Parshas Noach - “Lost His Mabuls” or Too Stubborn to Change

~Thoughts on the Parsha~

Parshas Noach

“Lost His Mabuls” or Too Stubborn to Change

By: Daniel Listhaus

בִּשְׁנַת שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה לְחַיֵּי נֹחַ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנוֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה וַאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמַיִם נִפְתָּחוּ: וַיְהִי הַגֶּשֶׁם עַל הָאָרֶץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה: בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּא נֹחַ וְשֵׁם וְחָם וָיֶפֶת בְּנֵי נֹחַ וְאֵשֶׁת נֹחַ וּשְׁלשֶׁת נְשֵׁי בָנָיו אִתָּם אֶל הַתֵּבָה:

“In the six hundredth year of Noach’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth; and the windows of the heavens were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noach came, with Shem, Cham, and Yaffes, Noach’s sons, with Noach’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark….”

-Noach 7:11-13

            The Torah[1] describes that after ten generations from Adom ha’rishon, the world had become extremely corrupt and filled with robbery. Rashi[2] describes that the corruptness of mankind seeped all the way into the fabric of the world even negatively affecting the behavior of animals. As a matter of fact, only Noach, his family, and some of the unadulterated animals were worthy of being saved. Yet, despite how bad the world had become, Rashi[3] points out that Hashem’s patience held strong as He commanded Noach to build a teivah (ark) over the span of  one hundred and twenty years in the hope that people would see the teivah, heed Noach’s warnings from Hashem seriously, and ultimately do teshuva (repent). Unfortunately, however, despite Noach’s many warnings, the dor ha’mabul (generation of the flood) did not opt to change their ways and do teshuva.

           

            The Torah[4] states that “in the middle of that very day” that the rains started falling, Noach and his family entered the ark. Rashi[5] comments that the Torah uses this rare expression here to relate the following. The people of Noach’s generation would say, “If we see him entering the ark, we will break it and kill him.” Therefore, Hashem’s response was to bring Noach and his family to the teivah in full view of everyone to show that there is nothing they could do to prevent Noach from entering.

             The problem with this Rashi is that it is difficult to understand what the people would gain by saying such a thing and who exactly they were challenging. In their minds only one of two things could be true. Either Noach was a complete crazy man rambling about the world coming to an end, or he was telling the truth. If in the end they finally accepted the fact that he was telling the truth, their actions would not have been to try to stop Noach from getting to the ark, but rather to all do teshuva and prevent the mabul (flood) from coming in the first place. Since that is not what happened, it must be that they thought Noach was completely off his rocker. However, if that was the case, why was their reaction to try to stop him from entering the teivah? Leave the crazy 600 year old man alone and do his thing! Furthermore, with Noach locked in an ark thinking the world is going to be flooded out; it would be the perfect opportunity to loot his house and take control of his property.

            Just to drive this point in from a different perspective, let us recall an interesting event that occurred – or rather that did not occur – on May 21^st, 2011. In 2001, Harold Camping, a Christian radio show host, predicted that May 21^st 2011 would mark the end of the world and be judgment day. As May 2011 came, some of those who believed whole-heartedly even put their money where their mouth was. Front page articles told stories of people who gave up their jobs, sold their homes, and stopped investing in their children's college funds. For example, Robert Fitzpatrick, a 60 year old NYC resident, spent his entire retirement money of $140,000 on a subway billboard warning the public of the coming universal simultaneous earthquakes and destruction of the world. However, all those who did not believe did not bother to try to hush the madness, quite the opposite. Many people poked fun, organizations sponsored counter billboards effectively saying “I told you so” that nothing would happen, and groups were formed – such as the 830,000 people who registered as attending a “Post Rapture Looting” event on Facebook. Those who did not believe took advantage – even if in harmless ways – and those who did believe certainly did not say to themselves, “I believe it’s going to happen but instead of going along with it I will just make life miserable for those who I agree with. So how could we understand – l’havdil – the reaction of Noach’s generation who tried to stop him from entering the ark? If they believed, they should have repented; and if they did not believe, then just leave the man alone or take advantage of the situation. What is the benefit of interfering to make a crazy man even crazier?

            Furthermore, why did Hashem take this so personally – so to speak? The other times where the Torah uses the expression of “in the middle of that day” are during events where people challenged that which Hashem said was going to happen. For example, Hashem told Pharaoh, through Moshe and Aharon, that He was going to take the B’nei Yisroel out of MItzrayim. When the Egyptians were determined to stop that from happening, Hashem said he would take them out in the middle of the day in front of the entire population and whoever wants to try to stop Him could try. However, in this case Hashem had promised to bring a flood if the people did not repent. The dor ha’mabul threatening to stop Noach from entering the teivah sounds more of battle they were picking with Noach than a direct battle against Hashem.

