Friday, July 6, 2012
We cannot know better than Hashem
1:21 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Submitting to the will of Hashem
Send
men that that they may spy out the land of Canaan
The medrash
quoted by Rashi seems difficult to understand, since the spies spoke
slanderously about a country, not about a person.
In fact,
the main thrust of their argument was that although Eretz Yisroel was a
wonderful country, the nation was not on a high enough level to live there in a
natural fashion, and, as for living miraculously, it would be difficult to
maintain a consistently high level of conduct that would make the nation worthy
of direct constant divine protection. They therefore concluded that it would
not be worthwhile to conquer the country, notwithstanding its superior
qualities.
Similarly,
Miriam had the highest respect and was in awe of Moshe Rabbeinu, but she felt
that even though her brother had come as close as possible to becoming an angelic
being, since he was after all human, and the ultimate greatness of a human
being is to sanctify his physical aspects rather than negate them, he should
not have separated altogether from his wife.
The
mistake made both by Miriam and the meraglim was that they should have
submitted themselves totally to the will of Hashem, and disregarded any
theories of their own that contradicted that express Will, however reasonable they
might seem.
Fighting for our principles
And Moshe
called Hoshea the son of Nun Yehoshua (13:16). Rashi: He prayed on his behalf, “May
Hashem save you from the counsel of the spies”.
The Targum
Yonoson says that it was
when Moshe saw his modesty that he called Hoshea Yehoshua. What is the
connection between Yehoshua’s modesty and Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayers stemming
from his fear that Yehoshua would be influenced by the counsel of the spies?
Moshe
Rabbeinu realized that someone with excessive modesty is likely to reach a compromise
with those who seek to go against the Will of Hashem. He therefore changed Hoshea’s
name to Yehoshua in the hope that
this would grant him the required fortitude to fight the majority view of the meragalim.
This teaches us that even though we must be aware that the results of
our actions depend on Hashem, it is His desire that we should do whatever is
within our power to stand up for Torah principles, and when we have to fight
for such principles, we have to shed any inappropriate modesty.
Relying on Hashem
And the
people wept on that night (14:1)
This
episode is difficult to understand. How could the entire congregation have said,
"If only we had died in the land
of Egypt
Although they were gedolei yisroel the meraglim
did not trust in
Hashem's promises and wanted to live a natural existence. When we distance
ourselves from Hashem, he distances Himself from us, leaving us to our own
devices. The more we trust Hashem, the more does He protect us: “He who trusts
in Hashem is surrounded by mercy”.
On the
national level, if we live with the realization that Hashem rules the world
down to the last detail, we will merit siyata dishmaya, but if we think
that everything is dependent on natural causes, that siyata dishmaya
will be removed. On the personal level, chazal tell us that were it not
for Hashem's assistance, we would not be able to withstand our daily struggles
with the evil inclination. It is only when our fortitude is coupled with an
awareness of the indispensability of divine assistance that we can vanquish the
yetzer horo.
Miraculous bread
But you
shall not rebel against Hashem, and you should not fear the people of that land
for they are [as] our bread (14:9)
Why did
Yehoshua and Kolev choose to use the simile of bread?
The “bread”
in the wilderness was mon, and Yehoshua and Kolev were telling the
nation that just as their basic sustenance came in the form of a miracle, so
too Hashem would surely allow them to enter Eretz Yisroel with miracles,
and they must not be disheartened by the statements made by the meraglim.
Palace of the King
They
arose early in the morning and ascended to the mountain top, saying, "We
are ready to go up to the place of which Hashem spoke, for we have sinned” (14:40)
On the
face of it, the ma’apilim who tried to forcibly enter Eretz Yisroel
merely intended to rectify the sin of the mergalim. Why, then, were they
killed by the amoleikim and the Canaanites who came down and smote them?
Their
mistake lay in thinking that Hashem had given us Eretz Yisroel for the
sake of ruling over it, whereas in reality Hashem wanted us to enter the
country which enjoys special divine providence only if we would be imbued with
complete faith and emuno. The ma’apilim felt that the overriding
priority was for us to have our own country at all costs. Moshe warned them: "Why
do you transgress the word of Hashem? It will not succeed”, but they would not
listen. We had to spend another forty years in the desert before reaching the
level required to live in the Palace of the King.
Those of
us fortunate enough to live here must never lose sight of the elevated behavior
which we are expected to maintain in this country, which Hashem cares for, and
Whose eyes are always upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of
the year.
Heretical thoughts
And if
you should err and not fulfill all these commandments (15:22)
Rashi
brings that the transgression involved is that of idolatry. The parsha
goes on to enumerate that first a korbon olo has to be brought, followed
by a korbon chatos. Normally a chatos precedes an olo. Why
is the order different here?
A korbon
olo atones for sinful thoughts, and the general rule is that a thought is
not considered a sinful act requiring atonement. Idolatry, however, is
different. It is considered so severe that even an idolatrous thought is deemed
to be the equivalent of a punishable act (see Maseches Kiddushin 39b).
