DO NOT HATE YOUR BROTHER IN YOUR HEART - KEDOSHIM

Parshas Kedoshim is replete with Mitzvos that teach about interpersonal relationships. Towards the end of this section, the Torah instructs us: “Do not hate your friend in your heart, rebuke your friend, do not bear upon him sin”. There are a number of questions on this verse: Firstly, why does the Torah stress that one may not his fellow davke in his heart, thus implying that it is only forbidden to hate someone in one’s heart, but not in any other way. Secondly, the three parts to the verse do not seem to be connected, however the fact that they are in the same verse strongly suggest that there is some kind of connection – what is it? Finally, the meaning of the last clause in the verse, “do not bear upon him sin,” is unclear.

With regard to the Torah’s specification of hatred in one’s heart, many commentaries write that indeed the Torah is focusing particularly on hatred that is kept in one’s heart to the exclusion of hatred that is expressed externally. They explain that of course it is forbidden to express one’s displeasure with someone in a hostile fashion and that doing so can involve a number of prohibitions such as taking revenge and bearing a grudge. However, one who acts in this way does not transgress the Mitzvo to not hate one’s fellow in his heart, because he did not keep it inside, rather he expressed it to the subject of his displeasure. In this Mitzvo the Torah is focusing on situations in which a person feels hurt or offended by someone else and he chooses to keep his hatred inside, without discussing it with the person who hurt him. The problem with this inaction is that it will inevitably cause the hatred to fester with very negative consequences.

The Rambam offers the example in Tanach of the incident with Amnon and Tamar. After Amnon committed his terrible deed, the Prophet tells us that Tamar’s brother, Avshalom bore a great hatred for his half-brother, Amnon, and did not speak to him about what happened at all. The Ralbag writes that had he spoken to Amnon about what happened then the hatred would have dissipated. Instead it only grew to the point that Avshalom had Amnon murdered two years later. Even though Amnon clearly committed a grave sin and Avshalom seemingly had every right to be furious with him for what happened, nonetheless he is taken to task for not speaking to Amnon and letting the hatred fester with terrible consequences.

We have now answered the first question of why the Torah particularly focuses on hatred in one’s heart. This form of hatred has its own unique problem that is not found to the same degree in hatred which is expressed; that is that it results in an unnecessary escalation of the hatred which could have been avoided with dialogue. In this vein, the Sefer HaChinuch writes that internal hatred is worse than revealed hatred, and that is why the Torah singled out this form of hatred in particular. He continues with very strong language, writing, “the root reason for this Mitzvo; because hatred in one’s heart causes great evil between people, causing permanent conflict between brothers and friends… and it is the lowest and most disgusting trait which is the most reprehensible in the eyes of people with common sense.”
We can now also understand the continuation of the verse; “rebuke your friend”. The commentaries explain that in addition to referring to the standard rebuke that is required when one sees another person sinning, this Mitzvo also includes situations in which one is hurt by his fellow. The Torah instructs us, do not hate your fellow in your heart by keeping it to yourself, rather you must speak to him about it - that is the rebuke that the Torah refers to. The Ohr HaChaim explains that there are two likely consequences of speaking to him in a reasonable manner about the pain he has caused. Either he will explain his actions showing that in fact he did not commit a sin and that there was some kind of misunderstanding. Or, he will admit that he did behave incorrectly, and now that he realizes that damage that he caused, he will apologize and vow not to do it again. The Ohr HaChaim then explains the meaning of the final clause in the verse, “do not bear upon him sin”. It means that when someone hurts you, you should not immediately assume that he sinned, rather you should judge him favorably, and assume that he perhaps didn’t sin at all, and even if he did, that he would gladly repent if he realized the damage that he caused.

We have seen the reprehensible nature of internal hatred, and the accompanying necessity of speaking to a person towards whom one bears any sense of hatred because of something he did. Experience proves that when one follows the Torah’s instructions in these areas, the result is almost always that the person does explain himself and apologizes for inadvertent pain caused. The vast majority of people are not cruel and do not intend to hurt other people. Therefore when the victim of harsh words or some other form of behavior explains to the person how they were feeling, the result is almost always positive, preventing an unnecessary escalation of hatred, and avoiding a great deal of needless pain. It is not easy to approach someone in such a way, however the fear involved in no way exempts one from the Torah obligation to try to clarify the situation. May we all merit to have open and honest relationships where disputes can be quickly resolved.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR - KEDOSHIM

"Do not take revenge; do not bear a grudge; love your neighbor like yourself. "

The Mitzvo of 'love your neighbor like yourself' is described by Rebbe Akiva as being a great principle in the Torah . Similarly, when a prospective convert asked Hillel HaZaken to sum up the Torah 'on one foot' he answered him with this Mitzvo, adding that the rest of the Torah is an explanation of it . The Ben Ish Chai writes that, given it's centrality to the Torah, a very significant part of this Mitzvo is overlooked by many people. He writes that whilst many people recognize how it requires a person to help his fellow in terms of his physical well-being, they are less aware that it also obliges him to help his fellow's spiritual health. Indeed he argues that helping his friend in the spiritual realm (ruchnius) is a far greater fulfillment of the Mitzvo than benefiting him in the physicalrealm(gashmius).

