VaYeishev 5632 Second Ma'amar

The Sfas Emes teaches that the source of all hischadshus/renewal that we experience comes from outside the physical world.  It comes from the spiritual.  If we seek renewal and newness within the physical, we will be frustrated in our efforts.  Nature belies renewal and novelty.  How can we merit renewal?

The Sfas Emes answers that we can merit renewal by connecting to the spiritual.  How?  We find a pasuk in the chapter of Tehillim (30:2) that we read during Chanuka, “ארוממך ה' כי דליתני .../I will exult You, God, for you have lifted me up …”  The Chiddushei HaRim explains that the word דליתני/you have lifted me up alludes to דלות/meagerness.  It is not much of a kindness if God lifts us up and this causes us to become arrogant.  Therefore, the Chiddushei HaRim quoting the holy Rav of Parshischa explains that God lifts us up in a way in which we remain humble.  He helps us to connect to Him and, remaining humble, we stay connected.  Being connected to God is the only way to experience hischadshus/renewal and novelty in this world.

The Chiddushei HaRim also teaches that this is the meaning of the words that we say every morning, “מגביה שפלים .../He lifts up the lowly …”  When we think about this we are beset with questions.  Once He lifts them up, they are no longer lowly.  But to be of a low spirit is something for which we strive.[1]  Why, then, would God lift us away from lowliness of spirit?  This prayer must be understood differently.  When God “lifts” us up, He is not lifting us away from humility.  Rather, He is bringing us close to Him – connected to Him, as it were.  The Chiddushei HaRim explains that God lifts up those who will remain lowly even after He lifts them up.  He helps us to come close to Him and remain humble.  Again, being close to God, we are open to experience His hischadshus.

We find this concept in a Zohar[2] explaining the pasuk, “טוב ילד מסכן וחכם ממלך זקן וכסיל .../A poor and wise child is better than an old and foolish king …” (Koheles 4:13)  The Zohar says that the child represents the yetzer hatov/good inclination whereas the old king represents the yetzer hara/evil inclination.  The good inclination guides us to be wary of the suggestions of the yetzer hara, to realize that life is fraught with dangers – מסכן/poor has the same root as סכנה/danger – and to fear sin.  The yetzer hatov helps us to be wise.  What is חכמה/wisdom?  The Zohar[3] explains that חכמה comprises the same letters as כח מה'/strength (or potential) is from God.  The foundation of wisdom is to realize that all power and all potential are from God.  The pasuk states this explicitly, “ראשית חכמה יראת ה'/Awe of God is the beginning of wisdom.” (Tehillim 111:10)

When we tread carefully in this world and realize that everything is from God, we “connect” to Him and are able to experience renewal.  Things take on newness.  One who thinks that he is secure on his own experiences only staleness.

We can understand a pasuk in this week’s parsha according to this concept as well, “... והוא נער/… and he was a youth” (Breishis 37:2) referring to Yosef.  The word נער/youth, has the same root as the word התעוררות/revival.  Yosef always had hischadshus because he was always connected with God.

Our nation experienced a tremendous hischadshus on Chanukah as well.  At the time of the Chanukah story, we as a nation were on quite a low level.  The Assyrian Greeks has instituted terrible decrees forbidding us from keeping the mitzvos.  We cried out to God and He saved us through miracles and wonders.  Every miracle was a hischadshus that came from outside the physical world.  This is clearly alluded to in Tehillim (40:2-4), “קוה קויתי ה' ויט אלי וישמע שועתי: ויעלני מבור שאון מטיט היון ... ויתן בפי שיר חדש .../I have greatly hoped for God.  He inclined to m me and heard my cry.  He raised me from the pit of raging waters, from the slimy mud … He put a new song in my mouth …”  The word יון/slimy, in this pasuk alludes to יון/Greece.

May we merit God lifting us close to Him thereby experiencing hischadshus in our lives.

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[1] Avos 4:4

[2] Zohar 1:179a

[3] Zohar 3:28a, Tikunei Zohar 69, 102b

VaYishlach 5633 First Ma'amar

“... כי שרית עם א-להים ועם אנשים ותוכל/… for you have struggled with [angels of] God and with men and have prevailed.”  The ability to influence the world around us, both physical and spiritual, through our actions is a quality that Ya’akov Avinu passed down to his progeny.  Our actions have ramifications in all the spiritual realms.[1]  And the spiritual realms directly influence the physical world.  We find this concept in a Zohar in our parsha. 

