#likkutei sichot

[eliyahu-horowit]

ทำไมชาวยิวถึงต้องรอ 8 วันเพื่อเข้าสุหนัต

โดยปกติแล้ว เด็กทารกชาวยิวเมื่อครบ 8 วันจะต้องเข้าสุหนัต เพราะนั่นคือสิ่งที่พระเจ้าทรงพระบัญชากับอิสราเอลว่า “ในวันที่แปดให้ตัดหนังหุ้มปลายองคชาตของเด็กนั้น เพื่อเข้าสุหนัต” (เลวีนิติ 12:3) แม้ว่าในข้อพระคัมภีร์เองก็ไม่ได้บอกอะไรเราถึงสาเหตุที่ว่าทำไมชาวยิวถึงได้รับพระบัญชาจากพระเจ้าว่าต้องให้เข้าสุหนัตในวันที่ 8 หลังจากที่เด็กเกิดมา แต่ในแหล่งและกรอบของชาวยิวเองก็มีคำอธิบายถึงสาเหตุที่เป็นไปได้เยอะมาก

อิทธิพลของวันสะบาโต หรือ “ราชินีสะบาโต”

การขลิบหนังหุ้มปลายของชาวยิวในวันที่ 8 นั้นถือเป็นการรับประกันได้ว่าเด็กทารกจะได้ความสันทัดอย่างน้อยหนึ่งวันของวันสะบาโตก่อนที่จะเริ่มการเข้าสุหนัต

มิดรัชอธิบายว่าส่วนนี้คล้ายคลึงกับกษัตริย์ที่รับสั่งให้ใครก็ตามที่ต้องการมาเยี่ยมพระองค์ต้องแสดงความเคารพต่อราชินีก่อน นักปราชญ์ชาวยิวมักจะเรียกวันสะบาโตว่า “ราชินีสะบาโต [Shabbat queen]” และก่อนเข้าสู่พันธสัญญากับพระเจ้าแล้ว เด็กทารกต้องทักทายหรือแสดงความเคารพราชินีสะบาโตก่อนด้วยการสัมผัสกับความศักดิ์สิทธิ์อย่างน้อย 1 วันสะบาโต นี่คือเหตุผลที่ว่าทำไมเครื่องบูชาใด ๆ ก็ตามที่นำเข้ามาในพระวิหารต้องมีอายุอย่างน้อย 8 วัน (เทียบ Vayikra Rabbah 27) การรับประกันอย่างน้อย 1 วันสะบาโตยังนำการรักษามาสู่จิตวิญญาณซึ่งเพิ่งเข้าสู่โลกภายนอกนี้ (Zohar 3:44a) และ (Hachaim Breishis 2:2)

การไถ่

แนวคิดของชาวยิวคนอื่น ๆ อธิบายว่าเลือดของเครื่องบูชานำมาซึ่งการไถ่แบบไหน การเข้าสุหนัตก็เช่นเดียวกัน ดังนั้น เฉกเช่นเดียวกับสัตว์ที่นำมาถวายต้องมีอายุอย่างน้อย 8 วันแบบไหน (เลวีนิติ 22:27) ในขณะที่การเข้าสุหนัตของทารกก็ต้องมีอายุอย่างน้อย 8 วันเช่นกัน (Pirkei D’Rabbi Elzazar 29)

สุขภาพของเด็ก

ไมโมนิเดสอธิบายว่าเราต้องรอ 8 วันเพื่อให้เด็กแข็งแรงมากพอสำหรับการเข้าสุหนัต (Guide Perplexed 3:4)

พ่อแม่สามารถให้ความสุขได้

ตัลมุดอธิบายว่าเนื่องจากผู้หญิงคนหนึ่งถือว่าไม่บริสุทธิ์ทางพิธีเป็นเวลาอย่างน้อย 7 วันหลังคลอดบุตร ในช่วงเวลานั้นทั้งคู่ไม่สามารถใกล้ชิดกันทางร่างกายได้ เราจึงต้องรอ 8 วันเพื่อไม่ให้พ่อแม่ “ติดหล่ม” และ “เศร้าโศก” ในช่วงเวลาแห่งความสุข (Niddah 31b)

การคร่ำครวญถึงการเรียนรู้

ตัลในบทก่อนหน้าอธิบายว่าในขณะที่ทารกอยู่ในครรภ์มารดา น้องได้รับการสอนโตราห์ทั้งหมด และเมื่อน้องลืมตาดูโลกภายนอก ทูตสวรรค์ก็จะทำให้น้องลืมทุกสิ่งที่น้องเรียนรู้ (Niddah 30b) บนหลักพื้นฐานนี้ รับบีบางท่านอธิบายว่าชาวยิวรอ 8 วันสำหรับการเข้าสุหนัต เพราะใน 7 วันแรกนั้นวิญญาณกำลังคร่ำครวญถึงการสูญเสียของสิ่งต่าง ๆ (Yoreh Deah 265:13)

