Teaching Seder

From the sefer לפרקים - writings from Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg

For anything to become part of a person's natural way of life, seder is required.

Destination Unknown

 Destination Unknown

Parashas Lech Lecha

Harav Hagaon Yosef Elefant Shlita

This past week was the yahrtzeit of our unforgettable rosh yeshiva, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel z”tl, whose gadlus was multifaceted: in his bein adam lachaveiro, in his bein adam laMakom, in his hasmadah, in his learning, in his caring for everybody, in the scope of his vision for growth in Torah. I’m reminded of an incident with the rosh yeshiva I witnessed, related to this week’s parashah, that captures one aspect of his incredible personality.

I was once sitting in his dining room at some sort of meeting, when a little boy came in with his father for a brachah. The rosh yeshiva zt”l asked this little boy, “What are you learning?” and the boy said, “Lech lecha.”

“If someone would tell you to go somewhere,” the rosh yeshiva asked, “but not tell you where to go, would you start to move?”

The little boy didn’t know what to answer. So the rosh yeshiva pointed to himself, tapped on his chest, and looked at me and said, “That’s me — I’m going. I don’t know where the finish line is, I don’t know where I’m heading, but I’m forging ahead.”

The Sfas Emes points out that Hakadosh Baruch Hu told Avraham Avinu to go, without saying where to go, because there actually is no finish line. If anything, the opposite is true: When a person grows and takes a step forward, and gets to a certain place, the world unfolds in front of him. It’s as if he’s climbing a mountain and with every step that he takes he sees that there is so much more ahead of him, so many more opportunities for growth.

In Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s first revelation to Avraham Avinu, he told him simply to “go”: he didn’t tell him where to go, he didn’t tell him where the end is, because in ruchniyus there is no finish line or end goal. The goal is the growth itself. It’s not a means to an end — the means is the end itself. In Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s first dialogue with Avraham Avinu in the Torah, He was teaching him that a person’s relationship with Him is defined by movement, by growth. There doesn’t have to be a specific destination or finish line, because the growth is meant to be constant, and the road of that growth is eternal. The minute a person reaches one place, he sees that the “finish line” has moved.

The Yetzer Hara Attacks on the Path

On the passuk in Parashas Zachor: זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם, the Sfas Emes wonders why the Torah would specify the geographical location of where Klal Yisrael were when Amalek came: בַּדֶּרֶךְ. Why is that significant?

The Sfas Emes answers that the reason the Torah highlights the fact that Klal Yisrael were “on the way” is that the yetzer hara comes and ambushes a person precisely because he is בַּדֶּרֶךְ — when he hasn’t reached the finish line yet. Amalek, or the yetzer hara, challenges a person by saying, “What have you accomplished? How far have you gone? You’re only on the way, and that has no meaning.” In the world of gashmiyus, it’s the results that count, but in the world of ruchniyus it’s only the efforts, the growth, the forging further that count. So the meeting place of the yetzer hara with the human being is on the derech, when he’s forging ahead but hasn’t reached any tangible goal. The truth is that there is no end goal — all we are aiming for is to be on the derech, but the yetzer hara challenges that derech of growth by demanding, “Well, what do you have to show for yourself? You haven’t reached the finish line!” The answer to that is that there is no finish line, it’s just lech lecha: the journey is all about growth and getting closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

A prime tactic of the yetzer hara, then, is to whispers in our ear, “What have you accomplished?”

Accordingly, Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed himself to Avraham Avinu specifically with the message of lech lecha, of moving ahead without an end goal, and without a specific yardstick of accomplishment. Rather, it’s the progress itself, the actual growth, that has value.

We find that the name Eisav, who was the progenitor of Amalek, comes from the word עשוי. Eisav was born fully formed and complete, which symbolizes that he had no room left for growth, for effort, for the derech — there’s only a finished product. In the world of Eisav and Amalek, there’s only the finished product; only the results count.

