North Jerusalem Maggid of Dubno Project http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog Devoted to the teachings of Rabbi Yaakov Kranz, the Maggid of Dubno Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:46:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProjecthttp://feedburner.google.com Parashas Yisro http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/G-hZBO73dxY/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/08/yisro72a/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:46:56 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1461 This week’s parashah recounts the revelation at Sinai. In the period leading up to the revelation, Hashem told Moshe (Shemos 19:9): “Behold, I am going to come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people will hear as I speak with you, and also will believe in you forever.” The Maggid asks why Hashem used the phrasing “believe in you” (yaaminu becha) rather than simply saying “believe you” (yaaminu lecha)? Seemingly it would have been more correct to say “believe you,” just as Moshe said previously – when Hashem first told him to lead the Jewish People out of Egypt – “but they will not believe me (yaaminu li)” (Shemos 4:1). The Maggid asks further: What did Hashem mean by “forever”?
The Maggid explains as follows. It is a basic principle that the strength of a person’s belief depends on how critical-minded he is. Some people readily accept anything they hear. But such people can be just as readily convinced to abandon an idea they accepted previously, in favor of a contrary one. With a critical-minded person, it is just the opposite. He will not accept any claim until he investigates it thoroughly and obtains clear evidence for it. Once he is convinced, however, his belief is firm and unwavering.
This principle played a pivotal role in the discussion between Hashem and Moshe at their first meeting at the burning bush. Moshe told Hashem that the Jewish People “will not believe me.” Hashem replied (Shemos Rabbah 3:12): “They are believers, the children of believers.” Hashem was telling Moshe: “I call them believers because they are critical-minded.” We can see a hint to this idea in a homiletical reading of Yeshayah 25:1: “Hashem, You are my God. I shall exalt you and give thanks to Your Name, for You have done wondrously. From a distance, faith was firmly adopted.” That is, Hashem performed a wonder in implanting into the Jewish soul a critical nature, so that they would accept only claims that are proven reliable, and their faith would thus have a firm basis.
The Jewish People refuse to listen to charlatans who try to peddle their own fabricated ideas. In matters of basic world outlook, they accept only those ideas that are reliably known to have been taught by Moshe and handed down from generation to generation. When critical analysis reveals that a claim runs counter to this tradition, the claim is rejected.
This is what Hashem meant when He told Moshe that He will come down to him and speak with him before the Jewish People, in order that the people will “believe in you forever.” The revelation at Sinai firmly established the authenticity of Moshe’s teachings. The Torah testifies elsewhere to Moshe’s status as a true prophet of the highest order, saying (Bamidbar 12:17): “In My entire house, he is the trusted one.” By virtue of Moshe’s status, the one whom Moshe ordained as a reliable teacher – Yehoshua – is worthy of our trust, and is worthy as well of ordaining his successor. In this way, our faith is handed down through the chain of tradition, from teacher to teacher and from generation to generation. Moshe is the foundation of the entire chain, and thus our reliance on him continues forever.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/08/yisro72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/08/yisro72a/ Parashas Beshallach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/dc0Vhyk-lBo/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/02/beshallach72a/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:01:23 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1455 In the middle of this week’s parashah, the Torah discusses the manna that the Jewish People ate in the wilderness. Hashem says to Moshe (Shemos 16:4): “Behold, I shall cause bread from heaven to rain down for you, and the people shall go out and gather each day’s portion every day, so that I can test them, whether they will walk in My law, or not.” The Maggid analyzes how the manna represented such a test. He begins with the following Midrash about the manna (Shemos Rabbah 25:9):
“The people shall go out and gather each day’s portion every day.” It is written (Tehillim 68:20): “Blessed is Hashem day after day.” Said Hashem to the People of Israel: “It is with the instrument that a person uses for measuring that I measure out for him. I gave you the Torah so that you should involve yourselves with it day after day, as it is written (Mishlei 8:34): ‘Praiseworthy is the man who listens to Me, to keep watch at My doors day after day.’ And similarly (Yeshayah 58:2): ‘They seek Me day after day and desire to know My ways.’ By your lives, I will satiate you with bread from heaven day after day.’”
The Maggid expounds on the verse from Mishlei that the Midrash quotes. He notes that just as Hashem provides us with sustenance for the body, in the form of food and drink, He provides us also with sustenance for the soul, in the form of Torah, mitzvos, and good deeds. In this vein, Shlomo HaMelech compares wisdom to bread and wine (Mishlei 9:5). And just as a person can choose to subsist on a bare minimum of food and drink, so, too, a person can choose to subsist on a bare minimum of Torah – the daily morning and evening recital of the Shema, which covers the obligation to study Torah day and night (Menachos 99b). Commoners suffice with this minimum ration of Torah, but the eminent seek more. Thus David HaMelech declares (Tehillim 111:1): “Praiseworthy is the man who fears Hashem and greatly cherishes His commandments.” Here, David is speaking of the man whose soul thirsts and yearns for Hashem’s word so much that even if he studied Torah day and night for a lifetime, his desire would not be satisfied.
The Maggid brings out the idea with an analogy. He describes two similar scenarios. The first scenario involves a servant is standing in an outer room of his master’s house waiting for orders. He is not allowed to leave – he must remain in the room ready for his master’s call. The second scenario involves a merchant is standing in an outer room of someone’s house waiting to show him merchandise. The man of the house is busy, and tells the merchant that he will call him when he is able to speak with him. In the first scenario, the servant is waiting for his master’s call but he is actually hoping not to be called – he would rather stand idle than do chores. In the second scenario, by contrast, the merchant is eagerly awaiting his customer’s call.
In the verse from Mishlei, the Maggid says, Shlomo HaMelech is teaching us the attitude we should take toward Hashem’s directives. We should not be like the servant, hoping to be left alone. Rather, we should be like the merchant, eagerly awaiting Hashem’s call. Shlomo describes Hashem as saying: “Praiseworthy is the man who listens to Me.” Note the phrasing: “listens to Me” rather than “listens to My word.” Hashem’s statement can also be rendered another way: “Praiseworthy is the man who listens for Me.” Under this rendering, we can understand the statement as referring to the man who inclines his ear toward Hashem and waits expectantly for Hashem’s call – the man who serves Hashem out of love and constantly strives for added duties.
Now, it is generally not possible to tell how much a person cherishes Hashem’s word, for what the person shows to the outside world does not fully reflect what is in his heart. But there is one way to get a clear indication: by seeing how the person reacts to errands that will interrupt his Torah study. If a person considers such errands a nuisance, and is thankful whenever a friend offers to take care of such errands, this shows he loves Torah. But if a person is happy to have the chance to close his books and go out on an errand, this shows he lacks interest in Torah. We can now see easily how the manna represented a test of whether or not the Jewish People desired to walk in Hashem’s law. The manna relieved them of the need to work for their sustenance; they could gather their daily portion without any effort. If they rejoiced over being free to spend their time in Torah study, it would be clear that they considered the Torah precious.
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/02/beshallach72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/02/02/beshallach72a/ Parashas Bo http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/2ogRPzuE5es/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/26/bo72a/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:30:55 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1446 In this week’s parashah, Hashem tells us to designate the month of Nisan, the month in which the redemption from Egypt took place, as the first month of the year (Shemos 12:2): “This month shall be unto you the chief of the months; it shall be the first unto you of the months of the year.” The Midrash expounds (Shemos Rabbah 15:12):
The redemption was for Me and for you: I, so to speak, was redeemed along with you. As it is written (Shmuel Beis 7:23): “Who is like Your people, like Yisrael, a unique people within the world – for whom God went forth to redeem for Himself as a people, gaining Himself renown, and performing for you great works and awesome acts for your land, before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, [subduing] nations and their gods.” [The verse includes the phrases “for Himself” and “for Yourself” as well as the phrase “for you.”] Designate this month for Me and for you, because I see the blood of the Pesach offering and bring you atonement. … And let your joy be complete, even the one who is poor. A perfectly whole male lamb or kid, within its first year (Shemos 12:5) – A lamb or kid, because it was said (Bereishis 22:8), “God will seek out for Himself the lamb or kid for the burnt offering, my son.” Perfectly whole, for sake of the Name of Hashem, of whom is written (Devarim 32:4): “The Rock – perfect is His work.”
In discussing this Midrash, the Maggid begins by examining the directive that our joy should be complete, even the one who is poor. We find that Hashem consistently tells us to see to it that when we celebrate times of joy, we attend to the poor and make sure they also can rejoice. Thus, after assembling the Jewish People on Rosh Hashanah to teach them Torah, Ezra and Nechemiah told them to rejoice, and to send portions to those who lack (Nechemiah 8:10). Similarly, the laws of celebrating Purim include an obligation to give gifts to the poor. Likewise, in connection with the declaration the Torah tells a person to make in regard to the handling of tithes, in which a person is suppose to affirm that “I acted according to everything You commanded me,” the Sages teach that the intent of this affirmation is to say that “I rejoiced in the bounty You granted me, and I also distributed the proper tithes to make others rejoice” (see Yerushalmi, Maaser Sheini 5). The Maggid asks: Why is it crucial, in times of joy, to make sure the poor also rejoice?
He answers as follows. When someone is downcast because of misfortune, seeing a successful and happy man does not bring him joy. On the contrary, it makes him feel worse. Imagine a man who is starving for bread watching someone else eat his fill of fine delicacies. Not only does the sight not quiet his hunger, it magnifies it many times over. The same pattern appears in the emotional realm. When a rich man celebrates without providing for the needy, he creates a mixed situation: At the same time that his festivities bring him joy, they bring his less fortunate neighbors pain. The outcome is the very opposite of “perfectly whole,” and is contrary to what Hashem desires. In this vein, Shlomo HaMelech writes (Mishlei 10:22): “Hashem’s blessing is what brings wealth. Let it not bring along with it an increase of grief.” As a person rejoices in the wealth Hashem granted him, he must take care not to bring grief to the poor. Thus the Midrash tells us that we should make our joy complete, extending even to the one who is poor, and then concludes by saying that our offering should be perfectly whole, for the sake of the Name of Hashem, whose works are perfect.