The Zohar quotes a pasuk from Tehillim (91:11), “כי מלאכיו יצוה לך לשמרך בכל דרכך/He will command His angels concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.”  The Zohar says that the angels in the pasuk are referring to a person’s positive and negative inclination.  We generally think of our inclinations as a part of us – our desire to do good and our lusts to gratify ourselves.  We don’t personify them in the form of angels.  Why does the Zohar view our inclinations as angels?

To answer this question we need to understand what an angel is.  The Sfas Emes explains that our desires do not begin as a part of us and our makeup.  Rather, God sends them into us for a specific purpose.  They have a life of their own, as it were.  These desires are called angels.  In Hebrew the word for angel is, מלאך/mal’ach.  Mal’ach means messenger.  The desires that God implants in us are His messengers.  When we act because of a desire we have, God’s messenger is the spiritual force that underpins the action.

Sometimes the spiritual force underlying our actions is clear to us and to others.  At other times it is not clear at all.  Sometimes God is more revealed and sometimes less revealed.  Chazal use a metaphor of angels of chutz la’aretz/outside of Israel and angels of Israel to describe this clarity or the lack of it.  Angels of chutz la’aretz represent God’s influence in a concealed way whereas the angels of Israel represent His revelation.

A person sends a messenger when the mission that needs to be accomplished is far from him.  Likewise God sends us messengers/angels because we are far from Him.  He sends us messengers in the form of the mitzvos that we do and their spiritual underpinnings.  He sends us messengers in the form of desires to do good and bad.  The messengers/desires that He sends us help us to accomplish His will.

This is the meaning of the pasuk we brought earlier according to the Zohar.  The angels are His messengers.  They are the inclinations that He sends us and we have the ability to clarify and reveal those messengers, the spiritual and motive force within our actions.  When we accomplish this the messenger has fulfilled its purpose and returns to the One who sent it.  

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[1] For a detailed discussion of this concept see Nefesh HaChaim 1:3,4

VaYeitzei 5632 Second Ma'amar

The beginning of this week’s parsha recounts Ya’akov Avinu’s trip to his uncle Lavan and the dream he had along the way. Ya’akov woke up upset that he had slept in such a holy place. He said, “... אָכֵן יֵשׁ ה' בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/… Indeed, God is in this place and I did not know!” (Breishis 28:16)  Rashi explains that if he had known, he would not have slept there.

When we think about it we realize just how amazing this is. Ya’akov gained much from having slept in that place.  Rashi tells us that the place in which he slept was the site of the future Beis HaMikdash.  A miracle occurred and the sun set early specifically so that he would stop there.  As a result of having slept there, he had a prophetic dream in which God promised him Eretz Yisrael and also promised to protect him on his dangerous journey.  Yet, Ya’akov Avinu was upset that he slept there.  He would rather have forfeited the prophecy and God’s promise than to have slept on the holy ground!  Why?

A clue can be gleaned from the Zohar[1] on the words “וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/and I did not know.”  The Zohar poses the following question.  Why did Ya’akov berate himself for not knowing that God’s presence rested where he slept?  How was he to know?  The Zohar answers that knowledge in Tanach connotes connection[2].  Ya’akov Avinu knew that his primary purpose was to come close to God.  When Ya’akov Avinu said “לֹא יָדָעְתִּי/I did not know,” he was not berating himself for not knowing.  Rather he was berating himself for not being spiritually sensitive enough, not “connected” enough, to realize that the Shechina was in this place.  This, then, answers our question.  Ya’akov Avinu would have preferred to be in tune enough with God – “connected” to Him, as it were – to have felt the holiness of the site rather than to have slept there and receive the prophecy and promise.

Still, after the dream, he did recognize the holiness of the place.  He also realized that he received a special enlightenment from God in the form of the prophetic dream.  His sense of awe of God became more developed as a result of the dream.  He grew spiritually because of it.  We learn from Ya’akov Avinu to recognize any Godly enlightenment that we receive and let it affect us bringing us closer to God.