ธรรมชาติ vs. สิ่งที่เหนือธรรมชาติ

บริตมิลาห์ (การขลิบ) นั้นเป็นสัญลักษณ์ของพันธสัญญานิรันดร์และความผูกพันระหว่างชาวยิวกับพระเจ้า พันธสัญญาของชาวยิวเหนือกว่าเหตุผล มันจะไม่หายไปไหนในช่วงเวลาที่เราไม่เข้าใจว่าทำไมเราถึงทำในสิ่งที่เราทำ ดังนั้น บริตมิลาห์ถือเป็นเรื่องของความเชื่อ ที่แสดงถึงความผูกพันที่สูงกว่าสติปัญญา ด้วยเหตุนี้เองชาวยิวจึงไม่ได้รอที่จะให้เด็กทารกเข้าสุหนัตจนกว่าน้องจะโตพอที่จะตัดสินใจได้เอง แต่ให้เข้าสุหนัตเมื่อความสัมพันธ์ของน้องกับพระเจ้านั้นอยู่เหนือสติปัญญา และด้วยเหตุนี้เอง ปราชญ์จึงอธิบายว่าทารกจะเข้าสุหนัตในวันที่ 8 โดยเฉพาะ

ตั้งแต่ที่พระเจ้าสร้างโลก (ตามความเชื่อในกรอบยูดาห์) มีหลายเรื่องของโตราห์และมิตซวาห์ซึ่งสะท้อนถึงเลข 7... มี 7 สัปดาห์ของการนับของโอเมอร์ [Omer เป็นการนับแบบปากเปล่าที่สำคัญของชาวยิวในแต่ละ 49 วัน โดยเริ่มจากการถวายข้าวเปลือกที่สุกพร้อมเครื่องบูชาทันทีหลังจากการเก็บเกี่ยวธัญพืชและเทศกาลผลิตผลแรกเพื่อฉลองการสิ้นสุดของวันเก็บเกี่ยวข้าว หรือเรียกอีกแบบว่า 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀] กับ 7 ปีของวัฏจักรเชมิทตาห์ [𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘩 = ปีวันสะบาโต] และ 7 ใน 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 (จูบิลี) ดังนั้น โลกของธรรมชาติจึงมีเลข 7

ในทางกลับกัน เลข 8 แสดงถึงความเหนือกว่าและอนันต์ [ไม่สิ้นสุด] ซึ่งอยู่นอกเหนือระเบียบธรรมชาติของโลกนี้ ดังนั้น เด็กจะต้องเข้าสุหนัตโดยเฉพาะเมื่อถึงวันที่ 8 หลังคลอด สำหรับเด็กที่กำลังเข้าสู่ศาสนาที่มีพื้นฐานมาจากศรัทธา ซึ่งการอยู่รอดนั้นเป็นเรื่องอัศจรรย์ และศักยภาพในโลกที่ไม่มีวันสิ้นสุด (เทียบ The Lubavitcher Rebbe – Likkutei Sichot เล่ม 3 หน้า 834)

ในท้ายที่สุดแล้ว ผมเองก็ไม่รู้ว่าทำไมบริตมิลาห์ถึงต้องทำแบบเฉพาะเจาะจงในวันที่ 8 ใครมีข้อมูลส่วนนี้เพิ่มเติมสามารถเสริมได้เลย ในการที่หลักนี้ไม่ได้บอกเหตุผลกับเรา โตราห์กำลังแสดงให้เราเห็นเช่นเดียวกันกับบริตมิลาห์เองที่ในวันที่ 8 นั้นเหนือกว่า

[rebbestorah]

Humble As Ever

וַיָּבֹא משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם הוּא וְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן (דברים לב, מד) AND MOSHE CAME AND SPOKE ALL THE WORDS OF THIS SONG IN THE EARS OF THE PEOPLE, HE, AND HOSHEA SON OF NUN. (DEVARIM 32:44) 

The Torah recounts the first time that Moshe and Yehoshua jointly addressed Bnei Yisrael: “And Moshe came and spoke all the words of this song… he, and Hoshea son of Nun.”

Drawing from the three distinct sources, Rashi comments on this episode: “It was a Shabbos of joint leadership; authority was taken from one and given to the other (Sotah 13b). Moshe appointed a spokesperson for Yehoshua (to broadcast his lectures to the public,) so that he could teach in Moshe’s lifetime, so that the Jewish people would not say, “During your teacher’s lifetime you would not raise your head!” (Sifrei 31:1) And why does Scripture here call him Hoshea (for his name had long since been changed to Yehoshua [see Bamidbar 13:16])? To teach us, that he did not become haughty. Though he was given high status, he humbled himself as he had formerly (Sifrei 32:44).”

Rashi’s three points each answer a question that the previous one gives rise to.

Unlike any other transfer of leadership in the Torah and Prophets, where the successor began to lead only after his predecessor’s passing, Moshe and Yehoshua’s joint address was, in effect, a compromise on Moshe’s exclusive leadership—“Authority was taken from one, and given to the other.” Why was this exception necessary?