The Maggid then turns to the Midrash’s opening segment. Hashem says: “The redemption is for Me and for you: I, so to speak, was redeemed along with you.” The Maggid analyzes the connection between this statement and the Midrash’s later statement, discussed just above, that we should make our joy complete, including even the one who is poor. Apparently the Midrash is saying that it is because the redemption is for Hashem and for us that we should provide for the poor. What does one have to do with the other? The Maggid explains as follows. The main reason Hashem redeemed us from Egypt was for the sake of His great Name, for He Himself, so to speak, was in exile along with us. Thus, Hashem told Yaakov (Bereishis 46:4): “I shall go down with you to Egypt.” Our hope for the final redemption is founded on the same notion. Hashem tells us (Yeshayah 48:11): “For My sake, for My sake, I shall do it, for how can [My Name] be profaned? And I shall not yield My honor to another.”
Various Midrashim teach that the Jewish People in Egypt did not deserve in their own right to be redeemed. In Shemos Rabbah 1:35, for example, the Sages teach that the Jewish People were bereft of good deeds, as hinted at in Yechezkel’s words (verse 16:7): “You were naked and bare.” Since Hashem granted us salvation from the Egyptian exile as a pure gift, it stands to reason that our rejoicing over this salvation should include every member of our people on an equal basis.
The Maggid brings out the point with a parable. A group of paupers was going together door to door seeking money to live on. They had with them some simple wares of the kind poor people typically sell: tzitzis, mezuzahs, and the like. Sometimes the person they approached was generous, and would give them a sum of money as a gift. And sometimes the person was not so generous, and would just buy a bit of what they had to sell. We can note one key difference between these two situations. If the person they approached had bought their wares, even if he handed over the money to just one of them, they would divide the money according to what each was due on account of the merchandise he had sold. But if the person gave them money as a gift, they would divide the money equally, for regarding a gift they were all on the same footing.
Similarly, if the Jewish People had attained redemption through the merit of their own good deeds, each Jew would have been entitled to rejoice in proportion to the contribution he made to the redemption. But, in fact, the redemption was not on our account. Hashem subdued the Egyptians for His own sake – to restore His honor, which had been impugned. He was, so to speak, redeeming Himself from exile. In the process, He redeemed the Jews as well, as a pure act of generosity. Hence all the Jews were on the same footing, and it would thus only be right for them to rejoice equally. Since the redemption was for the sake of the Name of Hashem, whose works are perfectly whole, it behooves us to take care – for the sake of Hashem’s Name – that our rejoicing is perfectly whole, encompassing all members of the community. The rejoicing that will take place at the time of the final redemption will also be for the sake of Hashem’s Name, and thus, in the same way, will extend to all segments of the Jewish population. Thus it is written (Yirmiyah 31:12): “Then the maiden will rejoice with dance, and the young men and the elders together.”
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/26/bo72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/26/bo72a/ Parashas Vaera http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/_Sh2hW7xO9I/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/19/vaera72a/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:44:15 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1434 This week’s parashah presents the first seven of the ten plagues that Hashem brought upon Egypt. In telling Moshe to warn Pharaoh about the initial plague of blood, Hashem said (Shemos 7:14-18):
Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning … and say to him: “Hashem, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness,’ and, behold, you have not listened up to now (ad coh). Thus (coh) says Hashem: ‘Through this you shall know that I am Hashem – behold, with the staff that is in my hand I shall strike the waters that are in the river, and they shall turn into blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul, and the Egyptians shall be repelled from drinking water from the river.’”
Commenting on this passage, the Maggid analyzes the difference between the expression “Thus says Hashem” that appears here and the expression “This is the word that Hashem commanded” that appears in Bamidbar 30:2. The Midrash in Yalkut Shimoni, Torah, Sec. 784 notes that other prophets, just like Moshe, conveyed prophecies using the expression “Thus says Hashem,” but only Moshe conveyed prophecies using the expression “This is the word that Hashem commanded.” Both expressions serve to introduce a directive to perform or refrain from some action. The Maggid explains the difference between the two expressions as follows. The expression “Thus says Hashem” prefaces a substantive description of the nature and consequences of the action in question. By way of analogy, suppose Reuven wants to get Shimon to do something, but Shimon has no obligation to comply with what Reuven says. Shimon will first insist on knowing what the action entails, and Reuven will tell him: “Thus-and-so.” The expression “This is the word,” on the other hand, characterizes the directive as a order which must be obeyed no matter what it entails.
The fact that Moshe alone used the expression “This is the word,” whereas all other prophets used only the expression “Thus says Hashem,” reflects Moshe’s unique status as the premier prophet. Through the revelation at Sinai, Moshe was authenticated among the Jewish People as a consummately trustworthy agent of communication from Hashem to them – an agent whose reliability is beyond all doubt. Hence, whenever Moshe told the people what Hashem had said to him, the people accepted the message unquestioningly. Moshe could say “This is the word that Hashem commanded,” and the people would be prepared to accept the command without any analysis of its content. The messages of other prophets were not accorded this blanket acceptance; rather, the people first examined whether the message comported with the Torah tradition handed down from Sinai, and if they identified any conflict, they would reject the message. The person who related the message would be declared a false prophet, and would be put to death as the Torah prescribes (Devarim 13:2-6). Accordingly, all other prophets aside from Moshe introduced their prophecies with the expression “Thus says Hashem,” an expression that puts emphasis on the content of the message, because the people had to analyze the content to determine whether the message was reliable.
With this background, the Maggid turns to the statement Hashem told Moshe to make to Pharaoh. The statement begins: “Hashem, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness.’” The fact that Hashem, the Master of the Universe, had issued this order should have been enough for Pharaoh to comply with fearful alacrity. But Pharaoh refused, saying (Shemos 5:2): “Who is Hashem, that I should heed His voice to send out Yisrael? I do not know Hashem, and I will not send Yisrael out!” Pharaoh’s words suggested that once he came to “know” Hashem and was firmly convinced of His existence, He would obey Hashem’s orders. In response, Hashem told Moshe to show Pharaoh a miracle – converting his staff to a snake and then converting it back again. Hashem’s intent was that these supernatural effects would make Pharaoh convinced of His existence and thus prepared to accept His orders regardless of their content. But, even after being shown the miracle, Pharaoh maintained a hard heart and refused to listen to what Moshe and Aharon told him in Hashem’s Name. From that point on, it became necessary to spell out to Pharaoh the consequences he would suffer if he failed to obey Hashem’s command to release the Jewish People – he had to be warned of the fearsome plagues Hashem would cast upon him for his disobedience. A simple statement that Hashem had ordered him to do something was not enough.
Accordingly, the quote from Hashem continues: “Behold, you have not listened “ad coh.” Hashem was saying: “I see that you will not listen until you receive a message of the type prefaced by coh – a substantive description of the consequences of refusing to comply.” And Hashem told Moshe to follow up with a detailed message of precisely this form: “Thus (coh) says Hashem: ‘Through this you shall know that I am Hashem – behold, with the staff that is in my hand I shall strike the waters that are in the river, and they shall turn into blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul, and the Egyptians shall be repelled from drinking water from the river.’”
In his Yerios HaOhel footnote on the Maggid’s commentary here, Rav Flamm expands on the concept of accepting Hashem’s decree for the simple reason that Hashem decreed it. He notes that the Jewish People’s pledge at Sinai – “we will do and we will listen” – was along these lines: When presented with the Torah, they were prepared to comply first and receive explanations later. Rav Flamm also calls attention to the Midrashic teaching (Bereishis Rabbah 39:9) that when Hashem gives a righteous person a mission, He initially conceals the details of what the mission entails and only afterward discloses them. A righteous person is prepared to accept Hashem’s decrees without knowing in advance exactly what they entail. Similarly, in one of the discussions between Moshe and Pharaoh about the Jewish People’s journey to the wilderness to serve Hashem, Moshe said (Shemos 10:26): “We will not know in what way we will serve Hashem until we arrive there.” An essential element of the Jewish People’s mode of serving Hashem is not knowing exactly what they will be called upon to do until the time comes for them to do it.
As we go through life, we face situations that may lead us to wonder: “What exactly is it that Hashem is asking from me now?” (I personally have found myself thinking this way many times ….) We must strive to press ahead with the missions Hashem gives us, even when we do not know exactly where they will lead to, and maintain faith in Hashem’s plans.
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/19/vaera72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/19/vaera72a/ Parashas Shemos http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/FJXzJ3JDSyA/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/12/shemos72a/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:15:33 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1427 In the opening segment of this week’s parashah, the Torah relates (Shemos 1:6-12):
And Yosef died, and all his brothers, and that entire generation. And the Children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed, and multiplied, and grew very, very mighty, and the land was filled with them. And a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Yosef. And he said to his people: “Behold, the people of the Children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, so that it may be, if war occurs, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and go up from the land.” Thus, they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pisom and Raamses. And just as they afflicted them, thus did they multiply and thus did they spread, and they became disgusted because of the Children of Israel.
The Maggid comments as follows. Our Sages teach that the Jewish People’s enslavement in Egypt did not begin until all of Yaakov’s sons had died. Thus, Yosef’s death triggered the onset of the enslavement. Now, the enslavement was put into effect by the new king who arose over Egypt, as indicated at the end the above passage. But before the enslavement was put into effect, Hashem caused the Jewish People to grow extremely numerous.
