This was originally published in 1994, 27 years ago, 2 years after the petirah.
Conscious Understanding and Action
It is brought in the "Gateway of Bitachon" of Chovos Halevovos that a certain person, one of the "perushim" (ascetics), once, when he was starting out, went forth to seek his fortune in a faraway land. He met up with a gentile and said, "How utterly blind and stupid you are in your idolatry."
The gentile asked him, "Then what power do you serve?"
He replied, "I worship the Creator Who is Omnipotent and Who sustains all living creatures. He is One and Only."
Said the heathen, "Your very actions contradict your words."
"How is that?" asked the Jew.
The goy replied, "Because if you truly believed in a Being Who sustains you and Who is Omnipresent, you would not have had to travel afar to seek your fortune."
The Jew was stymied and decided to return home. And from that time, he assumed the restrictions of asceticism and never left his city.
We can see from this tale that the above person must have been an exalted man before he accepted the yoke of perishus for even then, he challenged the heathen way and mocked his pursuit of idolatry. He also staunchly defended the A-mighty and His powers, even then. We should not question his traveling afar to seek his fortune, for a person cannot expect to have his livelihood handed to him on a golden platter. He must not resent a difficult situation in life but should understand that some people earn their bread easily, respectably, while others are hard pressed and must undergo much hardship and abuse.
Nevertheless, it seems to us that all should accept their lot in life willingly, with gladness. Hashem's will is hidden from mankind. His ways are enigmatic to us and we cannot fathom why a tzaddik should suffer in this world.
This is why it is difficult to understand what the above ascetic found so compelling in the simple words of the heathen as to stifle all of his arguments. Did he not have a good reply? Was it not obvious and true? Did not the heathen worship idols? Did not the future ascetic serve the Creator, who provides sustenance, all along? He believes all this clearly, and accepted the will of Hashem. Why did he return home? What made him accept a new realization which forced him to return home? What profound message lay hidden in the simple, forthright words of that idolater?
Indeed, it was a profound revelation in avodas Hashem. In spite of a solid faith in a Creator Who sustains all of His creatures, and his thorough recognition thereof, this person was not able to clarify his own deeds to the extent that they be based on those firm principles until he heard that simple idolater say something that was obvious and self evident: "Your deeds belie your convictions." If what you professed to believe were truly integrated in your essential being, you would have faith that Hashem must provide for you wherever you were, even in your home city.
From the simple argument of the idolater, the ascetic realized that his emunah was not strongly entrenched, at all! His professed belief in a Sustainer was not borne out through his deeds, for it was a lack of faith that had sent him to distant pastures to seek his fortune. "Don't you think that you can earn the same quantitative and qualitative livelihood in your birthplace as you can afar? And if not, you won't find it elsewhere either. What are you gaining by foraging forth? Rather, accept the heavenly decree and stay put. You can serve your G-d in your own home town with the same integrity and fervor as you can in distant pastures! What are you gaining by your search far afield?"
The plain accusation that his deeds belied his faith struck home and caused a deep turmoil in the man's heart. He suddenly realized that his faith was very shaky, indeed, and that he was relatively very naked and defenseless in that area.
A person cannot be a `believer' and a `nonbeliever' at one and the same time. If he professed to serve an Omnipotent Creator Who sustains the entire world, he had no business being there. And if he was so far from home, it clearly indicated that his faith was limited. Why then, challenged the heathen, was he so outspoken about professing to believe? Light and darkness cannot both reign simultaneously. Either you believe—or you do not. Your deeds must be consistent with your faith. This realization hit the ascetic and there was nothing he could reply in defense. There was nothing he could do but return to his birthplace and accept perishus from that time. And never did he venture forth from his city again.
If a person were to subject all of his deeds to careful scrutiny to see if they are completely consistent with what he professes to believe, he might come to realize that some of his deeds totally negated his faith. Instead, he should examine everything before he takes a step and make sure that he has no doubts, that he is not taking an easy, compromising way out, that his deeds do not contradict his beliefs. Sometimes, through hindsight, one sees that one's deeds were not altogether consistent, that they belied his faith, that they were counter to the way of the Torah.