He explains: "When one helps his friend in a physical sense, he expresses his care for his friend's body, however, man's body merely consists of a combination of blood and flesh! The main aspect of a person is his G-dly aspect, his soul, and the soul gets no benefit from kindness in the physical sense. However, if one rebukes his fellow and prevents him from transgressing Hashem's Mitzvos, then he bestows a great kindness on his friend's soul, and love for one's fellow's spiritual side is far more important than love of his physical being. " The Ben Ish Chai teaches that in order to most effectively fulfill the Mitvzo to love one's neighbor he cannot limit his kindness to the help in gashmius, rather he must strive to help his ruchnius to an even greater degree.

In this vein, the Orchos Tzadikim tells us that there are three main types of giving: Giving of one’s money; giving of one’s body and giving of one’s wisdom. He goes on to discuss all three but he ends the chapter focusing on the giving over of Torah to others: “One must be especially giving with his Torah wisdom; to teach all men knowledge and to draw their hearts to heaven. This is the greatest of all the types of giving - giving to another to bring him to the life of the World-to-Come.” Similarly the Meiri in Pirkei Avos states; “there is no kindness in the world that compares to the one who gives merit to the many.” Likewise, Rav Aharon Kotler writes: “The main kindness one can do for others is to give over to them Torah and Mitzvos and to distant them from the evil inclination. This is the greatest kindness in the world that one can do for another…”

There are a number of ways of helping others in the spiritual realm. The Ben Ish Chai mentioned the greatness of rebuking others, however, in this generation, it is very difficult to rebuke in the correct way and therefore there is the risk that rebuking can do more harm than good. A less threatening way of helping others spiritually is by sharing one's Torah with them; Indeed there are many sources in Chazal that indicate that teaching Torah is a fundamental part of each person's purpose in life: The Gemara in Rosh Hashana 23b says that one who learns and does not teach is like a myrtle tree in the desert. The Maharal explains that the myrtle is the most pleasant smelling tree and it is in the world for people to benefit from its pleasant smell. A myrtle that is in the desert does not fulfill its purpose because no-one can benefit from it. So too, Torah is there to be taught over to others and one who does not do so cannot fulfill his purpose in life. He writes: “The main aspect of the Torah is wisdom that by its very nature is there to teach others and if it is not taught over then it is a waste, because the essence of wisdom is to be given over to everyone.”

Similarly, the Mishna in Pirkei Avos states: “If you have learnt much Torah, ‘al tachzik tova’ to yourself, because that is why you were created.” The simple understanding of this Mishna is that a person should not be proud of his achievements in Talmud Torah because learning Torah is his purpose in life. However, many commentaries suggest a different explanation. They explain the Mishna to mean that if a person has learnt much Torah he should not keep its goodness for himself, rather he should teach it to others - why? Because his purpose in creation is to learn and teach.”

There are many ways in which a person can share his Torah with others; he (or she) can strive to develop chavrusas (study partners) with people on a lower level of learning. There are numerous outreach organizations, Yeshivas, shuls etc who are in need of people to take out a short time from their schedule in order to teach those less learned than themselves. A mere phone call to one of these organizations may be all the effort necessary to find a suitable chavrusa. Moreover, one need not restrict himself to teaching people face to face; with the added technology available now, one can easily learn with someone in another country on the phone or other mediums. Furthermore, the written medium is another effective way of teaching many people at the same time by writing a short Dvar Torah on the Parsha or some other topic. It is also important to note that teaching Torah need not be limited to formal settings - there are countless opportunities to share Torah wisdom with others in one's daily interactions in life, whether it be with colleagues at work, with the taxi driver, or with friends.

We learn from the lesson of the Ben Ish Chai that in order to properly fulfill the fundamental Mitzvo of 'Love they neighbor' one must strive to help others in ruchnius as well as gashmius. May we all merit to fulfill this Mitzvo in its shleimus.

UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE MEANING OF CHESED - KEDOSHIM

In the latter part of the Parsha the Torah enumerates the various forbidden relationships and their punishments. Towards the end of this list the Torah states: “A man who takes his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, it is a chesed and they shall be cut off in the sight of the members of their people; he will have uncovered the nakedness of his sister, he shall bear his iniquity. ” There is a glaring problem with this passuk - the description of an incestuous relationship as being a ‘chesed’. Chesed is normally translated as kindness - what kindness is involved in arayos?!