Therefore, for all other aveiros a chatos is brought before an olo, since a chatos atones for actions, but in the case of avodo zoro since sinful thoughts are already sins in and of themselves so that an
olo has to be brought first to atone for them, and only then a chatos to atone for the additional sin of physical acts of avodo zoro.
This teaches us how careful we have to be to avoid any material containing
heretical ideas, which are so prevalent nowadays.
Sinning for the sake of heaven
They
found a man gathering sticks on Shabbos (15:32)
Chazal
tell us that Zlofchod’s motives were leshem shomayim. He was willing to
die in order to demonstrate to the rest of the nation that even though they
were due to die in the desert anyway following the sin of the meraglim,
they still had to keep the whole Torah. Due to his worthy motive, his name is
omitted from the parasha, unlike the megadef. However, Zlofchod
did not consult with Moshe Rabbeinu, and was punishable by death like any other
mechalel Shabbos. So-called zealousness that goes against the halocho
or daas Torah is sinful, irrespective of any worthy motives.
Holiness not a prerequisite for commencing observance
You shall remember all the commandments of Hashem and perform
them, and you shall not go after your hearts and after your eyes after which
you are going astray… and you shall be holy to Hashem (15:39-40)
On the
personal level, the possuk tells us not to go after our hearts and eyes,
and only then to be "holy to Hashem". Holiness cannot be attained
unless we first divest ourselves of heretical thoughts and immoral behavior and
thoughts.
On the
other hand, for those engaging in outreach the correct approach is to first
encourage the not-yet observant to observe practical mitzvos, even if
they still suffer from a lack of emuno and kedusho, and then
instruct them to improve in those areas until they eventually become
"holy". For this reason, the Torah first says "and you shall
remember the commandments of Hashem, and perform them”, and only then "and
you shall not go after your hearts and your eyes", and finally: “and you
shall be holy to Hashem”.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Types of Emuno
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Pride of Bnei Torah
Let them cause a razor
to pass over all their flesh (8:7). Rashi: Since they [the leviyim] were
submitted in atonement for the firstborn who had practiced idolatry [when they
worshipped the golden calf], which is called sacrifices to the dead - and one
afflicted with tzaora’as is considered dead - they required shaving like those
afflicted with tzaora’as
It is difficult to understand why the Leviyim had to be shaved,
and not the firstborn, and, in any case, we also do not find anywhere that idol
worshippers are shaved.
A metzora who speaks loshon horo is
sent out of the camp and shaved so that he will become repulsive and other
people will keep a distance from him. That way he will learn to bridle his
speech and refrain from speaking loshon horo in the future. Similarly,
the Leviyim had to shave their hair in order to look different from the rest of the nation. Since they were the
recipients of ma’asros and other gifts some members of the nation
are likely to consider them to be "parasites" living off other people.
By shaving their heads the Leviyim are given the message that
they must be willing to endure humiliation like a metzora, and must not let
this affect their pride at being servants of Hashem who are responsible
for the nation’s continued existence against all the odds.
Nowadays,
as the Rambam tells us, anyone who
dedicates his life to Torah acquires the status of a ben Levi, and they too must have the confidence and
positive pride to be able to swim against the tide of public opinion, and
against warped ideologies and materialism. Only daas Torah guides their actions, regardless of the reactions of
people around them.
Moving and stationary Torah
When
the oron travelled, Moshe said: "Rise up Hashem, and let Your enemies be
scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You (10:35)
And
when it rested, he said: Return, Hashem, to the tens of thousands of the
families of Yisroel (10:36)
The gemoro
(Shabbos 116a) says that these two pessukim constitute two
separate parashiyos in their own right, and for this reason two inverted
nuns appear
before and after them, so that they must be conveying a message of fundamental
importance.
It is only when the oron,
i.e. the Torah, travels, only when it is being disseminated to distant
quarters, to all Jews around the globe, that the Jewish nation is worthy of
defeating its enemies and having them flee before them. It is only when bnei Torah are concerned not
only for themselves, but for the whole nation, that we are saved from
misfortunes. It turns out that outreach is a recipe not only for spiritual
growth, but also for our physical survival.
However, for the shechino to remain
with us, we must ensure that the oron rests, i.e. that the Torah remains
concentrated in and focused on its main abode, the Yeshivos and Kollelim. Without them the nation has no
hope of surviving.
indivisible Torah
This was the form of the
menorah: hammered work of gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered
work (8:7)
The
menorah was chiseled from one whole unit rather than being made piece by piece and
then connected together. Since the menorah is a symbol of the Torah this may be
taken as a reference to its indivisibility. Just like a soldier does not have
any discretion to decide which orders to obey, so too the soldiers of Hashem cannot
pick and choose between different types of mitzvos, because they all have the same divine
source.
The entire
menorah, including its base and
flowers, were part of the chiseled unit. This indicates that hidur mitzvah, the beautification of mitzvos by observing them in accordance with all
their details and embellishments, are part and parcel of the performance of the
mitzvah itself.
