Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – ASHAR
Principal
– Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
STAM
TORAH
SHEMINI/PARAH
5776
“PURE HAPPINESS”
Geneen Roth lost her lifesavings in the Madoff
scandal. The book she wrote following the ordeal, “Lost and Found” became a New
York Times Bestseller. The following excerpt is from an article entitled, “What
I learned from losing it”[1]:
“If being
rich made people happy, all rich people would be happy – yet we’ve all read
stories about rich people who are abjectly miserable. It’s not that having
enough money to buy food and shelter and basic comforts doesn’t make life
easier. But when we begin ignoring what we do have, we miss the only place from
which we can glean any kind of happiness or satisfaction or love – which is
here, now.
“Before my husband and I lost our money, I’d been
complaining about our house. Built as a vacation home in 1960, it’s drafty and
the plumbing doesn’t always work. After Madoff confessed, I couldn’t believe my
good fortune to have a house, for that day and the day after.
“Before Madoff confessed, I didn’t like the way my
husband chewed his cereal, wore ankle socks, and was insistent on focusing on
the positive. After Madoff confessed, it seemed miraculous that I’d ended up
married for more than 20 years to a man I adored…
“Having money is sort of like being thin: It’s
never the way you imagined it would be when you were on the other side…
“At crisis times – I call them death-bed moments –
we clearly see the difference between how we want to live and how we are
living, between what we value that is priceless and the ways in which we’ve
sold our souls. Then the crisis wears off, and we get back on the horse of
more, more, more…
“When we spend as much time investing in our inner
lives as we do in getting and having more, how we live on this earth and inside
our bodies will change…”
The first day of Nissan the second year after the
exodus was one of the most joyous days since the Creation of the World. After
much arduous labor and anticipation, and seven days of ‘practice’ the Mishkan
was finally completed and the Service was ready to commence. A Divine Fire
descended from heaven in full view of the enthralled nation, symbolizing that
their efforts had been vindicated and the celebration was complete.
Then suddenly, tragedy struck. The two elder sons
of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, sought to add fire to the Divine Fire and were
immediately struck down and killed. Despite their noble intent, their act was viewed
as presumptuous and unbecoming. The extreme joy was instantaneously transformed
into shock and intense grief.
G-d then immediately commanded Aaron to be wary of
the danger of drinking wine prior to performing the Divine Service:
“Do not
drink intoxicating wine, you and your sons with you, when you come to the Tent
of the Meeting, that you not die – this is an eternal decree for your
generations. In order to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and
between the contaminated and the pure. And to teach the Children of Israel all
the decrees that G-d had spoken to them through Moshe.[2]”
Why was it necessary for this austere prohibition
to be conveyed to Aaron specifically now?
In his final address to the nation just days prior
to his passing, Moshe recounted[3], “I led you for forty years
in the wilderness, your garment did not wear out from under you, and your shoe
did not wear out from under your foot. Bread you did not eat and wine or
intoxicant you did not drink, so that you would know that I am Hashem, your
G-d.”
Why did Moshe feel it necessary to remind the
nation that they did not drink wine during the forty year sojourns in the
desert just as they stood on the threshold of the Promised Land? What did the
absence of wine have to do with the nation’s ultimate understanding that Hashem
is the true G-d?
One year on Simchas Torah, the Chassidic Master,
Rabbi Elimelech of Luzhensk, instructed his Chassidim not to drink wine or
schnapps until after they concluded hakafos[4].
He explained that he wanted their dancing with the Torah to be purely out of
joy for the Torah. He did not want there to be any ulterior motive other than,
“We will rejoice and we will be glad in You.[5]”
Based on this story, Rabbi Avrohom Schorr shlita[6] explains that Moshe Rabbeinu
was conveying to the nation that their understanding of G-d and their extreme
faith in Him was developed during their forty years in the desert with perfect
clarity. The deep understanding they had achieved was not distorted one iota by
wine or any other cognitive-distorting agent. Their progeny had to know that the
first generation’s passionate enthusiasm in accepting the Word of G-d
unequivocally was done with untainted lucidity.