During his predecessor’s lifetime, Yehoshua was the quintessential follower. He was known as Moshe’s “attendant” (Shemos 33:11), and not as a leader. As such, the people might believe he was too meek to lead and say, “During your teacher’s lifetime you would not raise your head!” in Rashi’s words. It was therefore necessary to establish Yehoshua’s leadership—to raise his head, as it were—while Moshe was still alive.

But if the objective was to dispel the notion that Yehoshua was timid, why did the Torah revert to calling him Hoshea here, a name that recalled his early years as Moshe’s attendant, before it was changed to Yehoshua?

This illustrates Yehoshua’s extraordinary humility, says Rashi. The Torah calls him Hoshea here to underscore that despite Moshe specifically elevating him and imbuing him with the preeminence necessary to lead, Yehoshua actively maintained his trademark humility—“He humbled himself, as he had formerly.”

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 29, pp. 198-201

[eugene114]

equanimity 

[ ee-kwuh-nim-i-tee, ek-wuh- ] noun

 mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain; calmness.

assiduity [ˌasəˈd(y)o͞oədē]

NOUN assiduity (noun) · assiduities (plural noun)constant or close attention to what one is doing.

synonyms: persistence · pertinacity · determination · perseverance · doggedness · tenaciousness · single-mindedness · strength of will · firmness of purpose · strength of purpose · fixity of purpose · bulldog spirit · tirelessness · indefatigability · resolution · resoluteness · resolve · firmness · patience · purposefulness · staunchness · steadfastness · constancy · staying power · application · diligence · sedulousness · insistence · relentlessness · inexorability · inexorableness · implacability · inflexibility · stubbornness · intransigence · obstinacy · obduracy · obdurateness · Sitzfleisch · stickability · stick-to-it-iveness · continuance · perseveration

antonyms: irresolution · lack of resolve

Galatians 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.

http://www.icgchurches.org/.../PF/sermontext_119_pf.htm

Here we have the essence of what it is to be a G‑d-fearing person: to the extent possible we shall try to “know the L‑rd”6 – to use our mind to penetrate as deeply as we can into the meaning of every commandment. 

We do not say, “As I am willing to comply with all the commandments of faith, why does it matter whether I understand the reasons?

”We were granted the great gift of intelligence so we may use it to the fullest to understand the Almighty’s teachings. And we were also blessed with the great gift of faith which we use to be able to wholeheartedly embrace that which we cannot understand.

Adapted from Likkutei Sichot, vol. 32, Bechukotai II (pg. 174-180)

[diwonmusic]

When your kid see’s your dvar in the @JewishJournal;) // This parashah of Bereishit, especially the first aliyah, contains almost all of the mind-blowing kabbalistic concepts of the Light of Infinite in it. When Hashem said, Let There Be Light…. And It Was Good, it clues us into the purpose of Creation– to reveal light and goodness in this world. “And God said, let there be light, and there was light.” This was the first utterance (‘vayomer’/’and God said’) by which Hashem created the world and the first of its creations. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, in his Likkutei Sichot, asks why light would be created before anything else, as light has no value in and of itself; its usefulness depends on the existence of other things, which are illuminated by and benefit from it. Even if one argued that we learn in the Talmud that man was created last so that all would be ready for him, light still should have been created just before animals or plants (on the third day of creation), as they would at least benefit from it. The Rabbis explain that light that was created on the first day was, “Hidden for the righteous in the World to Come.” This doesn’t exactly answer the question, because if it was meant to be hidden, why was it created and hidden right away, and still why on the first day? The Zohar explains that the gematria (numerical value) of light (or) and secret (raz) are equal (207), and with Hebrew letters and numbers, things that are equivalent are also related one to the other. So what is the commonality between something that illuminates and is revealed with something hidden or secret? The answer is in the order. Light’s primacy clues us into the purpose of life. As it says in the midrash, “Just as a king wishing to build a palace does not do so spontaneously but consults an architect’s plans, so God looked into the Torah and created the world.” And so Hashem created the purpose of the Divine light from the Higher World and the World to come as hidden in this material world, so that we could reveal the light. As you can see, part of this Dvar in this week's @JewishJournal. READ THE FULL DVAR @ www.lightofinfinite.com✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdkABTPlch/?utm_medium=tumblr

[eretzyisrael]

(via Being and Not Being - Daily Dose of Wisdom)

He made His world of contradictions, opposites that combine as one.

At their nexus, a world is formed: Neither can exist without the other, all function together as a single whole.

Being and not being, infinity and finitude, light and darkness, form and matter, quantity and quality, giving and withholding. the whole and the fragment the community and the individual miracle and nature.

They are mere modalities—He Himself is none of them. He mixes and matches them at whim.

Paradox is our window upon the Unknowable.