Early retirement
From the age of fifty he
shall retire from the service of the work, and do no more work (8:25). Rashi: the
work of carrying on the shoulders; however, he can return to [the work of]
locking the gates, singing, and loading the wagons
Why does
Rashi refer to the work of locking the gates, and not opening them? We can
understand this on the basis of the statement by the Chofetz Chaim zt”l , who said that anyone who has
reached the age of 50 has to slacken his interest in worldly matters to some
extent, and to prepare himself for the world which is completely good. In
addition to "locking" neila also means “closing”. Hence, Rashi’s
reference to locking the gates may be taken as an allusion to the work required
to be intensified as we reach the age of 50 and enter the closing stage of our
lives.
Chesed
He shall minister with
his brethren [literally:
he shall serve his brethren] in the Tent of Meeting to keep the charge, but he
shall not perform the service (8:26)
Sometimes
a person’s main task in this world is to serve his brethren by performing
charitable deeds and the like. A charity overseer once told Rav Yosef Chaim
Sonnenfeld zt”l that he had decided to
resign from his position and dedicate his life to learning Torah. So far from expressing
his delight, Rav Sonnenfeld responded that the gemara says that a levi
with the job of singing, who instead serves as a gatekeeper, is subject to
death by the hands of heaven (Masseches Arachin 11b).
Just like
the work of the leviyim was divided between gatekeepers, guards and
singers, so too some people are required to dedicate their entire lives to
Torah, whereas others are supposed put a greater emphasis on other aspects of avodas
Hashem. The main thing is that
everybody's intention should be to perform the will of our Father in
Heaven. Rav Sonnenfeld told this person that he must continue with his current
activities.
Yisro
And you shall be to us
(instead of) eyes (10:31).
Rashi: you shall enlighten us [with your guidance].
We would
have thought that the generation of the wilderness had no shortage of zekeinim
to enlighten and guide them. Why did they need Yisro?
One possibility is that righteous proselytes and baalei
teshuva who cleave to Hashem following their intellectual searches are in a
better position to teach the rest of the nation about intellectual faith and
serving Hashem with our intellect than those who have been educated from
childhood to follow in the path of Hashem and who have become accustomed to it.
This may be what chazal had in mind when they stated that baalei
teshuva are superior to tzaddikim.
Similarly, nowadays we find that many
of those involved in outreach are themselves baalei teshuva originally,
and this is only natural because they are best qualified to engage in these
activities.
Rav Sternbuch heard an alternative explanation from the late
Satmarer Rebbe, Rav Yoel zt”l. Yisro grew up amongst non-Jews, and had
been one of Paroh’s advisers. He was therefore very conversant with the outlook
and mentality of the erev rav, which were now having such a negative
influence on the Jews and giving them so much trouble and he was therefore best
qualified to advise the nation about how to deal with them.
Simple Faith
Not so is My servant
Moshe; he is faithful in all My house (12:7).
Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of the prophets, remained
faithful “in all My house”, i.e. in all matters relating to avodas Hashem he
maintained pure and simple faith performing mitzvos without seeking to
comprehend them with his intellect. Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov zt”l would
say that after everything he had attained, he wished to serve Hashem with
simple faith.
The Chosid Yaavetz, who was born in Spain and was
forced to leave during the Expulsion in 1492, wrote that during the period of
the Inquisition the Jewish philosophers were the first to convert or to become
Marranoes, whereas the non-intellectual population, imbued with simple faith,
refused to succumb. The philosophers just used their philosophical knowledge to
rationalize their actions. Whilst there is room for a philosophical
appreciation of Hashem’s existence, for example in the context of outreach work
as we have just seen, experience shows that simple emuno is the higher
level to strive for.
Vanquishing Evil
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Yichus
Take a
census of the sons of Gershon, of them too, following their fathers' houses,
according to their families (4:21)
The fathers'
houses must be according to their families, i.e. someone with an illustrious
ancestry must live up to the greatness of his ancestors. Yichus imposes
obligations and should primarily inspire us to become aware of our own inherent
potential greatness and of the ramifications of failing to realize it.
The Shlo
Hakodosh comments that the possuk towards the end of the tochocho
in Bechukosay “then will I remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My
covenant with Yitzchok, and also My covenant with Avrohom will I remember” is
not a reference to the merit of our forefathers, but, on the contrary, a
reminder of our failure to emulate their deeds, which resulted in the
calamities foretold in that parsha.
AVODO
From the
age of thirty years and upward until the age of fifty years, who are fit to perform
the service for the service (laavod es avodas avodo) (4:47)
How are we to
understand the phrase avodas avodo? Superficially, someone who carries
the poles of the oron does not
seem to be performing a divine service of obvious importance, but in reality
this act is suffused with major kedusho,
because any act enabling an avoda to be performed is itself an act of avodo.
In the same
vein, we see with the poro adumo that atonement is achieved even by
means of something as seemingly insignificant as the ashes of the cow, because
any object used to perform the will of Hashem per se acquires
fundamental significance.
Unintentional sins
When a man
or woman commits any of the sins against man to act treacherously against Hashem
(5:6)
Even sins
committed inadvertently are considered to be treacherous acts which stain the
soul and require atonement. The Vilna Gaon explains that this is because Hashem
arranges events in such a manner that a person will commit an inadvertent act
because his soul has already been damaged due to an intentional sin
committed previously, even in a different area. Had he not committed the previous
sin, Hashem would have saved him from the current unintentional pitfall.