How could we understand the irrational behavior of the dor ha’mabul trying to stop Noach from entering the teivah and the fact that Hashem responded as if they were picking a battle with Him when it seems it was more directed to just making Noach miserable?

In order to make sense of the situation, it must be that the reality was that indeed when the rain started coming, the people in Noach’s generation came to the realization that Noach’s warnings were real and that G-d was not bluffing when He said He would destroy the world with a flood. They realized at that point that their lifestyles were replete with corruption, but even with death staring them in the dor ha’mabul had no interest in changing. Instead, their response was to say, “We may all die, but we will take Noach and his family down with us.” This was audacious to the fullest degree – essentially telling Hashem, not only do we know the graveness of what we are doing and understand the severe punishment but will continue to live our lives as usual anyway, we will even attempt to drag down those who are good down with us.

            Remember, the people of the dor ha’mabul did not particularly like each other. They took advantage of one another, would steal and cheat each other day in and day out. As a matter of fact this was the single difference between them and the dor haflagah (generation of dispersion) later in the parsha who tried to build a tower to fight Hashem. The dor ha’mabul was wiped out, yet the generation waging war on Hashem, was merely dispersed. Rashi[6] explains that the reason the dor haflagah was not punished as severely was because at least they maintained peace amongst themselves. Granted they joined forces for a disgraceful and pointless cause, but at a minimum they joined together. The dor ha’mabul on the other hand despised each other and took advantage whenever possible. They did not live in a functioning society, rather in a completely corrupt society where everyone did what they wanted when they wanted – each man for himself. Yet, one thing they agreed on. They would rather living the horrible lifestyle they chose for themselves than turning around and changing to become better people. They heard Noach’s mussar (rebuke) loud and clear, and when the rain started falling they believed it without a doubt, however their stubbornness prevailed and they were drowned in the mabul trying to defend the nature of their corrupt society.

            It is easy to look at the dor ha’mabul and write them off as complete fools. After all, not much was being asked of them. The things they were transgressing on were so obviously corrupt that any normal person would realize it. Noach was not being spiritual, merely logical! He was not asking them to do anything other than change to be better people who work together and help each other instead of rob, cheat, and kill. However, the truth is that many people have things which deep inside they know are incorrect and perhaps even understand the ramifications or severity of the punishment. Yet, many would rather remain in their ways and even try to drag down others to their level than to even take the smallest steps to change themselves for the better. Our job is to make sure not to be like those of Noach’s generation who were too stubborn to change for their own good, but rather to be like Noach himself who worked hard and went against the pressure of those around him in order to do what was right and live properly.

This Shabbos there is an unbelievable event taking place in this country and around the world. About one million Jews are participating this week in “The Shabbos Project”.  An idea implemented in South Africa only last year for the first time and participated by close to 70 percent of the country’s 75,000 Jews, has now spread to around 50 cities in Israel, over 100 cities in the US, and more than 340 cities in 35 countries around the world. These numbers include Jewish Nobel Prize winners, authors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and celebrities. Non affiliated Jews will have the opportunity to experience a full orthodox Shabbos united with orthodox Jews learning about the laws and customs.

The keeping of Shabbos is much more than a necessary weekly “day of rest”, but rather the day itself is testimony to Hashem’s creating and running the world. The Malbim[7] points out that hidden within the dimensions of the teivah itself exist the fundamental principles that Hashem is the creator of the world, on Whom the world is completely dependent on every second to renew its creation, as well as the controller of the world. Hashem’s name representing His timelessness and Him being Creator of the world is His name of – Yud and Hey and Vuv and Hey. Hashem’s name which represents Him as Master and Controller of the world is his name of Aleph, Daled, Nun, and Yud. If one adds the numerical value of the two names together one will get 26 + 65 = 91 which is the same value of Succah (Samech, Vuv, Kaf, Hey). If you put the name of Hashem one on top of each other, like s’chach on a succah to line up the each of the aforementioned four letter names, one will get the Yud and Hey above the Aleph and Daled respectively, the Vuv on top of the Nun, and the Hey on top of the Yud. The first Yud (10) x Aleph (1) = 10.  Hey (5) x Daled (4) = 20; 10+20=30, which was the height of the teivah. Next, Vuv (6) x Nun (50) = 300, which was the length of the teivah. Last, Hey (5) x Yud (10) = 50 which was the width of the teivah.

The Gemara[8] states that if B’nei Yisroel would keep even one Shabbos properly, that that would merit the immediate arrival of mashiach. Unlike Harold Camping, we do not predict the end of days[9]. However we do know that it is in the near future and that the path of doing teshuva and coming closer to Hashem is the correct one to take and will only hasten his coming.

May Hashem help all those involved with the Shabbos Project across the world to make this experience more than just a positive one, but one which reignites the spark that every Jew is born with. May this be a Shabbos which all the non orthodox and orthodox Jews from all backgrounds who are constantly flying around feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled finally find true menucha, as we sing of the yonah (dove) that Noach sent from the ark – yonah matz’ah vo manoach, v’sham yanuchu y’giei choach.

