Korach 5635 First Ma'amar

The Zohar on this week’s parsha states that the world can only exist when there is peace in the Creation. What is “peace in the Creation?” What is so important about peace that the world’s very existence is contingent upon it?

To answer these questions we first need to define peace. According to the Sfas Emes peace and unity are synonymous. The opposite of peace is separation and disparateness. Before the Creation, there was only the unity of God. In fact, the Sfas Emes defines creation as disparateness. It is what God created. But how can this be? As some Rishonim have asked, How is the existence of disparateness – implying outside of God – possible?

The answer, the Sfas Emes teaches, is that disparateness only implies “outside of God” if each creation has an autonomous existence. Each creation, though, is just a manifestation of God’s will. There is unity – and therefore peace – in the Creation when each component of it is fulfilling God’s will with no ulterior personal motives. The Sfas Emes understands this from Chazal’s explanation of the pasuk in Iyov (25:2) “... עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו/… He makes peace in His high places.” Chazal explain that the spiritual entity governing water and that governing fire make peace and work together in order to fulfill the will of God. Even though fire and water are opposites, they are united in fulfilling God’s will. Paradoxically, they are at peace with each other.

The very first time the entire Creation worked as one to fulfill God’s will, was at the completion of the Creation on the first Shabbos. In this sense, the system that we call Creation was at peace. We learn this concept from the Zohar in this week’s parsha which states that in order for the Creation to continue to exist, God introduced peace into it. How? By creating Shabbos.

The righteous as well, by subordinating their personal desires in favor of God’s, are proliferating peace in the world thereby sustaining it. Shabbos represents the ultimate tool for subordinating our desires in favor of God’s since the essence of Shabbos is refraining from physically creative activity. We thus subordinate ourselves to God. As we’ve said, this is the very definition of peace.

This concept gives us a deep understanding of a Midrash in this week’s parsha that explains Korach’s sin. The Midrash cites a pasuk in Mishlei (18:19) “אָח נִפְשָׁע מִקִּרְיַת־עֹז .../A criminal brother (who destroys) a city of strength …”[1] The criminal brother is Korach. The word עֹז/strength, the Midrash tells us, refers to the Torah as in the pasuk from Tehillim (29:11), “ה' עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן ה' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם/God will give strength to His nation; God will bless His nation with peace.” The Targum as well, translates the pasuk as, “God will give the Torah to His nation …”. The Midrash says that Korach committed a crime against the Torah.

Korach wanted to be the high priest. He wanted the opportunity to serve God as best he thought he could. Korach, however, was not completely altruistic. It is true that he wanted to serve God better, and that’s commendable and noble. But since his motives were selfish as well, he was not promoting peace; he was fighting it. This is why the Zohar tells us that Korach fought against peace.

What crime did Korach commit against the Torah, though? From what we’ve seen, his crime was against peace. The Sfas Emes learns the answer from the pasuk in Mishlei that the Midrash cites. In order to understand the pasuk though, we first need to know that the Torah is the embodiment of God’s will in the Creation and through it the world exists. Chazal teach that God created the world with the Torah. It is the source of the Creation and as the source, represents the unity of the Creation.

When we express our subordination to God’s will by keeping Shabbos, thus spreading peace in the world, the entire Creation is elevated towards the source, the Torah. Shabbos and peace, then, lead towards the Torah.

The pasuk is very exact. עֹז/Strength refers to the Torah. קִרְיַת־עֹז/City of strength, the Sfas Emes explains, refers to Shabbos and peace. Just as the city is the mechanism for cultivating and projecting strength, so too, Shabbos and peace are the mechanisms for cultivating and projecting the Torah. They are the preparations for the Torah, the projection of God’s will in this world. By fighting peace, Korach was ultimately against the Torah as well.

Korach’s argument with Moshe Rabbeinu, noble as it was in terms of his wanting to serve God better, was doomed because his motives were selfish. In Avos we learn that an argument whose motives are completely altruistic will survive. This is because each side of the argument is a pure expression of God’s will, just as each disparate component of the Creation is a pure manifestation of God’s will. This is why we still mention Shamai’s views in his arguments with Hillel. Shamai was totally altruistic. As such, his views are a pure manifestation of God’s will to the same extent as Hillel’s views. Even though they argued, they were united and brought peace to the world.