MINUS
Then the
kohen shall write these curses on a scroll and erase it in the bitter water (5:23)
The medrash
says if it is permitted to erase the name of Hashem for the sake of making
peace between husband and wife, all the more so is it permitted to erase books
by minim (people who deny the fundamental articles of faith) even if
they contain the names of Hashem, because they create hostility towards the
Creator.
The din
of the soto is a novelty, because, normally speaking, a woman does not
become forbidden to her husband merely because she secluded herself with
another person, and it is only because of the severe impact that immorality has
on the sanctity of the nation that a special gezeiras hakosuv makes the soto
forbidden until she drinks the
bitter water even though it is very likely that she did not commit actual
adultery.
Similarly, books written by minim
must be destroyed even at the expense of erasing the divine name, and even
though there does not appear to be any obvious fault with the contents, because
the danger of minus is very great, especially when it is wrapped up in
various garbs of supposed kedusha. Only gedolei yisroel, using
their unsullied and unbiased judgment, are in a position to decide what we must
keep a distance from and we must obey their rulings.
Minus
includes publications such as newspapers (even nominally religious ones) which
convey the impression that the world is run by politicians or the laws of
nature, rather than by Hashem, and scientific works written by minim,
even if they contain no manifest minus.
The effect of nezirus
And after
this, the nozir may drink wine (6:20)
Once the nozir
has completed all the actions annulling his status as a nozir it seems obvious that he reverts to his former
status and may once again drink wine, so this phrase seems superfluous.
The Avnei Nezer suggests that
we might have thought that since the nozir initially took a vow to abstain altogether
from wine because he realized the detrimental effects which his addiction to
wine was having on him, he should continue his period of total abstention, even
after he stops being a nozir. The possuk therefore
emphasizes that the experience of keeping the halochos of nezirus with all the associated
humiliation, is sufficient to wean him from this
weakness and he may now drink wine – within halachik boundaries -
without hesitation.
Dependency on torah
This is how
you shall bless the bnei yisroel (6:23)
Hashem decided
that we need the blessings of the kohanim for the sake of both our
spiritual and our material welfare. At the time of the Beis Hamikdosh the
kohanim represented the elite of the nation, the talmidei chachomim. Since
the churbon the nation has become dependent, in addition, on the merits
afforded by talmidei chachomim and bnei Torah as a whole.
At a time of
sundry internal and external problems the issue that seems to evoke the
greatest consensus amongst politicians in Eretz Yisroel is the drafting
of yeshiva bochurim to the army. How tragic it is that they do not realize the extent of their folly.
Without Torah there can be no question of any continued survival in this
country. They may attribute their supposed achievements to the strength of
their own handiwork, the skill and power of the army etc., but that is all a
mere delusion.
TWO TYPES OF PEACE
May Hashem… protect you [Sifri: from the evil inclination] … and grant you
peace (6:24-26)
A person who
is dominated by his evil inclination and subjugated to his desires can enjoy no
peace. This brocho of peace at the end of the birkas kohanim is a
blessing for protection from the yetzer horo and freedom from the
captivity of the desires with which it seeks to allure us.
The Baal
Haturim (parashas Toldos 25:25) notes that Eisov has the same gematria
as sholom. The Avnei Nezer explains that there are two ways of attaining
peace. Eisov achieved peace by not engaging in any battles whatsoever with the
evil inclination, with the result that it did not bother chasing him at all,
and they concluded a bogus "peace pact".
The righteous,
on the other hand, achieve genuine peace only after incessant battles with the yetzer
horo. Although even the righteous cannot vanquish the evil inclination in
this world, and in fact their ever-increasing greatness is dependent on their
battles with it, the blessing of the kohen is that the righteous should be
successful in these battles to such an extent that by using the power of their
good inclination they are completely victorious in one area, so that they can
move on to another areas, thus increasing their nekudas habechira (see
Michtav Mi’eliyohu) perpetually.
Unique contributions
One nosi each
day, one nosi each day, shall present his offering for the dedication of the
altar (7:11)
The Torah is
usually very sparse with its words. Numerous details of halocho such as hilchos
Shabbos are encapsulated in a few words. Why, then, in the parashas
henesi’im are the korbonos of each nosi repeated in such great detail?
If we picture a minyan davening shmone eisre in mincha together everyone appears to be performing
the same act. Everyone is saying the same words. However, in shomayim each person's mincha bears no resemblance whatsoever to his
neighbour’s. One person may be praying with total concentration following years
of avoda dedicated to controlling his thoughts,
whereas the next person may still be struggling unsuccessfully with his level
of concentration. A third person may not even be struggling, but merely
mouthing the words.
The nesi’im were obviously
all men of immense stature, but even they were not clones of each other. Each
one had a unique personality and contribution to make to the avoda of
the korbonos. By describing their korbonos at such great length,
the Torah is teaching us that it is each person's input into the external act
of a mitzvah which constitutes its main component. The joy and
dedication accompanying mitzvos are the elements which elevate them to
superior levels in the upper worlds and completely change their effect and how
they are viewed in shomayim.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Remaining Strong in our Faith
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Growing
in Torah
“If you walk in My statutes” (26:3) Rashi: “You shall toil in Torah."