In order to answer this question it is necessary to alter our understanding of what ‘chesed’ actually entails. It seems that chesed is more appropriately understood as a mida that is characterized by overflowing and lack of boundaries. One significant outgrowth of this is kindness in that chesed causes a person to want to unabashedly share with others, breaking his boundaries of selfishness. However, that is just one manifestation of chesed, and like all midos, chesed has negative, as well as positive, apects. One negative manifestation is that a person can lose his appreciation of a proper sense of boundaries. Arayos involves ignoring the Torah’s assertion that certain relationships break the appropriate boundaries. Consequently, the Torah describes arayos as chesed;

Two prominent characters in the Torah represent negative aspects of the mida of chesed; Yishmael and Lot. Chazal tell us that Yishmael was deeply involved in arayos and thievery . Both of these emanated from his distorted chesed which broke the acceptable boundaries. An attitude of ‘what is mine is yours and yours is mine’ causes a person to believe that he has the right to infringe on other people’s wives and material possessions. Lot grew up in Avraham Avinu’s home and therefore became habituated to doing chesed with others, as is demonstrated by his great hachanasos orchim in Sodom. However, Lot clearly developed a warped sense of chesed. For example, when the people of Sodom threatened to abuse his guests he preferred to offer them his own daughters! He wanted to do chesed with his guests at the expense of his own daughters .

Why did Yishmael and Lot so badly misapply the mida of chesed? The answer is that their chesed was not acquired through avodas hamidos based on the Torah‘s guidelines, rather it came as a result of genetics and upbringing. Even a generally positive mida such as chesed has undesirable offshoots if it is not applied in the correct way. For example, a person with a natural inclination to chesed may do kindness in the wrong way or quantity. He may be overflowing with chesed to friends, but forget about sufficiently caring for his own family. Another example is that a ‘chesed’ person may have a difficulty with making appropriate boundaries for himself in various aspects of life; he may find it hard to be punctual or reliable because he finds it difficult to set limits on his time. Further if a person does not have well-defined boundaries then he may have a nisayon of avoiding sheker because honesty requires the ability to adhere to the boundaries of truth.

The epitome of the correct balance of chesed is Avraham Avinu. He certainly had a natural propensity for chesed, however he did not merely allow his natural inclinations lead him blindly, rather he harnessed and even negated his chesed when necessary. On many occasions throughout the Torah, Avraham was placed in situations where he was forced to curtail his chesed . Avraham succeeded in these difficult nisyonos, thereby showing that his chesed was not directed by natural inclinations but by Yiras Hashem and Avodas HaMidos.

Another common failing of a person naturally endowed with doing chesed is that he expects people that he helps to be equally giving to him. Consequently he may not hesitate to request that others do significant favors for him because he would do the same for them. However, whilst demanding that we give in great abundance, the Torah requires that we strive not to rely on the kindness of others. This is demonstrated in Shlomo HaMelech’s assertion that “one who hates gifts will live. ” Our Gedolim were overflowing with chesed and yet they often refused to take anything from anyone else. A striking example of this is the Brisker Rav. When he was the Rav of Brisk, there were a number of children whose father’s identities were unknown and whose mother were unable to raise them. No one wanted to assume the tremendous responsibility of caring for these children. What did the poor mothers do? They would come in the middle of the night and place their children on the Brisker Rav’s doorstep. When morning came and the Rav found a crying child outside his door, he brought him inside. He took upon himself the task of finding someone to take care of the child. If he was unsuccessful, then he himself took care of all the child’s needs.

Whilst he was overflowing in helping others the Brisker Rav was extremely careful never to accept gifts of any kind, even under the most difficult of circumstances. When he first arrived in Palestine in 1941, along with the Mirrer Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, they were detained in the passport control offices. The delegation awaiting the two Gedolim was told that they did not have the money with which to pay the poll tax of one-half to a full-lira (approximately 80 shekels) and it was forbidden to allow entry to anyone who had not paid. One of the heads of the Jewish Agency offered to pay the tax for the Brisker Rav, but he staunchly refused, saying, “Never in my life did I take money from anyone.” After much deliberation, an old resident of Brisk had an idea - he entered the office and approached the Brisker Rav, “The members of the Brisker Community who have come to Eretz Yisroel want the Rav to continue serving as our Rav. We will pay the Rav a salary just as we did in Brisk. Therefore, I want to either give or lend the Rav the money to pay the tax, which will then be deducted from his salary.” “That’s an offer I can accept,” agreed the Brisker Rav and he accepted the money . The Brisker Rav may or may not have been naturally endowed with the mida of chesed. Regardless of his natural inclinations he excelled in the correct form of chesed and simultaneously avoided its negative aspects.