Hashem brought about this great population increase for a specific purpose. Our Sages teach that the exile and enslavement in Egypt caused the Jewish People to degenerate. As David HaMelech writes (Tehillim 106:35): “And the mingled among the nations, and learned their ways.” Similarly, the statement that “the Egyptians did us evil” (Devarim 26:6) can be interpreted a meaning “the Egyptians made us evil.” Hashem saw in advance that this degeneration would take place, and that the Jewish People would lose their spiritual wholeness. He therefore arranged for them to become extremely numerous, so that there would be enough virtues among all of them together to make up one upright and spiritually whole man. And as the enslavement continued, Hashem maintained this state of affairs. In this vein, the Torah says: “And just as they afflicted them, thus did they multiply and thus did they spread.” The added afflictions that the Egyptians imposed on the Jewish People caused further degeneration, and to compensate Hashem made the Jewish People grow ever more numerous.
Note: Today, the 17th of Teves, marks the Maggid’s 207th Yahrzeit.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/12/shemos72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/12/shemos72a/ Haftaras Vayechi http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/blK3aTWBKkA/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/05/vayechi72a/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:00:52 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1420 This week’s haftarah records David HaMelech’s last words before his death, including a final charge to his son and successor Shlomo. One of these charges runs as follows (Melachim Alef 2:7): “And be gracious to the sons of Barzilai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for they drew close to me when I fled your brother Avshalom.” With this charge, David was seeking to repay the sons of Barzilai for the favorable reception they extended him. Why, then, asks the Maggid, does David frame the matter in terms of “being gracious” when apparently he was merely telling Shlomo to return the favor that the sons of Barzilai had done for him?
The key to understanding David’s intent, the Maggid explains, is the phrasing he chose in describing what the sons of Barzilai had done: David did not say that they had drawn him close, but rather that they drew close to him. The difference between the two phrasings can be explained as follows. A person who draws close to a great man gains honor thereby, but the great man himself gains much more honor – the fact that someone else sought a connection with him demonstrates his greatness. Now, through that reception that the sons of Barzilai gave David, they extended him two benefits. First, they gave him food and drink, and supplied him with his other needs. Second, in the way they acted toward him, they demonstrated that they did not view him as an ordinary person, but still regarded him as the king. The proof was that they drew themselves close to him, thereby showing him special honor. David’s choice of words in describing their actions stresses this point.
David did not regard the food and drink that the sons of Barzilai gave him as a notable kindness, for it is basic human decency to provide food and drink to a person in need, even if the person is lowly. But he did regard as a notable kindness their maintaining allegiance to him as king. He therefore commanded his Shlomo to reciprocate and show them special graciousness and honor, going beyond simple compensation for their hospitality.
Specifically, David told Shlomo that they should be “among those who eat at your table.” Here again we have a careful choice of phrasing: “eat at your table” rather than “eat from your table.” Had David said that they should eat “from your table,” the message would have been that Shlomo should provide them food, which would have been really no more than simple compensation. But instead he said that they should eat “at your table” – that they should be made part of the esteemed inner circle of men who dine with the king himself. In granting this special honor, Shlomo would be extending them a considerable kindness. True, the sons of Barzilai had previously honored David, but the honor that David told Shlomo to show them went go well beyond the honor they showed him. In the reception the sons of Barzilai gave David, they did not really grant him added honor – they simply took care to show him the honor he was rightfully due as king, rather than rebelling against him or impugning his position as others were doing. By contrast, they would now be receiving a great boost of honor – originally they were ordinary citizens, and now they would become members of the king’s inner circle. Such a boost of honor is truly an act of graciousness.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/05/vayechi72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2012/01/05/vayechi72a/ Parashas Vayiggash http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/ZvjUgtUOdZc/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/29/vayiggash72a/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:37:43 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1412 This week’s parashah opens with Yehudah’s plea to the viceroy of Egypt (whom he did not know to be his own brother Yosef) to free Binyamin and take him as a slave in Binyamin’s stead. Yehudah reviews some of the family background, including Yosef’s apparent death, and then says (Bereishis 44:30-31): “And now, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad [Binyamin] is not with us – since his [my father’s] soul is bound up with his [the lad’s] soul – it will come to pass, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die, and your servants will have brought the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow down to the grave.” The Maggid asks why Yehudah includes the phrase “when he sees that the lad with not with us.” The phrase appears unnecessary, for the message seemingly would get across well enough without it: “When I come your servant my father, and the lad is not with us – since his [my father’s] soul is bound up with his [the lad’s] soul – it will come to pass that he will die.” The Maggid also asks on what grounds Yehudah argues, as suggested by the phrase “and now” at the beginning of the quoted segment, that what he had said up to that point proved conclusively that Yaakov would die if the brothers returned without Binyamin.
The Maggid explains that Yehudah was apparently seeking to pre-empt a possible counterargument that the viceroy whom he stood before might make. The viceroy might claim that the only reason Yaakov cherished Binyamin so much was because of his exemplary conduct (following in his forefathers’ footsteps), but once he heard that Binyamin had been caught stealing his silver goblet, Yaakov’s esteem for Binyamin would dissipate entirely and he would feel no sorrow over losing him. On the contrary, Yaakov, given his own saintliness, would regard Binyamin as an embarrassment. Yehudah therefore astutely presented facts that would nullify such a claim. He said (ibid. 44:20-29):
We said to my lord: “We have a father, an old man, and a young child of his old age; his brother is dead, and he alone is left from his mother, and his father loves him.” And you said to your servants: “Bring him down to me, that I may set my eye on him.” And we said to my lord: “The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, he [his father] would die.” … And our father said: “Go back, buy us a little food.” And we said: “We cannot go down. If our youngest brother will be with us, then will we go down, for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.” And your servant my father said to us: “You know that my wife bore me two sons; one left me, and I said to myself, ‘Surely he has been torn to pieces,’ and I have not seen him since. And if you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. “
Yehudah was pointing out that Yaakov feared deeply that Binyamin would meet the same tragic end as his brother Yosef, and that from the moment Binyamin left home to go to Egypt with his brothers he was gripped with worry that Binyamin would not return. And he was telling the viceroy that, this being so, “when he sees that the lad with not with us” – the very second he sees that Binyamin is missing – Yaakov will die instantly, for he will automatically conclude that Binyamin had been killed. There would be no chance to tell Yaakov what had actually happened, and thus no chance for Yaakov’s attachment to Binyamin to be dissolved by hearing Binyamin had been found guilty of theft.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/29/vayiggash72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/29/vayiggash72a/ Parashas Mikeitz http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/e-5xQUjXNQM/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/22/mikeitz72a/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:32:13 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1400 In this week’s parashah we read about how Yaakov’s ten oldest sons traveled to Egypt to buy food, and received tough treatment from the Egyptian viceroy – who, unknown to them, was their brother Yosef whom they had sold into slavery years before. As the sons prepared to make their second trip to Egypt, this time with the youngest brother Binyamin, Yaakov gave them the following blessing (Bereishis 43:14): “May God Almighty (Ei­-l Shadd-ai) grant you mercy before the man.” The Midrash remarks (Bereishis Rabbah 92:1):
R. Pinchas expounded in the name of R. Hoshaia: “‘Fortunate is the man who is chastised by Y-ah’ (Tehillim 94:12). Here, Hashem’s four-letter name is not used, but rather specifically the name Y-ah. It is a like a person who is being sentenced by a judge and cries out in agony: ‘Yaah, yaah – enough (dai), enough.’ Thus said Yaakov: ‘May the One who in the future will say “enough” to affliction now say “enough” to my afflictions.’”
The Midrash remarks further (Bereishis Rabbah 92:3):
R. Yoshia ben Levi interpreted Yaakov’s statement as referring to the exiles. Yaakov said: “May God Almighty grant you mercy.” It is written (Tehillim 106:46): “He caused them to be treated with mercy by all their captors.” Yaakov continued: “Before the man.” Here, “the man” alludes to the Holy One Blessed Be He, as it is written (Shemos 15:3): “Hashem is a man of war, Hashem is His Name.”
Elsewhere in the same section, the Midrash expounds (Bereishis Rabbah 92:2):
“For this let every devout man pray at a time when [trouble] abides (eis metzo)” (Tehillim 32:6). At a time when the day has run its course (mitui ha-yom), at a time when the judgment has run its course, at a time when the soul has run its course, at a time when the accounting has run its course. When Yaakov saw that the account had run its course, he began pouring forth supplications, saying: “May God Almighty (Ei-l Shadd-ai) grant you mercy before the man.”
The Maggid explains these Midrashim in terms of the principle that the experiences of the forefathers presage those of the Jewish People throughout history. He brings out the message with a clever parable.
A little baby boy who was being fed by a wet-nurse got sick. His parents took him to a doctor, who told them that the baby would recover readily if he would be made to vomit. He recommended that the wet-nurse take a certain vomiting-inducing drug, so that the baby would ingest the drug as he nursed and would be led to vomit as needed. The nurse realized that the drug would have a very harsh effect on her, but she willingly accepted this suffering because she wanted the baby to get well. So she started taking the drug. She got down half the prescribed dose and started feeling extremely sick. She approached the doctor and said: “I think the amount of drug I have taken so far is enough to cure the baby, and I can stop now rather than take the rest.” The doctor replied: “I am sorry, my dear lady, but you must take the full dose for the treatment to work.”
The nurse listened to the doctor and took the rest of the drug, and afterward began to nurse the baby. After he had taken in a bit of her milk, he started vomiting nonstop and lost all his strength. The doctor was quickly called in. When he arrived and saw how violently the baby was vomiting, he said: “I have to admit that I made a mistake and prescribed an excessive dose. But don’t worry – I know how to bring the baby out of this state.” He squirted a few drops of a very potent antidote into the baby’s mouth, and the baby stopped vomiting. The nurse then started to wail, and she said: “Why did I have to take all this harsh medicine and suffer so much? When I had taken half the dose, I told you it was enough. Why did I have to go through all this agony for nothing?”