Angels are
static, but we are supposed to be constantly on the move. Each day something
new should inspire us to reach ever higher levels of avodas Hashem. Only those who toil in the study of Torah can
truly experience this. Its beauty and unfathomable depth enable our souls to
grow correspondingly.
It is
shuddering to think that this requirement of constant growth is one of the
conditions for the fulfillment of the various rewards enumerated subsequently in
the pessukim and therefore its absence can result in the fulfillment of the curses chas vesholom. It is incumbent upon us
to endeavor to strengthen our dedication to Torah and thus increase kedusha in our lives on a daily basis.
HINTS of
ETERNAL REWARD
“And I will give your rains in their time”
(26:4)
The Rishonim ask why the Torah
does not explicitly mention the spiritual rewards and punishments of the World
to Come. (See the Kli Yokor on 26:12 who summarizes seven
different answers suggested by the Rishonim.)
If the Torah
would have specified the severe long-term spiritual ramifications of not
keeping the Torah properly, this would have increased the claim against those
who nevertheless fail to take note of the severity of sinning to such an extent
as to endanger the very existence of the nation. For this reason, Hashem, in His mercy, wanted to conceal the main reward and punishment awaiting us. Moreover,
this way, the reward of those who keep His
Word even without knowing the full extent of the reward awaiting them will be
incalculably greater than any reward that would have been their due had they
known all the details of the rewards and punishments in the afterlife.
For the same reason Tisha
Be’av is called a moed after chatzos, because that was when
the Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed completely, and the punishment of
sinners became less intense because there was no longer the same source of
inspiration which was afforded to the nation by the Beis Hamikdosh.
However, we can
understand this issue through another approach. The Vilna Gaon zt”l was once sitting and learning when
a wagon driver knocked on the door begging for food and complaining of the
difficulties of making a living. After the unfortunate man had been fed by his
host, he sighed: “Life is treating me very harshly in this world, but at least
in the World to Come, I will have it good”. The Vilna Gaon did not agree and responded
that if life is so difficult in this world, all the more so do we have to work
hard to attain eternal life through the merit of toiling in Torah and mitzvos.
In a similar incident it
is related that a Jew once came to the house of Rav Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov zt”l
at night, cold and hungry. Looking around the house he noticed that
it was warm and beautiful. If you are receiving your reward in this world, asked
the guest, what will be left for you in the World to Come? The Maggid of
Zlotchov replied: "I work day and night to merit eternal life, because
there is no reward for mitzvos in this world, since nothing here can
compare to the eternal world”.
The physical rewards promised by the Torah for
keeping the mitzvos cannot be anything more than a drop in the ocean,
mere “tips” or hints of the genuine eternal reward awaiting us in the afterlife.
DEFECTIVE
FAITH
“And if you treat Me as happenstance (keri), and you do not wish to
listen to Me” (26:21)
Many people believe in Hashem, but their faith is defective, because
they do not truly believe that there is none other than Him, and that only He
runs the world with divine individual providence with regard to each and every
act. We are surrounded by alien non-Jewish or anti-Torah attitudes which attribute
events to nature, politics, or pure chance. It takes a constant reinforcement
of our faith for us to realize that Hashem is the Boss, and that even though
His ways may be concealed, nothing takes place without His will.
In the tochocho the word keri
is mentioned no less than seven times in close proximity, four times as a
description of our behavior, and three times as a corresponding punishment by
Hashem. Clearly this issue of attributing events to happenstance is something
we should be working on.
SIMPLE
FAITH
“And they will then confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their
fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me”
(26:40)
We would have thought that a
confession of one's own iniquity and the iniquity of one’s fathers is a worthy
thing. Why does it appear in the middle of a list of sins?
Some baalei teshuva, or potential
ones, are under the mistaken impression that they cannot rid themselves of the
shackles of their background. They reason that since their parents are not
believing or observant Jews, they cannot be better than them. This is totally
incorrect. Avrohom Ovinu’s father served idols, but this did not prevent
him from recognizing Hashem using his own intellect. We too do not need to be
scientists to grasp that if the sun was just a tiny bit closer to the Earth, we
would all be scorched to death, and if it was a tiny bit further removed from
us, we would will all freeze to death, and countless other such examples
pointing towards a Creator.
A person cannot become a complete baal
teshuva until he takes
responsibility for his own actions. The possuk here calls a person
to account for blaming his own way of life and outlook on the iniquities of his
father.
HISTORICAL
CYCLES
“I will not despise them nor will I reject them to annihilate them,
thereby breaking My covenant with them, for I am Hashem their G-d”
(26:44)
The Meshech Chochmo on this possuk
argues that Jewish history in golus consists of recurring cycles in
which periods of destruction that come in the wake of spiritual low points are,
in turn, followed by new renaissances. For example, the terrible persecutions
of Tach Ve-tat (the Chmelnitzki Massacres of 1648-1649), were eventually
followed by the works of such luminaries as Rabi Akiva Eger, the Chasam Sofer
and the Nesivos.