Likkutei Sichot, vol. 22, p. 50. Pinchas 5734:1. Mishpatim 5736:2

[judeosyncrasy-blog]

A bird builds its nest, a tree spreads its boughs, a cloud floats across the sky — and we see there beauty, ingenuity, wisdom and might — and each new thing begins with delight. Delight condenses to become wisdom, which condenses to become beauty, love, ingenuity, might, consciousness, and all the other fabric of the universe. “Nothing is higher than delight,” says the Book of Formation. It is "the quintessence of all that exists." Likkutei Sichot, vol. 6, p. 22 Maamar Bati Legani 5734 (end) Simchat Torah 5712:24 Bereishit 5735:1

[rebbestorah]

Numbers that Matter

שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (במדבר א, ב) TAKE THE SUM OF ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. (BAMIDBAR 1:2) 

In the first thirteen months after their exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were counted three times (see Shemos 12:37; Ibid. 30:12-16; and Bamidbar, chapters 1-3). Rashi explains the significance of all this counting: “Because of their dearness to Him [G-d], He counts them all the time.”

The significance of all the counting is not for G-d to determine the precise amount of individuals within the Jewish nation—as G-d surely knows their number without conducting an actual census—but, in Rashi’s words (on Shemos 1:1), “to make their dearness known.” In spiritual terms, this means that the census revealed within the Jewish people themselves the nature of their endearment to G-d.

How so? Because in a census, the value that each individual adds to the count is the same; every person counts as no less and no more than one. This means that the count highlights a quality common to all Jews, regardless of their background, education, or spiritual sophistication: the “Jewish spark”—the essential Jewishness of the soul of every Jew. This “Jewish spark” manifests as a sense of unbreakable attachment to G-d, due to which every Jew, regardless of their level of Jewish knowledge or observance, is capable of surrendering their very life for their faith in order not to separate from the one G-d in Whom they intrinsically believe.

This indomitable “Jewish spark,” common to all Jews, is the Jewish people’s greatest source of “dearness” before G-d. By taking a simple count of the number of people that make up the Jewish nation, G-d “made their dearness known,” revealing within them (and in fact, to the entire world,) the essential Jewish spark possessed by every single Jew.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 8, pp. 3-4

[rebbestorah]

Love in Two Dimensions

וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ (ויקרא יט, יח)YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR FELLOW AS YOURSELF. (VAYIKRA 19:18) 

There are two well-known sayings of the sages regarding the mitzvah to love your fellow Jew. Rabbi Akiva said, “You shall love your fellow as yourself” — This is a fundamental principle of the Torah” (Sifra, Vayikra 19:18), meaning that this mitzvah is the underlying principle behind numerous other mitzvos in the Torah, (namely, those that govern our interactions with others.) A few generations earlier, Hillel said even more than that: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the entire Torah, the rest is just commentary” (Talmud, Shabbos 31a).

These two sayings reflect two dimensions of the love we must have toward our fellow Jew, which in turn correspond to two different dynamics in the relationship between a Jew and the Torah.

The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 1:4) tells us that in “G-d’s thought” the Jewish people preceded everything, even the Torah itself. The Jewish soul, at its G-dly source, is rooted and attached to G-d to a degree that transcends even the G-dliness of the Torah.

Nevertheless, when the soul descends to this earthly world, its connection to G-d is specifically through the Torah. The Zohar thus states, “The Jewish people attach themselves to the Torah, and the Torah is attached to the Holy One, Blessed be He” (see Zohar, vol. 3, p. 73a); i.e., in this world, the soul’s bond with G-d comes to the fore through the Jew’s observance of His Torah.

These two dimensions of the Jewish soul and its relationship with the Torah are reflected in the teachings of our sages cited above.

At its core, the basis of our love for our fellow Jew is the inherent unity of the Jewish people due to our common G-dly source, a source so high that indeed it transcends the Torah. Hillel therefore said that love for your fellow Jew is the entire Torah: The purpose of the entire Torah is to cultivate and reveal the Jew’s essential connection to G-d, which is best achieved through our love for one another, whereby we reveal our mutual Divine source that transcends the Torah.

Rabbi Akiva, however, spoke of the mitzvah to love one’s fellow Jew as it must be observed practically in this physical world, where the Jewish people’s connection to G-d is through our observance of the Torah. Accordingly, Rabbi Akiva could not say that this mitzvah is the entire Torah, because on this plane even our love for our fellow Jew must be observed as a mitzvah among the mitzvos of the Torah. He therefore said that loving your fellow as yourself is a fundamental principle in the Torah, but at the same time may not override our observance of the rest of the Torah.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 17, pp. 219-224

[rebbestorah]

Creating Bridges

On parshat  Nitzavim-Vayelech

Mediation, bridges and connections are an important part of life. When we do not have them, we often find oppression, aggression or simply loneliness. Human beings are created to relate to each other and to relate with G-d, but very often the links are hidden, concealed under blankets of ego, self interest and materialism.

The double Torah reading this week expresses the theme of bridges on several levels.

At the beginning of the first reading there is a famous statement about the variety of the Jewish people and the fact that despite this variety, all are one. The Torah lists leaders, heads of tribes, elders, men, women, children, proselytes, hewers of wood and water carriers. All are standing together, unified, says Moses. Some kind of remarkable bonding and linkage is in evidence, dissolving the barrier between the lofty national leaders and the apparently unassuming water carriers.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that towards the end of the double Parshah there is another example of the same concept of bridging and connection.

