, לכבוש ל״א מלכים, ומפני זה לא רצו כלל ליכנס לאר׳
What value did this Divine anger and oath have to them, if in any case they did not believe in G‑d’s ability to subdue the thirty-one kings8 who reigned in the Land at that time, for which reason they had had no desire whatever to enter the Land?
אלא ודאי מפני שישראל עצמן הם מאמינים בני מאמינים, רק שהסטרא אחרא המלובשת בגופם הגביה עצמה על אור קדושת נפשם האלקית, בגסות רוחה וגבהותה בחוצפה בלי טעם ודעת
Surely, then, the explanation is as follows: Israelites themselves are9 “believers, [being] the descendants of believers.” Even while they stated, “The enemy is stronger than He,” their divine soul still believed in G‑d. They professed a lack of faith in His ability only because the sitra achra clothed in their body in the person of their animal soul had risen against the light of the holiness of the divine soul, with its characteristic impudent arrogance and haughtiness, without sense or reason.
ולכן מיד שקצף ה׳ עליהם והרעים בקול רעש ורוגז: עד מתי לעדה הרעה הזאת וגו׳ במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם וגו׳ אני ה׳ דברתי אם לא זאת אעשה לכל העדה הרעה הזאת וגו׳, וכששמעו דברים קשים אלו, נכנע ונשבר לבם בקרבם, כדכתיב: ויתאבלו העם מאד, וממילא נפלה הסטרא אחרא מממשלתה וגבהותה וגסות רוחה
Therefore as soon as G‑d became angry with them, and thundered angrily: 10 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation…,Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness…I, G‑d, have spoken: I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation...,” — their heart was humbled and broken within them when they heard these stern words, as it is written, 11 “And the people mourned greatly.” Consequently, the sitra achra toppled from its dominion, from its haughtiness and arrogance.
וישראל עצמן הם מאמינים
But the Israelites themselves i.e., as far as their divine soul was concerned had believed in G‑d all along.
Therefore, as soon as they were released from the dominion of the sitra achra, they proclaimed, “We will readily go up...” There was no need of a miracle to convince them of G‑d’s ability. All that was necessary was to divest the sitra achra of its arrogance, and this was accomplished by G‑d’s “raging” at them.
Similarly with every Jew: When the light of his soul does not penetrate his heart, it is merely due to the arrogance of the sitra achra, which will vanish as soon as he rages at it.
ומזה יכול ללמוד כל אדם שנופלים לו במחשבתו ספיקות על אמונה כי הם דברי רוח הסטרא אחרא לבדה, המגביה עצמה על נפשו, אבל ישראל עצמן הם מאמינים כו׳
Every person in whose mind there occur doubts concerning faith in G‑d can deduce from this episode of the Spies that these doubts are nothing but the empty words of the sitra achra which raises itself against his divine soul. But Israelites themselves are believers...
וגם הסטרא אחרא עצמה אין לה ספיקות כלל באמונה, רק שניתן לה רשות לבלבל האדם בדברי שקר ומרמה להרבות שכרו
Furthermore, the sitra achra itself entertains no doubts at all concerning faith. As explained in ch. 22, the kelipah in its spiritual state (i.e., when not clothed in the human body) does not deny G‑d’s sovereignty. It has merely been granted permission to confuse man with false and deceitful words, in order that he may be more richly rewarded for mastering it.
כפיתויי הזונה לבן המלך בשקר ומרמה ברשות המלך, כמו שכתוב בזהר הקדוש
In this it is similar to the harlot who attempts to seduce the king’s son through falsehood and deceit, with the king’s approval, as in the parable narrated in the holy Zohar.12
The parable: A king hires a harlot to seduce his son, so that the prince will reveal his wisdom in resisting her wiles. The harlot herself, knowing the king’s intention, does not want the prince to submit to temptation. Similarly with the sitra achra: it is merely fulfilling its G‑d-given task in attempting to lure man away from G‑d, but actually desires that man resist it, thereby earning a greater reward.
However, this is true only of the spiritual kelipah which is the source of the animal soul. The animal soul and evil impulse as clothed within man, on the other hand, are truly evil, and their unequivocal aim is to entice man to do evil.
In the context of the parable, this may be described as follows: The harlot originally commissioned by the king subcontracts a second harlot, and the second a third, and so on. As the actual executor of the mission becomes successively further removed from the king, the original intention is lost, and finally the prince is approached by a harlot who has her own intentions in mind, not those of the king, as she attempts to seduce the prince.
In any event, we see that any doubts one may have concerning faith in G‑d, are merely the empty words of the sitra achra. The soul within every Jew, however, believes in G‑d with a perfect faith.
FOOTNOTES
1. Chs. 6, 7.
2. Chs. 6, 22.
3. Ovadiah 1:4.
4. Bamidbar 13:31.
5. Sotah 35a; Menachot 53b.
6. Bamidbar 14:40.
7. Ibid., v. 39.
8. Enumerated in Yehoshua 12.
9. Bamidbar Rabbah 7:5.
10. Bamidbar 14:27, 29, 35.
11. Ibid., v. 39.
12. II, 163a. See above, end of ch. 9
Saturday, February 9, 2013
"A PEOPLE DISPERSED"
Parshas Mishpatim
The Four Parashiot: Mis'mach Ge'ulah l'G'ulah
VIII
"A PEOPLE DISPERSED"
No one knew how to speak Lashon haRa as well as Haman. (BT Megillah 13b). Keep in mind that Lashon haRa is defined as true but degrading statements (slander is know by a different ignonomous title: Motzi Shem Ra). What did Haman say about the B'nei Yisra'el? He claimed that we are a "dispersed and disconnected people". This is, both from a perspective of Hazal's history and what we can approximate from Biblical narrative, an accurate description of the B'nei Yisra'el during this time.
There are many indications - in the Megillah, in Sefer Ezra and in Rabbinic literature - of the lack of unity and mutual concern to be found among the Judean exiles in Persia during the reign of Ahashverosh (and his predecessors). They had assimilated to the point where Jewish concerns, specifically of the welfare of the nascent and beleagured community "back home" who had returned and rebuilt the Beit haMikdash, were apparently not at the forefront of the Jewish community's conscience. Besides their assimiliation into Persi an culture (to the point where they were willing participants in Ahashverosh's idolatrous orgy - see R. Shim'on b. Yohai's comments in BT Megillah 12a) and the high rate of intermarriage prevalent in that community (see Ezra 9), the fact that it took the queen's order to assemble the Jews together in Shushan may be an indication of how "dispersed and disconnected" they really were.