The parallel is as follows. Our forefathers went through a variety of harsh experiences that they themselves, based on their own actions, did not deserve, but were brought upon them for the sake of their descendants. By going through these troubles and gaining salvation from them, they produced a reservoir of salvation which their descendants could draw from in times of need throughout all generations. Yaakov, the premier forefather (all of whose sons served as the head of a Jewish tribe) and the last among them, bore an especially trying series of misfortunes – each of which, in some form, would later befall the Jewish People later in history. Although he suffered tremendously, he accepted the suffering for the benefit of his descendants.
But when Yaakov went through the tragedy of losing Yosef, with all the fallout that ensued, his suffering became overwhelming. Knowing that whatever he went through was only a small fraction of what his descendants would go through, he thought to himself: “If my descendants go through the degree of suffering that is foreshadowed by the suffering I am going through now, surely they will not have the wherewithal to survive.” He therefore pleaded with Hashem to relieve his descendants of such suffering, and Hashem assented. Yaakov then had a claim against Hashem: “I knew that You would show pity for my descendants and refrain from bringing on them the severe suffering foreshadowed by my suffering. When, then, did You bring this suffering on me for nothing?”
We can now understand what R. Hoshaia means when he compares Yaakov to a person being sentenced by a judge and crying out in agony, “Yaah, yaah – enough (dai), enough,” and then describes him pleading: “May the One who in the future will say ‘enough’ to affliction now say ‘enough’ to my afflictions.” Yaakov is not, far be it, rebelling against afflictions. Rather, he is saying to Hashem: “Since You will ultimately say ‘enough’ to the afflictions of my descendants, You can say ‘enough’ to my afflictions now. I do not need to go through further afflictions for their sake.” The teaching of R. Yoshia ben Levi follows the same line: Yaakov is saying that since Hashem will arrange for the Jewish People to be treated with a measure of mercy while in exile, He can grant his sons a measure of mercy as they travel to Egypt. The Midrash linking Yaakov’s plea to Tehillim 32:6 is in a similar vein. Yaakov pled for mercy only after he saw that “the judgment had run its course” – that is, that the afflictions he and sons were suffering had begun to go beyond what was needed to safeguard future generations. Had this not been so, Yaakov would have willingly endured further afflictions for the sake of his descendants.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/22/mikeitz72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/22/mikeitz72a/ Haftaras Vayeishev http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/Nh3I5ILsIFw/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/16/vayeishev72a/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:50:44 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1378 This week’s haftarah from the Book of Amos closes with the following passage (Amos 3:1-8):
Hear this word that Hashem has spoken regarding you, O Children of Yisrael – regarding the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: “You alone have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will take account of you regarding all your iniquities. Do two people walk together, if they have not so planned? Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Does a young lion give forth its voice from its den, if it has not made a catch? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if there is no snare? Does a trap lift off the ground without making a catch? Can a shofar be blown in a city, and the people not tremble? Can evil befall a city if Hashem did not bring it about? For the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared – who will not fear? The Lord God, has spoken – who will not convey the prophecy?”
The Maggid notes that the various rhetorical questions that this passage presents are puzzling, but Amos’s message can be explained well through the following Midrashic commentary on the passage (Yalkut Shimoni, Nach, 540):
“Can a shofar be blown in a city, and the people not tremble?” We can explain this verse with a parable. A country was ridden with invading soldiers, and a certain elder there warned all its residents of the danger. All those who listened to him were saved, while all those who did not listen were killed by the invaders. Thus it is written (Yechezkel 3:17): “O son of man, I have set you as a sentinel for the House of Israel; You hear the word from My mouth and you warn them of Me.” And similarly here. Can a shofar be blown in a city – on Rosh Hashanah – and the people not tremble? If evil befalls a city, Hashem did not bring it about [homiletical rendering of the end of the verse]. Hashem does not desire the death of evildoers, as it is written (Yechezkel 18:32): “For I do not desire the death of the one who deserves to die.”
The key idea is reflected in Amos’s statement that “the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets.” When a mortal man plans to cause a person harm, he hides his plan so that the person will not guard himself against them. By contrast, when Hashem plans to inflict harm on people, He discloses His plan to the prophets, in order to stir the people to repent and thereby escape the harm. The above Midrash brings out this idea. If, far be it, Hashem wished for the wicked to die, He would pass sentence on them without notice. But instead He openly informs one and all of the day He sits in judgment. As it is written (Tehillim 81:4-5): “Blow the shofar at the moon’s renewal, at the time appointed for our festival day [Rosh Hashanah]. For it is a decree unto Yisrael, a judgment [day] for the God of Yaakov.” Announcing the day of judgment is an act of love on Hashem’s part, aimed at leading the wayward to return to Him. Hashem opens the way to repentance to all sinners who wish to forsake their evil ways. He gives us the opportunity to prepare ourselves for the day of judgment and develop strategies for shielding ourselves against negative decrees. And so, Amos tells us, those who feel no fear when the shofar is blown and are not stirred to repent have only themselves to blame when misfortune befalls them. They have no cause to complain about how Hashem treated them, for Hashem mercifully gave fair warning.
With this background, the Maggid proceeds to explain Hashem’s declaration in the passage from the haftarah sentence by sentence. Hashem begins: “You alone have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will take account of you regarding all your iniquities.” Hashem is telling us that, out of His love for us, He takes account of us regarding our sins, and sends us warning of the punishment we face for them, so that we can take steps to avoid it. Hashem continues: “Do two people walk together, if they have not so planned?” If two people are on friendly terms, they will plan a joint journey and walk together. But if one person plans to destroy another person, he will hide from his intended victim to keep the victim from noticing his plan. Hashem then says: “Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Does a young lion give forth its voice from its den, if it has not made a catch?” These rhetorical questions bring out the same idea: Before the lion catches his prey, it refrains from roaring, so that the prey it is stalking will not flee.
This initial series of rhetorical questions relates to how a mortal man acts when he plans to bring a person harm. Hashem, on the other hand, before He brings a person misfortune, calls out in full voice so that the person can save himself. The next series of rhetorical questions develops this idea. Hashem says: “Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if there is no snare?” He is saying that misfortune will not hover over a person to entrap him unless the person harbors within his soul a snare – that is, a sin. As the Gemara says (Shabbos 55a): “No affliction comes upon a person unless he is guilty of some sin.” Hashem continues: “Does a trap lift off the ground without making a catch?” This rhetorical question reflects the other side of the coin – that, without repentance, no sin is passed over without some punishment. If the trap of sin is set off, it surely will catch the evildoer. We therefore have no reason to regard prophecies of retribution with askance, for we could have figured out on our own that our sins will lead to our being punished, for Hashem is a God of absolute justice. It is out of His great compassion that He sends us such prophecies to warn us in advance, so that we may repent and save ourselves. Hashem then continues further: “Can a shofar be blown in a city, and the people not tremble? If evil befalls a city, Hashem did not bring it about.” If we disregard the shofar blast that Hashem sends as a warning, and we fail to repent, the misfortune we ultimately suffer is not Hashem’s doing, but our own. Hashem then says: “For the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets.” Hashem announces the impending punishment to give us a chance to repent, and if misfortune strikes, we ourselves are at fault. It is just as in the Midrash’s parable about the people in the invader-ridden country who were warned by one of the elders. If we disregard Hashem’s danger warning, we will be smitten. But if we heed the warning, we will be safe.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/16/vayeishev72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/16/vayeishev72a/ Parashas Vayishlach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/Xzbd5yzbV04/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/07/vayishlach72a/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:51:57 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1369 This week’s parashah recounts Yaakov’s encounter with Eisav. Upon returning to Eretz Yisrael, Yaakov sent messengers to Eisav to inform him of his return. The messengers came back to Yaakov with a report that Eisav was heading toward him with a legion of four hundred men. Yaakov was struck with fear, and he prayed to Hashem to save him. He also sent Eisav a series of gifts to appease him. Ultimately the two brothers met, and Yaakov bowed down before Eisav seven times. The Midrash remarks (Bereishis Rabbah 75:2):
In connection with this episode, R. Yehudah bar Siemon expounded on the following verse (Mishlei 25:26): “Like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain, so is the righteous one who bows before the wicked.” Said R. Yehudah bar Siemon: “Just a spring cannot become muddied and a fountain cannot be ruined, so, too, a righteous man cannot bow before a wicked one. And like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain, so is the righteous one who causes himself to bow before the wicked. Said the Holy One Blessed Be He: ‘He [Eisav] was going his own way, and you sent messengers to tell him, “Thus said your servant Yaakov ….”’”
The Maggid raises two questions about this teaching. First, it seems self-contradictory. R. Yehudah bar Siemon initially says: “Just a spring cannot become muddied and a fountain cannot be ruined, so, too, a righteous man cannot bow before a wicked one. “ He is saying it cannot happen. But then he says: “And like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain, so is the righteous one who causes himself to bow before the wicked.” How can we understand this curious reversal? Second, regarding the verse from Mishlei itself, what is the meaning of the simile of the muddied spring and ruined fountain?
The Maggid then answers as follows. Yeshayah declares (verse 12:3): “And you shall joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.” Yeshayah is saying that Divine salvation is like a spring. Just as someone who needs water can procure it easily from a flowing spring, so, too, someone who needs Divine salvation can procure it easily through prayer. As it is written (Yeshayah 56:1): “My salvation is near in coming.” And similarly (Tehillim 85:10): “Indeed, His salvation is near to those who fear Him.” When we pray, we are not – far be it – trying to get Hashem to “change His mind” and grant us something He was not originally planning to provide us. Rather, we are tapping into the spring of salvation that He makes available to us for our taking by coming near to Him. As indicated in Tehillim 33:22, the extent of the blessing we receive from Hashem is determined by the extent to which we turn to Him and put our hope and trust in Him.
Now, a spring will continue to gush forth so long as the earth surrounding it is solid. But if the surrounding earth is soft and weak, it will cave in and stop up the spring with mud. Similarly, if a person’s faith in Hashem is solid, and he relies with firm and vibrant conviction on Hashem’s protection, then his spring of salvation will flow with vigor. But if a person’s faith is shaky and weak, and he is in constant fear that misfortune will sprout in some area of his life, his fears muck up his spring of salvation and cause its flow to cease.