Although published
posthumously in the inter-war period, Rav Meir Simcha zt”l (1843-1926) wrote the Meshech Chochmo during his youth.
He not only famously predicted the destruction that would be wrought when people
think that Berlin is Yerushalayim, but also the explosion of Torah that would take
place in the decades following the Holocaust since “such has been the path
followed by the Jewish nation from the time it started its wanderings [the
destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh]”: periods of destruction followed by periods
of renewal.
The lesson to be derived for us in Eretz Yisroel is to be forever on our guard not to fawn to our erring brethren or to learn
from their ways. Such conduct on our part will only cause us to be despised by
them, and can lead chas vesholom to
the need for Hashem to show us that “I am
Hashem their G-d”. By this stage
of our history we should already know better than to have to wait for signs of divine
wrath before remaining strong and preserving our undiluted Torah heritage.
MOGEN
AVROHOM
“Then will I remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with
Yitzchok, and also My covenant with Avrohom will I remember”
(26:44)
Why is the merit of Yaakov mentioned
last? If the merit of Yaakov, the elite amongst our forefathers, is not
sufficient to help the nation, how can the merit of the other two ovos help?
This teaches us that if in
the final generation we do not emulate the trait which characterized Yaakov,
namely the study of Torah, and are not worthy of being redeemed in his merit, nor
do we possess the trait which characterized Yitzchok, total self-sacrifice and
dedication, we can at least be saved in the merit of Avrohom, by emulating his middo of chesed, both in physical matters, and- as we saw last week
- in spiritual matters.
This is the reason why we conclude the
first blessing of the shmone esrei with mogen Avrohom: Hashem in
his mercy is willing to protect us, even if we only possess this trait of Avrohom, chesed, and in the period
leading up to the redemption our main prayers and merits revolve around chesed.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
ACCELERATING THE GEULAH
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
• • • • •
Sanctity
of Eretz Yisroel
“Speak to Bnei Yisroel
and say to them, when you come to the land which I give to you” (25:2).
For the inhabitants of Eretz Yisroel who are on an
appropriate spiritual level, the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel has a greatly
impact on the quality of their Torah and mitzvos. However, the relationship
between us and Eretz Yisroel is a mutual one: the sanctity of Eretz
Yisroel is not static, but rather increases
in proportion to the quantity and quality of mitzvos which we perform
within it. By using the present tense: "when you come to the land" instead
of the future, "when you will come to the land", the possuk is telling us that the sanctity of this land is in a constant state of
flux. Although it is inherently holy, the extent of its holiness depends on us.
Eternal
investments
“You shall count for
yourself seven sabbatical years, seven years, seven times and it shall be for
you, the days (period) of the seven sabbatical years, forty-nine years” (25:8).
The Dubna Maggid zt”l
brings the parable of a person presented with 10,000 cents. At first, he is
overjoyed at the amount of coins in his possession, but then someone points out
to him that he has been blinded by the sight of all those coins, and that in
reality his “fortune" amounts to no more than $100.
Similarly, some people imagine that the world belongs to them
and that they will live forever. Even a middle-aged person who thinks about his
parents who lived into their 80s and 90s, or considers the current average life
expectancy, and then calculates how many days, months, or even years he is
likely to have left in this world, may not feel that concentrating his energies
on things of eternal value is something of immediate importance. However, if he starts thinking in
terms of seven-year shemita units, he will realize that even in the far
from certain event that all his statistical predictions will materialize, he
still does not have that many time units left, and it is indeed high time to
think of making suitable investments to enhance the quality of his eternal
abode.
HOnesty
pAys
“You shall not cheat one
another, and you shall fear your G-d.” (25:17).
This prohibition appears in the middle of the section on shmitta.
The mitzva of shmitta is meant to reinforce our faith that Hashem runs
the world and that our efforts are not the real cause of our livelihood. If a
businessman dishonestly claims that his goods are of the best quality or the
cheapest, he is displaying a lack of such faith. He may make an easy profit in
the short-term, but it is likely to be at the expense of trouble in the future,
such as financial losses, health issues etc.
Even if the fraudster intends to use his gains for worthy
purposes, the possuk warns him not to chap, and to always remain honest.
That way he will be worthy of receiving Hashem’s enduring blessings.
This aspect of business is often hidden from the eyes of
friends and acquaintances, who may even think that the culprit is the epitome
of honesty. Therefore, the possuk stresses: “and you shall fear your
G-d”: remember that you will have to account for all your deeds to your
Creator.
Chesed
in learning
“If your brother becomes
impoverished and his means fail with you, then you shall uphold him” (25:35)
This mitzvah essentially concerns charity for the
poor, but many people are impoverished not necessarily in a financial sense;
they may be downtrodden for personal reasons or because they are not succeeding
in their learning, and in need of a kind word and encouragement.
The Avnei Nezer zt”l
asks how the Bnai Yisroel observed the mitzvos of tzdoko
and chesed in the wilderness
where everybody's material needs were met through the mon. He answers that they
taught each other Torah and wisdom, and that imparting knowledge is at least as
worthy as parting with one's money for the sake of charity. In fact, someone
who teaches and encourages others with less knowledge or capabilities than
himself is fulfilling both the mitzvah of helping out his impoverished brother
and the positive commandment of tzedoko.