The Torah describes (Deuteronomy 31:22-26) how Moses finished writing the complete Torah, the original parchment scroll of which we have an exact copy in every Synagogue today. He then gave it to the Levites to put in the Sanctuary, in the Holy of Holies, together with the Golden Ark containing the Tablets of the Law which came from Sinai.

The Rebbe points out that this act provides an important bridge.

The sapphire Tablets of the Law which Moses got from Mount Sinai express an ethereal level of holiness and of Divine teaching. The words of the Ten Commandments were engraved on the Tablets, signifying a special level of unity. The sacred sapphire and the Divine wording were one. The Tablets were kept in the Golden Ark in the Holy of Holies, an awesomely holy place which could only be entered on special occasions, such as Yom Kippur.

By contrast, the Torah Scroll is an object which, although very holy, enters the world of human beings. It is housed in the synagogue and regularly read from in public. The sacred words are not engraved, they are carefully and beautifully written on the parchment in ink. The ink letters are separate from the parchment because they carry the Torah teachings into a world of apparent separation.

This means that the Torah Scroll which Moses wrote and which was placed together with the Golden Ark in the Holy of Holies is a bridge for the exalted holiness of the Tablets from Sinai to enter this daily world. Based freely on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's Likkutei Sichot vol. 2, pp. 407-8.

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The People’s Mishkan

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ (שמות כה, טז) AND YOU SHALL PLACE INTO THE ARK THE TESTIMONY, WHICH I WILL GIVE YOU. (SHEMOS 25:16) 

The Talmud (Berachos 8b) teaches that the Aron contained both the broken remnants of the first set of Luchos, as well as the complete and unbroken second Luchos.

The first Luchos were given to Moshe immediately after the Revelation at Sinai, before Bnei Yisrael sinned and worshipped the Golden Calf. At that point, they were spiritually perfect, (see Talmud, Shabbos 146a: “At the Giving of the Torah, their filth departed”), thus the remnants of the first Luchos represent the tzaddik—the Jew in his most perfect and elevated state.

The second set of Luchos were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur after G-d pardoned Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. These Luchos represent the baal teshuva—a person who may have strayed from the Torah’s ways in the past but has since repented.

Both the tzaddik and baal teshuvah were thus represented in the Aron, by the first and second Luchos, respectively. There is, however, a third possible state in which a Jew may find himself: having transgressed the Torah but not yet made amends. The first Luchos, the Luchos of flawlessness, no longer represent him. The second Luchos, the Luchos of repentance, do not yet represent him either. But this Jew, too, is represented in the Aron—by the broken state of the first Luchos.

By representing all three categories of Jews in the Aron, the Torah highlights that the commandment to build a Mishkan—and likewise, the eternal lesson we learn from this mitzvah—applies to every Jew equally. Regardless of your current spiritual state, whether perfect or far from it, you must endeavor to elevate your material life to serve exclusively as a home for G-d.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 6, pp. 156-157

[rebbestorah]

A Labor of Love

בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הוֹאִיל משֶׁה בֵּאֵר אֶת הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר (דברים א, ה) ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN, IN THE LAND OF MOAV, MOSHE BEGAN EXPLAINING THIS TEACHING, SAYING… (DEVARIM 1:5) 

At the very beginning of Devarim, Moshe hintingly rebukes Bnei Yisrael, reminding them that although G-d had shortened the duration of their journey from eleven days to only three, in order to hasten their arrival in the Land of Israel, their misconduct had caused them to wander for an additional 40 years.

According to the Midrash, G-d assigned Moshe the task of rebuking Bnei Yisrael, saying, “Let Moshe, who loves them, reprimand them” (Devarim Rabbah 1:4). How was his love evident in this reproof?

The Talmud (Menachos 65a-b) records a disagreement between R. Yochanan ben Zakkai and a group of recalcitrant Jews regarding which day of the week to observe Shavuos. They argued that “Moshe, our teacher, was a lover of the Jewish people. Knowing that Shavuos is only one day, he established the holiday to always occur on the day after Shabbos, for the Jews to enjoy two consecutive days.” Citing the verse about the eleven-day distance the Jews traveled in three, R. Yochanan ben Zakkai retorted, “If Moshe was a lover of the Jewish people, why did he delay them in the wilderness for 40 years?”

Did R. Yochanan ben Zakkai not think of Moshe as a lover of the Jewish people? Of course he did! He was explaining that Moshe’s love was far more profound than these renegades imagined it to be.

The Jewish people’s 40 years of wandering in the desert were not merely punishment. The trials they faced throughout those years enabled them to grow in their devotion to G-d, until Moshe could confidently say, “You, who held fast to Hashem your G-d, are all alive today” (Devarim 4:4). Their devotion had been tested and proven; even their failures had been followed by genuine repentance. And now, after 40 years, they stood ready to enter the Land with a deeper and stronger commitment to G-d.