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[1] Beraishis 6:11

[2] Rashi Beraishis 6:12

[3] Beraishis 6:14

[4] Beraishis 7:13

[5] Ibid.

[6] Rashi Beraishis 11:9

[7] Beraishis 6:15

[8] Yerushalmi Ta’anis 3b (1:1)

[9] Daniel 12:6-13

Yom Kippur and Vezos Ha'Beracha

~Thoughts on the Parsha~

Yom Kippur

And

Vezos Haberachah

Note: Vezos Haberachah is not read this Shabbos

Callous Confessions

By: Daniel Listhaus

יְחִי רְאוּבֵן וְאַל יָמֹת וִיהִי מְתָיו מִסְפָּר: וְזֹאת לִיהוּדָה וַיֹּאמַר שְׁמַע ה' קוֹל יְהוּדָה וְאֶל עַמּוֹ תְּבִיאֶנּוּ יָדָיו רָב לוֹ וְעֵזֶר מִצָּרָיו תִּהְיֶה

“May Reuvein live and not die, and may his men be in the count. And this to Yehuda, and he said: Listen Hashem, to the voice of Yehuda, and to his people shall You bring him; may his hands fight for him and may You be a Helper against his enemies.”

-Vezos Haberachah 33:6-7

            The mishna^[1] describes the process that the Beis Din HaGadol (The Supreme Court) would go through with a woman who is a sotah. Before having her drink the mei hamarim (literally- bitter waters), the beis din would try to convince the suspected sotah to just admit that she indeed was with the man that her husband warned her not to be with. After all, the mei hamarim itself as well as its potential effect was no laughing matter. The vital ingredient of the mei hamarim was that they would dissolve the parsha of sotah into it – which contains Hashem's name. A sotah who would not admit  would have to drink this water as a test. If indeed she had done what we suspect her of doing, her insides would blow up and she would die.

            The gemara^[2] elaborates that one of the steps of the persuasion process was that beis din would tell her stories of people in Chumash who did improper things (similar to the sotah) but were not embarrassed to admit to them. So too, they try to tell her, she should learn from them and not let her embarrassment overpower her to stop her from admitting what she did. The two examples of stories that the gemara says that beis din would use to illustrate their point are the ones which involves Reuvein and Yehuda. Reuvein switched the beds in Yaakov's tent after Rachel died, deciding to take action when he saw that Yaakov had chosen Bilhah (Rachel's maidservant) to take her place instead of Leah. Beis din would relate this story to the sotah and then say that Reuvein stood up to his actions, did teshuva (repentance), and admitted to his father that it as he that switched the beds. Beis din would then mention the episode of Yehuda and Tamar. Yehuda was mezaneh (had marital relations) with Tamar without knowing who she was. When Yehuda was later informed that Tamar had zenus with someone, his reaction was that she should be put to death, However, when he realized that she had the items that Yehuda had used to pay for her services, he admitted “tzadkah me'meh'nee” - declaring that Tamar was righteous. Beis din would then again suggest to the sotah that she too should admit to her actions like Yehudah did.

            The gemara continues to mention that we see from the juxtaposition of passukim (verses) in this week's parsha that it was Yehudah who actually caused Reuvein to admit what he did. Rashi^[3] elaborates that Moshe was davening that the shevet (tribe) of Reuvein should live in this world and “not die” in the next world – meaning that the incident of him switching the beds in Yaakov's tent should not be remembered to his detriment, because, as we see from the juxtaposition of the aforementioned passukim, when Reuvein saw that Yehuda stood up and admitted, he took the opportunity to do so as well.^[4]

            The important thing to keep in mind though is that admitting one's sins to people is not something that is so obvious that could be done. Unlike other religions, confessions to a Rabbi is not a part of our teshuva process. We must confess personally to Hashem. As a matter of fact it is not simple at all for someone to admit to his own sins in public. After all, one is not allowed to say lashon harah even about oneself unless it is serving a constructive purpose which falls within the guidelines of hilchos lashon harah or if he is speaking to someone he trusts who could help him conquer his nisyonos (moral tests). Furthermore, as the gemara itself points out, we are not permitted to go around announcing our aveiros – doing so would demonstrate that we do not take our aveiros seriously. The gemara therefore asks that granted Yehuda was allowed to admit what he did because in the absence of doing so, Tamar would have been killed. However, how was Reuvein able to admit? What he had done was long over with no such severe ramifications, so what purpose did Reuvein's admitting serve? The gemara answers that Reuvein admitted in order that Yaakov should not suspect his other brothers. In other words, until Reuvein publicly admitted there was a little thing that bothered Yaakov every time he spoke to one of his sons because in the back of his mind he would wonder if perhaps this was the son who had switched the beds. Therefore after Yehuda stood up to admit, Reuvein followed suit.