What is the antidote for this lack of mutual and communal concern? Note Esther's response to Mordechai: "Assemble all of the Jews together..." (4:16). Esther understood that the first step needed in order to effect national salvation (or, in other words, to create the necessary conditions for national redemption) is to ensure that there is a nation to save. We can not be an Am Nosha (redeemed nation - Devarim 33:29) if we are not a nation to begin with.
PARASHAT SHEKALIM
And so, we begin the process of nation-building by publicly reading the Parashah of Shekalim: And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, When you take the census of the people of Yisra'el according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Hashem, when you count them; that there should be no plague among them, when you count them. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a shekel is twenty gerahs; a half shekel shall be the offering of Hashem. Every one who passes among those who are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to Hashem. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to Hashem, to make an atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the people of Yisra'el, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial to the people of Yisra'el before Hash em, to make an atonement for your souls.
The first lesson we are taught in this Parashah is not the obligation to donate to the building of the Mishkan - we've already learned about that (Sh'mot 25:2). Rather, we learn that everyone must participate in this donation - and that everyone has an equal amount of responsibility towards this project. In other words, no individual can exempt himself from his responsibility towards the community - and no one should think that his part is either more or less significant than his fellow's. It is often this sense of exaggerated self -importance on the one hand and (its equally dangerous opposite number) self -negation on the other which causes individuals to lose a sense of perspective regarding their role and responsibility within the body politic.
Note that the Torah obligates each person to give the same amount: The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less. Besides this common standard, the Torah teaches us another valuable lesson regarding the role of the individual within the community: This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary;
The Torah clearly prescribes the gift of half of a shekel; why doesn't the Torah just obligate a full shekel; or, that particular amount is inherently significant, obligate a gift of 10 gera of silver. Why phrase it as half a shekel (thus leading to the Halakhic obligation to change money in order to give an actual half-shekel piece)?
The answer which suggests itself is that the Torah is teaching us about the power of the individual - and his limitations. Everyone is needed for the public welfare to be secure - but no individual, no matter how rich, intelligent or powerful, is capable of succeeding on his own. Any nation-building enterprise demands, first and foremost, a partnership. When each individual recognizes his own strengths, not negating his own value (the poor shall not give less) nor overestimate his indispensability (The rich shall not give more), he can also understand that he needs his fellow as much as his fellow needs him (half a shekel).
PARASHAT ZAKHOR
On the Shabbat immediately before Purim, we take out a second Sefer Torah and read Parashat Zakhor: Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; How he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when Hashem your God has given you rest from all your enemies around, in the land which Hashem your God gives you for an inheritance to possess, that you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget it.
What is the connection between this Parashah and Purim? Keep in mind that if we are only concerned with having this section read once a year, we have already done so in the late summer - and the related Parashah (Sh'mot 17:8-16) was read a month ago. Although Haman's Amalek-association (genealogical, ideological or both) is strongly alluded to in the Megillah, this still doesn't explain this extra reading at this time; after all, we don't take out a second Sefer Torah on the Shabbat of Hol haMo'ed Pesach in order to read about the prohibitions of allowing an Egyptian convert into the community for two generations - or how we must treat Egyptians in general - even though these laws are clearly associated with the events celebrated on Pesach.
A careful look at the nature of Amalek's attack reveals an intricate connection to the Purim story beyond the ancestry of Haman. How did Amalek attack us? How he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you...In other words, the infirm, old and weak who were walking at the back of the Israelite camp were the targets of these tribal warriors (see Ibn Ezra ad loc.) The question must be asked: Why were these people walking at the back of the camp? Why weren't they placed safely in the middle, with strong, young and healthy men on the outskirts of this nomadic community?
The only conclusion which may be drawn is that the community itself did not demonstrate sufficient and appropriate concern for the weak and less capable within the group. To wit, Amalek was only able to successfully attack us when our own sense of common and mutual concern was lax. (See the comment of the Mekhilta on the verse And Amalek came and fought Yisra'el at Refidim - that Refidim implies that the B'nei Yisra'el acted deficiently in their own observace of Torah).
The sequence of Shekalim-Zakhor is one which seems to produce a dialectic tension. Shekalim teaches the equal responsibility of each person - no more, no less - towards the communal enterprise. From Parashat Zakhor, conversely, we learn that those who are stronger have a greater share of the responsibility towards their weaker fellows. Which is it? Do we have equal responsibilities or not?
This tension is immediately ameliorated when we consider which attitude each Parashah is coming to correct. At its foundation, a community must recognize the equal worth of each member and no one's worth should either be negated nor should it be overemphasized to the point of feeling like a "whole shekel". Once that sense of common obligation and equal responsibility is internalized, we do a "reality check" and note that some people, due to circumstances of birth and other Divine blessings, are more gifted than others at different things. There are brilliant theoreticians, military strategists, composers of beautiful music, and so on. Some of them, due to their engagement and involvement with their own art, are not as strong as others in other disciplines. As a result, each person needs to channel his talents towards the good of the community; strength, wisdom, wealth etc. do not breed rights; rather, they are cause for responsibility.
Both of these lessons are brought to the fore within the context of the Purim story. As noted above, Esther directed Mordechai to "assemble all of the people together", implying the commonality expressed by Parashat Shekalim. Within the celebration of Purim, however, we see an emphasis on our responsibilities towards those less fortunate: that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. (Esther 9:22).
Note the words of Rambam in codifying the Purim budget in MT Hilkhot Megillah 2:17: It is preferable for a person to spend more on his gifts to the poor than on his feast and sending portions to his friends. For there is no greater or more glorious happiness than to gladden the hearts of the poor, orphan, widow and stranger. One who gladdens the heart of these destitute people is similar to the Shekhinah, as it says: To bring life to the spirit of the lowly and to restore the heart of the downtrodden.
In sum, the two lessons which we need to learn in order to build a nation (which can then become a "nation which is redeemed") are the [limited] value of each member and the responsibility of each member towards each other, particularly those less "privileged". These lessons bring us to the first level of redemption - the redemption of Purim, a redemption born of Jewish unity.
PARASHAT PARAH
Once we have forged the unity necessary to create and maintain a healthy nation, there is yet one significant step we must take to be worthy of Ge'ulah. Any group which has achieved cohesion must also have a goal towards which that cooperative spirit is focused. If communal concern and mutual respect become ends in and of themselves, there is little reason to think that they will endure. It is the engine of common purpose and direction which ultimately drives the community (and, writ large, the nation).
What is our goal? Towards what do we aim our national resources? The answer is provided in the introductory chapter to the Stand at Sinai: but you shall be for Me a kingdom of Kohanim and a holy nation... (Sh'mot 19:6)
Our national charter is not just to be a unified people, an ethical beacon whose communal and national behavior exemplify sensitivity to others and respect for each member of the K'lal. We are called to be much more than that - we are charged to be a holy nation, a nation which strives to infuse its national life - and the personal lives of its members - with sanctity. We aim to bring God's Name into this world and to bring this world to a greater realization of His Presence.