When Rav Sternbuch was in Yeshiva his rov,
Rav Moshe Schneider zt”l insisted on the
brighter students spending time helping out younger or less capable talmidim.
He argued Torah must be accompanied by chesed, and someone interested
only in his own Torah would not enjoy success in learning in the long term.
Bitochon
and HIshtadlus
“You shall not take from
him interest or usury” (25:36)
The Kli Yokor explains that usually in business a
person prays to Hashem that he will succeed in his endeavors, because he is
uncertain whether his deal will succeed, but if someone lends with interest his
income is seemingly fixed and certain, and he is less likely to realize his
dependence on Hashem. That is why this prohibition is stated in juxtaposition
to the mitzvah of shemita, because the essence of shemita too to is
inculcate the mitzvah of bitochon.
According to the Vilna Gaon zt”l we are permitted to refrain from making any effort whatsoever
to gain a living, if our level of bitochon justifies it. That is how the Vilna Goan himself acted in his own life
and Rav Schneider told Rav Sternbuch that he still knew people in Vilna
who were the students of the students of the Vilna Gaon, who had absolute bitochon
and enjoyed corresponding hashgocho.
Even though we are unlikely to reach such spiritual
heights, and in any case, the Chovos Halevovos states that even on the ideal plane a person must make at least minimal
efforts for parnosso, the fact that such people existed
so close to our own times should still serve as a source of inspiration for us.
Lesson
of the Yovel
“He shall reckon with
the one who bought him from the year which he was sold to him until the jubilee
year” (25:50)
At the beginning of the yovel cycle, the redemption
fee which the slave has to pay to redeem himself is high, but it becomes
reduced as the years come closer to the yovel year. The Chofetz Chaim zt”l used this phenomenon to explain how we can expect Moshiach to come if he did not appear in earlier generations, which were on a
much higher level than ours.
Hashem fixed a time for our
redemption, and the early generations needed lots of merits to accelerate it.
We, on the other hand, who are so close to the final chapter of golus are not required to “pay such a
large fee" to merit redemption. Hashem does not expect us to do more than
our utmost, based on our own abilities and circumstances, to merit eternal
freedom. "And the ransomed of Hashem shall return, and come with singing
to Tziyon, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain
gladness and enjoy, and sorrow and signing shall flee away” (Yeshaya 35:10).
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Power of Prayer
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Divine
justice
“After the death of two sons of Aharon, who brought an offering before Hashem and they died” (16:1).
Here the possuk makes it clear that Nodov and
Avihu were punished for having entered the kodesh hakodoshim, but in parashas
eikev it says “And at Aharon Hashem grew very angry to destroy him; I
prayed for Aharon, too, at that time”. Chazal explain that possuk
as follows: at the time of the chet hoeigel it was decreed that Aharon
would be punished for his involvement in the chet through the death of
all of his four sons, but Moshe Rabbeinu managed to mitigate the decree
by means of his prayer, so that only two of his sons would die. The question
though remains, did Nodov and Avihu die because of their own sin (whatever it
was, depending on the different views in chazal) or because of their
father’s sin?
Sometimes a person may deserve to die, but his wife,
children and students would suffer from his death. In a human court of law, if someone
deserves to be handed down the death punishment, a judge or jury do not have
discretion to consider the ramifications of the death penalty on the killed
person’s family or friends. With us it says “The commandments of Hashem are
true, they are righteous altogether” (Tehilim, 19:10). If those who are
dependent on a person do not deserve to die, he remains alive for their sake.
Similarly, the Brisker Rov zt”l asked what it means that Hashem is “full of lovingkindness and
truth” (in the Thirteen Divine Attributes). What sort of praise is it to state that Hashem
does not lie? He answered that it means that His truth is just and fair towards
all parties involved, something which a mortal system of justice is incapable
of achieving.
If Aharon would not have had a sin of his own to be held
out against him, his sons would not have died despite their own sin, because
their father would not have deserved to endure the suffering of losing his sons.
On a related note, Rav Eliyohu Lopian zt”l told Rav Sternbuch several times that
a person should engage in as many possible activities that benefit the public,
so that even if he deserves to be punished, his punishment might be deferred
because those who benefit from his activities do not deserve to be punished.
Fighting
routine
“Speak to your brother Aharon that he not come at all times into the Holy…so that he not die, for in a cloud I shall appear on the Ark-cover”. (16:2). Rashi: “Because the revelation of My Shechinah is there, he should be careful not to accustom himself to enter”.
The force of habit and routine weakens our ability to maintain a sense of excitement and awe, so that even Aharon Hakohen was forbidden to enter the kodesh hakodoshim at any time lest he become too accustomed to the intensity that pervaded it. Before entering he had to make sure that he felt an appropriate awareness of Hashem's presence there.