The Netziv explains that the Divine Service must
be performed with joy[7]. However, it is not always easy
to achieve a feeling of inner serenity and joy. This is surely true during times
of tragedy or misfortune. It is conceivable that even the saintly Aaron would
have a difficult time feeling joyous in the face of the tragic death of his
holy sons. It is logical to reckon that perhaps in such a situation it would be
permitted for Aaron to drink some wine to help him overcome his grief and feel
the requisite joy in performing the Service. To counter that rationale G-d
immediately instructed Aaron that a Kohain may never perform the Service
after drinking any intoxicating beverage. As difficult as it was, the joy Aaron
was obligated to feel when doing the Service had to be genuine and not at all
artificial.
How can one possibly achieve such a level of
sublime joy, even in the face of challenge and adversity?
The key
lies in the continuation of G-d’s message to Aaron, “To distinguish between the
sacred and the profane, and between the contaminated and the pure. And to teach
the Children of Israel all the decrees that G-d had spoken to them through
Moshe.” Proper Torah study and performance of mitzvos generate within a person
a feeling of inner joy and satisfaction. In the words of King David[8], “The commandments of G-d are
upright, gladdening the heart.” When one passionately performs the Will of G-d
with devotion it engenders within him a realization that he is special and
different. It is that feeling of true joy that Aaron had to feel upon entering
the Sanctuary to perform the Service.
True happiness does not result from things or
events, but from a feeling of inner satisfaction and pride in one’s own value
and sense of mission and purpose.
Chazal relate that when Moshiach comes all of our
current holidays will become nullified because they will be superseded by greater
holidays. The holiday of Purim however, is eternal.[9]
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Aurebach zt’l noted that while
it may be true that the holiday of Purim itself will not be nullified, there is
one aspect of the day which will indeed become nullified, i.e. the obligation
to drink excessively to the point of intoxication.
He explains that the joy of Purim does not come
from drinking, for such joy is not sincere or soulful. The reason for the
obligation to drink excessively on Purim is because we often have a hard time
accessing the joy in our hearts due to the many worries that consume us. We
drink to free ourselves from those anxieties so that the spiritual joy within
our souls can manifest and express itself ostentatiously and without restraint
on Purim[10].
But in the future when our lives will be free of worries and burdens we will no
longer need to drink to reach that level of euphoric joy.
As the holiday of Pesach rapidly approaches, we
must ensure that we hold onto the joy of Purim and use it to segue into the
great holiday of redemption. Just prior to the onset of the Pesach holiday, the
Korbon Pesach was offered in the Bais Hamikdash. The offering could only be
brought if one was ritually pure.
The special reading of Parshas Parah[11] details the process of purification
from ritual impurity via contact with a corpse. As long as one is impure he may
not approach the Temple
Our goal in life is to always seek to purify
ourselves. A corpse is what remains after the spiritual soul has departed from
a body. Wherever there is a loss of spirituality there is a certain measure of
death and impurity that inevitably sets in its place. The most profound level
of spiritual loss is at the moment of death, and therefore it requires an
extensive and punctilious purification process. On the flip side, whenever
there is an added level of spirituality and striving for holiness there is greater
purity and greater inner joy.
The joy of Purim is the inner joy of our souls
exploding from within, all barriers torn away. To preserve that joy we must
persist in our pursuit for greater spirituality and purity. The more we purify
ourselves and yearn for greater growth the more we will be able to keep the joy
of Purim manifest throughout the year.
“To distinguish between the contaminated and the
pure”
“Wine you did not drink so you would know that I
am your G-d.”
[1] Reader’s Digest, March 2011
[2] 10:9-11
[3] Devorim 29:4-5
[4] The seven ‘circuits’ of dancing
with the Torah with intense joy
[5] i.e. in G-d
[6] Halekach V’halibuv, Shemini 5762
[7] As the verse (Tehillim 100:2)
states, “Serve G-d with joy.”
[8] Tehillim 19:9
[9] Medrash Mishlei 9:2
[10] Rabbi Shlomo Zalman explained
that this is also the reason why the customary greeting on Purim is to say
“Freilichen Purim/Purim Sameach/Happy Purim”. It is essentially a blessing that
we should merit an uninhibitedly jovial Purim.
[11] About the offering of the Red
Heifer, this reading is read the Shabbos before Parshas Hachodesh, which is
read the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
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