After we have achieved the lonGodesired unity on Purim, balancing the demands of Shekalim and Zakhor, we then move this unified nation towards the national agenda of purity and holiness.
The selection known as Parashat Parah details the laws of the red heifer, used to purify anyone who has come into contact with the dead and has, as a result, become Tamei (ritually impure). His Tum'ah prevents him from entering the Mikdash/Mishkan and from partaking in any of the sancta. This ritual is, as Rashi (BT Megillah 29a) points out, Taharatan shel Yisra'el - the purification of the B'nei Yisra'el.
After we have gelled as a nation, we must move, together, towards the purity which allows us to reenter the Mikdash - so that we can continue on our national mission of bringing this world to God - and revealing God to this world.
XII
PARASHAT HACHODESH
Which brings us to the last of the four Parashiot, the one which, as we noted in last week's issue, seems the most problematic.
The opening line of this Parashah, haChodesh haZeh Lakhem, is itself somewhat difficult to understand. Although it has been Halakhically rendered as a command (either the command to declare the New Moon or to maintain a calendar with the month of Aviv at its head - see Rashi and Ramban ad loc.), the wording seems to be lacking a verb. We would expect it to read: haChodesh haZeh Yihyeh Lakhem.
S'forno notes that this opening line is, indeed, not phrased as a command; rather, it is a declarative statement: This month is yours. Here is his comment: From here on the months shall be yours, to do with them as you wish. During the days of the slavery your days were not your own, rather they were committed to other people's work and contingent upon their will. Therefore It is the first one for you of the months of the year - because now you began your life of free -will.
Our liberation, giving us the opportunity to create the conditions necessary for redemption, can only come when, as a united nation, we have become purified and moved our national agenda towards our mission of becoming a holy nation. As soon as we achieve that lofty goal, the time is ours - to act as we choose. If we choose wisely, the celebration of the past Exodus can become the promised future redemption.
XIII
THE ARBA PARASHIOT AND THE FOUR CUPS
We can now appreciate the analogy presented by R. Levi in the selection from the Yerushalmi cited above: Just as we don't drink between the third and fourth cup (but we may between the others), similarly, we don't skip a Shabbat between Parah and haChodesh.
Since the goal of the entire sequence of these Parashiot is to engender the necessary environment for turning Pesach from past into present - ensuring a brighter future - the analogy of the four cups, which are a vehicle for celebrating that freedom are, indeed, an apt analogy.
The Four Parashiot: Mis'mach Ge'ulah l'G'ulah
VIII
"A PEOPLE DISPERSED"
No one knew how to speak Lashon haRa as well as Haman. (BT Megillah 13b). Keep in mind that Lashon haRa is defined as true but degrading statements (slander is know by a different ignonomous title: Motzi Shem Ra). What did Haman say about the B'nei Yisra'el? He claimed that we are a "dispersed and disconnected people". This is, both from a perspective of Hazal's history and what we can approximate from Biblical narrative, an accurate description of the B'nei Yisra'el during this time.
There are many indications - in the Megillah, in Sefer Ezra and in Rabbinic literature - of the lack of unity and mutual concern to be found among the Judean exiles in Persia during the reign of Ahashverosh (and his predecessors). They had assimilated to the point where Jewish concerns, specifically of the welfare of the nascent and beleagured community "back home" who had returned and rebuilt the Beit haMikdash, were apparently not at the forefront of the Jewish community's conscience. Besides their assimiliation into Persi an culture (to the point where they were willing participants in Ahashverosh's idolatrous orgy - see R. Shim'on b. Yohai's comments in BT Megillah 12a) and the high rate of intermarriage prevalent in that community (see Ezra 9), the fact that it took the queen's order to assemble the Jews together in Shushan may be an indication of how "dispersed and disconnected" they really were.
What is the antidote for this lack of mutual and communal concern? Note Esther's response to Mordechai: "Assemble all of the Jews together..." (4:16). Esther understood that the first step needed in order to effect national salvation (or, in other words, to create the necessary conditions for national redemption) is to ensure that there is a nation to save. We can not be an Am Nosha (redeemed nation - Devarim 33:29) if we are not a nation to begin with.
PARASHAT SHEKALIM
And so, we begin the process of nation-building by publicly reading the Parashah of Shekalim: And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, When you take the census of the people of Yisra'el according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Hashem, when you count them; that there should be no plague among them, when you count them. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a shekel is twenty gerahs; a half shekel shall be the offering of Hashem. Every one who passes among those who are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to Hashem. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to Hashem, to make an atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the people of Yisra'el, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial to the people of Yisra'el before Hash em, to make an atonement for your souls.
The first lesson we are taught in this Parashah is not the obligation to donate to the building of the Mishkan - we've already learned about that (Sh'mot 25:2). Rather, we learn that everyone must participate in this donation - and that everyone has an equal amount of responsibility towards this project. In other words, no individual can exempt himself from his responsibility towards the community - and no one should think that his part is either more or less significant than his fellow's. It is often this sense of exaggerated self -importance on the one hand and (its equally dangerous opposite number) self -negation on the other which causes individuals to lose a sense of perspective regarding their role and responsibility within the body politic.
Note that the Torah obligates each person to give the same amount: The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less. Besides this common standard, the Torah teaches us another valuable lesson regarding the role of the individual within the community: This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary;
The Torah clearly prescribes the gift of half of a shekel; why doesn't the Torah just obligate a full shekel; or, that particular amount is inherently significant, obligate a gift of 10 gera of silver. Why phrase it as half a shekel (thus leading to the Halakhic obligation to change money in order to give an actual half-shekel piece)?
The answer which suggests itself is that the Torah is teaching us about the power of the individual - and his limitations. Everyone is needed for the public welfare to be secure - but no individual, no matter how rich, intelligent or powerful, is capable of succeeding on his own. Any nation-building enterprise demands, first and foremost, a partnership. When each individual recognizes his own strengths, not negating his own value (the poor shall not give less) nor overestimate his indispensability (The rich shall not give more), he can also understand that he needs his fellow as much as his fellow needs him (half a shekel).
PARASHAT ZAKHOR
On the Shabbat immediately before Purim, we take out a second Sefer Torah and read Parashat Zakhor: Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; How he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when Hashem your God has given you rest from all your enemies around, in the land which Hashem your God gives you for an inheritance to possess, that you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget it.
What is the connection between this Parashah and Purim? Keep in mind that if we are only concerned with having this section read once a year, we have already done so in the late summer - and the related Parashah (Sh'mot 17:8-16) was read a month ago. Although Haman's Amalek-association (genealogical, ideological or both) is strongly alluded to in the Megillah, this still doesn't explain this extra reading at this time; after all, we don't take out a second Sefer Torah on the Shabbat of Hol haMo'ed Pesach in order to read about the prohibitions of allowing an Egyptian convert into the community for two generations - or how we must treat Egyptians in general - even though these laws are clearly associated with the events celebrated on Pesach.