The battleground of the yetzer hara is over the question of whether growth has intrinsic value, even if I haven’t gotten to where I want to get to. That’s alluded to in the phrase בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם, and in the command of lech lecha to Avraham Avinu.

Constant Growth

The message and essence of Avraham Avinu was constant growth. At the beginning of Sefer Iyov (1:3), Rashi quotes the passuk in Sefer Yehoshua (14:15) where Avraham Avinu, who is buried in Chevron, is described as הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים. Why, asks Rashi, does the passuk use two hei’s to describe him? He answers that the two hei’s represent the number ten, corresponding to the ten nisyonos Avraham withstood.

What Rashi is really teaching us is that the reason Avraham Avinu was called הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים — the ultimate human being — is that he overcame his ten nisyonos. The Maharal teaches in many places that a human being is called adam because adamah, earth, represents potential for growth, as all life forms — vegetation, animal life, and human life — emanate from it. All that lies in the potential of the adam. The essence of humanity, then, is bringing out potential, through constant growth. A human being is called adam not because of the results per se, but rather because of his inherent potential for growth.

The purpose of the nisyonos of Avraham Avinu, the Ramban says in Parashas Vayera, is to uplift a person. The word nisayon comes from the word nes, meaning a banner, as in ושא נס לקבץ גליותינו. Just as a nes, in the sense of a miracle, is above nature, a nisayon lifts a person above his comfort zone.

A nisayon, says the Ramban, brings the person’s potential מהכח אל הפועל, allowing the person to move forward and step out of his comfort zone. During a nisayon, the person’s regular comfort zone is taken away, challenging him: Can you shteig? Can you go further? Or are you limited only to your comfort zone? A nisayon uplifts a person by allowing him to operate in a place where he normally doesn’t operate, so he’s taking a step forward in life.

A nisayon, then, is a step of growth, taking the person one step up the ladder. That’s all it is — the nisayon per se doesn’t have any intrinsic value.

Avraham Avinu is called הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים, with two hei’s, because he became the ultimate adam through his nisyonos. That’s because the ultimate goal of a person is to grow and move further, not to stay in one place, in his comfort zone. Lech lecha means to move, and Avraham’s ten nisyonos took him from place to place, from one comfort zone to another. As the nisyonos got harder and harder, Hakadosh Baruch Hu kept raising the bar and saying okay, go a drop farther. Through that Avraham became the הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים, making the ultimate use of his potential to grow. That’s what defines an adam, and that’s why Avraham Avinu was called הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים, a person who was able to grow and thrive and maximize his potential. 

Rav Chaim Volozhiner notes that one Mishnah says (according to the girsa of his commentary, Ruach Chaim): עשרה דורות מנח עד אברהם, while the next Mishnah says: עשרה נסיונות נתנסה אברהם אבינו. He explains that only when Avraham withstood his nisyonos is he referred to as “Avinu.”

The definition of an av is something that has toldos, meaning the ability to take the next generation further, so that they should grow and thrive. The ability to be an av involves injecting and bringing out the potential and growth of Klal Yisrael. I always say that a person who can’t invest in himself and take himself out of mediocrity can’t do that for his kids. The primary job of parenting is to develop the potential of children, but a person who doesn’t develop his own potential can’t develop the potential of his children. So Avraham Avinu, in order to be an av — “Avinu” — had to overcome the ten nisyonos and become הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל בָּעֲנָקִים. Once he brought out his own potential, he was able to bring out the potential of Klal Yisrael.

So Avraham Avinu is all about growth, about bringing out one’s potential, about going further. Lech lecha —constantly moving from place to place and shteiging, without a destination in mind, without a goal, without a measuring rod. And that was Rav Nosson Tzvi: he was always moving, as he said, “That’s me.” We don’t know where we’re going, we don’t know where the end game is, but we’re forging ahead, constantly moving in the direction of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Milah And Eretz Yisroel

וכרות עמו הברית.  A brit is referred to as a כרת, a cutting apart.  It seems to be an oxymoron, a brit joins people together?  Chazal connect the milah with inheriting Eretz Yisroel, what's the connection? 