            We could see from this whole gemara a fantastic concept. Here we have a sotah who will face a most  unpleasant death by not admitting what she did, as well as be responsible for having the Name of Hashem be erased. The beis din, tries to convince her to admit and does so by bringing stories of people who admitted even in order to save someone else's life and even to save others from merely being suspect in their father's eyes. Indeed admitting publicly is an incredibly scary thing. Yet, during the y'mei slichos, aseres y'mei teshuva and especially on Yom Kippur itself, we find ourselves admitting to whole lists of things that we have done. How could it be that a sotah, who is already in all the headlines as a suspect having been warned by her husband and witnessed by eidim (witnesses), and who is now facing death, needs to be persuaded to admit in order not to have a Name of Hashem be erased but yet we are able to show up comfortably in Shul alongside our friends and spend all day asking forgiveness for aveiros we have done? The gemara had said that one who is able to just admit his sins is someone shameless and a mechatzef. So how could we come before Hashem in public and admit to the things we have done?

            There is no question that indeed this is the method that must be used, we have so little of our own zechusim (merits) and depend so heavily on Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov and the 13 Middos of Rachamim (attributes of mercy), which Hashem promises He will never return empty, as well as the power of coming as a tzibbur (community) to ask Hashem to help us do teshuva. However, the big question is on us who when we admit to the things we have done, it is with such callousness. Such an absence of feeling while admitting to such horrible things could only be because of one of three reasons: One reason could be that we look around us and see that everyone is saying the same words. Yom Kippur is part of our yearly calendar. It is not like we were caught “red handed”, rather we are doing this on our own, just part of the routine of being a Jew. Therefore, perhaps it does not seem as personal to us. A second possible explanation is that we do not feel that the things we are saying are relevant to us. After all, some of the things we admit to seem a bit extreme and we may think to ourselves, “well, I may have done 'x', and given the opportunity I would probably be willing to do 'y', but 'z' I would never go so far to do.” The distance we may feel to the aveiros we are admitting to may make us feel more relaxed and think that the tefillos and viduy are not so relevant to us. A third possible explanation is that perhaps we have given up. We stand in Shul and do a drum-roll on our chest by “ashamnu” and the “al-cheit's” as we think to ourselves – I am who I am and there is no way for me to change now.

            However, these three fatal diseases – for that is precisely what they are – as causes for our callous teshuva, could not be further from the truth. First, the Chovos Halevavos^[5] writes that beyond what we could term as “chovas ha'eivarim” - the responsibilities we have in using our bodies to do mitzvos, there is another area of avodas Hashem which is chovas ha'leiv – what we are expected to feel inside us constantly. The Chovos Halevavos offers the following parable: The personal servant of a king is expected to take care of every single need in the kings house at all times. It happens to be that sometimes he is required to take care of the gardening, mowing the lawn, raking leaves, etc. but those are not chores which are constantly present, but rather tasks which are seasonal. So too we have mitzvos we do once a year, we have mitzvos we do once a month, we have mitzvos we do once a week, we have mitzvos we do once a day, and we have mitzvos we do multiple times a day. However, there is also a category of mitzvos in the heart which must be active every second. This is the realization that Hashem exists and is the Ruler of the world, and that he knows our thoughts. So as much as we could convince ourselves that we were not caught “red-handed” and that we are just joining together in Shul for our yearly ritual, we are dead wrong. Hashem knows what we did and what our intentions were. Therefore when we admit to having done aveiros, it should feel real to us and we should try to get at least a small feeling that we were really caught red-handed, but are now given the chance to repent.

            Second, although it may be true that some of the parts of viduy sound extreme, it was intentionally designed this way to include any aveirah we may have done. Every aveirah fits into one of the categories in the al cheit's. Additionally, the Orchos Tzadikkim^[6] writes that when we say “ashamnu...” and go through the aleph-beis, we have the ability to personalize  the viduy and insert our own aveiros according to the aleph-beis, that we are aware of and want to do specific teshuva for.

            In response to the third cause of callous confession, there is no such thing as giving up. As a Jew there is no option to stay at a stagnant level. A person who stops growing hurts himself exponentially because not only does he stop growing, but he starts falling. So the one who convinces himself that he cannot change is lying because either way he is changing – just for the worse and not for the better. What he really means to say is that he is not capable of improving as a person according to the Torah. However, such a despair is completely false. In Netzavim the Torah^[7] states, “ For this commandment that I command you today, it is not hidden from you and is not distant. It is not in the heavens...nor is it across the sea....Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to perform it.” The Ramban^[8] learns that these passukim refer to the mitzva of teshuva. It is very near to us. We just have to make sure that we are doing it with more than our mouth alone, but rather as the passuk describes, “with your mouth and with your heart”.