We have seen that chesed does not simply mean kindness, rather it represents the propensity for overflowing and lack of boundaries, and this can be utilized for the good or bad. Moreover, there is a striking difference between a person who has the mida of chesed through genetics or habit, as opposed to someone who develops his chesed within the lens of the Torah. May we all use the mida of chesed only for the good.

THE TEXTBOOK OF GRATITUDE - THE HAGADDAH

The significance of the trait of gratitude in Torah thought is very apparent. Three times a day we thank Hashem in the 'Modim' prayer; every time we eat, we thank Hashem for providing us with the food. Also, in the realm of bein adam lechaveiro, there is great emphasis on showing gratitude to those who help us. The mitzvos of kibud av v'eim and kibud Rav, for example, are largely based on a recognition of how much are parents and teachers have done for us. Yet it is no easy task to retain a constant feeling of hakaras hatov for all the kindnesses that Hashem, and, lehavdil, other people do for us. How can a person develop himself so that he excels in this most important trait?

Rav Noach Orlowek shlita , says that the single most revealing text about gratitude is the Haggada that we read on Seder night. Numerous halachos pertaining to the mitzvo of recounting Yetsias Mitzrayim teach us about how to attain the trait of gratitude.

In order to fulfill the mitzvo of recounting our leaving Egypt, the gemara tells us that we must begin by mentioning the 'genus' (bad) before we begin talking about the 'shevach' (good). There is a machlokes as to what exactly this entails; Rav says discussing the 'bad' means that before we begin thanking Hashem for taking us out of Egypt, we must first mention how our ancestors originally served idols. Shmuel argues that the 'bad' refers to the initial slavery that we suffered in Egypt before we left. We appear to pasken like both opinions, because both aspects of the 'genus' are in the Hagaddah. It seems that both opinions teach us a fundamental lesson about how to develop a proper feeling of gratitude.

Shmuel's opinion that we must begin with the slavery teaches us that in order for a person to feel truly thankful for everything he has, he must first be able to contrast his present positive situation with the past suffering that he endured. In order for us to truly appreciate Hashem's chesed in taking us out of Mitzrayim, we must first focus on the terrible suffering that we endured in the slavery in Egypt. By doing this, we can avoid the trap of taking for granted the physical and spiritual freedom that we experienced after leaving Mitzrayim. So too, in our daily lives, when things are going smoothly, it is very easy to forget what Hashem has done for us, and how He continues to constantly protect and sustain us. For example, when a person's financial situation is stable, he naturally may take for granted his situation and refrain from sufficiently thanking Hashem. However, were he to think about the times when he did not know how he would support himself, it is far easier for him to contrast his past difficulties with his current security. This should help him feel gratitude to Hashem.

It is less obviously apparent how Shmuel's explanation of discussing the 'genus' inculcates us with the mida of gratitude. How does mentioning the fact that our descendants served idols bring us to a greater appreciation of Hashem? It seems that one of the main factors that prevents a person from showing gratitude is a sense of arrogance. A person who feels arrogant will have an attitude that he deserves all the kindness that Hashem, or people, bestow upon him. Accordingly, there is no 'hakaras hatov', recognition of the good that others have done for him. He does not feel that they have done anything special, rather he has every right to expect them to serve him. In contrast, a humble person feels that he is not deserving of anything. Therefore, he views anything that is done for him, as a particularly kind act, therefore, he truly recognizes the good done for him. With this understanding, we can explain how reminding ourselves of our former lowly state can bring us to a greater appreciation of Hashem. We acknowledge that we are not great people with tremendous yichus, rather our heritage is nothing to be particularly proud of. Moreover, we acknowledge that any spiritual accomplishments that we have achieved are due to Hashem's chesed. when we say in the Hagaddah, "From the beginning our forefathers worshipped idols, and now HaMakom [Hashem] has brought us close to serving Him." By stressing our humble background we make ourselves far more able to properly appreciate kind deeds done for us.

Rav Shlomo Brevda shlita points out that he knew many Gedolim, each one greatly different from the other. However, one trait that they all possessed in abundance, was that of gratitude. This is perhaps because they all felt so humble that they viewed themselves undeserving of anything done for them. May we merit to emulate them and grow in our capacity to show gratitude to other people, and, most importantly, to Hashem.