Many times we have a new thought or a solution to a problem which comes to us in a flash.  In some mysterious way, some problem that we were struggling with becomes clear.  These new thoughts, clarity and solutions, are messages from God.  The Sfas Emes teaches us that their very purpose is for us to recognize them as such.  God sends them to us to give us a means for strengthening our awe of Him and coming closer to Him.  If we do not recognize them as God-sent but rather chalk these thoughts up to “flashes of inspiration,” then they haven’t fulfilled their purpose and were wasted.  May we merit recognizing God’s messages to us, as Ya’akov Avinu did, and coming closer to Him through them. Amen!

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[1] Zohar 1:150a-b

[2] We find, for example, “And Adam knew his wife Chava …” (Breishis 4:1) He connected with her. Another example from last week’s parsha is when God says, referring to Avraham Avinu, “For I have known him …” (Breishis 18:19) Rashi explains that this is an expression of God's love for Avraham Avinu because loving implies drawing someone near and knowing that person.

No'ach 5631 Third ma'amar (first half)

Chazal[1] teach us that the generation of the Flood transgressed three sins, idolatry, illicit relations and thievery.  Surprisingly, of the three, the decree of the Flood was sealed because of thievery.[2]  Idolatry and illicit relations are two of the cardinal sins.  We are required to forfeit our lives rather than transgress them.[3]  Why was the decree of the Flood sealed specifically for thievery?  What is it about stealing that makes it even worse than idolatry and illicit relations?

The fundamental reason that a person can permit himself to steal is that he does not recognize the owner’s rights.  Chazal apply this concept to our relationship with God.  They teach us that a person who eats without first making a brachah is considered to have stolen from God.[4]  The reason is that he is not acknowledging God’s ownership of the bread he eats.

The Sfas Emes expands this concept and applies it to all of life.  He says that being in this world and benefiting from it while not recognizing that God is the force underlying everything constitutes theft.  For this reason the Chiddushei HaRim says that the Torah requires confession when a thief returns a stolen object, “וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת־חַטָאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ וְהֵשִׁיב אֶת־אֲשָׁמוֹ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ .../They will confess their sin that they committed and return the principal amount of his guilt …” (Bamidbar 5:7)  Confession is required when repenting from any sin.  Why does the Torah mention it specifically by repentance from the sin of theft?

The Chiddushei HaRim explains that confession here actually alludes to repentance for anything because every sin contains an aspect of theft.  At the moment of the sinful act, there is always a denial of God.  If the sinner recognized God before him, he would be unable to sin.  As the Sfas Emes teaches, not acknowledging that God is the motive power underlying our actions constitutes theft.

The generation of the Flood did more than simply steal from their fellow man.  They stole from God by not recognizing Him in the Creation.  The Sfas Emes teaches us that to the extent that we recognize God in the world, God is revealed in the world.  Because generation of the Flood did not recognize God in the world, there was no divine revelation.  Life is dependent upon divine revelation.  When there is no divine revelation, we learn from the generation of the Flood that life ends.  This is the meaning of the pasuk, “... קֵץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס .../… The end of all flesh has come before Me, because the earth was filled with thievery …” (Breishis 6:13)  This is the exact opposite of the pasuk, “... מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ/… the world is filled with His glory.” (Yeshayah 6:3)  When we recognize God, the world is filled with His glory.  When we do not, it is the end of life.  This is the reason the decree of the Flood was sealed specifically because of thievery; thievery representing not acknowledging God in the Creation.

 The Zohar[5] states this concept as well.  The Zohar says that No’ach’s ark is a metaphor for the Shechinah.  “... וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־הַתֵּבָה וַתָּרָם .../… They lifted the ark and it was raised …,” (Breishis 7:17) is an allusion to the Shechinah leaving the world.  The Zohar says that once the Shechinah is no longer with us, there is no one to watch over the world and judgment rules.  The Sfas Emes understands that the Shechinah leaving means that the source of life has left.