           

            Hashem has given us the opportunity to join together as a tzibbur and do teshuva. Let us utilize the opportunity to also make it more personal, even if it means taking just one thing that we have done and think about it, regret it, admit to it, and to wok hard on not doing it again. Perhaps in this way we will have a productive and real Yom Kippur.

            May Hashem help us not fall into the traps of thinking that it is part of the routine, that it is not relevant, or that it is too late. With this new focus may k'lal yisroel be zocheh to do teshuva sh'leimah this Yom Kippur and may Hashem respond by bringing Mashiach as we blow the shofar after Ne'ilah.

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[1]    Sotah 1:4, Gemara Sotah 7a

[2]    Sotah 7b

[3]    Devarim 33:6 and 33:7 as well as in the Gemara Sotah 7b

[4]    See Chizkuni - Devarim33:6

[5]    In the introduction

[6]    Orchos Tzadikkim:Sha'ar HaTeshuva

[7]    Devarim 30:11-14

[8]    Ibid.

Parshas Ha'azinu and Rosh Hashanah - Cheating Death

~Thoughts On The Parsha~

Parshas Ha'azinu

And

Rosh Hashanah

Cheating Death

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לֵאמֹר: עֲלֵה אֶל הַר הָעֲבָרִים הַזֶּה הַר נְבוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי יְרֵחוֹ וּרְאֵה אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַאֲחֻזָּה: וּמֻת בָּהָר אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹלֶה שָׁמָּה וְהֵאָסֵף אֶל עַמֶּיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר מֵת אַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ בְּהֹר הָהָר וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל עַמָּיו: עַל אֲשֶׁר מְעַלְתֶּם בִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמֵי מְרִיבַת קָדֵשׁ מִדְבַּר צִן עַל אֲשֶׁר לֹא קִדַּשְׁתֶּם אוֹתִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: כִּי מִנֶּגֶד תִּרְאֶה אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְשָׁמָּה לֹא תָבוֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

“Hashem spoke to Moshe in the middle of that day, saying, “Ascend to this mount of Avarim, Mount Nevo, which is in the land of Moav, which is before Yericho, and see the land of Canaan that I give to the Children of Israel as an inheritance, and die on the mountain where you will ascend, and be brought in to your people, as Aharon your brother died on Mount Hor, and was brought in to his people, because you trespassed against Me among the Children of Israel. For from a distance shall you see the land, but you shall not enter there, into the land that I give to the Children of Israel. ”

-Devarim 32:48-52

            The passukim describe that Hashem told Moshe that it was time for him to die. However, Moshe’s death would not be like most. Rather, as Rashi[1] comments, Hashem told Moshe that He would merit the same type of death that Aharon had gotten, on which Moshe declared, “Fortunate is the man who dies by this death!” After all, the Gemara[2] describes that there are 903 forms of death which were created in the world. The best form of death is what is called “neshika” (literally: a kiss). This neshika from Hashem is so swift and smooth it like pulling a hair out of milk.[3]

Rashi[4] points out the seemingly unnecessary detail in the passuk that Hashem spoke to Moshe in the middle of that day. There are countless times where the Torah relates Hashem’s speaking to Moshe. However, besides for here, it never indicates the time of day. Why is it that the Torah here adds this detail?

Rashi explains that there are three[5] places in the Torah where this phrase is used in such a circumstance. The first is by the dor hamabul (generation of the flood). Rashi[6] there comments that aside from being wicked and unwilling to do teshuva, the people in Noach’s time had threatened Noach and his family that if they would try to enter the teivah (ark), that they would break down the ark and kill them. In response to this, the passuk describes that Noach and his family went to the teivah “in the middle of that day” in order for Hashem to demonstrate openly and clearly that His word stands and no matter how much the people wanted to harm Noach, they were unable to do so.

The second instance that the Torah notes that an event happened in broad daylight, right in the middle of the day in front of everyone, was during yetziyas Mitzarayim (exodus from Egypt) where the passuk[7] says, “And it was in the brightest part of that day that Hashem took B’nei Yisroel out from Mitzrayim with their legions.” Rashi[8] explains that the Egyptians were saying, “We swear that if we see the B’nei Yisroel trying to leave, we will not allow them; and not only that but we will take swords and weapons and kill them.” Again, in response Hashem specifically took us out smack in the middle of the day as if to declare, “This is my word which stands and whoever thinks they have the power to object, let him come and try to object.”

Similarly in our parsha, Rashi[9] explains that upon hearing that Moshe rabbeinu was on the verge of dying, the B’nei Yisroel wanted to do whatever they could to keep him alive. They declared, “If we see that Moshe is about to die, we will not let him. A man who took us out of Egypt, and parted the Sea for us, and brought down the manna for us and made the pheasants fly to us, and brought the well up for us, and gave us the Torah, we will not let him die.” In response to this too, Hashem said, “Behold I will take him at midday, and whoever thinks they have the power to object, let him come and try.”