A careful look at the nature of Amalek's attack reveals an intricate connection to the Purim story beyond the ancestry of Haman. How did Amalek attack us? How he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were feeble behind you...In other words, the infirm, old and weak who were walking at the back of the Israelite camp were the targets of these tribal warriors (see Ibn Ezra ad loc.) The question must be asked: Why were these people walking at the back of the camp? Why weren't they placed safely in the middle, with strong, young and healthy men on the outskirts of this nomadic community?
The only conclusion which may be drawn is that the community itself did not demonstrate sufficient and appropriate concern for the weak and less capable within the group. To wit, Amalek was only able to successfully attack us when our own sense of common and mutual concern was lax. (See the comment of the Mekhilta on the verse And Amalek came and fought Yisra'el at Refidim - that Refidim implies that the B'nei Yisra'el acted deficiently in their own observace of Torah).
The sequence of Shekalim-Zakhor is one which seems to produce a dialectic tension. Shekalim teaches the equal responsibility of each person - no more, no less - towards the communal enterprise. From Parashat Zakhor, conversely, we learn that those who are stronger have a greater share of the responsibility towards their weaker fellows. Which is it? Do we have equal responsibilities or not?
This tension is immediately ameliorated when we consider which attitude each Parashah is coming to correct. At its foundation, a community must recognize the equal worth of each member and no one's worth should either be negated nor should it be overemphasized to the point of feeling like a "whole shekel". Once that sense of common obligation and equal responsibility is internalized, we do a "reality check" and note that some people, due to circumstances of birth and other Divine blessings, are more gifted than others at different things. There are brilliant theoreticians, military strategists, composers of beautiful music, and so on. Some of them, due to their engagement and involvement with their own art, are not as strong as others in other disciplines. As a result, each person needs to channel his talents towards the good of the community; strength, wisdom, wealth etc. do not breed rights; rather, they are cause for responsibility.
Both of these lessons are brought to the fore within the context of the Purim story. As noted above, Esther directed Mordechai to "assemble all of the people together", implying the commonality expressed by Parashat Shekalim. Within the celebration of Purim, however, we see an emphasis on our responsibilities towards those less fortunate: that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. (Esther 9:22).
Note the words of Rambam in codifying the Purim budget in MT Hilkhot Megillah 2:17: It is preferable for a person to spend more on his gifts to the poor than on his feast and sending portions to his friends. For there is no greater or more glorious happiness than to gladden the hearts of the poor, orphan, widow and stranger. One who gladdens the heart of these destitute people is similar to the Shekhinah, as it says: To bring life to the spirit of the lowly and to restore the heart of the downtrodden.
In sum, the two lessons which we need to learn in order to build a nation (which can then become a "nation which is redeemed") are the [limited] value of each member and the responsibility of each member towards each other, particularly those less "privileged". These lessons bring us to the first level of redemption - the redemption of Purim, a redemption born of Jewish unity.
PARASHAT PARAH
Once we have forged the unity necessary to create and maintain a healthy nation, there is yet one significant step we must take to be worthy of Ge'ulah. Any group which has achieved cohesion must also have a goal towards which that cooperative spirit is focused. If communal concern and mutual respect become ends in and of themselves, there is little reason to think that they will endure. It is the engine of common purpose and direction which ultimately drives the community (and, writ large, the nation).
What is our goal? Towards what do we aim our national resources? The answer is provided in the introductory chapter to the Stand at Sinai: but you shall be for Me a kingdom of Kohanim and a holy nation... (Sh'mot 19:6)
Our national charter is not just to be a unified people, an ethical beacon whose communal and national behavior exemplify sensitivity to others and respect for each member of the K'lal. We are called to be much more than that - we are charged to be a holy nation, a nation which strives to infuse its national life - and the personal lives of its members - with sanctity. We aim to bring God's Name into this world and to bring this world to a greater realization of His Presence.
After we have achieved the lonGodesired unity on Purim, balancing the demands of Shekalim and Zakhor, we then move this unified nation towards the national agenda of purity and holiness.
The selection known as Parashat Parah details the laws of the red heifer, used to purify anyone who has come into contact with the dead and has, as a result, become Tamei (ritually impure). His Tum'ah prevents him from entering the Mikdash/Mishkan and from partaking in any of the sancta. This ritual is, as Rashi (BT Megillah 29a) points out, Taharatan shel Yisra'el - the purification of the B'nei Yisra'el.
After we have gelled as a nation, we must move, together, towards the purity which allows us to reenter the Mikdash - so that we can continue on our national mission of bringing this world to God - and revealing God to this world.
XII
PARASHAT HACHODESH
Which brings us to the last of the four Parashiot, the one which, as we noted in last week's issue, seems the most problematic.
The opening line of this Parashah, haChodesh haZeh Lakhem, is itself somewhat difficult to understand. Although it has been Halakhically rendered as a command (either the command to declare the New Moon or to maintain a calendar with the month of Aviv at its head - see Rashi and Ramban ad loc.), the wording seems to be lacking a verb. We would expect it to read: haChodesh haZeh Yihyeh Lakhem.
S'forno notes that this opening line is, indeed, not phrased as a command; rather, it is a declarative statement: This month is yours. Here is his comment: From here on the months shall be yours, to do with them as you wish. During the days of the slavery your days were not your own, rather they were committed to other people's work and contingent upon their will. Therefore It is the first one for you of the months of the year - because now you began your life of free -will.
Our liberation, giving us the opportunity to create the conditions necessary for redemption, can only come when, as a united nation, we have become purified and moved our national agenda towards our mission of becoming a holy nation. As soon as we achieve that lofty goal, the time is ours - to act as we choose. If we choose wisely, the celebration of the past Exodus can become the promised future redemption.
XIII
THE ARBA PARASHIOT AND THE FOUR CUPS
We can now appreciate the analogy presented by R. Levi in the selection from the Yerushalmi cited above: Just as we don't drink between the third and fourth cup (but we may between the others), similarly, we don't skip a Shabbat between Parah and haChodesh.
Since the goal of the entire sequence of these Parashiot is to engender the necessary environment for turning Pesach from past into present - ensuring a brighter future - the analogy of the four cups, which are a vehicle for celebrating that freedom are, indeed, an apt analogy.