This was the meaning behind Moshe’s loving rebuke: Remember that G-d could have made the journey miraculously swift. Yet you were delayed in the wilderness—out of love! From my perspective, this gave you the opportunity to learn the value of toil and personal effort—the true path to growth—and the ability to develop a deep, internal, and ironclad devotion to G-d.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 19, pp. 1-8

[rebbestorah]

Equipped for Life

וְעָנוּ וְאָמְרוּ יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם הַזֶּה וְעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאוּ (דברים כא, ז) AND THEY SHALL ANNOUNCE AND SAY, “OUR HANDS DID NOT SHED THIS BLOOD, NOR DID OUR EYES SEE...” (DEVARIM 21:7) 

If a person is found murdered outside of a city and the killer is unknown, the Torah mandates a process known as eglah arufa to atone on behalf of the city’s inhabitants for the occurrence of this murder. The purpose of this much-publicized ritual, led by the city’s elders, is to make the public aware of the tragic incident, in order to prevent, or decrease the likelihood of, such occurrences in the future. In addition, by making the public aware of the crime, the likelihood of finding the murderer increases (see Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvos 530-531).

As part of the process, the elders and judges make a disclaimer that, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see.” As the Talmud (Sotah 45b) explains, this means, “We did not see him and knowingly let him depart without food or escort,” implying that had they known this person was setting off on a precarious journey, the elders themselves would have ensured that he was well equipped for the road.

“You who cleave to Hashem, your G-d, are alive,” says the Torah (Devarim 4:4). Accordingly, the corpse found outside the city also alludes to someone who has died a spiritual death—I.e., he does not cleave to G-d and His Torah. It follows that if the Torah expects the elders to save all who pass through their town from risk of mortal danger, certainly they are required to save them from any threat of spiritual death!

How must they do so?

Before any Jewish boy or girl sets off on their life’s journey, the leaders of the community must ensure that they are “accompanied” and well stocked with “provisions” for the way. The “elders” must see to it that every Jewish child in their community begins his or her journey equipped with an education in Torah study—Torah is compared to food (see Tehilim 40:9), and trained in mitzvah observance—mitzvos are compared clothing (see Rashi, Beraishis 3:7). By doing so, the community ensures the child’s survival in the face of any spiritual dangers they may encounter along life’s path.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 30, p. 223

[rebbestorah]

Incontestably Yours

רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיכֶם אֶת הָאָרֶץ בֹּאוּ וּרְשׁוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה’ לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לָתֵת לָהֶם וּלְזַרְעָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם (דברים א, ח) SEE, I HAVE GIVEN THE LAND BEFORE YOU; COME AND POSSESS THE LAND THAT G-D SWORE TO YOUR FOREFATHERS, TO AVRAHAM, TO YITZCHAK AND TO YAAKOV, TO GIVE THEM AND THEIR DESCENDANTS AFTER THEM. (DEVARIM 1:8) 

Moshe told Bnei Yisrael that when they were yet at Mount Sinai, G-d had expressed His desire to bring them into the Land of Israel immediately. Moreover, G-d assured them at that time that their conquest of the Land would be swift and uncontested: “See, I have given the land before you; come and possess the land that G-d promised to your forefathers.” As Rashi explains, this means, “No one will contest the matter, and you will not need to go to war.”

With these words, Rashi identifies two distinct points that were included in G-d’s declaration that the Land was already given to Bnei Yisrael.

Firstly, G-d assured Bnei Yisrael that none of the nations would contest their right to the land on legal grounds. For as Rashi (Bereishis 1:1) explains, this takeover was legal and legitimate: “All of the earth belongs to G-d. He created it [the Land of Israel], and gave it to whomever He saw fit. By His will He gave it to them, and by His will He took it from them and gave it to us.” Moreover, even nations that descended from Avraham and Yitzchak, who might consider themselves equal heirs to the land that G-d promised to the forefathers, would have no legal claim. As Bnei Yisrael would (eventually) tell the Edomites, the descendants of Eisav: “You have no right to contest our inheritance of the Land of Israel, since you did not pay the debt [of exile that was decreed upon Avraham’s heirs]” (Rashi, Bamidbar 20:17).

Even with the legal issue settled, however, Bnei Yisrael might have been concerned that the nations living in the Land would not willingly abandon their homes without a fight. G-d therefore reassured them, “I have given the Land before you,” in this aspect as well. “You will not need to go to war,” for the nations will leave on their own, and you will take possession of the Land unopposed.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 34, pp. 6-7

[rebbestorah]

Lasting Effect

וְהָיְתָה בְרִיתִי בִּבְשַׂרְכֶם לִבְרִית עוֹלָם (בראשית יז, יג)AND MY COVENANT SHALL BE IN YOUR FLESH AS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT. (BEREISHIS 17:13) 

“Our father Avraham observed the entire Torah before it was given,” says the Talmud (Kiddushin 82a). Chassidus explains, however, that the mitzvos our forefathers observed of their own initiative did not have the ability to impact and transform the physical world in a lasting way. After their observance of any particular “future mitzvah”, the objects with which they fulfilled the mitzvah remained mundane as before (see also Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:3).