On the surface this Rashi is difficult to understand. It is beautiful that the B’nei Yisroel joined together and voiced their appreciation for Moshe and all he did for them as their leader, but what did they think they could do already to prevent Moshe from dying? If Moshe’s time was up it’s up.

There is a joke told of a religious Jew on a plane who had a worried look on his face. The person sitting next to him turns to him and asks, “Why are you so worried?” The Jew responded, “Flying makes me nervous.” “But I thought you Jews are G-d fearing and when your time is up in this world, it’s up?” “That’s all true,” the Jew responds, “But what if the pilot’s time is up?”

Obviously the joke is just a joke and reality is that the details of hashgacha p’ratis (divine providence) do not allow for unnecessary punishments to befall someone. However in concept, it is true that when Hashem decides a person’s time is up, there is not much one could do to stop it. So what exactly did the B’nei Yisroel have in mind as an effective way of keeping Moshe rabeinu from dying?

The Be’er Ba’Sadeh[10] explains that the B’nei Yisroel’s strategy was to daven intensely and cry out in tefillos (prayers) to Hashem that Moshe be kept alive. The Be’er Ba’Sadeh continues and writes that in response to this Hashem had no choice but to suddenly remove the thought from their heads.

Imagine the scene: Moshe announces that Hashem told him it is time for him to die. Then, millions of people join together for the biggest Jewish asifa (gathering) and ready themselves for fervent prayer to knock down the doors of Heaven and change the gezairah (decree) in order to keep Moshe, their leader, alive. Upon seeing this, Hashem interfered and removed the idea of praying for Moshe from their minds.

There are two problems with this Be’er Ba’Sadeh. First, Hashem had already told Moshe he was going to die. It was set in stone, his fate was determined. How could the tefillos of B’nei Yisroel change this? Why didn’t Hashem just ignore their tefillos? Hashem had an agenda and a schedule for Moshe’s death, how could mere davening be a “threat” to that plan?[11]

Second, how could we begin to understand why Hashem would interfere and prevent B’nei Yisroel from davening? He is the last One we would think would try to get in the way of prayer. We pray to Him! People sometimes try to interfere, the yetzer harrah sometimes tries to interfere, but Hashem? Doesn’t he want us learning His Torah and davening to Him – our King – Who is in control of the world? Why would Hashem hinder us from doing what we are essentially here to do?

Perhaps based on these two questions we could extrapolate two fundamental ideas. First, we see from here that indeed tefillos are more than a religious ritual or custom, tefillos create realities. The stronger the power source, the stronger the tefillah. An individual mumbling words is one level, a person davening with kavanah (proper intention) is another level, and a tzibur (public [gathering]) of three million people joining together with one heart, davening intensely with tears creates a reality so powerful that it would break straight through a gezairah of death like a hot knife on butter. No tefillah gets ignored – Hashem created our world intertwined with physicality and spirituality. Just like there is a teva (nature) and system of rules put in place with the physical world, there is also a system in place for the spiritual world. A tefillah cannot be ignored because Hashem wills our tefillos to form kochos (powers) and realities which must have a consequence and effect somewhere. The delivery might not get to the exact address we requested, nor may it be delivered with overnight shipping, but then again how legibly did we right the address on our tefillah package?  Was it clear and neat or in scribbles and scrawls? Did we put enough stamps or just slap on a couple hoping for the best? An individual has the ability to define the power of his tefillah based on his state of mind, kavanos and middos, However even that has its limits. The power of davening with a tzibur grows exponentially. Extremely powerful forces could be emerged from a tzibur davening together. Tefillos which could wipe out entire nations, change gezairos, and save from death.

This was the strategy B’nei Yisroel had in mind. It was a good strategy and would have succeeded. Hashem had to cause them to forget why they were joining together, otherwise their tefillos would have produced such a powerful ko’ach in the world that the calendar date with Moshe’s death written on it would have been ripped to shreds. The question which remains, however, is why did Hashem interfere?

           

The Nefesh Ha’Chayim[12] writes that even amongst the most righteous, who could even achieve a level of never sinning in their entire lives, it is still extremely rare that every single mitzvah and good deed ever done was perfect and absolutely pure with no other thoughts or motives whatsoever. Even the best people are people and have biases or natural leanings based on personality – no matter how small or slight

Sometimes, the imperfect mitzvos or tefillos could be considered “imperfect” for reasons even slighter. It could be that one could think he is doing something good for only the right reasons and he thought it through multiple times, yet he could be missing information or the clear foresight of all its ramifications.

           

This was the situation that the B’nei Yisroel found themselves in. It is true that they were joining together with the best intentions of ha’karas ha'tov and chesed to try to prevent Moshe from dying. However, they were lacking insight to what the ramifications of such a powerful tefillah keeping Moshe rabbeinu alive could have on them and the world. Things would have been extremely different if Moshe would have been alive to be the one to lead us into Eretz Yisroel. Things might have worked out really well and looked good in the short-run, but the long term consequences, which is knowledge and details only Hashem is privy to, were not necessarily good for us as a nation.