We learn from this some very practical advice. When there is an argument, unless it is completely altruistic, it is doomed. If it is completely altruistic, it is an expression of God’s will and will always lead to peace and unity. If we want to grow in serving God and our motives are not totally altruistic, we cannot be involved in argument.

If Korach were completely altruistic, he would have realized his mistake and he would have changed his tune. Since his motives were selfish, he did not realize his mistake and did not change his mind. His fate was sealed and he lost everything.

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[1] Translation according to Rashi ad loc. The simple translation though is, “(Better) a criminal brother than a city of strength.”

Shelach 5632 First Ma'amar

How is it possible to live a holy life in this very physical world? Looking around us, it is difficult to discern holiness. From what we see around it is eas to believe that there is nothing but the physical world and there is no possibility of living a holy life here, nor is there any point.

The Sfas Emes teaches us, though, that holiness is inherent in everything as the pasuk in Tehillim states, “מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כָּל־עֹלָמִים .../Your kingship is a kingship spanning all worlds …” If God’s kingship spans all worlds, He is present everywhere. He “runs” everything. Everything that happens is a fulfillment of His will. We do not notice because He is hidden in this world.

We see, though, that this world at least has the potential for holiness. How do we actualize this potential? The answer, the Sfas Emes advises, is by fulfilling the mitzvos. The mitzvos, we learn in Mishlei, are likened to lamps. Just as a lamp holds light, the mitzvos hold the light of the Torah. By fulfilling the mitzvos, we “activate” the light of the Torah – the holiness inherent in our actions and the physical world.

However, the Sfas Emes teaches us that it is not enough to perform the mitzvos. In order to draw out the holiness inherent in our actions we need to perform them as God’s agent solely to achieve God’s will. The Chiddushei HaRim used to say that we are all shlichei mitzvah/emissaries sent to perform mitzvos. The Midrash says that there is nothing more precious to God than a shli’ach mitzvah/one sent to do a mitzvah.

An emissary, though, is one whose sole motive is to fulfill the sender’s will. If he has other personal motives, he is no longer simply an emissary. He is on his own mission as well. An emissary who has no personal motives in the mission is called, in the words of the Midrash, one who puts his soul into the success of his mission. Therefore, it is not enough to simply perform mitzvos. In order to actualize the potential for holiness inherent in the mitzvos we must subordinate our own motives and desires to God’s and perform the mitzvos solely to fulfill His will.

The Sfas Emes takes this concept a step further and applies it to all our activities. The Midrash teaches us that God made mitzvos for every human activity. The Sfas Emes understands this to mean that every human activity is a potential mitzvah. The way to transform a mundane activity into a mitzvah is by intending to act as God’s emissary and to fulfill His will through the activity rather than for personal gain.

In addition to the benefit of drawing holiness into the physical world, the mitzvos protect us from the pitfalls and dangers of being drawn after the temptations of the physical world. By transforming all our mundane activities into mitzvos we protect ourselves and are able lead lives imbued with holiness.

With this concept we can understand the difference between the two version of the story of the twelve spies. In our parsha God instructs Moshe Rabbeinu to send the spies. In parshas Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu says that the nation asked him to send the spies. How can these two accounts be reconciled?

The Sfas Emes answers that the nation first asked Moshe Rabbeinu to send spies. Looking at the land of Canaan from the perspective of people intending to invade and conquer, the situation looked bleak indeed. The indigenous population lived within walled cities. They were large and powerful. What chance did the nation of Israel have of actually succeeding?

This was what the spies were up against. God, in His kindness instructed Moshe to send the spies thus transforming a straightforward military mission into a mitzvah. The spies should have known that, notwithstanding Moshe Rabbeinu’s detailed instructions regarding the espionage, their true mission was to subordinate their own desires to the will of God who sent them. They knew that God’s will was for the nation to enter the land.

