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.
Showing posts with label Derech Hateva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derech Hateva. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Monday, October 11, 2010
A NEW LEVEL OF EXISTENCE - LECH LECHA
“And Hashem said to Avraham, go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you, And I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. ” The first command ever made to the father of Klal Yisroel, Avraham Avinu, was to leave his surroundings and to begin a new nation that would be the Am Hashem. The Ramban writes that everything that happened in the life of the Avos is a portent for the future of Klal Yisroel, and their behavior teaches us how we should conduct our lives. This concept seems to pose a difficulty: How does the command of ’lech lecha’ apply to all of us, Avraham was alone in his belief in G-d, and therefore it was necessary for him to leave everything behind and form a new nation. But nowadays there are many Jews who accept the Torah and who live in observant societies - given this fact it seems that the command of ’lech lecha’ does not really apply to us!
On deeper analysis it is clear that the command of ‘lech lecha’ is still very relevant to all of us. Hashem’s command to Avraham was deeper than simply an instruction to leave his surroundings. We are given a hint to this by Rashi; He explains why Hashem promised Avraham fame, money and descendants as a consequence of leaving Charan. “Because traveling causes three things, less [likelihood of having] children, less [likelihood of acquiring] money and less [likelihood of having] fame. Therefore he needed these three brachos.. children, money and fame. ” The simple understanding of this is that Hashem was compensating Avraham for a course of behavior that would normally cause damage to a person. However, it seems that there is a deeper message implicit in this instruction. Hashem was hinting to him that if he undertook the challenge of ’lech lecha’ then he would no longer be subject to the normal laws of nature (derech hateva), rather he would live according to a whole new mode of existence - ‘ beyond derech hateva’. Consequently, even though traveling should, b’derech hateva cause loss of wealth, fame and children, Avraham would not be subject to that system of cause and effect. Instead he would live on a whole different level of existence and would benefit in all these areas.
This idea is also alluded to by the Medrash Tanchuma quoted by Rashi in the first passuk in the parsha where Hashem promises Avraham that “I will make known your teva in the world. ” Why couldn’t the Medrash have simply stated, “I will make you known in the world”, what is the significance of the word, ‘teva‘ here? We can answer with this yesod; that Hashem was promising Avraham that he would live on a whole new level of teva that was hitherto unknown in the world. Avraham would have the merit to share this new form of existence with the world, teaching them a whole new approach to life. Derech drush it is also possible that this message was alluded to in the very words, “lech lecha.” The gematria of “lecha” is 50; 49 is a multiple of 7 that represents this world, whilst 8 represents beyond this world. 49 also represents this world, as is seen in the 49 levels of tuma and tahara, whilst 50 represents beyond that, as epitomized by the fact that the 50th day after Yetsias Mitzrayim was the day of Matan Torah - the occasion where the world took on a whole new level of supernatural existence. Hashem was telling Avraham, ’go to the level of 50’, a new level of existence, beyond teva.
Hashem promised Avraham that if he would live according to a metaphysical reality then he would no longer be bound by the physical reality of cause and effect that drives teva. Indeed, after Avraham successfully passes this test Hashem reveals to him at the Bris Bein Habesarim that he will live according to a different set of rules: The passuk says that He took Avraham outside, Rashi explains that Hashem was telling him to leave the confines of the mazalos, and live on a new level of existence, and that is how he and Sarah could have children even though their mazal was to never procreate . The Zohar says that this promise would only be fulfilled on condition that Avraham and his descendants be osek in Torah and mitzovs. Keeping Torah and mitzvos is the expression of living beyond derech hateva.
A person who lives according to Torah and mitzvos is, automatically living according to a different set of rules from the rest of the world. For example, in many areas of business, the busiest day is Shabbos; a person who lives according to the normal laws of cause and effect will never give up that day’s business in order to observe Shabbos. Only a person who recognizes that the Torah prescribes a different mode of cause and effect, can confidently close his business on Shabbos with the assurance that his parnasa will not suffer as a consequence. Another example of this is found in the Gemara in Bava Metsia . The Gemara discusses a certain scenario where somebody has lent his friend an item and there is now disagreement as to the value of the item. The Gemara concludes that the borrower must take a shevua to validate his claim, whereas the lender is not required to swear. Why is the borrower required to swear whilst the lender is not? The Gemara answers that the borrower trusts the lender because he is wealthy, and that the cause of his wealth is surely the fact that he is honest and trustworthy, because if this was not the case, then “they would not have given him wealth from shamayim .” It is pashut to the Gemara that honesty is the cause of wealth - if we were to ask the average person what is the cause of wealth, honesty would surely be one of the least likely answers he would suggest! According to derech hateva, honesty is not the key to wealth, indeed, many people believe that dishonesty will provide them with money. But, Klal Yisroel lives according to a completely different mode of existence, where shemiras hamitzvos and exemplary midos are the cause of success.