There are so many levels co-existing in the world simultaneously. The physical domain itself, the spiritual realms carrying tefillos and learning, the invisible world of tuma’ah and taharah, the world of constantly changing causes and effects to perfectly interact with each individual according to their purpose and tolerance, the world of human choice, and the world of Hashem’s desired outcomes. All are perfectly balanced by the Master of the world Himself. Hashem gave the power of free choice to people. However, free choice does not mean automatic results. A person could decide to go to a party but that does not mean he will necessarily make it there. A phone call, a car issue, a wrong turn, an accident – any number of interferences could be sent his way to prevent him from being at that party. The decision he is responsible, but whether it plays out according to his will depends on a lot more.

From the B’nei Yisroel’s perspective, their davening on behalf of their beloved leader to keep him alive was pure goodness; and indeed that may be true from the perspective of their choice, but not necessarily from the perspective of considering the numerous co-existing worlds which effect so much more. The decision they made, although praiseworthy, did not fit into Hashem’s plans so it had to be stopped. Ignoring their tefillah wouldn’t work because at that point it would be a reality with the power to break the gezairah, so Hashem had to ensure that the tefillah would not be said and therefore caused the B’nei Yisroel to forget the purpose of their gathering.

Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the world and mankind – created to serve Hashem and to recognize Him as King upon Whom everything is completely dependent – is an idea which demands by definition intense davening. Davening to Hashem, the only One worthy of davening to, because we rely on Him completely and He is the Creator and Master of the world. When we gather as a tzibbur on Rosh Hashanah to praise Hashem and to daven for a good year for all of B’nei Yisroel, there is the greatest opportunity to produce extremely powerful tefillos to protect B’nei Yisroel and deliver what we ask for speedily and to the right address.

            May this Rosh Hashanah be one of gathering of all B’nei Yisroel with one heart as one unit with meaningful tefillos and proper kavanos so that we experience a year of becoming closer to Hashem without the tzaros. May Hashem answer our tefillos and shower us this year with blessings, success, health, and wealth.

K’sivah V’chasima Tovah!

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[1] Devarim 32:50

[2] Berachos 8a

[3] Aharon received this death as well as Miriam. However by Miriam it is not referred to explicitly as neshika out of modesty.

[4] Devarim 32:48

[5] Really, there is a fourth time where the Torah uses such an expression – by Avraham aivinu. See Sifsei CHochomim and Be’er Ba’Sadeh as to why Rashi left this one out.

[6] Rashi Beraishis 7:13

[7] Shemos 12:51

[8] Rashi ibid.

[9] Rashi Devarim 32:48

[10]Devarim ibid.

[11] A third issue with this Be’er Ba’Sadeh is that although it is a nice explanation, it does not seem to be consistent with the other “b’etzem ha’yom ha’zeh” examples which Rashi brings. All the other examples were ones where despite people threatening to try to interfere, Hashem declared “try to stop Me”! Here though is different. Hashem did not allow B’nei Yisroel even try to move ahead with their plan  and then declare that He was going to take Moshe regardless. Rather, that Hashem had to remove the thought from their heads so that they forget what they were going to do to save Moshe.

[12] Nefesh Ha’Chayim 1:6 in the second Ha’gah (gloss)

Photo Credit: http://thriveathu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/tisha-bav-at-the-kotel.jpg

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech - Chutes and Ladders: Our Weakness is Our Strength

~Thoughts on The Parsha~

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech

Chutes and Ladders:

Our Weakness is Our Strength

By: Daniel Listhaus

אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקיכֶם רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם כֹּל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל: טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ: לְמַעַן הָקִים אֹתְךָ הַיּוֹם לוֹ לְעָם וְהוּא יִהְיֶה לְּךָ לֵאלֹקים כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב:

“You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your G-d; Your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers – all the men of Israel; your small children, your women, and your convert who is in the midst of your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water, for you to pass into a covenant of Hashem, your G-d, and into His oath that Hashem, your G-d forges with you today, in order to establish you today as a people to Him and that He be a G-d to you, as He spoke of you and He swore to your forefathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov.”

-Nitzavim 29:9-12

            The Chizkuni comments that the entire B’nei Yisroel – leaders, men, women, children, converts, and servants – whether prominent or not, were all gathered in from of Moshe to accept the bris of Hashem. The Medrash[1] cites that Chizkiyah the son of Rebbe Chiya taught that the reason why Parshas Nitzavim immediately follows the Parsha containing the tochacha (literally: rebuke) and all the k’lalos (curses) of Parshas Ki Savo, is because after hearing all the horrible consequences of not following the way of Hashem, B’nei Yisroel became very frightened and started thinking that perhaps the Torah is too hard to keep and too much a responsibility to bear. Therefore, Moshe rabbeinu got up and announced: “You are standing here today” – meaning, despite all the bad things you have already transgressed while in the midbar (desert) and despite the transgressions being right after accepting the Torah, you are still alive to tell the tale.