Dual Loyalty
Chapter 3, Mishna 2
Dual Loyalty
The previous edition of this class was sent out shortly after the passing of my beloved grandfather, HaRav Avraham Zvi ben Asher, a wonderful and learned human being who lived fully till the ripe old age of 101, and was beloved to all who knew him. At the time I dedicated this class to his memory. I now rededicate this class to him. May his memory be for a blessing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Rabbi Chanina the deputy [High] Priest said: Pray for the welfare of the government (lit., monarchy), for if not for its fear, a person would swallow his fellow live."
Our mishna diverges from some of the more spiritual themes of previous mishnas (or so it seems), and offers us some important practical advice. We are obligated to pray for and concern ourselves with the welfare of our country and government. Without authority, without law and order, people would literally swallow each other whole. We've all seen footage of such events as blackouts and natural disasters. When such events occur, we're on our own. No one's in control and nothing's stopping us -- and both the best and the worst in people come to the fore. (A heart-warming exception to this was 9-11, in which the civilized world felt under attack -- and we united and stood together in a way only tragedy can bring about.) And while some rise to the occasion to help others in need -- for no other reason than their G-d-given sense of responsibility to help mankind, others see nothing other than an opportunity to ignore all rules of justice and fair play.
Such times test a person's true worth: Do I truly fear G-d or do I behave because of the constraints of civilized society? But, advises R. Chanina, let us not wait and see who passes such a test. A civilized and ordered society is the best guarantee we will all live happy and productive lives.
R. Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that our mishna goes so far as to advise that we pray for the welfare of the government. Many synagogues recite such a prayer during Sabbath morning services. There is a specially-composed prayer which asks for the well-being of the ruler and that he be well-disposed towards his Jewish subjects. (And today some add prayers for the State of Israel and the IDF.)
There lies, however, a significant dilemma in this. For most of the past 2,000 years Jews have resided in adopted -- and usually less-than-welcoming -- host countries. Even to this day the majority of Jews live outside the Land of Israel. And we have often been suspected by our fellow countrymen of being foreign nationals -- of not being good Germans, good Russians, or good Frenchmen -- because of our acknowledged devotion to Judaism and to Israel.
(For this reason many Jews who had managed to have obtain high and influential government positions were apprehensive of appearing too pro-Jewish, and therefore bent over backwards in the interest of "evenhandedness". Many unfortunate examples of this in recent history.)
And in fact the question is a very serious one -- and a very valid one: Are such suspicions justified? Isn't it true that our primary devotion is to G-d's Torah and the Jewish people -- over and above our host the country and its laws? If we are devout Jews and quite likely supporters of the State of Israel, can we truly be patriotic Americans?
(When I was in elementary school we used to challenge ourselves with the difficult thought question: What if America and Israel go to war? Whose side would we be on? Would the Americans be justified in putting us in concentration camps (as they did to many Japanese-Americans during WWII) to keep us from making trouble?) (In fact one of the lame excuses offered by the State Department for refusing to accept more Jews at the start of the Holocaust was because they might be German spies in disguise.) In retrospect I realized that the question was moot. America and Israel would only go to war if one of the two countries had a fundamental shift in values and attitude -- one drastically different from the values dear to us today. And if that would occur, the question would presumably be a very different one.)
(As another aside, America and Israel going to war never really seemed all the likely to us -- then or now. But take a look at Zachariah 14 -- how the nations will come to attack Israel at the End of Days until G-d comes to our defense. And verse 14 there states that "Judah" will too fight against Jerusalem. According to most of the commentators, these will be Jews whom the nations will force to attack Jerusalem along with them -- i.e., conscript into their armies -- until G-d wipes out the Gentiles, leaving the Jews to take the spoils.)
(It's also interesting to note that a great European rabbi who visited America in the early 20th Century (I believe it was R. Baruch Epstein, author of the Torah Temimah), noted with curiosity that American Jews were unique among Jews of the Diaspora to feel a sense of patriotism towards their host country. Jews in America certainly had and still have a lot to be thankful for; the Jews of Poland, Russia, the Ukraine, the Levant etc. were at best lucky to settle for undisturbed, second-class citizenship. Yet it is interesting to realize that the concept of feeling any sort of loyalty to our country of residence is a relatively new phenomenon in Israel.)
So what of our question? Are our enemies justified in viewing us as foreign nationals? At first blush, we would have to answer yes. Certainly, our highest calling is to G-d. Our mission is eternal and unchanging; it knows no geographical boundaries. We might be good and law-abiding citizens in our host country, but far above all, we are obligated to be loyal to our G-d -- regardless of whether of not we have the support or even the permission of the temporal authorities. The inescapable conclusion would therefore seem to be that we identify with Judaism and our fellow Jews first, and our places of residence a far second.
However, the truth is hardly so simple. The Torah places great emphasis on our being good, law-abiding citizens. When the Jews were exiled to Babylon at the destruction of the First Temple, G-d, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, exhorts the people: "Seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray to G-d for its sake" (Jeremiah 29:7). The Jews of the time were departing for a mere 70 years, yet they were instructed to make themselves quite at home. As far as we're concerned, the Exile is here to stay. This is where G-d wants us to reside, and from our perspective it is home -- and its natives are our hosts. The Torah goes so far as to instruct us not to hold an Egyptian in contempt, "for you were resident in his land" (Deut. 23:8). We honor our hosts, we support them, and we "seek their peace."
The Talmud further asserts a principle known as "the law of the land is binding" (Gittin 10b). This means that there is a Torah obligation that we observe the laws of the country in which we reside -- unless they outright contradict our own laws. (One reason for this, as offered by the commentators, is that since the territory of, say, the United States belongs to the U.S. government, the government has the right to state the conditions upon which we are permitted to dwell there.)
But it is far deeper than this. We must ever be conscious of the purpose for which G-d exiled us literally to every corner of the globe. G-d did not spread us out so far and wide to stir up discontent, to oppose or even to ignore our surroundings. He did so in order that we spread the truth of His existence and set an example of holiness and virtuousness for the world to see. The Talmud states, "G-d exiled the Jewish People among the nations of the world only in order that converts join them" (Pesachim 87b). The world over must come to recognize the great divine potential of the human being.
In fact, the commentator Rabbeinu Yonah extends our mishna's theme. He deals with the following question: Are we concerned with the welfare of our own host nation alone? What of the rest of the world? True, we must occupy ourselves first with the needs of our own, as the Talmud says, "The poor of your own city take precedence" (Bava Metsiah 33a), and of course we have a vested interest in the social well-being and economic prosperity of our own place of residence. But, explains R. Yonah, this should not be taken to imply a lack of concern for the rest of the world. Our mishna in part stems from the interest and concern we must have for all members of the human race.