This is the reason that the Midrash praises shlichei mitzvah even more than the fulfillment of the mitzvah. The desire, preparation and yearning to fulfill the mitzvah is the main thing. It is the only way to be a successful emissary of God.

The lesson of the spies is for all time and applies to us today as well. By acknowledging that the physical is simply a screen that covers the glory of God that is inherent in it, a person can find the spiritual light everywhere he looks. The Zohar in this week’s parsha in fact states that the spying of this week’s parsha is a metaphor for spying out the good in this world. May we merit it!

BeHa'aloscha 5633 First Ma'amar

This week’s parsha begins with the mitzvah incumbent upon the Kohanim to light the menorah in the Beis HaMikdash each day, “... בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵרוֹת אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵרוֹת/When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the candelabrum.” Why does the Torah use the word בהעלתך/When you light, which literally translates as, “when you raise up,” instead of bhadlakaskcha/when you light? Rashi explains that the Kohein must hold the taper to the wick until the flame rises of its own accord. Why is the exact way the Kohein lights the lamp significant?

In order to understand the significance of the menorah and the way it must be lit, the Sfas Emes cites and explains a Midrash in this week’s parsha. The Midrash quotes a pasuk in Mishlei, “יְרָא־אֶת־ה' בְּנִי וָמֶלֶךְ .../Fear God my son and the king …” The Midrash is bothered by the last word which seems to be redundant if it is referring to God. If it is not referring to God, then to whom is it referring?

The Midrash gives several related answers. The first is that word, “ומלך/and the king,” is referring to God. This extra word is teaching us the importance of accepting God’s rule in addition to being in awe of Him. The second explanation the Midrash gives is that it is referring to ruling over our evil inclination. The pasuk is teaching us to fear God and make sure that our good inclination rules over our evil one. The third explanation the Midrash gives is that the pasuk is God’s advice to Moshe Rabbeinu. God tells Moshe, “Fear me my son and I will make you a king.”

What is the connection between these explanations? To understand the connection between these explanations we need to know that everything in the physical universe has an inherent spiritual force that gives it existence. Furthermore, Chazal teach us that God created everything for His glory. This means that all components of the Creation have a built in inclination towards revelation of their inherent spirituality – a built in inclination to experience the spiritual, to come close to the Creator. Experiencing God is the best we can do to reveal His glory.

The Midrash is teaching us that a person who accepts the rule of God over himself becomes a conduit for God’s rule to extend to everything with which he has contact. As the Midrash implies, this refers even to the evil inclination. Even the evil inclination wants to subordinate itself to the righteous one whose every action is done for the sake of glorifying God. The evil inclination has no choice. It is built in to his make up. The Sfas Emes explains that the way to make sure that we are ruling over our evil inclination is by subjugating ourselves to God in everything that we do.

The more we accept God’s rule, the more we subordinate ourselves, the better a conduit we become. This is because we ourselves, offer less resistance. Moshe Rabbeinu was the ultimate conduit. His self offered no resistance whatsoever. This is the reason he was able to become a king even though he was not from the tribe of Yehuda. His own kingship was simply a reflection of God’s. The second half of the pasuk in Mishlei alludes to this, “... עִם־שֹׁונִים אַל־תִּתְעָרָב/… Do not mix with those who are inconsistent (in their service to God.)” The Sfas Emes understands this pasuk as referring to the individual and how much he is purely devoted to God. He understands the pasuk as, “Do not allow a mix of different components within yourself.” Be a pure conduit of God.

When a person acts for the sake of Heaven, when his intent is that God should be honored through his action, a certain spirituality is revealed through his action because it is inclined to be revealed.

Now we can understand the significance of the menorah and the procedure for lighting it. The menorah lamps and the flame are metaphors for the physical world and its inherent spirituality respectively. Just like the flame, the spirituality that is innate in the physical world wants to rise towards its source, wants to be revealed. The Kohein is required to hold the taper to the wick until the flame rises of its own accord just as we are required to influence the physical world around us so that the spirituality inherent in it is revealed.