Similarly, before praying we should endeavor
to internalize the fact that we are about to pray before the King. “Hashem is
close to all who call upon Him, to those who call upon Him in truth” (Tehilim,
145:18). Rav Eliyohu Lopian zt”l would note that since Hashem can read our
thoughts they are equivalent to speech as far as Hashem is concerned, so if
when we pray we are thinking of matters not connected to our current prayer, it
is as if we are communicating in a garbled language with the Almighty. Hashem
is close to those who call upon Him in
truth, who seek closeness to Him
and exclude extraneous thoughts as much as possible when they pray, thereby "speaking"
in a language which He "understands".
In general, our only hope of avoiding
the tendency to perform mitzvos in a perfunctory manner is to treat each
day as if we were born anew and approaching our avodas Hashem for the first time.
What
To pray for
“No man shall be present in the Tent of Meeting when he comes in to atone” (16:17).
When the kohein godol was in the holiest place his thoughts were not meant to be concentrated exclusively on the requirements of his fellow men, but rather on the honor of Hashem and kiddush shem shomayim.
The
Chofetz Chaim zt”l offered a parable. There was once a King who
wished to tour his kingdom to find out about the requirements of his subjects
and do what he could to meet them. When he reached the Royal prison, each
prisoner came with his own request. One asked for better food, the second one
wanted more comfortable living accommodations, another one wanted to be allowed
visitors more frequently and so on. The King agreed to each request. Finally,
one prisoner said: "I would like to be released!” The King smiled broadly and
said he agreed to this request too. Before he left he shouted at the remaining
prisoners: "Fools, why did you not have the sense to make the same
request?"
We too pray for health, for a
living, for nachas
from our children and so on, instead of praying for the main thing: kvod shomayim (Heavenly honor) and
an end to the golus.
If we did so, all our other requests would automatically also be met.
Disregarding
WHAT the Romans dO
“You shall not follow the practice of the Land of Egypt in which you have lived, nor shall you follow the practice of the Land of Cana’an, to which I am bringing you, and you shall not follow their statutes” (18:3). Rashi (on “and you shall not follow their statutes”): “This refers to their customs, matters which are [social] obligations for them, such as [attending] theaters and stadiums”
Over
the generations different societies have come up with various means of inciting
others to stoop to their levels of behavior. When television started becoming
widespread people had to be told about all the prohibitions someone who
brought this device into his home would be transgressing and the ramifications
of ignoring them. More recently the Internet has unfortunately succeeded in
ensnaring victims in its venomous net. The possuk is warning us to
beware of any anti-Torah “social obligations” which undermine the very fabric
of Torah life.
The
Torah in this week’s parasha (20:15) commands us to kill an animal with
which immorality has been practiced. The gemoro asks what the animal has
done to deserve such punishment and answers that the animal is killed so that
passers-by should not say this is the animal, which was responsible for
so-and-so’s death by sekilo. We may wonder why it would be such a bad
thing for the depraved person to be spoken about.
The
point is that when we see an object of sin it lessens the severity of the sin
in our eyes, and can even increase our desire to commit it, especially when it
comes to arayos regarding which Chazal tell us that no one has an
inbuilt guardian (apotropos) to protect him in this area. The animal has
to be killed in order to make sure that people will not see it.
We
are obligated to highlight the terrible repercussions of failing to do whatever
we can to prevent us and our families from being exposed to forbidden material,
but when someone is already sinning, the possuk in this week’s parasha
(19:17) says, You shall certainly rebuke your friend, [but] you shall not
bear a sin on his account. When we rebuke someone who is already sinning,
instead of talking about the bitterness of their sin, it is more effective to
convey to them the incomparably sweet and pleasant lifestyle experienced by
those who follow the Torah's directives.
Parents
and children
“You shall be holy… you shall fear your mother and father” (19:2-3).
Anti-Torah forces argue that the younger generation is wiser than its parents. Such propaganda can have terrible effects. Rav Sternbuch remembers hearing children in Eretz Yisroel more than 50 years ago referring to their parents as "chamorim” (donkeys). The Torah is warning us that it is not enough to honor our parents, but we have to fear them, always remembering that the Torah compared the honor we must accord to our parents with that which we accord to Hashem.
The yoke of heaven
“I have distinguished you from the nations to be Mine” (20:26). Rashi: Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariyoh says: From where do we know that a person should not say: "I am disgusted with pig meat, I do not want to wear kilayim", but rather he should say: "I desire it, but what can I do, my Father in Heaven has decreed upon me that I may not? The verse says: "And I have distinguished you from the nations to be mine," that your separation from them should be for My Name's sake -he separates himself from sin and accepts on himself the yoke of the
This medrash may be taken as proof of the Maharal’s theory that even though the Jews had accepted the Torah voluntarily and said "na’ase venishmo”, Hashem had turned the mountain on top of them like a barrel, because keeping the commandments by coercion like servants is a higher level.
As pleasant as they are, the mitzvos are first and foremost a yoke, and we are not free agents to desist from them. This acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos is a fundamental component of our faith, and is one reason why a person who performs mitzvos once he is commanded to do so is on a higher level than a person who performs them without being commanded. Those who lack the awareness of this yoke, even if they perform mitzvos, will not attain the same spiritual level or the same reward.
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