This has been a pattern throughout history; The Jewish people have always been faced with the challenge of living according to the ‘laws of the goyim’ or the ‘laws of Klal Yisroel’. Unfortunately this has proved a most difficult challenge to overcome. The meraglim, for example, fell prey to the tendency to approach the world according to the laws of nature. When they saw the giant inhabitants of the land they felt that it was impossible to overcome them. Their mistake was that they did not accept that if they trusted in Hashem then He would override all the laws of nature for them just as He did at Yetsias Mitzrayim and Krias Yam Suf. This principle is fundamental to the spiritual level of a Jew. It is possible to strive to observe the Torah and yet live, to some degree, according to the regular laws of teva just like the goyim. A person can easily fall into the trap of believing that the amount of time he works is the main factor in determining his financial situation. Consequently, he may increase his work hours at the expense of his learning schedule or spending precious time with his family . There is a frightening consequence to such conduct. Hashem acts mida ceneged mida with us, if we show that we do not trust in Him, rather we rely on our own efforts, then, Hashem hides Himself and we are left more to the laws of nature. This explains why a common pattern of history has been that when the Jewish people turn away from Hashem, He consequently turns away from us, and as a result we are left unprotected from the wrath of the goyim.
Another area of Avodas Hashem in which this concept applies greatly is a recognition that spiritual , and not physical, factors are the sole cause of success or failure. This attitude was epitomized by our Gedolim. Rav Moshe Aharon Stern, zt”l, Mashgiach of Kamenitz Yeshivah, was once walking behind Rav Elyah Lopian zt”l and Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt”l; so he hurried to be close enough behind them to hear what these two tzadikkim discuss between themselves. Reb Chatzkel noticed that Reb Elyah had a bandage over one eye and asked him what happened. Reb Elyah responded that he must have looked at something forbidden and it damaged his eye. Inspired by the question and response, Reb Moshe Aharon stepped closer to hear Reb Chatzkel’s response. To his surprise, he did not respond, he simply accepted Reb Elyah’s explanation as a point of fact, not noting anything novel or particularly righteous in Reb Elyah’s explanation. Reb Moshe Aharon explained that Reb Elyah understood that when Reb Chatzkel inquired about his eye, he was not asking about the physical condition of the eye, but the spiritual reason behind the injury. Reb Elyah understood that this was the only point of Reb Chatzkel’s question and responded accordingly . These Gedolim understood that spiritual factors were responsible for the cause-and-effect in their lives, they lived with a deep recognition that a Jew’s reality is not defined by the same laws as those of goyim. We asked how the command of ’lech lecha’ is relevant to us today. The answer is that lech lecha was not merely a command to Avraham to leave his evil surroundings, it was a call for him to live according to a different set of rules, defined by the spiritual world, and his reward would be that Hashem would in turn treat him beyond the regular set of laws that define the physical world. This lesson is very much relevant to all of us. The Sfas Emes asks, why Hashem only said lech lecha to Avraham Avinu and not to the rest of the world. He answers by bringing a Zohar that Hashem says lech lecha to everyone, but only Avraham responded to it. In the world today Hashem says lech lecha - the goyim ignore it but we cannot; and our reward for responding to is that we will rise above the limits of this world.
On deeper analysis it is clear that the command of ‘lech lecha’ is still very relevant to all of us. Hashem’s command to Avraham was deeper than simply an instruction to leave his surroundings. We are given a hint to this by Rashi; He explains why Hashem promised Avraham fame, money and descendants as a consequence of leaving Charan. “Because traveling causes three things, less [likelihood of having] children, less [likelihood of acquiring] money and less [likelihood of having] fame. Therefore he needed these three brachos.. children, money and fame. ” The simple understanding of this is that Hashem was compensating Avraham for a course of behavior that would normally cause damage to a person. However, it seems that there is a deeper message implicit in this instruction. Hashem was hinting to him that if he undertook the challenge of ’lech lecha’ then he would no longer be subject to the normal laws of nature (derech hateva), rather he would live according to a whole new mode of existence - ‘ beyond derech hateva’. Consequently, even though traveling should, b’derech hateva cause loss of wealth, fame and children, Avraham would not be subject to that system of cause and effect. Instead he would live on a whole different level of existence and would benefit in all these areas.
This idea is also alluded to by the Medrash Tanchuma quoted by Rashi in the first passuk in the parsha where Hashem promises Avraham that “I will make known your teva in the world. ” Why couldn’t the Medrash have simply stated, “I will make you known in the world”, what is the significance of the word, ‘teva‘ here? We can answer with this yesod; that Hashem was promising Avraham that he would live on a whole new level of teva that was hitherto unknown in the world. Avraham would have the merit to share this new form of existence with the world, teaching them a whole new approach to life. Derech drush it is also possible that this message was alluded to in the very words, “lech lecha.” The gematria of “lecha” is 50; 49 is a multiple of 7 that represents this world, whilst 8 represents beyond this world. 49 also represents this world, as is seen in the 49 levels of tuma and tahara, whilst 50 represents beyond that, as epitomized by the fact that the 50th day after Yetsias Mitzrayim was the day of Matan Torah - the occasion where the world took on a whole new level of supernatural existence. Hashem was telling Avraham, ’go to the level of 50’, a new level of existence, beyond teva.
