Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
Every nation is in competition with all other nations for the seemingly
limited resources of the world. They also compete to advance the rules
and norms of their particular culture, by which they desire to live.
This causes hatred and friction between nations. Within each country,
minorities are often hated because the majority group feels threatened
by them, that they compete for the country's limited resources and their
cultural values conflict. Minorities are usually tolerated only when the
majority does not feel threatened. Throughout our long exile, wherever
we Jews have gone, we have always been the minority group and, sooner or
later, have always been considered to be a threat to the welfare of the
majority. What causes this? The super commentator, Rashi, in is opening
remarks to the Bible, raises this question and provides the answer.
[Note: The following is not an exact translation of his words, but
expresses and elaborates upon his thoughts and ideas, followed to their
logical conclusion and implications, as explained by Rabbi Nachman and
Rav Noson.]
Rashi provides the answer to this justified complaint, "Hashem created
the world and it belongs to Him. He therefore can give it to whomever He
wishes. He first gave it to the nations of the world and now He has
decided to give it to us, His people, who observe His commandments, as
the verse says, 'The power of His (Hashem's) works [the miracles of
nature, which demonstrate that He created the world and indicate that He
is its owner and master,] He told to His nation [the Jews. He instructed
them to sanctify the world by observing the commandments, in order] to
give them an inheritance of the nations [the entire world]." (Psalms
111:6) Rav Noson says that this means that it is Hashem's desire that
the Jews involve themselves in the spiritual conquest of the world by
drawing the spiritual energies of the land of Israel to whatever place
they go. This is one of the reasons Hashem created the world. It is also
one of the reasons why, at Hashem's command, the Jews carried the
Tabernacle wherever they traveled--from the desert to the land of
Israel. By this Hashem wanted to signify that He gave us the power to
sanctify and conquer the entire world, from the lowest levels of the
earth, i.e. the snake-and-scorpion-infested wastelands of the desert, to
the sacred, Holy land and all the lands in between.
Our sages tell us that Hashem created the Torah before He created the
world. He then looked into the Torah and used it as the blueprint for
the world. Since the Creation is the unfolding of the Torah blueprint,
it means that the spiritual energies and deep mysteries of the Torah are
concealed within the Creation itself. This is so because the full
intensity of Torah light is too much for the average person to tolerate.
Rabbi Nachman says that concealing the Torah within the world was an
aspect of Hashem's unconditional kindness, derived from the chamber of
unconditional gifts. It was this unconditional kindness which enabled
the world to exist for the more than two thousand years prior to the
giving of the Torah. The fact that the essence of Torah is embedded in
the physical world enables a person to continue to live despite his
neglect of or inability to participate in Torah study. Therefore, one
can be sustained either through actual Torah study or through mundane
involvement in the physical world, such as work. Work accesses the
spiritual energies of the Torah hidden within the creation. (2 Lekutai
MoHaran 78)
As mentioned above, not only do the forces of evil derive their
existence from the refracted light of holiness, but the Gentiles do as
well. This is reason for offering seventy bulls in the Temple, which
corresponds to the seventy nations of the world. Each one of the seventy
bulls provided essential spiritual nourishment to its respective nation,
in order that the guardian angels assigned to each one of the seventy
nations should not come to accuse the Jews, as explained above. [Note:
One should not misconstrue the similarity of the spiritual nourishment
of evil and the spiritual nourishement of Gentiles as suggesting that
Gentiles are necessarily connected to evil.]
Rav Noson explains the following verse as consistent with our teaching,
"Of Zevulun he (Moshe) said, 'Rejoice, O Zevulun, in your excursions
[going out from the study hall to conduct business, dedicating a portion
of your earnings to support the Torah scholars of Issachar], and
Issachar in your tents [the Torah scholars engrossed in their Torah
study, receiving financial support from Zevulun i.e. the businessman]."
(Deut. 33:18) The very next verse says, "The nations will assemble at
the mount, there they will slaughter offerings of righteousness, for by
the riches of the sea they will be nourished and by the treasures
concealed in the sand." (Deut. 33:19) This verse can be understood as
follows, "[As a result of Zevulun's involvement in an occupation] The
nations [of the world] will assemble at the [Temple] mount [and many of
the Gentiles will become so impressed with the pious ways of the Torah
that they will be inspired to convert to Judaism (Rashi) and therefore],
there they will slaughter offerings of righteousness [i.e. they will
convert]. [What brings this about?] For by the riches of the sea they
will be nourished, [The sea refers to Torah, as the verse says, "The
land shall be full of knowledge of Hashem [this refers to Torah
knowledge] as water covers the sea." (Isaiah 11:9) Thus Zevulun's
commercial activities provide the Gentiles with spiritual nourishment
from Hashem's kindness concealed in the creation i.e. the sea. The
spiritual nourishment derived from the energies of kindness eventually
influence the Gentiles to convert.](and by the treasures concealed in
the sand [also refers to Zevulun's commercial activities enabling the
Gentiles to be nourished from the Torah "concealed in the sand", i.e.