In contrast, when a mitzvah is performed upon G-d’s command, the holiness drawn into the world through the fulfillment of that mitzvah becomes part of the reality of the physical object with which the mitzvah was performed. For example, the physical tefillin that a Jew wears become holy, maintaining their holiness even after they are removed from one’s head or arm.

Still, our Sages tell us that the actions of our ancestors, and the events that transpired in their lives, pioneered the way for their descendants’ destiny (see Ramban on Bereishis 12:6; Bereishis Rabbah 40:6). In a spiritual sense, this means that the mitzvos performed by our forefathers grant us the ability to fulfill mitzvos today. As such, it was crucial that G-d instruct our forefathers to observe at least one mitzvah, granting it the ability to impact the physical reality in the same manner as those later observed by the Jewish people. In this way, all the mitzvos of our forefathers would have an association with those performed after the giving of the Torah and could serve as their precedent.

This unique mitzvah was bris milah, circumcision, which distinguishes itself because the mitzvah and holiness it imparts remain imprinted on the flesh of the physical body forever. As G-d told Avraham, “My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.”

That is why Avraham waited to circumcise himself until G-d instructed him to do so (when he was 99 years old), rather than doing so earlier on his own initiative. Through G-d’s command, our forefathers’ observance of this mitzvah was endowed with the ability to imbue lasting holiness in the physical and material, akin to the effect of every mitzvah that a Jew performs today—after G-d commanded and gave us the entire Torah.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 3, pp. 757-759

[rebbestorah]

Shoftim

Adapted by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks; From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

In our Sidra we read of the cities of refuge, to which a man who had killed accidentally could flee, find sanctuary and atone. The month of Elul, in which this Sidra is always read, is, in time, what the cities of refuge were in space. It is a month of sanctuary and repentance, a protected time in which a man can turn from the shortcomings of his past and dedicate himself to a new and sanctified future. The Rebbe analyzes an important feature of the cities; they were only to be found in the land of Israel, even though the judges and officers who executed Torah law were to be appointed wherever Jews live. Why does the law extend everywhere, while refuge belongs to the Holy Land? And what does this imply for the month of Elul, our place of spiritual refuge in the calendar of the Jewish year?

1. The Judges and the Refuge

The month of Elul, in a well-known Chassidic comparison, is like a city of refuge.

The Sifri1 interprets the opening verse of our Sidra, “You shall set judges and officers in all your gates” to apply to “all your dwelling-places,” even those outside Israel. It then continues: One might think that cities of refuge were also to exist outside the land of Israel. Therefore the Torah uses the restrictive term “these are the cities of refuge” to indicate that they were to be provided only within Israel.

Nonetheless, the Sifri says2 that someone who committed accidental homicide outside the land of Israel and who fled to one of the cities of refuge would be granted sanctuary there. It was the cities themselves, not the people they protected, that were confined to the land of Israel.

The fact that the Sifri initiates a comparison between the “judges and officers” and the cities of refuge, indicates that they have a relationship to one another. It is this: The judges who applied the law and the officers who executed the sentences, did not aim at retribution, but at the refinement of the guilty. And the aim of the cities of refuge was to impose on the fugitive an atoning3 exile—atonement in the sense of a remorse which effaces4 the crime until he regains his original closeness to G-d’s will. We might then have thought that if this safeguard, this place of atonement, was available in the holy environment of the land of Israel, it would be all the more necessary outside its borders where it was easier to fall into wrongdoing. And yet only judges and officers were to be provided beyond the land of Israel’s borders—only the agents of the law, not its refuge.

2. Past and Future

There are two phases in teshuvah, or repentance. There is remorse over what has been done, and commitment to act differently in the future.5 These are inextricably connected. For the only test of sincere remorse is the subsequent commitment to a better way of life. To be contrite about the past without changing one’s behavior is a hollow gesture.

This is why refuge was found only in Israel. For a man could not atone while clinging to the environment which led him to sin. He might feel remorse. But he would not have taken the decisive step away from his past. For this, he had to escape to the land of Israel, i.e., to holiness. There, on its sanctified earth, his commitment to a better future could have substance.

Judges, however, could be appointed outside the land of Israel. For it is written in Pirkei Avot,6 “Do not judge your fellow-man until you come to his place.” A court which sits in the land of Israel cannot know the trials and temptations which exist outside, or the difficulties of being loyal to one’s faith in a place of exile. The land of Israel is a land where “the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”7 It is a land of Divine grace. One cannot judge a man by its standards if that man lives outside its protection. So judges had to be drawn from the same environment as their defendants. They had not only to know what he had done; they had to experience for themselves the environment which brought him to it.