A NEW LEVEL OF EXISTENCE - PESACH

On Pesach we celebrate Yetsias Mitzrayim and express our endless gratitude to Hashem for extracting us from the terrible slavery that we endured there. However, there is a great difficulty with the whole essence of this festival. Imagine Reuven is walking down the street and suddenly someone appears in front of him holding a steel bar and strikes his leg very hard, causing it to break. Whilst Reuven is sprawled out on the floor in agony, his assailant approaches him and calmly informs him that there is no need to worry because he is a surgeon and will happily perform the operation to help heal Reuven’s broken leg. He performs the surgery and Reuven’s leg does indeed heal. How should Reuven feel about this person - should he feel tremendous gratitude that he healed him? Of course not! - He would much rather have preferred if he had never been hit, and consequently would not have needed surgery. Similary on Pesach we thank Hashem for taking us out of Mitzrayim but the question must be asked: ‘who put us there initially?!’ It was Hashem Himself - so why are we thanking Him so profusely for a chesed that need not have been required at all?!

It must be that the actual process of being taken out of Mitzrayim was essential to the future of the Jewish people and that the slavery was necessary in order to facilitate it. How is this so? The sefarim discuss how the beginning of something is the defining factor in how that thing will develop. For example, the intial DNA of a fertilised egg contains all the genetic information that will eventually sprout into a human being. The way in which it is formed will have a great effect on how it develops. This idea is dicussed with regards to Rosh Hashana - it is the beginning of the year and accordingly the way in which one conducts himself on that day will have a great influence on his spiritual accomplishments of that year.

The Yetsias Mitzrayim was the birth of a nation, the beginning of the process that led us to receive the Torah and enter Eretz Yisroel. Accordingly, the way in which Klal Yisroel was formed had a huge impact on its subsequent development. It also determined that the spiritual laws governing Klal Yisroel were completely different from those of the other nations. How is this the case? Historically most nations are formed when a large group of people settles an area of land or overcomes another group and seizes control of their land, which then becomes the home of this nation. The birth of Klal Yisroel was very different in many respects: Firstly, we did nothing to facilitate the Exodus - the Ten Plagues which caused the Mitzrim to send us out were purely Divine acts, with no input from us. Secondly, whilst most nations are born in their own land, we were born in a foreign country - a unique historical event. But the most important difference is the manner in which our creation took place. Whilst other nations are formed according to the normal laws of nature, we were formed in a totally miraculous fashion - the Ten Plagues were completely beyond derech hateva as was the Splitting of the Sea. This is of immense significance - it defined the way in which the ‘laws of nature’ would effect Klal Yisroel. The other nations and their inhabitants live according to the derech hateva - there are historical trends that define the development of the nations. In contrast the history of Klal Yisroel developed according to a different set of laws - laws that are above derech hateva - this was defined by our beginning - Yetsias Mitzrayim.

We asked why we are so thankful to Hashem for freeing us from the slavery - the answer is that we are grateful that He put us in the slavery and then took us out - it was only because we were so weak and helpless that our formation could be completely in the hands of Hashem - it was impossible to attribute any aspect of Yetsias Mitzrayim to our power. Had we not been in a matsav of slavery, had we been simply living in Mitzrayim and then left it for Eretz Yisroel it would have been all too easy for us to attribute some or all of our success to our own hands - there would have been the yester hara of ‘my power and my strength enabled me to achieve this success’. Instead the slavery facilitated the miraculous events that characterised Yetsias Mitzrayim which were clearly completely from the Yad Hashem and involved no input from any human being. This explains the halacha that we must discuss the ‘genai’ of the story of Yetsias Mitzrayim before the ‘shvach’. The genai was intrinsic to the course of events that led to our formation in such a miraculous fashion, without it, the ‘shvach’, that is the miracles which became the model for our existence, could never have happened.

We have thus far discussed how the formation of Klal Yisroel dictated that our actual existence be defined by a completely different set of ‘laws of nature’ than those of the other nations. How has this manifest itself? The Aish Hatorah Discovery Seminar teaches a class known as ’the Seven Wonders of Jewish History’. This class shows how there are several unique factors that set apart Jewish history from that of the rest of the world. These include: The eternal and chosen status of the Jewish people; their predicted survival despite their exile and worldwide dispersion; their predicted survival in the face of persistent, vehement anti-Semitism. A nation that is forced to leave its own homeland on more than once occasion, whilst facing tremendous persecution, is by the regular ‘laws of history’, destined either to be destroyed or assimilated into other nations.
That the Jewish people have not faced this fate is clearly an indication of a unique pattern of history.

This concept of Klal Yisroel living above Derech hateva also shows itself in how observant Jews conduct their daily lives. We often do not act according to the dictates of regular ‘common sense’. For example, many businesses are the most busy on Shabbos and therefore logic dictates that one work on Shabbos. However, observant Jews know that the laws of the Toah overrides this practical attitude. We realise that our financial well-being is not defined by how much we work, and that any work on Shabbos would not reap any benefit. Another example of this is tzedaka. Derech hateva dictates that giving away large amounts of money would naturally cause a significant reduction in one’s wealth. However, the Torah tells us that one who gives tzedaka is more likely to succeed financially and one who is tight with giving money will eventually come to be needy himself. This course of events is clearly not the logical one, rather it is one defined by different ’laws of nature’ Such unique laws characterise the Jew’s daily life, causing it to take a completely different direction from that of a non-Jew.