Before it comes to the practical test, one always talks and thinks about a clear-cut path, without compromises, and asserts that such is the way that Hashem desires. But when it comes down to it, he raises all sorts of possibilities and doubts, and finds various heteirim, and then goes on even to find support and arguments to claim that this is the way of the Torah, the exact opposite of his original understanding. And then he finds himself lost on a strange path, far astray, doing ma'asei Zimri while touting divrei Pinchos. But he sees no contradiction between his deeds, thoughts and understanding. It is the idea we find by Odom Horishon: yesterday he was able to see from one end of the world to the other; but now he is lost in the trees of the Gan.
One who truly studies mussar will be able to stop short in the middle of an act and scold himself: "Your actions are not consistent with your words. You are not practicing what you preach." And if he finds that he is too involved to be able to judge, he should ask someone else for an objective opinion. An outsider can clearly tell him if his actions contradict his philosophy. A person who studies mussar has the nobility of character that enables him to stop short in the middle and take stock, and reroute his actions to the direction which is unequivocally right, the simple, direct way which is as obvious as one-and-one are two.
We consider the ancients to be like angels. Dovid Hamelech testified of himself that he had conquered his evil inclination. "My heart is hollow within me," that is, empty of evil urges, for he had slain his yetzer hora. Chazal say that whoever says that Dovid sinned is sorely mistaken. He had reached the stage where he was incapable of sinning for he was completely in control of his impulses. The gemara in Bovo Basra explains that this is not a contradiction to free will, for when people push themselves to the limit to avoid sinning, they are rewarded with heavenly assistance which shunts their evil inclination to the side and grants them control of their deeds.
Nevertheless, when Nosson Hanovi came before him and said the parable with the poor man's sheep, Dovid Hamelech pronounced his own judgment. He said: "I swear in Hashem's name that that man deserves to die." When the prophet revealed that "You are the man," he immediately realized that his deed had not been consistent with his outlook. He forthwith repented mightily, as is borne out in the psalm of teshuva, Mizmor 51.
(This essay is part of a maamar which he wrote in memory of HaGaon Hatzaddik R' Dovid Bleicher zt'l, Hy'd.)
"Who Comes First?"
1. Hashem created the two great luminaries, we are told in Bereishis. In gemara Chulin, R' Shimon Ben Pazi compares the original posuk which describes "two great luminaries" and the subsequent description of a greater and a lesser one. "Said the moon before Hashem: Ribono Shel Olam, how can two kings share one crown? Hashem then said to her: Go and diminish yourself..."
Hashem's command to the moon was not a punishment for her pride and arrogance, a measure for measure, but, rather, a consequence, a statement of how things are in this world. Anyone who wishes to be great at the expense of his companion, is, in fact, smaller than him. Since the moon did not feel `at ease' being equal to the sun and wished to be even bigger, it only showed that it was in reality less than equal, less important.
There is a lesson to be derived from this. Anyone who wishes to grow and flourish in his surroundings, should not do so by seeking to step on others, for he will only achieve the very opposite of what he wants. His stature will diminish. He must toil in the opposite direction and belittle himself, forgetting about his self aggrandizement. He should ignore the question of "Who's the head here?" and concentrate, instead, upon self improvement. Then, if he is sincere in his efforts, he will attain a fame he deserves and achieve what it is important to achieve.
We find this theme as the cause for Cain's downfall, as well. The Torah tells us that Cain brought an offering from the fruits of the land while Hevel also brought an offering, from the select sheep of his flock. Hashem accepted Hevel's gift, while He rejected Cain's. If we study the differences, we can detect diverse motives. Cain was the first to bring an offering. He was not motivated by the desire to thank Hashem but to be one step ahead of his brother. To one- up him and be the first, the head. He was not at all concerned about the offering itself and its content since he was not bringing it for the glory of Hashem.
Hevel was the exact opposite. He waited to see what his brother brought and how, so that he could learn from it and even improve on the gift. He wanted to perfect it. His intention was purely to please Hashem as best he could, and not to seek honor.