Thus, R. Yehudah bar Siemon first says: “Just a spring cannot become muddied and a fountain cannot be ruined, so, too, a righteous man cannot bow before a wicked one.” Just as in the natural order of the world, a flowing spring does not suddenly become muddied, so, too, in the normal order of the world, a righteous man is not suddenly led to bow before a wicked one. R. Yehudah bar Siemon then says: “And like a muddied spring and a ruined fountain, so is the righteous one who causes himself to bow before the wicked.” In both the case of the spring and the case of the righteous man, a downturn is induced by an abnormal weakening in the foundations. R. Yehudah bar Siemon speaks of a righteous man who causes himself to bow before the wicked – the righteous man brings degradation on his own self by straying from the path of faith and trust in Hashem and allowing fear of the wicked to enter his heart. Yaakov strayed in this way – he was afraid of Eisav and was thereby led to engage in diplomacy with him by sending messengers. Hashem rebuked him for this action, saying: “Eisav was going his own way, and you sent messengers to him. You committed a misstep.”
In describing Yaakov’s reaction to the report of Eisav’s approach with a massive legion, the Torah says that “Yaakov was very frightened, and he was distressed” (Bereishis 32:8). We can interpret this statement in line with the discussion above. Yaakov understood that by sending the messengers, he himself had created the situation that prompted his fright. He therefore was distressed over what he had done, deeply regretting his misguided move.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/07/vayishlach72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/12/07/vayishlach72a/ Parashas Vayeitzei http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/Dy6QqiBj-Bc/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/30/vayeitzei72a/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:23:46 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1357 This week’s parashah opens by describing the dream Yaakov had at the site of the Beis HaMikdash. The Torah relates that when Yaakov awoke from his dream, he declared (Bereishis 28:16-17):
Indeed, Hashem is present in this place, and I did not know. … How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God – it is the gate to heaven.
In Ohel Yaakov, Bereishis, the Maggid raises two issues about this declaration. First, it is repetitious: Yaakov initially says that “Hashem is present in this place” and then he expresses the same idea again, saying, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God.” Second, and even more in need of examination, is the following question: Why did Yaakov speak of the place being “none other” than the House of God, as if he were trying to counter some people who were arguing otherwise? The Maggid then explains Yaakov’s words as relating to an issue that many thinkers have considered: Given that Hashem’s glory fills the entire earth (Yeshayah 6:3), how is the Beis HaMikdash Hashem’s abode more than any other place?
He brings out the idea with a parable. A person visiting his country’s royal capital city tours the streets and marketplaces to see the grand buildings there. He notices an especially magnificent fortified mansion and asks whose it is. He is told that it is the king’s palace. He enters into the outer courtyard of the palace and he sees many individual dwelling chambers there. He asks some people about these chambers, and they tell him that each one belongs to a different member of the king’s court: the king’s doctor, his advisors, his ministers, and so on. Eventually, he reaches the splendid inner chamber where the king himself lives. He asks about this chamber as well, and he is told: “This is the king’s chamber.” Baffled, he replies: “You told me before that entire mansion belongs to the king. Now you are telling me that this chamber alone belongs to him.” The people responded: “It is indeed true that the entire mansion is the king’s. At the same time, the king granted use of the outer chambers to the various members of his court, each according to his needs. But this chamber here belongs exclusively to the king. It is set aside for his use alone, and he does not allow anyone to enter it except by appointment, and those who enter must be dressed in fine clothes in his honor.”
Similarly, Hashem owns the entire world, but He grants use of most of it to us humans and to the other creations He put here. He provides each of us a domain within the world to use as he needs, while maintaining His presence in every one of these domains. He is with us even when we are defiled, as it is written (Vayikra 16:16): “Who dwells with them in the midst of their defilement” (see Yoma 57a). At the same time, He set aside a special place within the world to serve specifically as a seat for His Name – the Mikdash. Only Kohanim qualified to perform the Mikdash service could enter the main Mikdash grounds, and only under set conditions. Entry to the Holy of Holies was restricted even to the Kohen Gadol, as it is written (Vayikra 16:2-3): “He shall not come at all times into the [inner] Sanctuary, within the curtain … with this shall Aharon come into the [inner] Sanctuary ….” The Mikdash was exclusively Hashem’s domain.
When Yaakov awoke from the dream he had at the site of the Mikdash, he declared: “Indeed, Hashem is present in this place.” He then felt a need to elaborate, and he exclaimed: “How awesome is the place!” He marveled at how the place was much more awesome than any other place on earth. He then explained to himself why the place was so awesome: “This is none other than the House of God” – it was the place that Hashem had set aside for Himself alone.
In Sefer HaMiddos, Shaar HaYirah, Chapter 4, the Maggid discusses this idea further. He says that, while we are supposed to feel fear of Hashem with all our being and at all times, there are places that call for an elevated degree of fear – Batei Knesses and Batei Midrash, which are set aside for prayer and Torah study, and the places which had been specially infused with the Divine Presence in earlier times, such as the place where the Beis HaMikdash stood. A person should not be “like a horse or a mule, devoid of understanding” (Tehillim 32:9) and treat these places casually, as if he were in his own home. If he acts this way, Hashem’s anger is directed toward him. Regarding people who do not show proper reverence for holy places, Hashem declares (Yeshayah 1:12): “When you come to appear before Me – who asked this of you, to trample my courtyards?” And He declares further (Yirmiyahu 7:11): “Has this house, upon which My Name was called, become a criminal’s den in your eyes?” Rather, a person should enter a holy place with the utmost humility, and while he is there he should continually bear in mind its great loftiness. He should imagine how he would act and feel if he were meeting with important officers – how he would humble himself, how all his limbs would tremble, and how he would be acutely aware of his state of fear. If this is how he would act and feel in the chamber of mortal governors, all the more should he be filled with fear in the house of the King of All Worlds, the Holy One Blessed Be He.
L’ilui nishmas R’ Shimon Feivel Shraga ben R’ Mordechai HaLevi Grossnass z”l
Passed away on Sunday 14th November 2010 – 7th Kislev 5771
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/30/vayeitzei72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/30/vayeitzei72a/ Parashas Toldos http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/arihjGr7sYk/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/23/toldos72a/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:24:15 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1348 This week’s parashah deals with two topics: the birth and development of Eisav and Yaakov, and Yitzchak’s sojourn in the Philistine city of Gerar. We present here a selection from the Maggid’s commentary on the second of these topics.
Yitzchak travels to Gerar because of a famine, grows very successful, and then is driven out. The Philistine king Avimelech tells him (Bereishis 26:16): “Go away from being with us, for you have grown much mightier than us.” Later, Avimelech and his men approach Yitzchak. The Torah relates (Bereishis 26:27-29):
And Yitzchak said to them: “Why have you come to me, when you hated me and drove me away from you?” They said: “We saw clearly that Hashem was with you, so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, respectively – between us and you – and let us establish a pact with you.’”
The Maggid interprets this exchange as follows. In Avimelech’s prior eviction message to Yitzchak, the Hebrew phrase ki atzamta mimenu meod, meaning literally “for you have grown much mightier than us,” can be rendered as “for you have grown very mighty on our account” (reading mimenu as meaning “from us” rather than “than us”). According to the Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah 64:7, Avimelech was arguing that Yitzchak attained all his wealth at the Philistines’ expense. We can explain the matter as follows. Success can be classified into two types: success through the natural means of making a livelihood and success through extraordinary (e.g., miraculous) means. One basic difference between these two types is that success through natural means is typically gradual, from level to level, while success through extraordinary means typically involves a sudden jump from one extreme to the other. Another basic difference is that people tend to bear a grudge against a neighbor who achieves success by natural means, but not against one who achieves success by extraordinary means. When a neighbor achieves success through a certain trade, people tend to say: “If he weren’t doing business here, we’d be making the money he is making, for we also are skilled in this trade.” In the case of success through extraordinary means, this argument does not apply. Thus, for example, if a person has a rich uncle in a distant city who sends him a hefty sum of money every month, no one has any reason to bear a grudge against him, for he is not taking anything away from anybody.
Now, Yitzchak’s success was gradual, as the Torah states (Bereishis 26:13): “The man became great, and grew successively greater, until he was very great.” Thus, his success appeared to be of a natural sort. It is true that Yitzchak reaped an extremely bountiful crop – a hundredfold. But, still, he operated within the natural farming cycle – he did not reap, in the manner described in Yeshayah 17:11, immediately after he planted. The Philistines therefore accused him of encroaching on their territory and infringing on their livelihood. But afterward they saw that, even after Yitzchak left their territory, he continued to succeed in everything he did, while they remained at the same economic level as before, gaining nothing from his departure. They saw that Yitzchak was successful because Hashem was with him. And they realized, in retrospect, that the success Yitzchak attained while he lived among them was also a special blessing from Hashem, with no infringement against them whatsoever. Avimelech’s reply to Yitzchak’s query about why he had approached him reflects a new understanding on the Philistines’ part. In his reply, Avimelech uses a double verb: reo raeenu – we saw clearly. This double verb alludes to the fact that what the Philistines saw after Yitzchak had left them led them to see properly what had been taking place before. They recognized that Yitzchak’s success was due simply to his being “blessed of Hashem.”
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/23/toldos72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/23/toldos72a/ Parashas Chaiyei Sarah http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/GODiKl92qkk/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/15/chaiyei-sarah72/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:33:33 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1340 The beginning of this week’s parashah records Avraham’s negotiation with the men of Cheis to acquire a burial site for Sarah. After Avraham makes his initial request, the men of Cheis answer him (Bereishis 23:6): “Hear us, my lord: You are a prince of God in our midst. Bury your dead in the best of our burial sites; no man among us will withhold his burial site from you to bury your dead.” The Midrash elaborates on what they were saying (Bereishis Rabbah 58:6): “You are a prince over us, you are a king over us, you are a God over us.” The Maggid explains that they were telling him: “You need not buy a burial site from us for money. You are a prince and a king over us, so you can take from us whatever burial site you please, even the choicest, and no one will hold you back, just as a king can freely take for his own use any field within his kingdom.”