This understanding sheds light on an enigmatic Midrash[6] in this week’s parsha.  The Midrash cites a pasuk in Yechezkeil (7:11), “הֶחָמָס קָם לְמַטֵּה־רֶשַׁע לֹא מֵהֶם ... וְלֹא־נֹהַּ בָּהֶם/Violence has arisen and become a rod against evil; it is not from them … there is no sobbing for them.”  The prophet is referring to Nebuchadnezer.  He is telling us that even though Nebuchadnezer destroyed evil, it was only God’s help that enabled him to succeed.  In the words of the prophet, “… it is not from them …” 

The Midrash understands this pasuk homiletically as referring to the generation of the Flood.  החמס/Thievery stood up before God like a rod and said that it is not of them and has no rest in them.  This last is a play on words, changing נֹהַּ/sob to נֹחַ/rest.

What does, “he has no rest in them” mean?  Elsewhere,[7] the Sfas Emes explains that on the first Shabbos, the culmination of the Creation resulted in a revelation of God.  Each part of the Creation was fulfilling its unique task such that the entire Creation acted as one harmonious system.  A system in which all the parts operate smoothly can be considered to be at rest because there is no noise in the system.  This is the reason that there is an elevation of the entire Creation towards God on Shabbos.  He is more revealed.  When “thievery” said that it has no rest in them, it means to say that the generation of the Flood was lacking a connection to God.  God was hidden because the generation did not acknowledge Him.  Because God was not revealed  there was no “rest” in the Creation.

This also explains another Midrash[8] which says that No’ach was not worthy of being saved.  He was only saved because Moshe Rabbeinu was to come from him.  This seems to fly in the face of the pesukim which state clearly that he was righteous.  However, according to the Sfas Emes, since No’ach was part of the generation that did not recognize God, there could be no rest for God in this generation, meaning that the generation was not connected to Him.  True, No’ach was righteous in his own right, but the generation had a fatal flaw.  It could not continue to exist.  No’ach’s saving grace was his progeny.

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[1] Sanehdrin 57a, 108a

[2] Sanhedrin 108a

[3] Sanhedrin 74a

[4] Brachos 35b

[5] Zohar 1:68b

[6] Tanchuma No’ach 4

[7] Sfas Emes Breishis 5631 First Ma’amar

[8] Breishis R. 26:6

Re'ei 5631 Third Ma'amar

“אֶת-הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל-מִצְוֹת ה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם .../The blessing, that you will listen to the mitzvos of God your Lord …” (Devarim 11:27)  The simple meaning of the words implies that the blessing is mitzvah observance.  Conventionally, though, blessing is the result of mitzvah observance.  In fact, this is how Rashi[1] understands the pasuk, “The blessing is on the condition that you listen …”   The Sfas Emes, however, explains the pasuk according to the simple meaning.  He bases his understanding of the pasuk on a Midrash[2] in our parsha.  

In Mishlei a lamp is used as a metaphor for both the Torah and mitzvos on the one hand and the soul on the other hand.  “כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר .../For a mitzvah is a lamp and Torah is light …” (Mishlei 6:23)  Here Shlomo HaMelech compares mitzvos to a lamp and the Torah to the lamp’s light.  In another pasuk in Mishlei we find, “נֵר ה' נִשְׁמַת אָדָם .../Man’s soul is the lamp of God …” (Mishlei 20:27)  According to the Midrash God says, “My lamp is in your hands and your lamp is in My hands.”  If we protect and keep His lamp, He will protect and keep our lamp.

The Sfas Emes develops this metaphor further.  He explains that the Torah is the mechanism through which God gives life to every thing in existence including our actions.  The spiritual life-giving force flows out of the Torah into every thing and action in the Creation.  It is hidden, though.  We have an obligation to reveal this inner spirituality which pervades everything.  We do this by performing the mitzvos.  The Sfas Emes teaches that every action is a potential mitzvah depending on our intent when we act.  The metaphor of a lamp is exact.  When the Midrash says that God’s lamp is in our hands, it means that we are able to and required to light the lamp.  This happens when we observe the mitzvos.  Every act, if done with the intent to serve God, unleashes and reveals the latent spiritual light inherent in the act.  The revelation of spiritual light is itself the blessing.  It heightens our awareness of God, the ultimate Blessing.  This is the exact meaning of the pasuk, “אֶת-הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל-מִצְוֹת/The blessing: that you will listen to the mitzvos …”

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[1] Rashi on Devarim 11:27

[2] Devarim R. 4:4