NEWS
The Cause of Lost Spirituality—Greed
by Rav Zusya Woltner
Rosh Kollel Or Yechezkel, Yerushalayim
This interesting essay was first published 28 years ago, in 1993, on parshas Toldos,
When we consider a single deed, outside the total context of a man's life, it is hard to determine its true meaning. There are people apparently overflowing with benevolence, eager to do acts of kindness for their fellow man, yet the real quality of their deeds doesn't necessarily meet the divine definition of untainted chesed, the attribute that bears G-d's stamp. Heaven and earth were created with divine loving kindness, as the posuk says, "The world is built through kindness" (Tehillim 89:3), whereas human chesed is an inborn trait that doesn't differentiate between good and bad.
Avimelech said to Yitzchok, "We saw that Hashem was with you" (Bereishis 26:28). The Beis Yaakov points out that the merciful name of Hashem is used in this posuk. Earlier, however, when Avimelech spoke to Avrohom and said "Elokim is with you in everything you do" (ibid., 21:22) the name Elokim, indicating His attribute of justice, is used.
Avrohom Ovinu excelled in the attribute of chesed and wished to bestow his benevolence upon all, without drawing a line between the righteous and the evil. Avrohom even supplicated Hashem to save the wicked people of Sodom and Amorah. His innate chesed caused him to forget his pains and sickness after his bris, and he served his guests to the maximum of his ability, energetically and agilely.
Although undoubtedly Avrohom performed stupendous acts of kindness, they didn't impress Avimelech. He thought it most probable that Avrohom was acting because of emotional compulsions that forced him to act warm-heartedly. Only when he saw that Avrohom drove out Hogor from his home without even providing her with minimal means of sustenance did Avimelech reach his decision that Avrohom's actions bore the Divine imprint. If Avrohom could also act according to middas hadin then surely he was not controlled by purely natural humane feelings.
Yitzchok's outstanding attribute of gevurah caused his greatness in chesed to be concealed from others. When it became clear to Avimelech that Yitzchok's gevurah was interwoven with an enormous amount of chesed he was truly amazed and proclaimed: "And Hashem is with you." Now Avimelech knew that the attributes of chesed and mercy (implied by the name Hashem) were also part and parcel of Yitzchok's spectacular deeds.
The second, more profound look revealed a completely different understanding than the initial, superficial look provided. As Rebbe Bunim zt"l explained: "when the posuk notes Avimelech's realization of Yitzchok's greatness, his `seeing' is doubled— Ro'o ro'inu. Ro'inu alone was insufficient. This is because Avrohom's chesed was evident to all at first sight, but with Yitzchok it was only evident after a second, deeper look."
"And behold Hashem was standing over him" (Bereishis 28:13). Chazal (Bereishis Rabboh 47:8) describe our Patriarchs as being the "chariot" of Hashem. We cannot fathom their incomparable eminence, or the peak of total spiritual perfection that they reached. Hashem even revealed to them how He conducts the world: "And Hashem said, `Can I hide from Avrohom what I am doing?'" (Bereishis. The Patriarchs' house was kodesh kodoshim, and they served in the innermost place of Hashem's temple, together with a host of angels.
*
We are all overwhelmed with awe when we think of our holy Patriarchs. They were the pillars of mankind and their semblances are carved in Hashem's Seat of Glory. But we are still more astounded about the fate of those people who lived together with our Patriarchs. These people, who owed them their life and entire wealth, surely should have become men of great spiritual stature. Instead, they were cut off from the root of life. They descended to the abyss of Gehennom, and Hashem decreed upon them and their coming generations that they cannot join the Jewish nation. "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not come into the assembly of Hashem" (Devorim 23:4)—forever.
Lot was privileged to be educated and grow up in Avrohom Ovinu's home. Avrohom's glowing holiness constantly illuminated Lot's life. He spiritually improved Lot and inspired him with the attribute of chesed and many other worthy character traits. Lot became affluent because of Avrohom's merit—"And Lot, too, who went with Avrohom, had sheep and cattle and tents" (Bereishis 13:5) (See Rashi, who writes that Lot's accompanying Avrohom caused him to be blessed with great wealth.) In the war against the four kings, Lot was captured. To save him, Avrohom and his talmidim fought against them and were victorious. We therefore see that Lot's life and entire wealth were only through Avrohom who raised him and took care of him like his own child.
Immediately afterward (v. 6) the Torah states that "the land could not bear them dwelling together." The bitter results were that "there was a quarrel between the shepherds of Avrohom's flocks and the shepherds of Lot's flocks" (v. 7). Lot feels that he is important enough to contest Avrohom. He doesn't realize the necessity to be humble towards his mentor and benefactor. A stormy argument develops between Lot's shepherds and Avrohom's shepherds concerning their sheep and cattle. Lot's shepherds are not at all prepared to be instructed by Avrohom's righteous shepherds, who are fearful of theft and chilul Hashem. Lot himself is already a self proclaimed judge and jury and doesn't feel that he needs his mentor anymore.
Lot's greed at first caused only a small quarrel, but the final disaster was immeasurable. After Avrohom discerns that Lot no longer accepts his leadership and that he is spreading misinterpretations of the halocho, he has no choice but to separate from him. Lot, shameless, untroubled by his conscience, complacently accepts this suggestion. He quickly packs his bags and travels straight to the jaws of the yetzer—to Sodom and Amorah. Chazal emphasize that Lot was fully aware of what kind of spiritual future he could expect there. He nevertheless disconnected himself without hesitation from Avrohom, and galloped full speed to the spiritual and moral abyss at Sodom and Amorah.