A brit means to join together two parties.  How do two different parties join together? By each party giving something to the other one.  When each one cuts off a piece of themselves and gives it to the other, then they are united.  That is what it means a כריתת ברית, by "cutting" away a piece of one's self and giving it to another party, it creates an inseparable bond .  (This idea it says in the Gra in his perush on Sefer Yetzirah and in the Alter Rebbe in this week's parsha, so coming from both the Litvoks and Chassidim.)

 Avrohom is promised Eretz Yisroel many times in this weeks parsha.  However, the Rogatchover says that all the promises are not alike.  The Rogatchover says that in the beginning of the parsha Avrohom was promised the land as a מתנה.  At the brit bein habisarim, Avrohom was promised the land as a ירושה.  That is why in the beginning of  the parsha it uses a language of אתן\ אתננה but in the brit bein habisarim it says לָ֧תֶת לְךָ֛ אֶת־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ. Now the land is given as a yerusha.  That is why it is only now that Avrohom asks בַּמָּ֥ה אֵדַ֖ע כִּ֥י אִֽירָשֶֽׁנָּה.  He understood that he may receive Eretz Yisroel as a מתנה but he didn't fathom how he could receive it as a ירושה.  

What is the difference between a present and a inheritance?  There is no such thing as a free lunch.  If one receives a present, that means one to some degree did something to deserve it.  An inheritance comes without any effort from the recipient, one receives without doing anything. Avrohom understood that Hashem would promise him Eretz Yisroel as "reward" for his actions but how could it be his as an inheritance?  That was his question.  With this we can understand why the 10 nations are mentioned in this context.  The 7 nations represent the 7 middot that a person can perfect.  The additional 3 are the 3 faculties of חב"ד that are not with a person's grasp.  They have to be given as a yerusha. 

A milah also involves both an aspect of giving from our perspective and a giving from Hashem.  The Rambam rules Laws of Milah (3:8) that one who is מושך ערלתו has nullified the covenant of Avrohom.   Yet at the same time he rules in the Laws of Terumot (7:6) that such a person may eat teruma, meaning he is not considered an ערל.  (See Rogatchover Parshas Bo Ch. 12 and other places pointed to in the Frankel edition.)  We see that a person can nullify there side of the brit, but their is the bris coming from Hashem that can't be nullified by an individual.  This reflects the two aspects of Avrohom's receiving of Eretz Yisroel.  There is the aspect that he "earned" it, his giving to Hashem and then there is also the yerusha aspect where it completely comes from Hashem.  (Largely based off of Likutay Sichos volume 35.)

4 Against 5

The Ramban writes that the battle Avrohom fought with the 4 kings represents that we will survive the 4 stages of exile, עיי"ש.  In this derech remez mode I would like to add בדרך אפשר the following.  As discussed in the past the letter 4 represents division.  5 is the inside of the box, represents the inside of the box, it is the central dot that units all.  The battle of the 4 kings against the 5 kings is the battle of this world seeming separate from Hashem against the the yichud of Hashem that illuminates the world.  The battle represents that ultimately that yichud will become revealed and vanquish the separation that the world seems to be.  The 12 years represent the 12 גבולי אלכסון of the world and the 13 years of rebellion represent the אחד fighting to gain control over the 12 גבולי אלכסון.

Think! It Will Happen!

Hashem says about the plan of the migdal baval, וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת and therefore he mixed up the languages.  Why can't  Hashem just stop their plan? 

Rashi in Shoftim (19:19) says כאשר זמם – ולא כאשר עשה, the adim zommimim only get punished if their plan was not fulfilled but not if there testimony was carried out.  Everyone asks this is counterintuitive?  The Maharal explains that a thought a person has must come to fruition.  If their plan was not carried out, then it boomerangs back on their head and that is why they get punished.  It is their own plan that strikes back at them.  The Mictav explains that the source for this power of a person's thought is because man was created to be like G-d.  Just as G-d's "thoughts" have an effect, so too the plans of mankind.  Based upon this, says the Sifsay Chayim, that is the peshat in the possuk here.  Since the entire world had one plan, they were aligned in thought, the plan would have to bring forth the migdal and hence Hashem had to split the languages. 