The Mitteler Rebbe (the second Chabad Rebbe) was once giving private audiences, when he interrupted for some time before continuing. It transpired that a man who had had an audience wanted the Rebbe’s help in setting right a particularly degrading act he had done. The Rebbe explained that one must discover some analogous quality in oneself—on however refined a level—before one can help someone to remedy his sin. His interruption of the audiences had been to attempt to find in himself this point from which he could identify with the sinner.8

It was this principle that lay behind G-d’s command to Moses when the Israelites had made the golden calf: “Go, get thee down, for thy people have dealt corruptly.”9 For at that moment, Moses was inhabiting the spiritual heights of Mt. Sinai, neither eating nor drinking, divorced from the world. The Israelites were degraded through their sin. But by saying “thy people” G-d created a bond between Moses and the people, on the basis of which Moses was able to plead on their behalf.

3. The Refuge and the Sin

Although all the cities of refuge were to be in the land of Israel, they were not all in the same territory. There were the three in the land of Israel proper—the Holy Land. Three were in trans-Jordan, where “manslaughter was common.’’10 And, in the Time to Come “the L-rd your G-d will enlarge your borders”11 three more will be provided, in the newly occupied land.

This means that every level of spirituality has its own refuge, from the relatively lawless trans-Jordan to the Holy Land, and even in the Time to Come. And this is true spiritually as well as geographically. At every stage of a man’s religious life there is the possibility of some shortcoming for which there must be refuge and atonement. Even if he never disobeys G-d’s will, he may still not have done all within his power to draw close to G-d. This is the task of the month of Elul. It is a time of self-examination when each person must ask himself whether what he has achieved was all he could have achieved.12 And if not, he must repent, and strive towards a more fulfilled future. Businessman and scholar, he who has lived in the world and he who has spent his days under the canopy of the Torah—both must make Elul a time of self-reckoning and refuge.

It is the way of the Western world to make Elul—the month of high summer—a time for vacation from study. The opposite should be the case. It is above all the time for self-examination, a time to change one’s life. And the place for this is the city of refuge, in the Holy Land, which means for us, in a place of Torah. Each Jew should set aside Elul, or at least from the 18th onwards (the last 12 days, a day for each month of the year13), or at any rate the days when Selichot are said, and make his refuge in a place of Torah. A refuge is a place to which one flees: That is, where one lays aside one’s past and makes a new home. Elul is the burial of the past for the sake of a better future. And it is the necessary preparation for the blessings of Rosh Hashanah, the promise of plenty and fulfillment in the year to come.

(Source: Likkutei Sichot, Vol. II pp. 380-384)

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FOOTNOTES

1. Quoted in Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvot, Positive Command 176.

2. Bamidbar 35:13.

3. Makkot, 10b.

4. Tanya, Part III, ch. 1.

5. Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah, 2:2. Tanya, Ibid.

6. 2:4.

7. Devarim 11:12.

8. Cf. Sefer Hamaamarim Kuntreisim, p. 712.

9. Shemot 32:7.

10 Makkot, 9b.

11. Devarim 19:8. Jerusalem Talmud, Makkot, 2:6.

12. Ketubot, 67a, 104a; Sotah, 13b.

13. Cf. Chai Elul, 5703 p. 42.

[rebbestorah]

The Best Goods

ב"האָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי, בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם בַּת קוֹל יוֹצֵאת מֵהַר חוֹרֵב וּמַכְרֶזֶת וְאוֹמֶרֶת אוֹי לָהֶם לַבְּרִיּוֹת מֵעֶלְבּוֹנָהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה נִקְרָא נָזוּף (אבות ו, ב) SAID R. YEHOSHUA THE SON OF LEVI: EVERY DAY A HEAVENLY ECHO GOES OUT FROM MOUNT CHOREV (SINAI) AND ANNOUNCES, “WOE TO THE CREATURES FOR SHAMING THE TORAH,” FOR ANYONE WHO DOES NOT ENGAGE IN TORAH IS CALLED “SHUNNED.”                (PIRKEI AVOS 6:2) 

Torah study is the foundation of Jewish life, and a requirement far greater than merely a question of being called “shunned.” So what additional motivation to study Torah does this statement from the Mishna convey?

No rainbow was seen throughout the lifetime of R. Yehoshua ben Levi, the Talmud (Kesubos 77b) relates. This is a testament to his positive impact on the people of his generation, such that the symbol of G-d’s oath not to destroy the world regardless of man’s unfavorable conduct became unnecessary. Implied is that R. Yehoshua was unique among the sages in his efforts to influence the people of his time and to positively transform the environment in which he lived.

Therein lies R. Yehoshua’s message to those who may already study the Torah, and perhaps even teach it, but are slow to engage in drawing others to explore and benefit from its wisdom. Failing to recognize the Torah’s value for society at large, and therefore only studying alone or with those who join you of their own accord, is comparable to not appreciating or respecting the value of others—conduct that is obviously reprehensible.

If you appreciate the Torah’s greatness and appeal, don’t go about it like an employee fulfilling his obligations; engage in it as though you are a businessman and the Torah is your merchandise! Promote your wares enthusiastically to everyone you can possibly reach, with the excitement that every word of Torah that you spread generates profit and income, bringing another heart and mind under the Torah’s Divine influence.

—Likutei Sichos, vol. 4, pp. 1228-1232