concealed within the creation, which inspires them to come close to
Hashem.]" These verses teach that Torah study together with an
occupation nourishes the entire world, fostering peace, ultimately
enabling the Jews to return to the land of Israel and bring the Messiah.
However, Rav Noson warns that Torah study and the pursuit of
spirituality should be one's main focus. One should nourish the forces
of evil just barely enough to sustain them. Giving them too much is also
very destructive. This is why "Rabbah bar Chana said in the name of
Rebbe Yochanan, reporting to Rebbe Yehuda ben Ila'i, 'See what a
difference there is between the eariler and later generations. The
earlier generations made the study of the Torah their primary concern
and their mundane work secondary to it, and both [endevors] prospered in
their hands. The later generations made their mundane work their primary
concern and their study of the Torah secondary to it, and neither
[endevors] prospered in their hands.'" (Talmud: Berachot 35b) (Lekutai
Halachot: Orach Chaim: Hilchot Bais Ha'Knesset 5:1-2, 8-11)
A prayer's answer is dependent upon Hashem's kindness. Therefore the
Tabernacle, the house of prayer, had to be infused with the spiritual
energies of kindness, which as mentioned above, is accessed through
work. So work makes one's prayers more effective. Now we can understand
why the Jews were commanded to physically construct the Tabernacle
instead of having it built miraculously why the commandment was issued
immediately after the second giving of the Torah. [Note:Even the manna
had to be gathered, which entailed some physical effort and also
nourished the forces of evil keeping them at bay.
When he became old, the man became very depressed. He thought to
himself, "What have I done? What will become of me after I die?" He
decided to return to the evil forces and, as he had done many years
before, stood there and said, "I am too old and weak and therefore I do
not have the strength to work for you any longer. Therefore, I request
that you release me from our deal." A voice rang out and said, "We are
prepared to release you, provided that you return all of the money that
we have ever given you throughout these many years." The man responded,
"I have already spent all the money in marrying off my sons and for
other things. How could you ever expect me to raise such a huge sum of
money?"
The man then gathered his thoughts and decided to visit the Tzaddik,
Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, the Rabbi of Oohel. The man told the Rebbe the
entire story from beginning to end. He told the Rebbe that he regretted
ever having made such a deal with the forces of evil and began to cry
profusely. The Rebbe told the despondent man not to worry for he would
protect him. The Rebbe said, "Wait in my house and do not venture out
until you hear from me. The Rebbe then called for his attendant and said
to him, "Take my staff and go to the place of where the forces of evil
reside. Stand there and say the following words, 'The Rabbi of Oohel
summons you to judgment on this [particular] day.'" The attendant did as
he was told. On the appointed day, the Rabbi and two other judges sat at
a table and ordered the man to present his case, which he did. After the
man was finished, the Rabbi then ordered the forces of evil to present
their case, which they did. When both sides had concluded their
arguments, the Rabbi stood up and said the following, "The Torah was
given to Moshe, and all subsequent rabbis are like Moshe in that they
were given the final say in all disputes. Therefore, my verdict is
binding both in this world and the upper worlds. My verdict is that this
man must sell all of his remaining possessions and give that money to
the forces of evil. However, the forces of evil have no claim over the
remainder of the money that he is unable to obtain. If he does this, the
man will be completely absolved of all his debts and the forces of evil
will have no further claim over him for the remainder of his life and
even after his demise." The verdict was signed and sealed and was given
to the man to hold as his proof. The forces of evil then said, "Here on
earth you rule over us, but later we will take care of this man." The
Rabbi then decreed, "Just as my verdict is binding on earth so it will
be binding in heaven and I decree the forces of evil are not permitted
to harm him while he is alive or even after his demise!" The Rabbi than
reassured the frightened man that he would never be harmed by them and
instructed him on how to repent. The man did a complete repentance.