The Maggid then elaborates on the type of honor the men of Cheis showed Avraham. They regarded Avraham as a king, and honored him on that basis. Now, it is natural for people to honor a king, but we find a hint in Havakkuk 2:16 that the honor a person receives is not always to his credit. Regarding the Babylonian king Nevuchadnetzar, Havakkuk writes: savata kalon mi-kavod. Literally this phrase means: “You are sated more with disgrace than with honor.” But since the prefix mi- can mean from or through as well as more than, we can render the verse as: “You are sated with disgrace through honor.” Thus, honor can sometimes bring disgrace. When is this so? And how can we see from what the men of Cheis said to Avraham whether the honor they gave him was to his credit or to his disgrace?
When we speak of honor, we usually mean honor that a person receives out of respect for his wisdom, sterling character, and good-heartednesss toward others. But, as we know well, sometimes a person is shown honor for the completely opposite reason: He is a hooligan, a man who constantly browbeats others, and people show him honor to appease him and keep him from harming them. This honor is not out of respect, but out of fear. Now, in the case of a truly noble man, the more honor he receives, the more it shows how great he is. By contrast, in the case of the hooligan, the more honor he receives, the more it shows how contemptible he is. This is how it was with Nevuchadnetzar. He was a despicable tyrant who brought great suffering to his entire vast kingdom. He received great honor, but it brought him only disgrace, for it was honor out of fear.
The same idea is reflected in one of Shlomo HaMelech’s teachings (Mishlei 3:35): “The wise will inherit honor, while fools collect disgrace.” The wise, on account of their nobility of character, are truly worthy of honor – for them, honor is like an inheritance, that they receive by right. Moreover, as reflected in the future tense phrasing “will inherit,” they constantly receive more and more honor, as their noble character is further and further publicized. But when people honor a lowly fool, the honor turns into disgrace.
The men of Cheis told Avraham: “You are a king over us, so you can take for yourself the best of our burial sites, for the entire land is yours.” But they took care not to create the impression that they viewed him as a hooligan who came to take land from them by force. They described him as a “prince of God” – a saintly man who was truly worthy of honor.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/15/chaiyei-sarah72/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/15/chaiyei-sarah72/ Parashas Vayeira http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/nTxAcn9ZZfI/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/10/vayeira72a/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:11:27 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1330 The end of this week’s parashah relates the episode where Hashem asked Avraham to bring his son Yitzchak before Him as an offering. Avraham bound Yitzchak to the altar, took hold of a knife to slaughter him, and then was stopped by an angel at the last moment. The angel, speaking for Hashem, said (Bereishis 22:12): “Do not stretch forth your hand toward the lad, and do not do anything to him. For now I know that you are God-fearing, since you have not withheld your son, you only one, from Me.” Later, the angel called to Avraham a second time, saying (Bereishis 22:16-18):
“By Myself I swear,” says Hashem, “that, because you performed this deed, and did not withhold your son, your only one, I shall surely bless you, and make your offspring abundant like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand on the seashore, and your offspring shall inherit the gate of their enemies. And through your offspring all the nations of the world will be blessed,, because you heeded My voice.”
The Maggid asks two questions about this second statement. First, why is the phrase “from Me,” which appears in the angel’s first statement, absent from this second one? Second, what precisely was the angel’s intent in recounting Avraham’s act again?
The Maggid answers these questions as follows. Yitzchak was dear to Hashem; He did not want him to be lost to the world. At the same time, He wanted Avraham to pass the awesome test of bringing his only son as an offering. He was therefore compelled to allow Yitzchak to be taken to be slaughtered. In the end, though, Hashem had the great satisfaction of seeing both wishes fulfilled: Avraham passed the test, and Yitzchak remained alive.
How did this result come about? The answer lies in the Gemara’s teaching in Kiddushin 40a that if a person thought about doing a mitzvah, but was prevented from doing so by some outside interference, it is considered as if he did the mitzvah. The Maggid explains that this rule applies only under certain conditions. It does not apply to a mere passing thought of doing a mitzvah, nor to someone who grudgingly undertook a mitzvah. Rather, it applies only to a person who has firmly made up his mindto do a certain mitzvah, has taken steps toward doing it, and yearns with all his heart to carry it out, but is prevented from completing the mitzvah by some circumstance beyond his control.
Thus, had Avraham taken a grudging attitude as he set out to fulfill the Hashem’s directive to bring Yitzchak as an offering, the only way he could have gotten credit for passing the test would be if he carried out the actual slaughter, and then Yitzchak would have been lost to the world. In fact, however, Avraham took up the charge with great zest and alacrity, yearning to give Hashem satisfaction by doing what He had asked. He rose at daybreak to start early. After preparing the knife, the fire, and the wood, he jubilantly set out on his journey; his attitude was like that of a father escorting his son to the wedding canopy. He proceeded on his way with eager anticipation. Upon reaching Mount Moriah, he diligently arranged the wood and the fire, and bound his beloved son on the altar. With supreme joy, he took hold of the knife to perform the slaughter. He had shown the firmest possible commitment to carrying out Hashem’s word. Through this show of commitment, he passed the test – the actual slaughter was unnecessary.
Hashem therefore called out to him: “Enough! Do not stretch forth your hand toward the lad! I am satisfied with what you have done. Now I know that you are God-fearing. Your wholeheartedness has been manifested with supreme clarity; you have passed the test. It is not necessary anymore for you to actually carry through with the slaughter. There is no reason to take your gentle only son away from the world. Let him live, and continue to serve Me.” As the Midrash relates, He told him (Bereishis Rabbah 56:8): “You fulfilled My word and put him up, now take him down.” The actions Avraham had already performed, coupled with the devotion and purity of heart with which he performed them, constituted a complete fulfillment of Hashem’s word, and hence Hashem told Avraham to take Yitzchak down from the altar.
The intent of the angel’s second statement is to bring out more fully what Avraham had accomplished. Hashem tells Avraham: “Because you performed this act, and did not withhold your son, your only one, I shall surely bless you (bareich avarechechah).” Hashem omits the phrase “from Me” because here He is not speaking of Avraham’s not having withheld Yitzchak from Him, but rather of Avraham’s not having withheld Yitzchak from the world. Through his great devotion, Avraham passed the test perfectly while obviating the need for Yitzchak to be killed. On account of this double achievement, Hashem promised Avraham a double reward, as reflected in the double verb bareich avarechechah.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/10/vayeira72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/10/vayeira72a/ Parashas Lech-Lecha http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/i5QPYV5j6hM/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/03/lech-lecha72a/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:08:42 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1324 This week’s parashah begins the Torah’s account of Avraham Avinu’s career as a servant of Hashem. At the “Covenant Between the Parts,” related in Bereishis Chapter 15, Hashem promises Avraham that his descendants would become a great nation and would inherit the Land of Israel. After reporting some further interchange between Hashem and Avraham, the Torah relates (Bereishis 15:12): “A deep sleep came over Avram, and the terror of a great darkness descended upon him.” The Maggid points out that this is puzzling, for sleep and terror usually do not go hand in hand. The Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah 44:17 explains that Avraham saw during this sleep a vision of what would come upon his descendants over the course of history, and this vision struck him with terror. The Maggid offers a similar explanation, but taking a different direction from the one the Midrash takes.
During the initial stages of Jewish history, the people had prophets living among them, who would rebuke them for their sins. In times of trouble, the prophets would lead the people to repent, and Hashem would grant them relief. But now we no longer have prophets to tell us where we stand and prompt us to repent, and so we go about our lives in a mental fog, as the psalmist Asaf describes (Tehillim 74:9): “For we have not seen the signs of our destiny; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none in our midst who knows what lies in the end.” It is as if we are in a deep sleep. The suffering of exile presses upon us, yet we are not stirred to repent.
It is this spiritual slumber that is presaged in Avraham’s deep sleep. He was standing in Hashem’s Presence and listening to Hashem speak to him, and, then, while Hashem was still speaking, he fell asleep. Avraham was then struck with terror – over the very fact that he fell asleep while Hashem was speaking to him. He realized that this sleep was a sign of what would come upon his descendants, in line with the rule that the experiences of the forefathers are a omen for the descendants (maaseh avos siman la-banim). And He saw clearly what the sign meant: that while Hashem was calling out to us, we would fall asleep – and, as Hashem continued calling, we would continue sleeping.
The Midrash in Bereishis Rabbah 44:17 remarks that slumber brings degneration, for when a person is slumbering, he neither learns Torah nor does any useful work. The Midrash notes also that Rav listed three types of slumber: ordinary sleep, prophetic trance, and a comatose-like sleep. The Midrash describes this latter form of slumber in terms of the following verse (Shmuel Alef 26:12): “And no one saw, and no one knew, and no one awakened, for a deep sleep from Hashem had fallen upon them.” The Midrash then goes on to mention a fourth type of sleep – the sleep of insanity, which is linked to another passage (Yeshayah 29:9-10): “They were utterly blinded. They were drunk, but not from wine; they staggered, but not from liquor. For Hashem cast upon them a spirit of deep sleep, and He closed your eyes.”