It is clear that the observant Jew follows a unique lifestyle based on the dictates of the Torah, nevertheless it seems that there are still areas where this lesson provides a great challenge in life. That is the overall attitude with which one approaches life: Does he focus primarily on materialistic success as his source of happiness, or does he realise that spiritual considerations override this. For example, in a purely logical way of approaching life, it would be far more sensible to work more hours than to spend a few hours each day learning Torah. However, according to a outlook that transcends the normal laws of nature, one would realise that learning Torah is ultimately far more important than making that extra bit of money that is not necessary for survival. This is just one example of a general attitude that encompasses the major decision each Jew needs to think over every Pesach - that is, do I live my life according to the regular laws of nature like the goyim or do I realise that my a Jew’s ambitions are completely different, defined by an understanding of the unique nature of Klal Yisroel.

My Rebbe, Rav Yitzhak Berkovits Shlita explains that this is also the main lesson that we should have in mind during the Seder: The Haggadah tells us that we are obligated to see ourselves as if we left Mitzrayim ourselves - this does not just mean that we should re-live the actual story of the Exodus. Whilst this is praiseworthy, it is not the ultimate goal. The ikar is that we should see ourselves as being part of the Nation that left Mitzrayim in a miraculous fashion, a Nation that was formed to be the Am Hashem. And consequently we must realise that this is places upon us a responsibility - that we must live our lives according to the laws that guide an Am Hashem; our life goals must be primarily guided by spiritual considerations. And if we live life with such an attitude then, Hashem reflects that in how He guides us - with no limits of the ‘laws of nature’, rather He will enable us to fulfil our spiritual goals in a way that transcends nature. We should all have a Chag kasher v’sameach.

USING NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE GOOD - ACHAREI MOS

Before detailing the list of forbidden relationships the Torah instructs us: “Do not perform the practices of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practices of the land of Canaan to which I bring you.. ” Rashi writes that Mitzrayim and Canaan were the most morally decadent nations and in particular those parts in which the Jews dwelled were the worst sections of these countries. Why did Hashem deliberately place the Jewish people in the most corrupt places on Earth?

Rav Dessler zt”l answers this question in an essay in which he discusses how one should react to negative surroundings . He observes that negative society can have a very detrimental effect on a person. However, if he is strong enough so that the negative influences do not effect him, then, it can actually strengthen him in his Avoda. How is this so? Rav Dessler explains that when he sees the surrounding evil it becomes more disgusting in his eyes because he attains a greater recognition of its chesronos, this enables him to strengthen himself even further in his appreciation of good. Based on this understanding of human nature, Rav Dessler makes a historical observation that can explain why Hashem deliberately placed the Jewish people in the most degenerate places on Earth.

“Every time where there was a necessity for a tzaddik to rise to an extremely high level the tzaddik was flung into the most lowly and degenerate environments so that he could learn from them the lowliness of evil and strengthen himself in good to the opposite extreme. ”

Hashem deliberately placed the Jewish people in Mitzrayim so that they could develop an intense hatred of its tuma which, he writes, was indeed their motivation for crying out to Hashem to free them from this terrible place. This intense disgust enabled them to rapidly rise from being on the 49th level of tuma to reaching the level of being able to receive the Torah. Had they found themselves in a less immoral environment then they would not have been able to rise to such a high level.

This too would seem to explain why the Jewish people had to go to a similarly abhorrent land. Seeing the highly immoral behavior of the Canaanite nations was intended to intensify their disgust at evil and in turn, heighten their appreciation of Torah morality .

Rav Dessler uses this yesod to help understand another passage discussed in the parsha - the Seir l’Azazel. On the most holy day of the year, Yom Kippur, Hashem commands us to take a goat through the desert and throw it off a cliff. What is the significance of leading the goat through the desert? Rav Dessler explains that the desert is the makom where people sacrifice goats to sheidim. By leading the goat through this tamei place and being exposed to its tuma on Yom Kippur, the people become further strengthened in Avodas Hashem.

Rav Dessler’s yesod also helps us understand some inyanim relating to Pesach. We begin the Haggadah discussing our ancestors who worshipped idols. Rav Dessler asks, how is this connected to the story of leaving Mitzrayim? He answers that through being surrounded by such negativity, Avraham Avinu rose to such a high level of kedusha to the extent that its power would never be nullified. The geula from Mitzrayim sprouted directly from this kedusha.. Therefore, we talk about our idol-worshipping ancestors to highlight that it was directly as a result of their tuma that Avraham emerged to reach such an incredibly high level and it was his greatness in turn that planted the seeds for yetsias Mitzrayim.

