Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – ASHAR/ Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch
STAM TORAH
PARSHAS TZARIA/HACHODESH
5774
“FROM WITHIN”
Birds are chirping; delightful
spring day
We bid our farewells; we’re
moving away[1]
Boxes are loaded; Truck ready
to go
Time to depart; 3 Landau Lane ho!
Movers are busy packing boxes
galore
Squeezing our stuff through
the front door
One final look; a last
glance around
The walls are all bare; nary
a sound
In the palpable silence; we
suddenly hear
Influx of memories; times
we did share
Menorah on Chanukah; candle’s
warm glow
Purim in costume; winters
in snow
Special neighbors that
always surrounded
At our Shabbos table -
friendship abounded
Our children’s first steps;
the first words they said
Shema every night as we
tucked them in bed
Watching our children growing
so fast
Trying to hold on to
moments of past
We realized then that we
were leaving behind
A part of our souls; a
piece of our mind
We walked away slowly; sun
blinding our eyes
With a new understanding; bittersweet
goodbyes
We are turning a page;
Continuing down the track
On the journey of life, there’s
no turning back
Birds are out chirping; A
delightful spring day
We’re moving on; but
memories forever stay
Parshas Hachodesh is the fourth and final
special Torah portion read during the Shabbosos prior to the holiday of Pesach.
Parshas Hachodesh is primarily a detailed listing of the laws involving the Paschal
sacrifice commanded to the Jews in Egypt just prior to the exodus.
However, the title of the parsha is modeled after the introductory verse,
(Shemos 12:2) “החדש הזה לכם ראש
חדשים ראשון הוא לכם לחדשי השנה
– This month (i.e. Nissan) shall be for you the beginning of the months; the
first for you of the months of the year.”
The holiday of Pesach is analogous to
the birth of the Jewish nation.[2]
Therefore, during the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Nissan we remind ourselves
that this juncture of the year is a time of renewal and rejuvenation.
The gemara[3]
relates an fascinating story about the great sage Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch[4].
The wines of a certain village called Pargoyasa and the waters of a village
called Dadyomeses were extremely pleasurable. One who would drink that wine and
bathe in those waters would feel tremendous enjoyment.
The gemara relates that Rabbi Elazar was
enticed by the pleasurable wine and bathing water and it caused him to forget
his Torah learning. It affected him so much that when he returned to the study
hall and began reading from the Torah the verse, “החדש הזה לכם - This month
shall be for you”, he inadvertently read it, “החרש היה לבם – Their hearts were stuffed up.” The Rabbis prayed for mercy on
his behalf and Rabbi Elazar was able to remember his learning.
In order to appreciate
the perplexity of the aforementioned story, one must understand the extent of
Rabbi Elazar’s greatness. Following are a few Talmudic passages describing
Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch:
·
“If all the sages would be on one pan of a balance-scale…
and Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch would be on the second pan, he would outweigh them
all.”[5]
·
“Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch is like a wellspring flowing even
stronger.”[6]
·
“Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai stood up and kissed him on his
forehead and said, ‘…Praised are you our patriarch Avrohom that Elazar ben
Aruch is your descendant.”[7]
How is it possible
that someone as righteous and erudite as Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch could be so
affected by a few physical luxuries, that he couldn’t read a simple verse
properly?
The exodus from Egypt was
accomplished in two distinct stages. The first stage involved the ten plagues
that ravaged Egypt ,
and culminated with Pharaoh imploring the Jews to leave the physical confines of
the country. The second stage was accomplished at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds .
The miracles that
transpired at the sea are well-known. The waters split and the Jews descended
into a miraculous path between the walls of water. When the Egyptians tried to
follow suit the waters of the sea caved in and drowned them.
Tosafos[8]
states that the sea did not split across from one side to the other. Rather, it
split in the shape of a semi-circle so that the Jews emerged from the sea on
the same side that they had entered, albeit a few yards over.[9]
If they didn’t
traverse the sea, what was the purpose of the whole miracle? G-d could have
just as easily decimated the Egyptian army in a plague, as indeed occurred
after the final plague before the exodus?
Sefas Emes explains
that at the time of the physical exodus the nation did not undergo any internal
change. At the slitting of the sea however, there was a national metamorphosis
which was integral to their development into nationhood.
By nature humans
thrive on innovation and newness. In a room packed with people filled with the
drone of conversation if one shouts “did you hear the news?” the room will
instantly quiet down and everyone will turn to hear the exciting news.[10]
We are curious beings,
always seeking some information that we were not yet aware of or acquiring
something that we did not yet have. Stores often post signs stating, “ראה זה חדש –See this new thing”. We thrive on chiddush
(novelty); it makes us excited and fills us with a spirit of life.[11]
There are two distinct
ways for one to seek “chiddush” in life: External chiddush and internal
chiddush.
Most of the world
seeks external chiddush. We look for new trends, styles, fashions, and news. We
try to keep up with the Joneses[12]
and we want to know what kind of car or house we can purchase that will impress
others and make us feel important.