Hashem, as Shlomo HaMelech teaches, is knocking at our door, crying out (Shir HaShirim 5:2): “Open up for Me!” But we pay no attention. We are so sunken in our slumber – a slumber that resembles a comatose-like sleep or a drunken stupor – that we are oblivious to Hashem’s call. Avraham prophetically beheld this state of affairs, and the sight of it struck him with utter terror.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/03/lech-lecha72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/11/03/lech-lecha72a/ Parashas Noach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/3Z0IdRsP7XY/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/27/noach72a/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:06:31 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1313 This week’s parashah describes the great flood through which Hashem destroyed the entire world except for the righteous Noach and his family, and some animals He told Noach to take with him. Near the end of the parashah, after the account of the flood, the Torah recounts that Noach planted a grapevine, got drunk from the wine he made from its grapes, and disgraced himself. The Torah begins its account of this episode as follows: “And Noach, the man of the land, started off (vayachel), and he planted a grapevine.” The Midrash, making a play on the word vayachel, remarks (Bereishis Rabbah 36:3):
Noach was profaned (nischallel), and turned mundane (chullin). How? By planting a grapevine. He did not think to plant something else, something constructive – not a fig sapling and not an olive sapling – but rather a grapevine. … On the very day he planted it, he drank and he disgraced himself.
The Maggid explains the above Midrash as criticizing Noach for ruining a golden opportunity. The Maggid links this Midrash to a Midrash about the blessing that Hashem bestowed on the seventh day (Bereishis 2:3). The Sages teach (Bereishis Rabbah 11:1, expounding on Mishlei 10:22, which I render in line with the Maggid’s interpretation):
Hashem’s blessing is what brings riches – this refers to the Sabbath day. Let it not bring along with it an increase of grief – that is, mourning.
The Maggid explains this Midrash with a parable – one his most famous ones. A man went on a trip, and on the way he met a saintly sage whom he knew had the power to give people blessings. He asked the sage to bless him. The sage replied: “May it be Hashem’s will that, when you return home, the first thing you do will develop into a thriving success.” The man decided that when he got home, he would immediately take out his money pouch and start counting and weighing his money, so that the sage’s blessing would take effect on the money and make him rich. And so, the very second he got home, he called to his wife: “Quick! Bring me the money pouch!” The man’s wife, who had no idea why he made this abrupt request, concluded that he had been stricken with a fit of insanity and refused to give him the pouch. He proceeded to yell at her, and she, in turn, proceeded to curse him. The quarrel escalated further and further, ultimately developing into a great “success” – for it was the first activity the man engaged in when he got home, and it was thus on this squabbling that the sage’s blessing took effect.
Shabbos is like the sage in the above parable – as the Zohar teaches, Hashem established Shabbos as the fount of blessing. This special power is what the Torah is referring to when it says that Hashem bestowed blessing on the seventh day. The Zohar elaborates, teaching that all blessing within the universe depends on Shabbos, both in heaven and on earth. It is the blessing which flows from Shabbos that brings forth all the good we receive during the week.
Every activity a person engages in on Shabbos is infused with a special blessing, and this blessing causes the activity to thrive during the upcoming week. Thus, Shabbos is called the “treasure of days” – all the other days of the week, so to speak, treasure and yearn for Shabbos, for it is from Shabbos that they receive their blessing. It therefore behooves every Jew, in a God-fearing spirit, to spend every moment of his Shabbos wisely. He should engage in spiritual pursuits, so that, in the upcoming week, he will achieve success in these pursuits. And he should honor Shabbos properly with fine food and drink, so that the upcoming week will bear for him a goodly measure of material sustenance. Moreover, in all our Shabbos activities, we must take extreme care to keep what we are doing completely free of anything that produces grief, for the generative power of Shabbos will boost this grief and cause it to thrive throughout the upcoming week.
With this, the Maggid turns to the Midrash about Noach’s grapevine, and explains the strong criticism leveled against Noach. After the flood, Hashem brought into the world a wondrous flow of blessing, so that the world could be fully re-established and restored to its former state. Thus, the world was poised in such a way that the first activity that Noach engaged in would be invested with an extraordinary power of growth. Noach should have taken advantage of this awesome opportunity by engaging in an activity that would contribute as constructively as possible to the restoration of the world. But, instead, he planted a grapevine, and it was on this inferior planting that the extraordinary power of growth took effect. On the very day Noach planted it, the grapevine matured and produced grapes, and Noach turned these grapes into wine, drank, and disgraced himself. It was a classic case of profanation – taking potential for lofty achievement, and wasting it on the pursuit of the mundane.
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/27/noach72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/27/noach72a/ Parashas Bereishis http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/vjKYjtiZDNw/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/18/bereishis72a/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:48:37 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1298 In parashas Bereishis, the Torah relates (Bereishis 2:19-20):
Now, Hashem, God, had formed from the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the sky, and He brought them to the man, to see what he would call each one – and whatever the man was going to call each living creature, that is its name. And the man gave names to all the domesticated animals, to the birds of the sky, and to all the wild animals of the field.
The order of presentation here is odd. The Torah first says that whatever the man was going to call each living creature, that is its name,” and then relates that Adam gave names to all the creatures. It would have been more natural for the Torah first to relate that Adam gave names to all the creatures, and then to say “whatever the man called each one, that is its name.” Why does the Torah present the facts in reverse?
The Maggid explains as follows. The animal kingdom encompasses a wide variety of traits, both good and bad. Hashem, in His wisdom, systematically apportioned these traits among the various animal species. Since animals have no free will, each one acts wholly in accordance with its own innate traits; no animal ever adopts the behavior pattern of a different animal. Thus, as our Sages teach, the cat specializes in modesty, the ant in aversion to theft, and the dove in loyalty to its mate. Man, on the other hand, possesses the entire gamut of powers and traits. Hashem granted man the free will to choose which to exercise in each situation, and man is ultimately judged according to his choices.
Now, our also Sages teach that each animal’s most prominent trait is reflected in its name. They tell us, for example, that the stork is named chasidah because a stork shows kindness (chesed) to other storks by sharing its food with them. Similarly, they say, the heron is named anafah because a heron quarrels (m’anefes) with other herons. Since man encompasses all the traits of the all the animals, he is familiar with all these traits and understands how each should be named. We can now see why the Torah says that “whatever the man was going to call each living creature, that is its name” – whatever name Adam would put forward was sure to be the right one.
The Midrash teaches (Bereishis Rabbah 17:4):
When the Holy One Blessed Be He came to create man, He consulted with the angels, saying: “Let us make man.” They replied: “This man, what is his nature?” Hashem told them: “His wisdom is greater than yours.” He brought before them the domesticated animals, the wild animals, and the birds, and asked: “What is the name of each of these?” And they did not know. He then brought these creatures before Adam and asked: “What is the name of each of these?” Adam replied: “That one is an ox, that one is a donkey, that one is a horse, that one is a camel ….”
At first glance it seems puzzling that Adam knew the names while the angels did not. But, given the idea we just explained, we can see why this was so. Indeed, same differentiation that prevails in the animal kingdom also prevails in the celestial realm. Each angel has a specific role: Some specialize in dispensing compassion, others in dispensing retribution, and so on. Hashem apportioned powers and traits among the angels according to these roles. Each angel possesses its own distinct set of powers and traits, different from that of any other angel. Thus, our Sages teach that an angel can carry out only one mission –for it only has the tools for one role. Accordingly, none of the angels could name the animals, for each angel was familiar only with its own specific traits, and had no grasp of any others. Only Adam, who possessed all the traits, knew how to give each animal its proper name.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/18/bereishis72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/18/bereishis72a/ Megillas Koheles http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/9UfSGg4BSE4/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/12/sukkos72a/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:05:58 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1290 On Shabbos Chol HaMoed Sukkos, we read Megillas Koheles, Shlomo HaMelech’s guide to a proper outlook on life. In Koheles 1:18 he writes: “For with great wisdom comes great torment, and one who increases his knowledge increases his grief.” This statement indicates that a wise person suffers more than a fool does over certain mishaps of life, particularly over misdeeds. The Maggid explains Shlomo’s statement as reflecting the fact that Hashem holds a wise person to a high standard, as the Gemara in Bava Kamma 50a teaches. It is written (Tehillim 50:3): “His [Hashem’s] environs are very stormy (nisarah meod).” The Gemara derives from this verse the principle that Hashem is exacting with the righteous to a hairsbreadth (k’chut hasaarah). In Sefer HaMiddos, Shaar HaYirah, chapter 12, the Maggid elaborates on this principle.
The Maggid begins by presenting a classic illustration of the principle: the death penalty that Hashem meted out to Nadav and Avihu for offering in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) a “foreign fire” that Hashem had not commanded. Their father Aharon was astonished at the swift and severe punishment they received for this misstep. Moshe explained to him (Vayikra 10:3): “It was of this that Hashem spoke, saying, ‘Through My close ones I shall be sanctified, and I shall be honored before the entire people.’” Hashem expects a commoner to guard His honor by not rebelling against His commands. He expects more, however, of His close ones; He invests them with the duty to sanctify Him by acting with the utmost scrupulousness. Nadav and Avihu’s great loftiness made them liable to the strictest punishment.
The Maggid then expands on discuss why Hashem is so exacting with the righteous. He presents three reasons for this mode of operation.
First, a person who is endowed with wisdom and has drawn close to Hashem is expected to have a solid grasp of the rules of proper conduct. As the Midrash puts it (Tanchuma, Vayikra 6), a king gets much angrier when a member of the palace household commits an infraction than when a visitor from the city commits the same infraction, for the palace household member should know better. Since a member of the palace household constantly beholds the glory of the king within the palace, he is expected to know how to act, whereas such knowledge is not expected of a visitor. The same idea applies to the way Hashem relates to a righteous person, who dwells in His environs.
