Monday, March 4, 2013
Idol Worship: Epikorsus and Anger
11:12 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
unity
“The rich
shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with
which to give the offering to Hashem, to atone for your souls” (30:15)
The
rich man's large donation to charity is no dearer in Hashem's eyes than the
poor man's small one, everything rather depends on the degree of devotion and
self-sacrifice displayed by the donor; there is no justification for the rich
man to feel superior to the poor man just because of the size of his donation.
Every
person had to donate an identical half-shekel amount to finance the korbonos
to teach us that it is not the
amount of a donation that counts, and also to emphasize that the resulting atonement was the result of the joint
effort of the entire nation. For the same reason the amount specified was
half a shekel, to indicate that each individual’s private donation could not be
complete without being complemented by the donations of all the other
individuals comprising the entire nation. Only then would be there be a
complete shekel.
However,
the Mishna at the beginning of Masseches Shekolim says that an
announcement was made on the first of Adar about bringing shekolim
and also about kilayim. Since the shekolim, as we said, symbolize
unity between all members of the nation, the Mishna counterbalances this by
mentioning kilayim in the same breath in order to remind us that
although unity is indispensable, the holy may not be intermingled with the
profane, and we therefore cannot unite with epikrosim who detach
themselves from the rest of the nation, because such "unity" would
constitute kilayim (a forbidden mixture).
The
Baal Haflo’oh, who was the rov of Frankfurt, refused to count irreligious
people as part of a minyan. When he was challenged about this policy in
the light of the medrash that encourages sinners to be part of our
public prayers, he replied that he had no objection to their joining our
prayers once a kosher minyan had been formed, the point being that if the
non-observant approach us seeking to make a connection, we must of course
welcome them with open arms, but as long as they remain antagonistic towards
us, we must maintain our distance.
Following in the footsteps of
the LEVIYIM
“Whoever is
for Hashem, let him come to me! And all the sons of Levi gathered around him” (32:26)
The
Brisker Rov zt”l noted that it seems
strange that only the Leviyim volunteered to participate in executing the death
sentence on those who had sinned. Surely the whole nation had now witnessed
that Moshe Rabbeinu was alive and well, so that the whole raison d'être for the
golden calf had dissipated. Why, then, did only the Leviyim answer Moshe’s
call?
This
teaches us, he replied, that if someone doubts Hakodosh Boruch Hu it is
difficult for him to detach itself from his erroneous beliefs even if he is
presented with proof of the false nature of his views. He added that people
think that when moshiach comes everyone will become righteous overnight,
but this is not so. We have to prepare ourselves for moshiach by
connecting completely to Hashem. Without such a connection it will be difficult
to dissociate ourselves completely from heretical thoughts even once moshiach
comes.
He
also commented that the entire Jewish nation believed in Hashem, but only the
Leviyim answered Moshe’s call, because only they believed in Hashem exclusively,
only they had had no desire to join the erev rav, to have anything to do
with them, or to approve their actions in their hearts. As Chazal say: anyone
who acknowledges idol worship, it is as if he denies the entire Torah.
Similarly,
in our times, if someone seeks to unite with anti-Torah elements, it is as if
he denies the entire Torah. We must not delude ourselves into thinking that
only bnei yeshiva are at stake. As much as they wax eloquent about the Torah,
in reality they wish to uproot it by enacting laws such as those pertaining to the
secularization of marriages and conversions.
Our
very existence in this country is supernatural, and we have been witness to
miracles both during peacetime and, in particular, in times of war, but we
cannot take this for granted. We must beseech Hashem that He will continue to
protect us in His mercy. In order for us to have clean hands in this respect,
we must continue to resist any talk of compromises and dissociate ourselves
completely from anti-Torah elements and their supporters.
TWO SHABOSOS
“Only
keep My Shabossos” (33:13)
The
Torah mentions Shabossos in the plural. One Shabbos refers to the
fact that we refrain from performing melochos, whereas the second Shabbos
refers to the positive, active kedushah inherent in Shabbos based
on which we strive to create an otherworldly experience, and to recharge our
spiritual batteries, thereby sanctifying ourselves and this holiest day. Kedushah
in this context means learning Torah, saying divrei Torah, singing zemiros
and conveying fundamental messages to our children at the Shabbos table.