The results were that Cain, who sought praise for initiating the idea, fell short. Hashem completely ignored his offering. And Hevel, who had wanted to perfect the original idea and make a more pleasing offering, succeeded, since his aim was not selfish in the least. Hashem berated Cain for his motives and asked, "Why are you vexed? Did you not yourself cause Me to reject your gift by your false motives? All you wanted was to outdo your brother, to be one better. It is only a natural consequence that you lag behind and be considered less than him for this is how it must be. One who strives to be better than another so that he can show him up, is really lesser in stature; he is pettier and not worthy of leading him. His vision is distorted, like the moon, which sought greater glory.
If we contemplate the dazzling greatness of Yerovom ben Nevat and his very bitter end of sinning and causing Israel to sin en masse to such a degree that he has become the seditioner par excellence, we will immediately discern that he shared the same fault as Cain. He also wanted to be first; this was the crux of his error, the weak point that led to such a horrendous downfall.
The gemara in Sanhedrin 101b comments on the verse in Melachim I 12:26, which reads, "And Yerovom said in his heart: now the kingdom will return to the House of David if the people will persist in going up in pilgrimage to sacrifice their offerings in the House of Hashem in Jerusalem, and the people's hearts will return to their master, to Rechavam, king of Yehuda, and they will kill me."
He said: Since only the kings of Yehuda are permitted to sit in the azara, when they see Rechavam sitting and myself standing, they will think that he is the king and I am his servant. And if I sit down, I will be considered rebelling against the king and will be put to death. It was this fear that made him act to prevent the people from the kingdom of Israel from going up to Jerusalem. From that he went on to introduce idolatry and cause the people to go so far astray.
What would have been so terrible had Yerovom remained standing and Rechavam sitting? Why did this so disturb his peace of mind?
We know that Yerovom was the greatest Torah scholar of his generation. No one compared to him. The gemara tells us that his Torah logic had no flaw. Rav said that all the other scholars of his era were like grass, compared to Yerovom and Achiya Hashiloni. It is also said that all the hidden meanings of the Torah were revealed before them like an open field. Yerovom wanted to share his greatness with his generation but felt that if people saw him standing and Rechavam sitting, his stature would be diminished in people's eyes and they would no longer accept his Torah authority as fully as before.
This was his original motive but the hidden voice of "Who's first?" intruded itself and found expression in his argument that "What will people think? That he is the king and I am his servant..." From the very moment that this personal element came into play, Yerovom lost sight of his original desire to teach the people Torah and the ways of Hashem and it was a very short way from turning from being a mezakei horabim—seeking the benefit of the public—to being a machtee es horabim—leading them astray. It was not long before he erected the idols at Dan and Beersheva and turned all the people away from Hashem.
He could have mended his ways and repented, but this sour note prevented his making a complete comeback, even after he had sinned so terribly. The gemara tells: R' Abba says that Hashem seized Yerovom by the coattails, as it were, and said: Repent your ways, and I and you and Ben Yishai will walk together in Gan Eden.
Yerovom asked: Who will go first?
Ben Yishai.
If so [he replied], I do not want it.
It is mind boggling. At the very height of his career, after he had led an entire nation astray, Hashem offers to accept him back if he repents and promises to walk with him in Gan Eden! The only thing that holds Yerovom back was the idea that King David would be first. Yerovom prefers to remain where he is, rather than assume second place. In the end, as we have already pointed out, he not only lost second place, but remained at the very bottom from where there was no return.
On the other hand, we find that one who does not become dazzled by the outward glitter of honor and prestige, but submits himself to others, eventually comes up ahead of them and will even determine the halacha for generations to come. We see this from the gemara in Eruvin 13b that even though the school of Shammai had more astute scholars than that of Hillel, nevertheless, Beis Hillel had the distinction of determining the halacha for generations. This is because they deferred to Beis Shammai most humbly and would study their teachings even before those which they held to be true.
The question arises: and so what? All it shows is that they had good character traits, but how should this affect the halacha as far as the intellectual process of fathoming the truth?
It is no paradox. By first studying what their opponents said, Beis Hillel showed that they did not dismiss them summarily for thinking otherwise, but respected them fully to the extent that they truly sought to understand them and see if this was not the truth, after all. After they had thoroughly examined the other view and saw how they differed. Only when, despite their best efforts, they held differently, then they held on to their own opinion as being the true, valid one. If this was their method of searching out the truth, they truly deserved to determine the halacha since their search was not only impartial, it was deferential and ultimately sincere in arriving at the truth.