So yes, in the final analysis we are good citizens. But we are much more. We must be devoted and caring towards our countries, our neighbors, and the world at large. Patriotism may not be our end goal, but within the framework of Judaism, we are given the leeway -- and the obligation -- to be decent, devoted, and prominent citizens wherever G-d's exile leads us. We hope to return to our own homeland, but in the meanwhile we can and should devote ourselves to our provisional homelands -- to humanity as a whole, but in particular to our benevolent host country.
Those of us fortunate to live in western democracies are at the same time able to benefit from the constitutionally-backed notions of freedom of religion and expression -- and for that too we must be eternally grateful. Very rarely today do religion and state clash (in really fundamental ways). If they do, we will be left with no choice. But barring that, we constitute the most devoted, law-abiding -- and patriotic -- segments of our host countries.
And so, in short, we do not suffer from dual loyalty. We have a single loyalty -- to G-d alone. He just happens to be a G-d who wants us to be caring and gracious to all
Dual Loyalty
The previous edition of this class was sent out shortly after the passing of my beloved grandfather, HaRav Avraham Zvi ben Asher, a wonderful and learned human being who lived fully till the ripe old age of 101, and was beloved to all who knew him. At the time I dedicated this class to his memory. I now rededicate this class to him. May his memory be for a blessing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Rabbi Chanina the deputy [High] Priest said: Pray for the welfare of the government (lit., monarchy), for if not for its fear, a person would swallow his fellow live."
Our mishna diverges from some of the more spiritual themes of previous mishnas (or so it seems), and offers us some important practical advice. We are obligated to pray for and concern ourselves with the welfare of our country and government. Without authority, without law and order, people would literally swallow each other whole. We've all seen footage of such events as blackouts and natural disasters. When such events occur, we're on our own. No one's in control and nothing's stopping us -- and both the best and the worst in people come to the fore. (A heart-warming exception to this was 9-11, in which the civilized world felt under attack -- and we united and stood together in a way only tragedy can bring about.) And while some rise to the occasion to help others in need -- for no other reason than their G-d-given sense of responsibility to help mankind, others see nothing other than an opportunity to ignore all rules of justice and fair play.
Such times test a person's true worth: Do I truly fear G-d or do I behave because of the constraints of civilized society? But, advises R. Chanina, let us not wait and see who passes such a test. A civilized and ordered society is the best guarantee we will all live happy and productive lives.
R. Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that our mishna goes so far as to advise that we pray for the welfare of the government. Many synagogues recite such a prayer during Sabbath morning services. There is a specially-composed prayer which asks for the well-being of the ruler and that he be well-disposed towards his Jewish subjects. (And today some add prayers for the State of Israel and the IDF.)
There lies, however, a significant dilemma in this. For most of the past 2,000 years Jews have resided in adopted -- and usually less-than-welcoming -- host countries. Even to this day the majority of Jews live outside the Land of Israel. And we have often been suspected by our fellow countrymen of being foreign nationals -- of not being good Germans, good Russians, or good Frenchmen -- because of our acknowledged devotion to Judaism and to Israel.
(For this reason many Jews who had managed to have obtain high and influential government positions were apprehensive of appearing too pro-Jewish, and therefore bent over backwards in the interest of "evenhandedness". Many unfortunate examples of this in recent history.)
And in fact the question is a very serious one -- and a very valid one: Are such suspicions justified? Isn't it true that our primary devotion is to G-d's Torah and the Jewish people -- over and above our host the country and its laws? If we are devout Jews and quite likely supporters of the State of Israel, can we truly be patriotic Americans?
(When I was in elementary school we used to challenge ourselves with the difficult thought question: What if America and Israel go to war? Whose side would we be on? Would the Americans be justified in putting us in concentration camps (as they did to many Japanese-Americans during WWII) to keep us from making trouble?) (In fact one of the lame excuses offered by the State Department for refusing to accept more Jews at the start of the Holocaust was because they might be German spies in disguise.) In retrospect I realized that the question was moot. America and Israel would only go to war if one of the two countries had a fundamental shift in values and attitude -- one drastically different from the values dear to us today. And if that would occur, the question would presumably be a very different one.)
(As another aside, America and Israel going to war never really seemed all the likely to us -- then or now. But take a look at Zachariah 14 -- how the nations will come to attack Israel at the End of Days until G-d comes to our defense. And verse 14 there states that "Judah" will too fight against Jerusalem. According to most of the commentators, these will be Jews whom the nations will force to attack Jerusalem along with them -- i.e., conscript into their armies -- until G-d wipes out the Gentiles, leaving the Jews to take the spoils.)
(It's also interesting to note that a great European rabbi who visited America in the early 20th Century (I believe it was R. Baruch Epstein, author of the Torah Temimah), noted with curiosity that American Jews were unique among Jews of the Diaspora to feel a sense of patriotism towards their host country. Jews in America certainly had and still have a lot to be thankful for; the Jews of Poland, Russia, the Ukraine, the Levant etc. were at best lucky to settle for undisturbed, second-class citizenship. Yet it is interesting to realize that the concept of feeling any sort of loyalty to our country of residence is a relatively new phenomenon in Israel.)
So what of our question? Are our enemies justified in viewing us as foreign nationals? At first blush, we would have to answer yes. Certainly, our highest calling is to G-d. Our mission is eternal and unchanging; it knows no geographical boundaries. We might be good and law-abiding citizens in our host country, but far above all, we are obligated to be loyal to our G-d -- regardless of whether of not we have the support or even the permission of the temporal authorities. The inescapable conclusion would therefore seem to be that we identify with Judaism and our fellow Jews first, and our places of residence a far second.
However, the truth is hardly so simple. The Torah places great emphasis on our being good, law-abiding citizens. When the Jews were exiled to Babylon at the destruction of the First Temple, G-d, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, exhorts the people: "Seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray to G-d for its sake" (Jeremiah 29:7). The Jews of the time were departing for a mere 70 years, yet they were instructed to make themselves quite at home. As far as we're concerned, the Exile is here to stay. This is where G-d wants us to reside, and from our perspective it is home -- and its natives are our hosts. The Torah goes so far as to instruct us not to hold an Egyptian in contempt, "for you were resident in his land" (Deut. 23:8). We honor our hosts, we support them, and we "seek their peace."
The Talmud further asserts a principle known as "the law of the land is binding" (Gittin 10b). This means that there is a Torah obligation that we observe the laws of the country in which we reside -- unless they outright contradict our own laws. (One reason for this, as offered by the commentators, is that since the territory of, say, the United States belongs to the U.S. government, the government has the right to state the conditions upon which we are permitted to dwell there.)
But it is far deeper than this. We must ever be conscious of the purpose for which G-d exiled us literally to every corner of the globe. G-d did not spread us out so far and wide to stir up discontent, to oppose or even to ignore our surroundings. He did so in order that we spread the truth of His existence and set an example of holiness and virtuousness for the world to see. The Talmud states, "G-d exiled the Jewish People among the nations of the world only in order that converts join them" (Pesachim 87b). The world over must come to recognize the great divine potential of the human being.