The Zohar (76b) says חָמֵי מַה כְּתִיב הֶן עַם אֶחָד וְשָׂפָה אַחַת לְכֻלָּם. בְּגִין דְּאִנּוּן בְּלִבָּא חַד וּרְעוּתָא חַד וּמְמַלְּלֵי בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ. וְעַתָּה לא יִבָּצֵר מֵהֶם כָּל אֲשֶׁר יָזְמוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת. וְלֵית מַאן דְּיִמְנַע עוֹבָדָא דִלְהוֹן. אֲבָל מַאי אַעֲבִיד, אֲבַלְבֵּל לוֹן דַּרְגִּין דִלְעֵילָא, וְלִישַׁן דִּלְהוֹן לְתַתָּא. וּכְדֵין אִתְמְנַע עוֹבָדָא דִלְהוֹן. וּמַה בְּגִין דְּהֲווּ בִּרְעוּתָא וְלִבָּא חַד וּמְמַלְּלֵי בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ כְּתִיב לֹא יִבָּצֵר מֵהֶם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יָזְמוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת, וְדִינָא דִלְעֵילָא לָא יָכִיל לְשַׁלְטָאָה בְּהוּ. אֲנַן אוֹ חַבְרַיָיא דְּמִתְעַסְּקִין בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, וְאֲנַן בְּלִבָּא חַד וּרְעוּתָא חַד, עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.  We, the people that remain with lashon hakodesh, if we are determined to gather to accomplish something for the good it will for sure happen (see Sfas Emes 5635.)  The Sifsay Chayim brings from the Punarvichar Rav in the name of the Chofetz Chayim that really our plans and dreams should take root, the reason why they do not is only because we don't really have a serious strong desire for things, there is always a maybe not, maybe something else etc.  However, if a person would strongly desire something it would take effect.  That is what it means אין דבר עומד בפני הרצון.  Your desire will make it happen.

Lock Yourself In

What lead the generation of the mabul to stray?  Simply understood the generation of the mabul had no respect for each other, every one was stuck in their own way.  However, in the teachings of Rav Aharon Stroshelu, it is the opposite.  The dor hamabul was so much biyachud that they held what's your is also mine for we are all the same and therefore did not think there was anything wrong with חמס.  What they failed to recognize was the need for proper boundaries, to contain one's self.  that is why they were פרוץ in עריות which is a perversion of  a lack of boundaries.  

The Gemorah in Sanhedrin (108a) says ת"ר דור המבול לא נתגאו אלא בשביל טובה שהשפיע להם הקב"ה ... והיא גרמה שאמרו לאל (איוב כא, יד) סור ממנו ודעת דרכיך לא חפצנו מה שדי כי נעבדנו ומה נועיל כי נפגע בו אמרו כלום צריכין אנו לו אלא לטיפה של גשמים יש לנו נהרות ומעינות שאנו מסתפקין מהן.  The Stroshelu says they were bothered by the name שקי, the מי שאמר לעולמו די, the tzimtzum and boundaries of the world.  We can explain the next line of the Gemorah in this vein as well. Rain is a form of דין, as Chazal call it גבורת גשמים. They said we don't need the rain of גבורות, we can have water without boundaries.  

That is why Noach had to make a תבה.  He had to lock himself up in order to bring proper boundaries in the world.  What do you lock yourself into?  בא אתה וכל ביתך אל התבה.  The Baal Shem Tov (Keter Shem Tov additions #9) says דתיבה הם אותיות התורה והתפלה ובא אל התיבה הוא הכניסה בתוך האותיות של תורה ותפלה, לערנען מיט אַ חיות און דאַוונען מיט אַ חיות.  Our תבה is the תבות, the words of Torah and prayer.  That is how to make sure we maintain the proper order and balance in the world.  