Chazal
(Masseches Shabos 118b) tell us that if we all keep two Shabossos
properly we will be redeemed immediately. These two shabossos may be
interpreted as referring to the Shabos of refraining from melochos and
the Shabbos of actively creating the requisite kedushah.
neshomo
yeseiro
“And
on the seventh day He ceased and rested [vayinofosh]” (33:17)
The
gemara (Masseches Beitza 16a) expounds this as a comment made by
a person when Shabbos starts: vay ovdo nefesh: “woe is to my soul,
which has departed from me”. The gemara says this in the context of the neshomo
yeseiro, the “additional soul” with which we are endowed and which departs
on motzoay shabbos, so how can we understand this exposition in view of
the fact that the possuk appears to be talking about Shabbos itself
not motzoay shabbos?
The
Imrei Emes zt”l says that already
upon the commencement of Shabbos a person should bear in mind that his neshomo
yeseiro will only be with him for the duration of the Shabbos and he
should therefore utilize it to the utmost for as long as he has it by refraining
from forbidden or idle talk and endeavoring to infuse the holy day with kedusha.
Alternatively,
when Shabbos starts a person should take stock of whether he has given his neshomo
its due during the week that has elapsed. If he has not, he bewails his neglect
of it, and undertakes to dedicate more time during the upcoming week to
learning Torah and generally catering to the needs of his neshomo.
clarity in hindsight
“You
will see My back but My face shall not be seen” (33:23)
We
have an annual Day of Judgment every Rosh Hashono and are also judged
after we pass away, but it is only on the Final Day of Judgment, which will
follow the chevlei moshiach and techias hamesim, that Hashem will
reveal to us the reasons for our national and personal suffering, and for the
rewards that have been allotted in this world and the Next World.
For
now we cannot see Hashem’s “face”, we cannot fathom the depths of His judgment,
only after the Final Day of Judgment will we be capable of understanding the
justice of all His deeds, only then will we “see” His “back”, only then will we
understand in retrospect everything that happened to us.
beware of anger
“You shall
not make molten gods for yourself. The Festival of Matzos you shall keep” (34:17-18).
Rav Meshulam
Igra zt”l was a famous Gaon who died
in 1801. His shamash told the following story to the Chasam Sofer zt”l, who succeeded Rav Meshulam to the
Pressburg rabbinate.
Rav Meshulam
was very particular about personally handling the entire process of matzo production
right from the first stage of ketziro (reaping). For example, he checked
each wheat stalk himself to ensure that there was no suspicion of chimutz (fermentation).
One erev Pesach Rav Meshulam left the house early to go to shul before Yom Tov started, and the maid found three matzos on
the table. These were the matzos which Rav Meshulam had so painstakingly
prepared for the Seder, but thinking that they were simple matzos
she took them to make a dish with them.
Soon after
that the Rebbetzen noticed that her husband’s matzos were no longer
there, and she asked the maid if she knew where they were. When the maid told
her what she had done with them, the Rebbetzen became very upset with her, and
told her that her husband had spent so much time and effort on these matzos
and he would now not have any matzos for the Seder. The Rebbetzen was in
such a state that she fainted. A doctor was summoned and he told everybody not
to worry, because the Rebbetzen would be all right.
When Rav
Meshulam came home he was surprised to find a large crowd gathered in his
house, and he became worried that something had happened to the Rebbetzen. When
he was told about the preceding events, there was no change to his calm
demeanor, and he did not say anything, but merely asked where the maid was. It
turned out that she had become so frightened that she had run away, and had to
be summoned. The rov told her that she must not worry, because what she had
done had not been her fault, and he would just borrow three matzos from the
neighbors. These matzos, he added, were perfectly kosher. The matzos and
all the chumros I invested in them, he concluded, would not be worth
anything if I now became angry because of them.
The Chasam
Sofer was very impressed with this story, and was amazed at how Rav Meshulam reacted to his maid’s conduct, even though he
heard about the incident suddenly and without any warning.
According to
the plain meaning “You shall not make molten gods for yourself” is a
prohibition against idol worship, but the Zohar learns that it is an admonition
against becoming angry, so these pesukim may be read as follows: you
shall keep the Festival of Matzos meticulously and employ as many chumros as possible to ensure their kashrus limehadrin, but do not do so at the expense of
becoming angry!
*****
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