In fact, the commentator Rabbeinu Yonah extends our mishna's theme. He deals with the following question: Are we concerned with the welfare of our own host nation alone? What of the rest of the world? True, we must occupy ourselves first with the needs of our own, as the Talmud says, "The poor of your own city take precedence" (Bava Metsiah 33a), and of course we have a vested interest in the social well-being and economic prosperity of our own place of residence. But, explains R. Yonah, this should not be taken to imply a lack of concern for the rest of the world. Our mishna in part stems from the interest and concern we must have for all members of the human race.
So yes, in the final analysis we are good citizens. But we are much more. We must be devoted and caring towards our countries, our neighbors, and the world at large. Patriotism may not be our end goal, but within the framework of Judaism, we are given the leeway -- and the obligation -- to be decent, devoted, and prominent citizens wherever G-d's exile leads us. We hope to return to our own homeland, but in the meanwhile we can and should devote ourselves to our provisional homelands -- to humanity as a whole, but in particular to our benevolent host country.
Those of us fortunate to live in western democracies are at the same time able to benefit from the constitutionally-backed notions of freedom of religion and expression -- and for that too we must be eternally grateful. Very rarely today do religion and state clash (in really fundamental ways). If they do, we will be left with no choice. But barring that, we constitute the most devoted, law-abiding -- and patriotic -- segments of our host countries.
And so, in short, we do not suffer from dual loyalty. We have a single loyalty -- to G-d alone. He just happens to be a G-d who wants us to be caring and gracious to all
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Split at the Sea
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/2111302/jewish/Split-at-the-Sea.htm
\http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/2111303/jewish/Nigun-Simcha.htm
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/618984/jewish/Protector-of-Her-People.htm
Split at the Sea
When the Jewish people was surrounded by the Egyptians at the sea, four opinions were voiced on how to respond: 1) Jump into the sea – better to give one’s life in sanctification of G-d’s Name than to transgress His will; 2) Return to Egypt – perhaps they had not completed their spiritual mission there; 3) take up arms and fight – for to extinguish their own lives or return to Egypt would both transgress G-d’s will; 4) Pray to G-d. More
When the Jewish people was surrounded by the Egyptians at the sea, four opinions were voiced on how to respond: 1) Jump into the sea – better to give one’s life in sanctification of G-d’s Name than to transgress His will; 2) Return to Egypt – perhaps they had not completed their spiritual mission there; 3) take up arms and fight – for to extinguish their own lives or return to Egypt would both transgress G-d’s will; 4) Pray to G-d.
All four approaches, however, were wrong: “The L-rd said to Moses, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to travel onward’” – march into the sea and it will split for you!
“Everything that is found on dry land is also found in the sea” – but from the surface you can’t see anything in the ocean, because it’s all covered by water. Similarly, G-d’s miracles are all around us, but when one looks no deeper than the surface of the natural order, he cannot see the miracles. As soon as you take the dive into the depths of G-dly reality, however, you immediately see miracles happening all around you; you see G-d’s own hand orchestrating your deliverance.
\http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/2111303/jewish/Nigun-Simcha.htm
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/618984/jewish/Protector-of-Her-People.htm
Split at the Sea
When the Jewish people was surrounded by the Egyptians at the sea, four opinions were voiced on how to respond: 1) Jump into the sea – better to give one’s life in sanctification of G-d’s Name than to transgress His will; 2) Return to Egypt – perhaps they had not completed their spiritual mission there; 3) take up arms and fight – for to extinguish their own lives or return to Egypt would both transgress G-d’s will; 4) Pray to G-d. More
When the Jewish people was surrounded by the Egyptians at the sea, four opinions were voiced on how to respond: 1) Jump into the sea – better to give one’s life in sanctification of G-d’s Name than to transgress His will; 2) Return to Egypt – perhaps they had not completed their spiritual mission there; 3) take up arms and fight – for to extinguish their own lives or return to Egypt would both transgress G-d’s will; 4) Pray to G-d.
All four approaches, however, were wrong: “The L-rd said to Moses, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to travel onward’” – march into the sea and it will split for you!
“Everything that is found on dry land is also found in the sea” – but from the surface you can’t see anything in the ocean, because it’s all covered by water. Similarly, G-d’s miracles are all around us, but when one looks no deeper than the surface of the natural order, he cannot see the miracles. As soon as you take the dive into the depths of G-dly reality, however, you immediately see miracles happening all around you; you see G-d’s own hand orchestrating your deliverance.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Judgment and the afterlife
The Sages, however, never describe it that way. Our mishna states that we will one day have to "give justification and accounting" ("din v'cheshbon") before G-d. It seems that more will transpire than a mere handing down of a verdict. In fact, all throughout Jewish writings our ultimate judgment is portrayed as a trial. We will stand before a heavenly tribunal; we will be forced to view our entire lives and defend ourselves before the fearsome prosecutor. The Talmud states that we will be forced to respond to questions about our behavior in this world (Shabbos 31a), and that we will have to sign our names in approval of the judgment we will receive (Ta'anis 11a). (There appears to be a contradiction in the Talmud if the first question we will be asked is if we conducted our business affairs honestly or if we set aside daily time for Torah study.)
But what's really the point of all this? Are there really going to be court proceedings almost in the manner we have in this world? Isn't the whole thing really just a show trial? Or are the Sages just speaking in colorful metaphor?
"Akavia ben (son of) Mehalalel said: Consider three things and you will not come to sin. Know from where you have come, to where you are heading, and before Whom you will give justification and accounting. From where have you come? From a putrid drop (of semen). To where are you heading? To a place of dirt, worms and maggots. And before Whom will you give justification and accounting? Before the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He."
Our origins should perhaps be the most humbling aspect of our self-awareness. We all come from the same quite "ordinary" beginnings. Pagan kings of old used to claim descent from the heavenly bodies. And (at the risk of generating a flurry of irate e-mails...), other religions claim their savior spawned from something "holier" than mere sexual relations. We make no such claims. For man should see himself (at least his physical side) as something not so qualitatively different from any beast of the field. Even the greatest Torah scholar once leaked out of his diaper, spat up on his mother's good dress, played ball indoors and broke his parents' expensive vase, and got yelled at by his mother for carrying on. We all began as purely physical, helpless, demanding creatures. What we make of ourselves after is our own choosing. But the humbling memory of our all-too-human past must accompany us all the while
Rabbeinu Yonah comments on our mishna as follows: Much worse than the punishment a person will receive for his sins, he will experience an enormous sense of shame. People are embarrassed by their misdeeds, especially if they are caught in the act, and especially if it exposes them as being of much poorer character than they outwardly project. Continues R. Yonah, if a person is put to shame in this world he will be mortified, but it will eventually subside. Our memories are limited and finite (while other people move on to the next scandal), and we will slowly be able to put the incident out of mind. For in this world, our souls are tempered by their presence in physical bodies.