The Malbim[2] brings from the medrash[3] that if we stop a moment to look back at history and those who rebel against Hashem or wage war against B’nei Yisroel, we will find that those nations do not last too long. The Dor Ha’Mabul was overturned and destroyed completely. Sodom was completely wiped out, and Mitzriyim (Egyptians) drowned in the sea. Yet, despite B’nei Yisroel’s history of being repeatedly attacked since its inception as a nation, we are still here. Why?

Mark Twain, in an essay, was clearly bothered by this question as well. He wrote:

 “If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

           

            Indeed, the aforementioned medrash brings a passuk (verse) from Michah[4], “Rejoice not against me, my enemy; although I have fallen, I will rise; although I will sit in darkness, Hashem is a light to me.” When we fall we get back up. The punishments that Hashem sends towards us are never to annihilate us completely. As much as they may threaten and as much damage as they might do, their destiny is to be wiped out and ours is to remain. Just like a person who sets up a metal beam and shoots wooden arrows at it – the arrows’ points touch the pole, but the arrows crack in half in the process, so too the arrows that are aimed at B’nei Yisroel – their points touch us and their threats are real but they can never pierce us to the core, instead they are snapped in half.

            The world has a general perception that angels are greater than people. They are closer to God, pure, and unaffected by the distractions of this world. However, in truth it is that exact reason which makes people, and particularly B’nei Yisroel, so much more prominent. Malachim are created by Hashem in their form to fulfill a particular purpose. Just like no one would praise a bee for making beeswax and honey, because that is what it is programmed to do by nature, so too there is nothing particularly remarkable about a malach remaining pure because it has no other option. Its very nature is to be in the state it is in and has no choice to be or do anything other than what Hashem commands it directly to do.

            People on the other hand are exactly the opposite. Although there are a number of “life settings” which are determined before birth such as if we will be tall or short, strong or weak, smart or not so smart, and rich or poor, we are also born with the freedom to choose how to use our characteristics and  talents. There is no point in praising someone for being smart – he was born that way. However, someone who decides to use his brainpower to help others is indeed praiseworthy. We are born with bechira (free choice) and are challenged to utilize our bechira correctly. If we choose the wrong things and use our talents in destructive ways, we will be held accountable. However, if we are able to make a conscious decision to do kindness and goodness with our abilities, in essence choosing to fulfill the ratson (will) of Hashem, there is nothing better. In this way we as humans are much dearer to Hashem when we do what is right. Malachim follow Hashem’s word because they must, but we have the unique opportunity to follow because we choose to and want to.

            Malachim are called “omdim” (standing) because their status is static. They cannot choose between good and bad, they must just do what they are told to do. We, however, are called “holchim” (moving) because our levels are constantly changing based on our individual thoughts, speech, and actions. Unfortunately, in the process, we often find ourselves sinking levels and taking steps rapidly down the ladder. However, we must not allow these experiences to mislead us and change our perception to think that bechira is a weakness of mankind. It is not. Bechira is our strength and makes us stand out from all creations and categorizes us as even more prominent than the holiest of malachim.

            During the month of Elul, and certainly as we get closer to the Yamim Noraim, we often think of Hashem as a scary King waiting to punish us for all the things we have done. However it is not like that at all. The fact that we are standing here today is proof that Hashem loves us and is cheering for us to make the right decisions. He does not give up on us and we should certainly not give up on ourselves. Hashem is more than a king who punishes and rewards, He is a king who protects His subjects and even more the B’nei Yisroel who are referred to as His own children.[5] B’nei Yisroel have special roots tied to Hashem which can never be severed. The arrows which sometimes need to be shot at us to give us a wakeup call are meant to do just that. Never will we be wiped out because we are chosen by Hashem as His nation with the privilege of having the potential to use our strength of bechira in ways more powerful than any other nation on Earth. And when we do wake up and choose the path of following ratson Hashem, it becomes impossible, by definition, for enemies and impediments to get in our way.

            May Hashem help us during the time of ani l’dodi v’dodi li (I am to my beloved [Hashem] and my beloved is to me),[6] that Hashem’s role of King and judge over the world includes the fact that we are His beloved subjects and children who He has confidence in and cheers for our success in utilizing our bechira properly.

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[1] Medrash Tanchuma – Nitzavim 29:9

[2] Torah Ohr, Devarim 29:9

[3] Medrash Tanchuma ibid.

[4] Michah 7:8

[5] See Avos 3:18

[6] Shir Hashirim 6:3 – the first Hebrew letter from each word in the phrase spells out Elul. 

Photo Credit: via Google Images http://www.playthepast.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Chutes-and-Ladders.jpg