In posuk 11 the Torah tells us "And Lot traveled from the east (mikedem)." Chazal interpret mikedem to mean that he actually traveled away from Kadmono Shel Olam—the Creator. He wanted nothing to do with Avrohom or his G-d. It is terrible to see how rapid was Lot's descent to spiritual self destruction. The Torah further testifies about him (v. 10) "And Lot raised his eyes and saw that the plains of Jordan were well watered." It was this material consideration, the thought of expanding his wealth, that led him to act contrary to good sense.
What is even more difficult to grasp is Lot's hasty decision, the blind eagerness that characterizes his forsaking Avrohom. It was all done in a hurry, without foreseeing and weighing the tragic results that he was bringing upon himself and his children. Sodom's beauty dazzled him. He was captivated by the place, although he knew that "The people of Sodom and Amorah were exceedingly bad and sinful against Hashem" (v. 13). He realized that he would be living with wicked neighbors—people who did wicked deeds both physically and with their money (Sanhedrin 109a)—yet that didn't deter him in the least.
What a terrifying chain of events! A man takes leave of his senses: he leaves the Holy of Holies, Avrohom's home, and casts himself into a land of spiritual disaster; all because of the hope that he will accumulate wealth and enlarge his business dealings. How alarming is the yetzer's strength! It opens an awful gap in front of man, and man running to save himself blindly falls into that gap, for he has lost his capability to think logically, and falls to his destruction.
When Lot forsook Avrohom it wasn't only temporarily. He forever lost the possibility of joining the Jewish nation. "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not come into the assembly of Hashem."
Do we really realize the shocking significance of Lot's fall? The fierce shaking of Lot's boat of fate is astonishing. How could he have sunk so low?
*
What can we learn from all this? Man naturally strives for a firm material and financial base. He concerns himself with his well-being and looks for ways to guarantee a future free of shocks or disturbances. And of course, everyone is influenced by his social and economical conditions, and acts to some extent according to the current trend. As long as this drive is under control, there will be no direct collision with one's hope for future spiritual progress. Sometimes, however, the material drive expands and widens its scope, and subdues all man's other desires until he is enslaved into chasing after money and material gains. His condition becomes progressively worse, since "One who loves money will never be satisfied with money," and "One who has a hundred zuz wants two hundred." Any acquired gains are "A handful that doesn't satisfy the lion." The drive has turned into a strong lust that threatens man's spirituality. He declines daily, straight downhill.
Lot's philosophy emerges as a training course for committing sin. Chazal (Nozir 23a) tell us that his entire behavior was connected to sin: "R' Yochonon said: The whole posuk is talking about sin. The Torah says `And lot raised his eyes,' [the same phrase used of Potiphar's wife:] `And his master's wife raised her eyes' . . .." The gemora continues to enumerate many other indications that Lot's thoughts were all about sin. Outwardly it was all innocent activity necessary to assure his well-being. Lot looked around to find a new place to settle—certainly a justifiable act. Chazal, however, with their profound understanding, reveal that his looking around was really the first step towards a life of obscenity and throwing off the yoke of Heaven. Greed bursts out when one searches after livelihood and good living conditions. The instant that man is caught in this trap he is forever lost.
Unfortunately, due to our many sins we live in a period characterized by a dizzying chase after accumulation of wealth. The disease has spread even among some of our brethren. Wealth and success are now the measures to determine a man's worth and importance, and so discrimination between good and bad—between truth and falsity—has become gradually more and more blurred.
Today's urgent mission for bnei Torah is the battle against the insane race for hollow pleasures and luxuries. They need to strengthen themselves to be able to withstand these temptations. Their duty is to create and design an atmosphere of Torah and spiritually as reflected in the personalities of our Sages. They must ceaselessly publicize self restraint and readiness to sacrifice oneself for Hashem and his Torah. Raising one's standard of living and advancing his career and status must be set aside before the holy values of our Torah. To complete our heavenly task we are obligated to devote ourselves to teaching Klal Yisroel what a Torah-true life is: a life based on accepting responsibilities and unceasing self-sacrifice.
A man can be unaware that he is treading a path leading him to cast away all restraints. Just slightly turning aside to indulge in luxuries and pleasures can drag him down into a foul sewer, from which he can escape only with great difficulty. "Rovo taught: `A sinful brother from a mighty city . . .' (Mishlei 18:19). What does the posuk mean to teach us? It refers to Lot who separated from Avrohom Ovinu, and therefore `Ammonites and Moabites are forbidden to enter Hashem's assembly.'" (Nozir 23a-23b) Superficially Lot's separating from Avrohom doesn't seem to create an unbridgeable gap between them, but in fact it brought about an absolute disconnection. Lot is forever divorced from any attachment with Avrohom Ovinu, and all his descendants are debarred from joining the Jewish nation. Lot's name will always be an infamous one.
The yeshiva students that comprise the Torah world must adopt the true values that HaKodosh Boruch Hu expects from such an elite. We are obliged to cleanse our thoughts and objectives; unfit ideas should be purged away, and never may our eyes stray towards material objectives. We must strive to live spiritual lives based upon sublime character traits and nobility, so that we can spread the Torah's everlasting values throughout the Jewish nation. With Hashem's help we will bring many of our mistaken brethren to genuine happiness and eternal life.
|