Hashem promised Avraham that if he would live according to a metaphysical reality then he would no longer be bound by the physical reality of cause and effect that drives teva. Indeed, after Avraham successfully passes this test Hashem reveals to him at the Bris Bein Habesarim that he will live according to a different set of rules: The passuk says that He took Avraham outside, Rashi explains that Hashem was telling him to leave the confines of the mazalos, and live on a new level of existence, and that is how he and Sarah could have children even though their mazal was to never procreate . The Zohar says that this promise would only be fulfilled on condition that Avraham and his descendants be osek in Torah and mitzovs. Keeping Torah and mitzvos is the expression of living beyond derech hateva.
A person who lives according to Torah and mitzvos is, automatically living according to a different set of rules from the rest of the world. For example, in many areas of business, the busiest day is Shabbos; a person who lives according to the normal laws of cause and effect will never give up that day’s business in order to observe Shabbos. Only a person who recognizes that the Torah prescribes a different mode of cause and effect, can confidently close his business on Shabbos with the assurance that his parnasa will not suffer as a consequence. Another example of this is found in the Gemara in Bava Metsia . The Gemara discusses a certain scenario where somebody has lent his friend an item and there is now disagreement as to the value of the item. The Gemara concludes that the borrower must take a shevua to validate his claim, whereas the lender is not required to swear. Why is the borrower required to swear whilst the lender is not? The Gemara answers that the borrower trusts the lender because he is wealthy, and that the cause of his wealth is surely the fact that he is honest and trustworthy, because if this was not the case, then “they would not have given him wealth from shamayim .” It is pashut to the Gemara that honesty is the cause of wealth - if we were to ask the average person what is the cause of wealth, honesty would surely be one of the least likely answers he would suggest! According to derech hateva, honesty is not the key to wealth, indeed, many people believe that dishonesty will provide them with money. But, Klal Yisroel lives according to a completely different mode of existence, where shemiras hamitzvos and exemplary midos are the cause of success.
This has been a pattern throughout history; The Jewish people have always been faced with the challenge of living according to the ‘laws of the goyim’ or the ‘laws of Klal Yisroel’. Unfortunately this has proved a most difficult challenge to overcome. The meraglim, for example, fell prey to the tendency to approach the world according to the laws of nature. When they saw the giant inhabitants of the land they felt that it was impossible to overcome them. Their mistake was that they did not accept that if they trusted in Hashem then He would override all the laws of nature for them just as He did at Yetsias Mitzrayim and Krias Yam Suf. This principle is fundamental to the spiritual level of a Jew. It is possible to strive to observe the Torah and yet live, to some degree, according to the regular laws of teva just like the goyim. A person can easily fall into the trap of believing that the amount of time he works is the main factor in determining his financial situation. Consequently, he may increase his work hours at the expense of his learning schedule or spending precious time with his family . There is a frightening consequence to such conduct. Hashem acts mida ceneged mida with us, if we show that we do not trust in Him, rather we rely on our own efforts, then, Hashem hides Himself and we are left more to the laws of nature. This explains why a common pattern of history has been that when the Jewish people turn away from Hashem, He consequently turns away from us, and as a result we are left unprotected from the wrath of the goyim.
Another area of Avodas Hashem in which this concept applies greatly is a recognition that spiritual , and not physical, factors are the sole cause of success or failure. This attitude was epitomized by our Gedolim. Rav Moshe Aharon Stern, zt”l, Mashgiach of Kamenitz Yeshivah, was once walking behind Rav Elyah Lopian zt”l and Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt”l; so he hurried to be close enough behind them to hear what these two tzadikkim discuss between themselves. Reb Chatzkel noticed that Reb Elyah had a bandage over one eye and asked him what happened. Reb Elyah responded that he must have looked at something forbidden and it damaged his eye. Inspired by the question and response, Reb Moshe Aharon stepped closer to hear Reb Chatzkel’s response. To his surprise, he did not respond, he simply accepted Reb Elyah’s explanation as a point of fact, not noting anything novel or particularly righteous in Reb Elyah’s explanation. Reb Moshe Aharon explained that Reb Elyah understood that when Reb Chatzkel inquired about his eye, he was not asking about the physical condition of the eye, but the spiritual reason behind the injury. Reb Elyah understood that this was the only point of Reb Chatzkel’s question and responded accordingly . These Gedolim understood that spiritual factors were responsible for the cause-and-effect in their lives, they lived with a deep recognition that a Jew’s reality is not defined by the same laws as those of goyim. We asked how the command of ’lech lecha’ is relevant to us today. The answer is that lech lecha was not merely a command to Avraham to leave his evil surroundings, it was a call for him to live according to a different set of rules, defined by the spiritual world, and his reward would be that Hashem would in turn treat him beyond the regular set of laws that define the physical world. This lesson is very much relevant to all of us. The Sfas Emes asks, why Hashem only said lech lecha to Avraham Avinu and not to the rest of the world. He answers by bringing a Zohar that Hashem says lech lecha to everyone, but only Avraham responded to it. In the world today Hashem says lech lecha - the goyim ignore it but we cannot; and our reward for responding to is that we will rise above the limits of this world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
