STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
NETZOVIM 5776
“FACING
WHICH DIRECTION”
Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch zt’l, the Telsher Rosh
Yeshiva, was once in the Chicago train station with a few of his students,
waiting to board the Pacemaker to New York. A few feet away stood the Sunshine
Express to San Francisco
Rabbi Bloch asked his students, “How far apart are
these two trains?” They speculated whether there was a distance of eight or ten
feet between them. Rabbi Bloch disagreed. “These two trains are 3,000 miles
apart; because one is headed to California
while the other is headed to New York
Moshe Rabbeinu stood before his beloved nation on
the final day of his life and cautioned them to remain faithful to G-d:
“Perhaps there is among you a man or woman, a
family or tribe, whose heart turns away from being with Hashem, our G-d, to go
and serve the gods of the nations; perhaps there is among you a root
flourishing with gall and wormwood.”
Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz zt’l asked that it seems as
if Moshe grouped together two vastly different individuals. The first is a
pagan idol-worshipper who has completely renounced his faith, while the second
merely has a ‘bad root’ within him. In fact, Ramban explains, that at the
present moment he is still an observant Jew. His only flaw is a spark of
rebelliousness stirring in his heart.
Rabbi Leibowitz explained that the Torah
juxtaposes them because there indeed exists a much deeper connection than what
appears. If in the heart of the believer there is a slight yet unchecked
feeling of treachery and rebelliousness, he deserves to be grouped with the
idolater. They may appear to be worlds apart but if the mindset of the believer
has veered, he has placed himself on a path which leads to the gravest sins.
Perhaps at this moment he has not done anything wrong. However, the Torah – the
guidebook to life – understands human nature. If he is headed in the wrong
direction and does not immediately seek to rectify his erroneous attitudes and
mindset, he will end up an idolater.
Moshe Rabbeinu was warning Klal Yisroel that if a
‘bad seed’ is allowed to germinate in someone’s psyche, even if only
subconsciously, it may remain dormant for years, but eventually it will sprout.
In the epic story of Megillas Rus, after Rus and
her sister Orpah’s husbands died, the sisters decided to return to Israel with
their mother-in-law, Na’ami. Na’ami tried to reason with them that it was
pointless for them to remain with her. Both Orpah and Rus wept along with
Na’ami. Orpah eventually hearkened to Na’ami’s words and returned home, while Rus
remained determinedly resolute.
The name Orpah means ‘turned her back’, because of
her reaction at that juncture. Rabbi Leibowitz notes that the tears of Orpah
and Rus were both genuine. However, there was ‘a root flourishing with gall and
wormwood’ within Orpah which led her astray at that most critical moment.
Although to the naked eye it may have appeared as
if Rus and Orpah were both standing together alongside Na’ami, in truth they
stood worlds apart. The distance between them was as vast as the distance
between their descendants, Dovid and Goliath.
The gemara Succah[1] relates, “Rabbi Yehuda
expounded: In the future G-d will bring the Evil Inclination and slaughter him
in view of the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous it (the Evil
Inclination) will appear like a high mountain; to the wicked it will appear
like the hair of a needle. These (the righteous) will cry and these (the
wicked) will cry. The righteous will cry and proclaim, ‘How were we able to
conquer this high mountain?’ The wicked will cry and proclaim, ‘How were we
unable to conquer this hair of a needle?’ Rabbi Yose said: The Evil Inclination
at first appears like the thread of a spider, and at the end he appears like
cart ropes.”
Rabbi Shalom Schwadron zt’l explained this gemara
by relating a personal story: “On one occasion I was traveling on a boat when
we approached a city well known for its grandeur and beauty. As we neared, the
passengers amassed on the deck to get their first glimpses of the city.
“I trailed slowly behind them to see if there was
anything special to see. When I was able to see the city I was bothered by the
many houses of worship that I saw and I quickly returned to my cabin.
“Some time later I was again traveling when my
boat neared that same city. This time when there was an excited rush to the
deck I felt more of an urge to join and again see the city. I realized that when
I saw the city the second time I wasn’t as repulsed by it as I had been the
first time.
“The third time I was on a boat passing that city
I was surprised to find that for a moment I too was marveling at the beauty of
the city along with everyone else.”
Rabbi Schwadron noted that the incident brought to
mind a thought he heard from the Brisker Rav. When Moshe Rabbeinu warned Klal
Yisroel about the dangers of falling prey to idolatry he says, “For you know
how we dwelled in the land
of Egypt
The Brisker Rav explained that, in his carefully
chosen words, Moshe was warning the nation of the rapid progression of sin.
When the nation was first exposed to idolatry no doubt they were repulsed by
what they viewed as “abominations and detestable idols.” But with time when they
became more accustomed to the notion of idolatry the idols were no longer as
horrid to them as they once were. At that point they seemed like harmless
pieces of ‘wood and stone’. Then, as more time passed, they came to respect and
revere the idols until they became valuable like ‘silver and gold’.”
Rabbi Schwadron explained that his experience -
which parallels the Brisker Rav’s explanation of the verse - reflects the
workings of our Evil Inclination. He knows he cannot lure us into sin in one fell
swoop. So he lays his traps in steps. “Today he says do this and this; until he
says to serve idolatry[3].” In his crafty and wily
manner our Evil Inclination enervates our resolve and deceptively entices us
into sin without us realizing that he has ensnared us down a slippery slope.
This is what the gemara is conveying. How are the
righteous able to desist from the machinations of the Evil Inclination? It is because
they are acutely aware of the danger of doing those things which ‘aren’t so
bad’. True, the act itself may not be so terrible, but the righteous look ahead
and contemplate the potential effect such an act can have.
There are certain drugs which are dangerous, not as
much because of their own inherent dangers, but because they are known as ‘gateway
drugs’. Taking that first drug more often than not leads to taking other drugs
which are far more perilous.
In that same vein our Evil Inclination employs the
usage of ‘gateway acts’. He leads us to commit acts which may not even be
considered a sin, however, can easily lead to more sinful behavior.
The wicked live in the moment. They seek to enjoy
hedonistic gratification available now, and do not contemplate the long-term
consequences of their actions. Such a mindless attitude ensures that even a
simply avoidable act can quickly metamorphose into ‘mountains’ of sins, which
become almost insurmountable.
Thus, in the future when the truth becomes evident,
the wicked will morbidly and regretfully look and contemplate the original
actions they performed and see how much simpler it would have been if they had
restrained themselves before their actions grew progressively worse.
Perhaps the shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah symbolize
the crying of the righteous and wicked in the future. The tekiah - the
elongated single blast - represents the pure tears of the righteous who weep in
reverent joy for their ability to remain pure and unsullied in sin.
The shevarim and teruah blasts - which are
fragmented and intermittent - represent the tears of the wicked who allowed
their lives to become fragmented by blindly following the whims of their Evil
Inclination.
On Rosh
Hashanah, all blasts commence and conclude with a tekiah to represent that even
if one has fallen prey to his Evil Inclination, and even if he is mired and
sullied with sin, as long as he is alive he can repent and rectify. He can
still join the ranks of the righteous whose tears are complete and whole. The
first step is to make sure he is heading in the right direction.
“A root flourishing with gall and wormwood”
“How were we unable to conquer this hair of a
needle?”
Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – ASHAR
Principal
– Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
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