We find this very same concept in the relationship between Shabbos and the days of the week. During the six days of the first week, “... עשה את השמים ואת הארץ .../… He made the heavens and the earth …” The Sfas Emes explains that the heavens in this pasuk are not referring to the physical sky. Rather, the heavens refer to all the spiritual realms. The earth in this pasuk refers to the entire physical universe. During the six days of Creation, there was a separation between the physical and the spiritual. The end of this pasuk states, “... וביום השביעי שבת וינפש/… and on the seventh day He ceased and rested.” What does the Torah mean when it tells us that God rested? God resting suggests that the Creation was in harmony, each component performing its function thus glorifying God. If everything glorifies God, there is a synchronization between the physical universe and the spiritual realms. There is unity between the spiritual and the physical and they are revealed as being one and the same in different forms.

BeHaloscha 5631 First Ma'amar

“... בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹת אֶל־מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת/When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the candelabrum.” The menorah is a physical vessel whose purpose is to hold light which symbolizes the spiritual. The mitzvah of the menorah, then, is singularly suited to teach us about the relationship between the physical and spiritual in this world.

Why is there a mitzvah of lighting the menorah? It cannot possibly be for the light. God does not need the light. The Midrash addresses this question. God told Moshe Rabbeinu, “I did not give this commandment because I need the light of man. Rather, I gave this commandment in order to confer merit upon you and to elevate you.” The Midrash learns this from the pasuk, “ה' חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר/For the sake of [Israel’s] righteousness God desired to make the Torah great and to glorify it.” The Midrash is saying that God gave us the mitzvah of lighting the menorah (and according to another Midrash, all mitzvos) in order to make the Torah great and to glorify it.

How does lighting the menorah glorify the Torah? To answer this question, we need to understand the purpose of the mitzvos and their connection to the Torah. God’s desire is for the Torah to be revealed in this world. The Torah is completely spiritual, though, and this world is physical. There must be a mechanism for drawing the spiritual power of the Torah into the physical world. The mitzvos is that mechanism. The mitzvos are the vessels that contain the spiritual light of the Torah.

We see this concept clearly in a pasuk in Mishlei, “... נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר .../… a commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light …” Just as light needs a lamp to hold it, so too, the light of the Torah needs a vessel to contain it. The vessel that holds the light of the Torah in this world is the mitzvos.

By performing the mitzvos we are glorifying the Torah by bringing its light into this world. The Sfas Emes teaches us that this is an aspect of Torah shebe’al Peh/The Oral Law. The Oral Law, as its name implies, was not written down. In this sense, the Oral Law is hidden. The light of the Torah, then, which is hidden in all things is the light of the hidden Oral Law.

God gave the ability to reveal this light, to activate it, so to speak, to the nation of Israel, just as He gave the Oral Law only to us. We are God’s agents in this world to reveal the Torah’s hidden light. The mechanism for revealing this spiritual light is performance of the mitzvos. In fact, the Zohar says that our 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments. Our very limbs become the conduits through which the light of the Torah is drawn down into this world.

Actually, the light of the Torah is in us in the form of our souls. Our physical body is the vessel that contains the soul. The soul – a spiritual entity – can only function in the physical world through the physical body that contains it. By performing mitzvos we draw the holiness of the soul into the physical world.

In this way we elevate the physical world. This is why the Torah, when referring to lighting lamps of the menorah which, as we’ve said, allude to the mitzvos, uses the word beha’aloscha whose literal translation is, “when you elevate” instead of behadlakascha/when you light.

There was a time when the spiritual light of the Torah was manifest in this world. Chazal teach us that the light that was created on the first day of Creation was a spiritual light that functioned only during the first week of the Creation. After the first Shabbos, God hid that original spiritual light. An inkling of it is revealed on Shabbos, but mainly it is hidden until the ultimate redemption.

The mitzvos are the tool God gave us to reveal that hidden light to some extent. Since the lamps of the menorah represent the mitzvos, when we perform the mitzvos, we are connecting the seven lamps of the menorah with the spiritual light of the first seven days of the creation. We are drawing that original spiritual light into the physical world.