We can now gain a deeper understanding of why the Haggaddah goes to considerable length to discuss the negative influences that include our idol-worshipping ancestors, the Mitzrim and Lavan. Perhaps this is intended to arouse our disgust at such immoral people and in turn, heighten our appreciation of Hashem for freeing us from them and giving us the Torah.

In today’s world, the nisayon of secular influences is unavoidable. Even if we live in observant neighborhoods, the myriad negative influences bombard us daily. It is of course highly advisable to strive to reduce their influence as much as possible but nonetheless it is impossible to completely eliminate any exposure to them. Rav Dessler’s yesod can help us deal with these influences and perhaps even use them for the good. By observing the obvious chesronos of the secular world we can enhance our appreciation for the beauty of the Torah lifestyle. May we all merit to protect ourselves from negative influences and instead to use them to grow closer to Hashem.

UNDERSTANDING THE TZARAAS ON THE HOUSES - METSORA

Parshas Metsora outlines the various forms of the affliction of tzaraas. Having completed discussion of the tzaraas on the body, the Torah discusses the tzaraas that can appear on people’s houses and outlines the painful process of purification. This includes removing all the possessions from one’s home to avoid them becoming impure, and cutting out the afflicted stones from the house.
Chazal offer two seemingly contradictory explanations as to why tzaraas will appear on someone’s house. Rashi brings the Medrash that tells us that this was actually very beneficial for the people whose homes had tzaraas: The Emorim who lived in Canaan hid their valuables in the walls of their homes so that the Jewish people would not be able to benefit from them. There would have been no way of the Jews finding these treasures in the normal course of events. Therefore, HaShem placed the tzaraas affliction on the part of the wall where the treasure was concealed, so that the stones hiding it would be removed, thus revealing the fortune. This explanation implies that the tzaraas on the house was not a punishment for any wrong doing, rather it was a means of providing the people with great riches.

On the other hand, the Gemara in Arachin clearly states that tzaraas on the houses was a punishment for the sin of tzaras ayin (stinginess). The Gemara in Yoma gives an example of such behavior of a person who didn’t want to lend his possessions to other people, therefore he would deny owning the items that people asked to borrow. As a punishment his home would be struck with tzaraas and he would have to take everything outside, consequently everyone would see that he really did own those items. These Gemaras clearly indicate that tzaraas on the houses came as a punishment for sins. How do we resolve the contradiction between these Maamarei Chazal (sayings of the Sages): According to the Chazal quoted by Rashi, if they deserved the reward of the treasure, why did that have to be accompanied by the suffering involved in the tzaraas striking their house. And according to the Gemaras, if they deserved to be punished, why should they benefit by finding the hidden treasure behind their walls?!

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l answers that it must be that the person whose home is struck with tzaraas is deserving of both the punishment and the benefit that arise as a result of the affliction. If he had never sinned, then HaShem would provide him with the money that he deserves in another, more pleasant fashion. And if he was undeserving of finding the Emorim’s hidden treasure then the tzaraas on his house would not enable him to finding it. Therefore, the person whose house would be struck with tzaraas and then found the hidden treasure must look at both aspects of the Hashgacha (Divine Providence). On the one had he can rejoice in HaShem’s kindness in granting him the newfound riches; but at the same time, he must be do teshuva and not allow himself to be distracted by the good tidings.

It is possible to add that the nature of the reward is also connected to the sin that the person committed. He was guilty of being overly miserly, and therefore resorted to dishonest tactics in order to protect his wealth. His mistake was that he approached acquisition of property with a derech hateva attitude. This means that he followed the regular laws of nature and common sense that dictate that giving charity or lending one’s items will cause a person to suffer a decline in his wealth. He believed that being stingy would protech his wealth. Consequently, he is punished by suffering a financial loss with the damage to his home, and with the embarrassment of being exposed as a dishonest person who avoids lending his property. Yet perhaps the reward of finding the hidden treasure also teaches him a lesson with regard to his erroneous attitude. He believed that he had to resort to underhanded tactics to gain wealth, but the Torah tells him that HaShem, with his Infinite power, can provide a person with wealth in any number of ways . Thus, this man finds money in the most improbable of places - inside the walls of his own home! As well as benefitting him it should teach him that he need not exert excessive energy in acquiring wealth, rather he should recognize that HaShem can provide him with everything that he needs.