Second, a small flaw in a righteous person causes much more damage to the Jewish People as a whole than a similar small flaw in an average person. The Maggid draws an analogy to the human body. The body comprises a variety of organs, including some of minor importance and some of major importance. Some organs can be injured or even lost without significant effect on a person’s functioning. But other organs, such as the eyes, are so central that an injury to them causes a grave impairment. Similarly, the Jewish People comprises a variety of people, including commoners and great saints. If a commoner sins, the sin does not cause such a great desecration of Hashem’s Name, and thus does not cause significant damage to the Jewish People as a whole. But if a great saint sins, major damage to the entire Jewish People results, for the people all regard the great saint as setting an example of how to act. If a great saint commits a misdeed, the rest of the people will copy it, and a major desecration to Hashem’s Name ensues. Thus, in Yoma 86a, R. Yochanan says it would be a desecration to Hashem’s Name for him to walk four cubits without speaking words of Torah and wearing tefillin, while Rav says it would be a desecration of Hashem’s Name for him to buy meat from the butcher and not pay immediately. The Mishnah in Avos 4:13 states that an inadvertent misinterpretation of Torah law is considered like a deliberate sin. In a similar vein, we can say that an inadvertent sin committed by a righteous person is as severe as a deliberate sin, for when a righteous person inadvertently does an improper deed, he gives others the impression that it is alright to engage in such behavior, and thus leads them to do so deliberately.
Third, a small flaw in a righteous person damages the person himself much more than a similar small flaw in an average person. On a physical level, a tough person suffers significant harm only when he is dealt a heavy blow, but a delicate person suffers serious harm even from a minor blow. Similarly, on a spiritual level, a coarse person’s soul suffers significant damage only when he commits a major sin, but a lofty person’s soul suffers serious damage even from a minor sin. As another analogy, consider bright white garments as compared with garments of a duller color. A few black spots would hardly be noticed on a duller garment, but seriously damage the appearance of a bright white garment. Thus, a person wearing a bright white garment must be much more careful to avoid stains than a person wearing a duller garment. In the same way, a righteous person must be very careful to avoid a even minor sin.
An additional perspective on Hashem’s exacting treatment of the righteous is reflected in another verse in Koheles (verse 7:3): “Anger is better than geniality.” The Gemara comments (Shabbos 30b): “The anger that the Holy One Blessed Be He shows the righteous in this world is better than the geniality that the Holy One Blessed Be He shows the wicked in this world.” The Maggid, in his commentary on Shir HaShirim 1:5, explains this teaching as follows. If Hashem shows a person favor for avoiding gross indecencies, it is because He regards him as a lowly person for whom avoiding such indecencies is a major achievement. And if He subjects a person to an outpour of wrath for a slight infraction, it is because He regards him as a righteous person who is capable of spiritual greatness.
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/12/sukkos72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/12/sukkos72a/ Yom Kippur http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/6Zmd3jk8HAU/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/06/yom-kippur72a/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:01:37 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1282 The Gemara in Berachos 37b says: “In the place where the repentant stand, the completely righteous cannot stand.” In Sefer HaMiddos, Shaar Ha-Ahavah, chapter 13, the Maggid expounds on this teaching. He links it to a charge from Yeshayah (verse 31:6): “Turn back regarding the way you have deeply strayed, O Children of Israel.” The Hebrew word that I have rendered cautiously as “regarding the way” is la’asher, and the Maggid notes that it is an odd choice. We would have expected to see the word mei’asher, meaning “from the way,” but instead we find the world la’asher, literally meaning “to the way.” Rashi renders la’asher as “to the one from whom,” and reads it as referring to Hashem. The Maggid, however, takes a completely different approach. It almost seems, he says, that Yeshayah is suggesting that a person should turn back, far be it, to his sinful ways. In resolving this apparent conundrum, the Maggid brings out a profound message.
He develops the point with an analogy. A rich nobleman had a faithful servant who served him conscientiously for several years. In the same city, one of the wealthiest and most prominent merchants lost his business and all his assets, and subsequently put himself up for hire as a servant. The nobleman, upon hearing about the matter, hired this former merchant, and even paid him double what he paid his other servant. He explained his decision as follows: “My other servant is a loyal worker, and he desires with his whole heart to fulfill his duties properly. Still, there is a big difference between the work of a servant, even one who carries out his duties perfectly, and that of a man who works for himself. A servant, who is obligated to work for his master, finds his work a heavy undertaking and does not exert himself to do more than is expected of him. A man who works for himself, on the other hand, plunges into his work with relish; his desire for gain spurs him on, and he exerts himself to extremes, skimping on food and sleep to press on toward his goal. A man who has worked his entire life as a servant has no concept of this type of exertion. But a man who has worked for himself knows it well, and, if he later takes a position as a servant, he understands what he has to do to truly fulfill his master’s wishes. Moreover, a servant who has always worked for someone else simply does what he is told, without any strategizing, but a servant who once worked for himself knows what it means to mull over turn a situation day and night to develop a strategy that will yield maximum gain, and he puts this experience to use for his master’s benefit.
Similarly, someone who has served Hashem all his life, although his soul is pure and his intent is sincere, has no concept of the effort exerted by a wicked man who seeks to gratify his own desires. The wicked man who is wedded to pleasure or honor is in constant turmoil in his quest for further gratification. As is written in the Yom Kippur haftarah (Yeshayah 57:20-21): “The wicked are like the raging sea that cannot rest, and whose waters churn up mire and mud. ‘There is no peace, said my God, ‘for the wicked.’” And so, when a wicked man reverses course and decides from now on to serve Hashem with all his heart, he puts forth a wondrous effort. For he understands how far he must go; he realizes that he has not fulfilled his obligation to Hashem until he serves Him with the same zeal with which he previously served his selfish wishes. If he is told he must learn Torah a whole night long, he recalls the many nights he spent awake engaged in card games and other frivolous pursuits, without proper meals and sleep, and he sets himself to the task. This level of devotion is what Yeshayah is calling for in the charge we quoted at the outset: “Turn back to serve Hashem with the same depth with which you previously strayed.” If a wayward man heeds this charge, he can reach spiritual heights that a person who has served Hashem his whole life cannot imagine. This is what the Gemara means when it says that “in the place where the repentant stand, the completely righteous cannot stand.”
Yet, even someone who has served Hashem his whole life can gain a sense of the repentant man’s zeal – by looking out into the world and observing the extremes people go to for the sake of worldly gains. As the Rambam says (in his introduction to Mishnayos Zeraim), the physical world is kept running by the efforts of crazy people. If we take note of the tremendous exertion and zeal of these crazy people – how they literally put their entire guts into their work – we all can see how far we must go in serving Hashem. Let us all strive to serve Hashem with full devotion, each to the very best of his ability. If we do, we will be worthy of being called “people who love Hashem.”
David Zucker, Site Administrator
]]> http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/06/yom-kippur72a/feed/ 0 http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/10/06/yom-kippur72a/ The Days of Repentance http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NorthJerusalemMaggidOfDubnoProject/~3/pfCH5o28a1Q/ http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/2011/09/27/haazinu72a/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:50:12 +0000 David Zucker http://jlm-dubno-maggid.org/blog/?p=1273 It is written (Yeshayah 32:9-10): “O complacent women, arise and hear my voice! O self-assured daughters, pay heed to what I say. Days upon years will the secure women tremble.” In Ohel Yaakov, parashas Nitzavim, the Maggid interprets this passage homiletically as conveying a message about the rigors of the days of repentance.
The Maggid speaks of three methods by which we can be purged of our sins. The first method is by going through Gehinnom after death. This method is unfathomably harsh. The second method is by being punished by a Beis Din. The third method is by a purging process that the sinner effectuates himself, by bitterly lamenting his evil deeds and taking steps on his own to atone for them through fasting and similar afflictions, prayer, charity, and Torah study. When a person acts on his own to avenge the affront to Hashem’s honor that his sins caused, Hashem is pleased. As the Gemara in Berachos 7a says: “One self-reproach in a person’s heart is better than many lashes.” The days of repentance are thus very precious, for they have the special power to purge a person of all types of sins, for which he would otherwise have to suffer harsh punishment in Gehinnom. By observing these days, a person can rectify his sins quickly and much more easily. We should be filled with joy to have this opportunity. Indeed, the faithful and strong-hearted, who serve Hashem with love and accept affliction gladly, rejoice over these days as if they had found a great treasure – they immerse themselves in the prayers and forget about their skipped meals and lost sleep. Many people, however, take the opposite attitude, viewing the days of repentance as a burden. Going to shul for selichos seems a chore; the long services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur seem tiresome. The Maggid interprets the verse we quoted at the outset as advice to those who take this attitude – to those who yearn to sit in complacent comfort and who balk at any strain.
He brings out the idea with a parable. In a certain city, there lived a great genius who constantly came out with new inventions, the likes of which no one had ever seen. He made a living selling these inventions, and he did well, for people were eager to grab his marvelous wares. But one man never bought any of his inventions; while he was rich enough to afford them easily, he was very miserly, and regarded the inventions a waste of money. After a time, the inventor came out with something especially wondrous: a small cake made of ingredients so filling that a single serving would meet a person’s food needs or ten days or more. He went to the marketplace with a basket of these cakes to offer for sale. The miser passed by, and the inventor called out to him and said: “Come, my friend, buy some of these cakes.” The miser replied: “You know I’m not interested in frittering away my money on your foolish inventions.” The inventor responded: “On the contrary, this product is meant for people like you. Someone who spends freely feels no need to economize by buying a food like this; he’ll figure that if he feels hungry tomorrow morning, he’ll buy some fresh bread. But with you, your great tightfistedness demands that you buy my new super-filling cakes.”
Similarly, with people who crave ease and are loath to submit to any strain, this very aversion demands that they submit to the rigors of the days of repentance. They should cherish these days dearly and embrace them eagerly, for through the strain they undergo during these few days, they can gain peace and comfort for the entire rest of the year (and avoid much greater suffering that they would otherwise have to endure, including a possibly lengthy period of suffering in Gehinnom after death). As our opening verse states: “Days upon years will the secure women tremble.” The period from the end of Elul to Yom Kippur has a special power through which a few days of trembling can meet our quota of trembling for an entire year. Let us take advantage of this opportunity.
K’sivah V’Chasimah Tovah!
David Zucker, Site Administrator
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