This idea is hinted at by the pasuk quoted before, “...אֶל־מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ .../… the lamps shall cast their light toward the candelabrum …” What does this mean? The lamps are part of the menorah. How can they cast their light towards it? Chazal teach us that the three lamps on each side of the center lamp face the center. The middle lamp represents the Shabbos. The six lamps facing it represent the days of the week. When the days of the week are used to perform mitzvos then there is a revelation of that special hidden spiritual light on Shabbos.

With this idea we can explain an enigmatic Midrash. The Midrash says that Aharon HaCohen was upset because his tribe Levi did not participate in the sacrifices brought by the heads of all the other tribes to dedicate the altar. God told Moshe Rabbeinu to console Aharon for he merited the mitzvah of the menorah while they merited bringing sacrifices. Sacrifices may only be brought while the Beis HaMikdash stands whereas the menorah is forever. The obvious question is that the mitzvah of the menorah also applies only while the Beis HaMikdash stands.

However, according to what we’ve said it is clear. The primary reason for lighting the menorah is to draw the spiritual light of the Torah into this world. This is something that lasts forever. The very name of the middle lamp, נֵר הַמַעֲרָבִי/the western lamp, hints at this. מַעֲרָבִי/Western has the same root as לְעַרֵב/to combine. The middle lamp is the ultimate symbol of the coalescence of the spiritual within the physical.

God does not need the light of the menorah. He gave us this mitzvah to confer merit upon us and to elevate us. By performing this mitzvah (and every mitzvah) we draw spiritual light even into the physical darkness.

Shavuos 5646 First Ma'amar

When the nation of Israel left Egypt, we were in a state of deep impurity. Chazal teach us that we had reached the forty-ninth level (out of fifty) of impurity. In a period of a mere fifty days, we made a transformation from this low level to a state in which we were ready to participate in the greatest event in the history of mankind, the receiving of the Torah and direct communication from the Creator.

This transformation is one of the most optimistic and inspiring processes. It teaches us that regardless of the level of our impurity, we should not despair. This process of transformation is enshrined in the counting of the Omer.

How does the transformation work? How can the impure become pure? The answer to this question is based on the concept that everything both pure and impure was created by God and needs God’s constant and continuous attention to exist. Even though the Creation is a mixture of good and bad, of purity and impurity, at the spiritual source there is Unity. In the words of Chazal, there are forty-nine aspects or levels of impurity and purity. Levels implies that there is a mix. At the fiftieth level there is Unity. Of course, the unity, the Godliness is inherent even at the most impure level. It is simply revealed at the fiftieth level. Impurity is a barrier that hides Godliness. For impure to become pure, the barrier needs to be removed.

We find this concept in a Midrash explaining a pasuk in Iyov, “מִי יִתֵּן טָהוֹר מִטָמֵא לֹא אֶחָד/Who produces purity from impurity? No one!” The Midrash translates this pasuk, “Who produces purity from impurity? Is it not the One?” Producing purity from impurity seems impossible. However, it is only impossible if we believe that impurity has an autonomous existence. Once we recognize that impurity is simply God’s concealment, producing purity from impurity is a matter of removing that which conceals God.

We also find this concept in a Zohar explaining the pasuk, “... וְנִטְמֵתֶם בָּם/… and you will become defiled by them” referring to one who eats forbidden foods. The usual spelling of “וְנִטְמֵתֶם/and you will become defiled” includes an א/alef - וְנִטְמֵאתֶם. Why is it spelled here without the alef? The Sfas Emes explains that the alef, meaning one, alludes to the source – God. According to the Zohar the Torah spelled this word without the alef to teach us that one who has eaten forbidden foods and dies before having repented is so defiled that there is nothing that can heal his soul. He has lost his connection with the source, with God.[1]

This, the Sfas Emes teaches us, is the significance of the forty-nine days of counting the Omer culminating in the holiday of Shavuos on the fiftieth day. Counting is a process of sorting and clarification. During the forty-nine days of the Omer the nation of Israel worked to separate the impure from the pure, the evil from the good. This process ended on Shavuos with the receiving of the Torah and the negation of the evil inclination. For this reason, the Zohar teaches, in addition to the regular holiday sacrifices, two loaves of leavened bread, representing the evil inclination were burnt on the altar.