We learn two very important lessons from the above explanation. Firstly, in a general application, we see that Hashgacha can work in such a way that HaShem in His Infinite Wisdom can reward and ‘punish’ someone at the same time. The Torah sense of punishment does not mean merely causing pain for no reason. Rather, Divine ‘punishments’ are ways in which HaShem communicates with us, alluding to us that we should change our ways in specific areas. Thus, even when good tidings occur it is wise to observe any negative aspects to the outcome of the good news to discern if there are any underlying messages within the reward, as was the case with the tzaraas on the houses.

A second, more specific message relates to our attitude to acquiring possessions and money. The tzaraas on the houses teach us that too much hishtadlus in the realm of the physical world,is fruitless. This is all the more so the case with dishonest or stingy behavior. A person must realize that there are ‘harbeh sheluchim leMakom’; that HaShem can provide us with whatever we need in the most creative of fashions, including through discovering treasure in the walls of our homes!

A NEW START - METSORA

Parshas Metsora outlines the purification process for a person struck by tzoraas. One of the essential stages of this process is tevila in a mikva. The Sefer HaChinuch suggests a reason for the significance of tevila as a key part in the teshuva process which the metsora is undergoing. He explains that the world was full of water before man was created and therefore symbolizes a return to the beginning of creation. Dipping into water is a gesture of leaving behind past aveiros and starting afresh .

When a person sins and then recognizes his failure, there is a natural tendency to feel guilt-ridden and low. This can be directed in a positive way, motivating him to avoid such sin in the future, however, often it has a very undesirable effect, causing the person to fall into a downward spiral of spiritual failing. When a person feels low about what he has done, he may become disconcerted and lose the strength to continue in his Avodas Hashem as before. In this way the ’fall-out’ from a sin can actually be far more damaging than the sin itself. Toivelling in a mikva after a sin symbolizes that the person is saying that he will not be bound by his past errors and will not let them bring him down further.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l notes many examples in Tanach where a person sinned or failed in one area and as a result, suffered a great yerida that destroyed their spiritual standing. A striking case is that of Orpah, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. When Naomi was returning to Eretz Yisroel, both Ruth and Orpah were determined to stay with her and convert to Judaism. At this point, Orpah was on the same lofty level as the great Ruth., equally willing to leave her homeland to join the Jewish people. However, after Naomi’s supplications for them to return, she could not withstand the test and gave in and went back to Moav. It would seem logical that after this single lapse Orpah would still stand on a high spiritual level, just a little lower than that of Ruth. However, Chazal tell us that on the very night when she left Naomi, she sunk to the lowest levels of depravity . How could it be that she fell in such a dramatic way in one night? Rav Shmuelevitz explains that when she saw that she failed in the great nisayon to join the Jewish people, she could not leave her sin behind and start afresh. She was greatly effected by her inability to stand up to challenges, and consequently lost all sense of balance and fell to the powers of the yester hara .

Rav Shmuelevitz cites another maaseh in Tanach in which a great man failed a nisayon and recognized the danger he was in of falling into the trap of being completely ensnared by the yetser hara. Shmuel HaNavi instructed Shaul HaMelech to destroy all of Amalek, however Shaul left some animals and the Amalekite King Agag alive. Shmuel confronted him and told him that he had forfeited his right to the kingdom with this aveiro. After failing to exonerate himself Shaul admitted his guilt but then made a very strange request of Shmuel. “Please now honor me in front of the Sages of my people and the people of Israel... ” What was the purpose of this request, it was surely not merely an attempt by Shaul to feel better about himself. Moreover, Shmuel acceded to the request, indicating its validity. Rav Shmuelevitz explains that Shaul did not merely want honor, rather he knew that he was in danger of suffering a great fall and he realized that he needed to strengthen himself immediately so that he would not be adversely effected by his sin. Therefore, amidst this great fall in madreigo he asked Shmuel to honor him and thereby help him maintain his sense of equilibrium and start afresh . It seems that Shmuel, despite his displeasure with Shaul, consented to his request because he recognized its importance.

We also learn from the actions of Shaul an aitso of how to prevent failure having a disastrous effect. When a person fails, he is likely to feel bad about himself and lose his sense of self-respect. When a person feels that he is a failure he may give up and let himself fall badly. In order to avoid this he must maintain his self-image after failure and recognize that even though he made a mistake he can do teshuva and start again.

Shlomo HaMelech makes this very point in Mishlei when he writes: “A tzadik falls seven times but he gets up. ” The Malbim and Metsudos David explain that despite a tzaddik’s setbacks he rises up again. Indeed, a big part of what makes a person a tzaddik is his ability to recover from failure or mistakes. The tevila of the metsora teaches us the same lesson - even though he sinned he need not be doomed to perpetual downfall. If he can put his past behind him he can make a fresh start.