The deficiency of
external chiddush is that it is fleeting and transient. No matter how eccentric
and original something is today, within a short time the novelty fades. Something
that is this week’s fashion and craze may be trite and banal next week.[13]
The other form of
chiddush is internal; it comes from within ourselves. It is a constant process
of revival and regeneration of what we already have. Not only does this entail
developing an appreciation for what we already have, but also tapping into the
vast greatness within us which usually remains dormant.
Rabbi Yochanan
described Rabbi Elazar ben Aruch as, “a wellspring flowing even stronger”. A
wellspring is a fountain of water which perpetually replenishes itself. The
greatness of Rabbi Elazar was that he found chiddush within himself. He
was not interested in the external “chiddushim” of the world around him. Rabbi
Elazar personified the words of the verse, “החדש הזה – This (process of) renewal[14]”
is “לכם – for you”,
i.e. from you. Rabbi Elazar’s renewal came from within!
When Rabbi Elazar
allowed himself to indulge somewhat in pleasurable wines and waters, his sense
of internal chiddush was enervated. On his great level he became drawn toward
the enjoyment of earthly pleasure and it detracted from his lofty spiritual
greatness. Although he surely did not lose his ability to read a verse from the
Torah, a philosophical transformation had occurred that obfuscated him. Now
instead of the renewal coming from within the words “החרש היה לבם – Their hearts were stuffed up”
were more applicable.[15]
When the Mirrer
Yeshiva was making the onerous journey from Shanghai
to America
via ship after the conclusion of World War II, there was one point when a
stunning sunset was visible from the boat’s deck. Someone called to Rabbi
Shmuel Berenbaum zt’l - a student of the yeshiva at the time - and told him
that it was worth putting down the gemara he was studying for a few moments to
see the extraordinary view. Rabbi Shmuel refused and continued learning. To him
the gemara he was learning possessed far greater novelty and excitement than
any sunset.
The exodus of Egypt was a
physical departure from the land of bondage and servitude. Still, it was more
of an external event than an internal change. For a nation poised to become the
Chosen People the events of the exodus were severely lacking. At the splitting
of the sea however, that deficiency was rectified. When they emerged from the
sea on the same side they entered, they realized that the greatness of the
event was internal. “Yisroel saw the great Hand that G-d inflicted upon Egypt ;
and the people revered G-d, and they had faith in G-d and in Moshe, His servant.”[16]
That event triggered
the development of deeply rooted faith within the people. That transformation was
more seminal than the exodus itself. They went nowhere physically but they became
a different people, spiritually and psychologically. The splitting of the sea
impressed upon them the message of internal chiddush and finding novelty
within!
Parshas Tazria
commences with a discussion of the laws of feminine purity. A woman naturally
possesses a biological time-clock; an internal cycle of renewal. The parsha
continues with a discussion of another spiritual malady that effect one physically,
i.e. tzara’as. It is an internal impurity which espouses the need for change.
On Pesach we undergo
national rebirth. Perhaps, we do not change physically but Parshas Hachodesh
reminds us that change is a psychological process too.
We may never reach the
level of internal chiddush that Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum zt’l had, but on our own
level we must not lose track of the internal greatness we inherently possess.
When one walks out of
a hospital after being a patient (G-d forbid) or going to visit others he has a
temporary appreciation of his health. A person who is able to maintain that
appreciation and sense of internal chiddush constantly develops an appreciation
of life that fills him with joy and gratitude for all that he has and all that
he is.
“This month shall be for you the beginning
of the months”
We
are turning a page; Continuing down the track
On
the journey of life; there’s no turning back
[1] In 5768
when this was originally written, we moved from the Blueberry Hill condominium where
we had lived for 4 years to our current home at 3 Landau Ln.
[2] See
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem)
[3] Shabbos
147a
[4] The following thoughts are based on a discourse by
Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman at Bais Medrash Shaarei Tefilah, 7 Adar I 5768/February
12, 2008
[5] Avos 2:12
[6] Avos 2:11
[7] Chagiga 14b
[8] Arachin 15a, K’shaym
[9] If asked
why the Jews crossed the sea, the answer is not ‘to get to the other
side’!
[10] The Yiddish phrase “Vos iz neais- what’s
the news” is almost a Jewish mantra, not to mention a Jewish news blog.
[11] Any
time a new placard is hung up in a shul or yeshiva, a crowd will invariably
gather shortly after to see the new posting.
[12] Or
Goldbergs
[13] Any
child who has leafed through his parent’s wedding album has had that feeling of
pity for the outdated and out of style clothes they wore in those days. Little
do those children know that one day their children will look at their wedding
album in the same manner.
[14] the word hachodesh is from the same root as
chiddush
[15] [היה is stated in the past tense, because when one seeks chiddush
externally his personal greatness and untapped potential seems to be things of
the past.]
[16] Shemos 14:31