On Shavuos we reached the fiftieth level of purity and experienced God as the source of everything. To symbolize harking back to the source, the first wheat of the year was sacrificed on Shavuos. The first fruit Chazal teach us is called רֵאשִׁית/First, alluding to the Creation – בְּרֵאשִׁית – and ultimately to the source of the Creation – God. Shavuos, in fact, is called, “יוֹם הַבִּיכּוּרִים/Day of the first fruit.”

The Kohanim sacrifice the first wheat on behalf of the entire nation of Israel. In addition to this mitzvah, it is incumbent on each member of the nation to bring the first fruit produced by his field to the Beis Hamikdash, “רֵאשִׁית בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתְךָ תָּבִיא בֵּית ה' אֱ-לָהֶיךָ ... /You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your land to the house of God.” The Sfas Emes explains that, when we clarify for ourselves that God is the source of everything, evil no longer represents a barrier that hides Him. If this is true on an individual level, it is certainly true on the national level of the first wheat sacrifice that is brought on Shavuos. The sacrifice of the first wheat represents God’s revelation on Shavuos and provides the nation with protection for the entire year.

The second half of the pasuk instructing us to bring the first fruit to the Beis HaMikdash is, “... לֹא-תְבַשֵׁל גְדִי בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ/… Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.” What is the connection between these two seemingly unrelated mitzvos? The Zohar explains that once the source is revealed, there is no longer any possibility of a mix of good and bad. The Sfas Emes explains elsewhere that milk represents a clarification of the good from the bad. Chazal teach us that God turns the mother’s blood, which is impure, into milk which is pure. Chazal learn this from the pasuk in Iyov brought earlier, “מִי יִתֵּן טָהוֹר מִטָמֵא לֹא אֶחָד/Who produces purity from impurity? Is it not the One?” Meat, on the other hand, represents a mix of good and bad. The Sfas Emes notes an allusion to this from the quail that God sent to the nation in the desert. The quail was sent specifically in the evening. The word for evening – עֶרֶב – has the same root as the word for mix – עָרֹב.

Since meat represents the mix whereas milk represents the clarification, milk should not be eaten with meat. For this reason, as well, it is appropriate to eat dairy foods on Shavuos since both dairy and Shavuos represent clarification and a revelation of the source – God.

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[1] The gematria of the word טמא – is fifty. The gematria of טמ is forty-nine representing the forty-nine levels of impurity. א/alef represents the fiftieth level on which there is Unity – God is revealed. Purity is only possible because God underlies the impurity. Therefore, if the alef is removed, reaching purity is impossible. This is the deeper meaning of the pasuk in Iyov, “מי יתן טהור מטמא הלא אחד/Who produces purity from impurity? Is it not the One (alluded to by the alef)?” (Nefesh David – commentary on the Zohar)

Naso 5631 Second Ma'amar

In this week’s parsha we find the law of a person who was accused of stealing and then lied about it under oath. If convicted, this person, must, in addition to returning that which was stolen, bring an asham sacrifice and return a fifth more than he stole. Interestingly, he is only required to bring this sacrifice and pay a fifth more after he admits to his sin as the pasuk states, “וְהִתְוַדוּ אֶת חַטָאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ .../They shall confess their sin that they committed …”

The Chidushei HaRim points out that we learn the general mitzvah of confession and repentance from this pasuk. Why does the mitzvah of confession for all sins appear specifically here, associated with the laws of theft? The Torah is teaching us that every sin has an aspect of theft associated with it. God created the world and keeps it in existence continuously. He owns, as it were, everything. One who uses the world in ways which are against His will is stealing. He is using someone else’s property without permission.

Internalizing this concept is certainly a strong preventative to sinning.

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