All In The Letters

 According to the Kabbalists, everything in this world is made up of letters.  The letters of the name of an object are what makes it exist.  It is the constant input of Hashem giving life through these letters that the world exists.  In simple terms, each letter contains a spiritual energy.  What makes each and every object separate is that they are made up of a different order of spiritual energy.  Based upon this principle the Chassidic books explain how dinim can be changed to chesed.  If the gezerah exists, how can it be changed, did Hashem change his mind for what is better?  How can prayer work to cancel a heavenly decree?  In this week's parsha the Toldot Yaakov Yosef brings from the Baal Shem Tov that tefillah works to change the order of the letters from something that is negative to a positive. ומורי זלה"ה ביארו יותר כי הגז"ד הוא אותיות ויכול השליח לעשות צירוף אחר מן אותיות אלו ממש וכו' יעו"ש ובזה יובן היערוך שועך לא בצר אר"א לעולם יקדים אדם תפלה לצרה וכו' דבא לתרץ מה מהנית תפלה לצרה וכי יש שינוי רצון לפניו ית' וכקו' רמב"ן הנ"ל ובא ר"א לתרץ ק' הנ"ל כתירוץ הנ"ל דמהני תפלה דיכול להפך ע"י תפלה אותיות צרה שיהי צירוף אחר רצה להקדים אות ר' קודם אות צ' וז"ש לעולם יקדים אדם תפלה לצרה שע"י תפלה מקדים אותיות צר"ה שיהי' רצ"ה והבן.  The heavenly decree is that a certain spiritual combination must come into the world.  How it comes together, if it will be a positive or negative depends on man's behavior.

The Meor V'shemesh sees this hinted to in the possuk. צוהר תעשה לתיבה יש לפרש ע"פ רמז כך דהנה צדיקים יש להם להפך מדת הדין למדת הרחמים ע"י שמהפכים התיבות לצרופים אחרים ועושים מתיבת צרה ומהפכים לתיבת רצה כמבואר בכוונת בין המצרים לכוון בתיבת רצה שתהפוך צרה לרצה ובזה ממתיקים הגבורות לחסדים יש עוד צירף בתיבת צרה לתבת צהר דהיינו שיעשה חסדים מגולים שיאיר ה' פניו לישראל ובאור פני מלך חיים וזה הוא צהר תעשה לתיבה שיתהפכו תיבת צרה לצהר ומפרש הכתוב ע"י מה כי יש כח ביד הצדיקים להפוך מדת הדין לרחמים לעשות מצרה צהר ומפרש הכתוב ואל אמה תכלנה מלמעלה דהיינו ע"י תשובה נהפך מדת הדין לרחמים.  It says in the Tiferet Shlomo a similar idea צהר תעשה לתיבה. הנראה לרמז בזה כי אותיות התורה ניתנו לצרף כמו שאמרו יודע היה בצלאל לצרף האותיות כו'. והנה הצדיקים מצרפים האותיות מנגע לענג ומן צר"ה רצ"ה כמו שחותמין ביום התענית העונה לעמו ישראל בעת צרה ומיד נאמר רצה ה' כו' שנהפך הכל לרצון טוב. אבל בנח לא היה כך ונאמר לו צה"ר מן צרה שהיה מאיר לו רק לעצמו בפנים ולא על כל העולם. והבן:  However, note the Meor V'shemesh understands that the word צהר is a positive to bring open חסד in place of the din.  However, the Rodamsker takes it as a negative spin that Noach was only able to light himself up but not the world. It is not necessarily a contradiction.  Hashem told Noach צהר תעשה, he was teaching Noach the secret of changing the צרה into צהר.  The intent was for Noach to spare the world.  He could pray and spare the destruction of the world.  He was supposed to pray just like Avrohom prayed for Sedom.  However, he missed the boat and understood it in just the simple form, to make a window for the ark.  What could have been צהר for the world, turned into a צהר merely for himself.