On the other hand, someone who refuses to hear the other side but stubbornly adheres to his opinion is not worthy of determining the halacha since he is not objective, but subjective and biased. One who is open-minded, however, is always willing and ready to hear another opinion even before stating his own. His conclusions are not foregone; his mind is willing to listen and judge impartially. Such people deserve to determine halacha for generations.
This proves our original statement in converse, that one who does not seek prestige and glory will eventually reach the first place and reap all the honor, as Beis Hillel did.
The Profundity of Hashem's Uniqueness
Hear O Israel, Hashem our G-d, Hashem is One!
He, alone, has the power and ability to act in this world. As the author of Chovos Halevovos put it ("Gateway of Bitachon," Chapter Three, paragraph five): none of His creations has the power to do benefit or harm to a person or to any other living creature without His express permission. One should put one's trust only upon the Creator, for nothing in all Creation can act or affect any other thing aside from Him.
This is the meaning of the word "One." He alone can act; there is no point in being angry at another for no one has the power to do one harm.
Dovid Hamelech attained such a thorough grasp of this profound concept that he earned the privilege of becoming the `fourth pedestal' of Hashem's heavenly chariot. Chazal tell us that because he controlled his anger when Shimi ben Geira cursed him, and not only did he not curse him back, but ordered that Shimi be left alone, he merited the honor of becoming part of the heavenly chariot.
Even before this, Dovid had cleaved to Hashem with all his 248 organs and 365 limbs and had risen each night at midnight to offer up praises to Hashem. Nevertheless, he had not yet attained such perfection until he had been tested in this aspect of Hashem's Oneness. He realized that Hashem had told Shimi to curse, for without Hashem's permission, he would not have been able to do a thing. Thus, it had been a heavenly decree which had come from Hashem and which, Dovid realized, he was powerless to object to.
We ourselves declare our faith in Hashem's Oneness several times a day by saying the Shema. Nevertheless, if someone insults or abuses us, we immediately rise up in anger and shout back indignantly, only because we are suffused with jealousy and the lust for honor. This is all we strive for. Some people will rear up at every little jab at their pride or their purse.
R' Simcha Zissel of Kelm zt'l examined human nature at length and, after deep study, determined that the root of all evil traits is selfishness, one's preoccupation with his own ego. A person tends to think that all the good in this world and all the honor and wealth deserve to be his, alone. Despite the fact that such a person recites the Shema and even studies mussar, when he is put to a test, his true selfishness and egocentricity rush to the fore.
This is why we see that the entire Torah can be encapsulated into one single principle: Love your neighbor as yourself. This truly represents the entire Torah. All of a person's avoda is to try to feel for his fellow man, to empathize with his suffering and rejoice with his happiness, and thereby he can truly dispel his innate selfishness. By feeling for others, one can come to feel that Hashem is One. And then, if he is insulted, he can remain calm and serene and know that everything emanates from Hashem and through Hashem. Everything results from His decree.
This is the fundamental principle of Creation and one of the fundamentals of avodas Hashem. Hashem is One; there is only One Who controls the world and all of its creatures, both in the upper and the lower spheres.
We see this clearly in the second portion of the Shema. Hashem promises that if we heed the commandments of the Torah... Hashem will give us rain at the proper time and so on. We see that Nature does not determine when rain will fall, how much or where. Every aspect of Nature rests in the power of Hashem, and Hashem established that everything depends upon the behavior of His children, in their Torah study and mitzva observance. If they heed him, only then will the spring and autumn rains fall. And if, G-d forbid, they are lax, rain will not fall. So we see clearly that not only are man's actions determined by Hashem, but even what appears to be the laws of nature, the course of the natural processes, all lie directly in the power of Hashem.
We must instill and implant this realization deep into our recognition and declare it consciously at least two times a day by reciting the Shema and saying: Hashem is One. In order to truly inculcate it in our awareness, we are advised to study mussar with fresh wonder and cancel all feeling of selfishness and egoism. Only then will we be able to suffer insult from others without reacting in anger. For then we will truly know that Hashem is One and that if someone abused us, it is because Hashem decreed that he do so.