R. Yonah provides us with a critical insight into the nature of the judgment which awaits us in Heaven: it is shame! Our concept of reward and punishment is not a matter of paying up past debts or of G-d evening the score with us. It is the unbridled self-awareness which will result when our souls depart their bodies. Our souls will be "on trial." We will be forced to face our faults and be cognizant of them -- much as a defendant facing the overwhelming evidence of the prosecution. We will come face to face with our Creator. There will be no protective cloak, no layers of physicality or self-imposed ignorance, and no defense mechanisms. We will not be able to ignore who we are or make feigned excuses. We will be alone with ourselves -- and with our G-d. And this might be the ultimate bliss or the most excruciating torment -- depending, of course, how we spent our lives.
R. Aryeh Kaplan of blessed memory, in his work "Immortality and the Soul," discusses the true nature of Hell. He explains that one of the biggest tasks of our brains is to block out rather than absorb information. If every bit of input which reaches our senses would be registered -- every one of the billions upon billions of cells which trigger in our eyes and ears at every moment, we would quickly be overwhelmed. The human brain acts much more as a reducing valve than a listening device -- blocking out nearly all external stimuli so that we notice only that which we are focused on -- as well as sudden or unexpected sights or sounds on the peripheral. As jamming mechanisms our brains allow ourselves to be productive while allowing for self-preservation.
Our memories work in a similar fashion. They too retain only what they deem necessary, leaving aside most of what is not significant -- as well as that which we would prefer not to remember. (Consider the many recorded cases of child abuse -- in which the child literally put the horrific memories out of his or her mind. Years later, the person has an eerie revulsion for certain people or places -- and he doesn't know why.) Thus, while in our physical state, we cope with life by blocking out and leaving aside much of the unwanted and unnecessary. And what we are left with is often far from the entire story.
However, our consciousness -- our souls -- absorb everything. We know all our mistakes and misdeeds. And when our souls depart from their bodies, they will exist without the jamming mechanisms of the brain. And so, the afterlife will be one of exposure, of coming face to face with our true selves. We will stand naked before G-d, fully aware of all our virtues and all our faults. For some of us this will be the ultimate of bliss. And for others, it will be an eternal hell.
(Just as a parenthetical endorsement, in my humble opinion R. Kaplan's writings are without question the most important works on Jewish thought written in the English language. Many of his most basic works have been published in The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology, by Artscroll Mesorah Publications
But what's really the point of all this? Are there really going to be court proceedings almost in the manner we have in this world? Isn't the whole thing really just a show trial? Or are the Sages just speaking in colorful metaphor?
"Akavia ben (son of) Mehalalel said: Consider three things and you will not come to sin. Know from where you have come, to where you are heading, and before Whom you will give justification and accounting. From where have you come? From a putrid drop (of semen). To where are you heading? To a place of dirt, worms and maggots. And before Whom will you give justification and accounting? Before the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He."
Our origins should perhaps be the most humbling aspect of our self-awareness. We all come from the same quite "ordinary" beginnings. Pagan kings of old used to claim descent from the heavenly bodies. And (at the risk of generating a flurry of irate e-mails...), other religions claim their savior spawned from something "holier" than mere sexual relations. We make no such claims. For man should see himself (at least his physical side) as something not so qualitatively different from any beast of the field. Even the greatest Torah scholar once leaked out of his diaper, spat up on his mother's good dress, played ball indoors and broke his parents' expensive vase, and got yelled at by his mother for carrying on. We all began as purely physical, helpless, demanding creatures. What we make of ourselves after is our own choosing. But the humbling memory of our all-too-human past must accompany us all the while
Rabbeinu Yonah comments on our mishna as follows: Much worse than the punishment a person will receive for his sins, he will experience an enormous sense of shame. People are embarrassed by their misdeeds, especially if they are caught in the act, and especially if it exposes them as being of much poorer character than they outwardly project. Continues R. Yonah, if a person is put to shame in this world he will be mortified, but it will eventually subside. Our memories are limited and finite (while other people move on to the next scandal), and we will slowly be able to put the incident out of mind. For in this world, our souls are tempered by their presence in physical bodies.
R. Yonah provides us with a critical insight into the nature of the judgment which awaits us in Heaven: it is shame! Our concept of reward and punishment is not a matter of paying up past debts or of G-d evening the score with us. It is the unbridled self-awareness which will result when our souls depart their bodies. Our souls will be "on trial." We will be forced to face our faults and be cognizant of them -- much as a defendant facing the overwhelming evidence of the prosecution. We will come face to face with our Creator. There will be no protective cloak, no layers of physicality or self-imposed ignorance, and no defense mechanisms. We will not be able to ignore who we are or make feigned excuses. We will be alone with ourselves -- and with our G-d. And this might be the ultimate bliss or the most excruciating torment -- depending, of course, how we spent our lives.
R. Aryeh Kaplan of blessed memory, in his work "Immortality and the Soul," discusses the true nature of Hell. He explains that one of the biggest tasks of our brains is to block out rather than absorb information. If every bit of input which reaches our senses would be registered -- every one of the billions upon billions of cells which trigger in our eyes and ears at every moment, we would quickly be overwhelmed. The human brain acts much more as a reducing valve than a listening device -- blocking out nearly all external stimuli so that we notice only that which we are focused on -- as well as sudden or unexpected sights or sounds on the peripheral. As jamming mechanisms our brains allow ourselves to be productive while allowing for self-preservation.
Our memories work in a similar fashion. They too retain only what they deem necessary, leaving aside most of what is not significant -- as well as that which we would prefer not to remember. (Consider the many recorded cases of child abuse -- in which the child literally put the horrific memories out of his or her mind. Years later, the person has an eerie revulsion for certain people or places -- and he doesn't know why.) Thus, while in our physical state, we cope with life by blocking out and leaving aside much of the unwanted and unnecessary. And what we are left with is often far from the entire story.
However, our consciousness -- our souls -- absorb everything. We know all our mistakes and misdeeds. And when our souls depart from their bodies, they will exist without the jamming mechanisms of the brain. And so, the afterlife will be one of exposure, of coming face to face with our true selves. We will stand naked before G-d, fully aware of all our virtues and all our faults. For some of us this will be the ultimate of bliss. And for others, it will be an eternal hell.
(Just as a parenthetical endorsement, in my humble opinion R. Kaplan's writings are without question the most important works on Jewish thought written in the English language. Many of his most basic works have been published in The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology, by Artscroll Mesorah Publications
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