(Sippurim Me'Olam HaEmes pp. 271-272)
Before any prayer can ascend to the upper worlds, it must first reach
the land of Israel, as the verse says, "And they (the Jews) shall pray
to You (Hashem ) in the direction of their land." (1 Kings 8:48) [The
verse associates prayer with the land, i.e. the land of Israel, and
indicates that all prayers must first travel there in order to be
accepted. (Metzudas David)] Transitively then, the spiritual energies
contained in the synagogue, the house of prayer, are associated with the
spiritual energies of the land of Israel and function to propel our
prayers to the Land. Having access to the energies of Israel is a great
privilege and a prized treasure. The spiritual essence of the land of
Israel gives a person a greater connection to Hashem and His unlimited
powers. It is through these spiritual energies that the world can become
sanctified, upon which the rectification of the world and the coming of
the Messiah are dependent.
In order to bring sanctity to the four corners of the world, we Jews
have been scattered throughout the Diaspora for many centuries. Wherever
we went, we have always built Torah schools, synagogues, and have
practiced the commandments of the Torah within our communities. Through
Torah study, personal and synagogal (communal) prayer, and the
fulfillment of the commandments, we are able to access the awesome
spiritual powers of the land of Israel, even in the Diaspora. Therefore,
every Jewish home, community, and institution is able to draw the
spiritual energies of the land of Israel to the Diaspora, and thus
sanctify it. When, in this way, we have sanctified the entire world, the
Messiah will come and we will all return to our land. So we see that the
Jews have been quietly involved in a global spiritual conquest
throughout their two millennia in exile, through the fulfillment of the
commandments, as the verse says, "You shall surely observe the
commandments of Hashem, your G-d, and His decrees that he commanded you.
You shall do what is fair and good in the eyes of Hashem, so that it
will be good for you, and you shall come and possess the good Land [of
Israel and its spiritual energies] that Hashem swore to your
forefathers, to thrust away all your enemies [worldwide] from before
you, as Hashem spoke." (Deut. 6:17-19)
Although they may not have been consciously aware of it, there has
always been one major complaint repeatedly raised by the Gentiles
against the Jews during our long exile. This complaint has found many
different outlets for expression and has always been the root cause of
anti-Semitism. This underlying accusation against the Jews, so often
expressed as hatred, abuse, discrimination, condemnation, religious
persecution, anihilation, etc. is, "Who gives you Jews the right to draw
the spiritual energies of the land of Israel to the Diaspora?! Through
this act you will bring the sanctity of the land of Israel to the
Diaspora. By sanctifying the world in this way, you will eventually be
entitled to possess the entire world. The fact that you are accessing
the energies of Israel for this purpose is wrong. In effect, it makes
you robbers! The world does not belong to you, you are stealing it from
us, the other nations, its legal owners!"
AND RASHI'S ANSWER
The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) says, "Upon the conclusion of
one's prayers he should go to the study hall to learn Torah. Then he
should go about his occupation [to earn a living], because any Torah
study that is not accompanied by an occupation is destined to become
neglected or abolished and is [a root] cause of sin." (Shulchan Aruch:
Orach Chaim 155:1, 156:1) In associating prayer, Torah study, and
earning a living, the Shulchan Aruch implies that they have a common
denominator. Rav Noson explains: The verse says "So said Hashem, 'If not
[for] My covenant of day and night [Our sages say this refers to the
Torah, which was given as part of a covenant and which must be studied
both day and night, as in "And you shall meditate in it (the Torah) day
and night." (Josh. 1:8)], the statutes of heaven and earth I would not
place.'" [Said Rabbi Eleazer [based on this verse], "Were it not for the
Torah, heaven and earth would not endure." (Talmud: Pesachim 68b)]
(Jeremiah 33:25) Th is means that Torah study accesses spiritual
energies of life which vivifies the world. It follows that if a person
stopped studying the Torah even for a single moment, he should be cut
off from his life and expire. This point poses several important
questions: What enabled the world to exist before the Torah was given?
How do people who never the study the Torah live? Even those who study
often cannot study indefinitely without taking a break. So, how do they
exist when they are forced to rest from their studies? And how does evil
exist if everything derives its vital essence from Torah?
"Rabban Gamliel the son of Rebbe Yehudah HaNassi says, 'Torah study is
good together with an occupation, for the exertion of them both makes
sin forgotten.'" (Talmud: Avoth 2:2) Rav Noson explains that this means
that Torah study and work combined have an important role in one's
spiritual growth. When we go out to earn a living or are involved in
some other necessary physical activity, we access the spiritual energies
of Hashem's unconditional kindness. Through these very same channels, we
access the spiritual energies of the land of Israel which enables us to
physically conquer the holy land. The explanation is as follows:
In order to prevent the Jews from accomplishing their aforementioned
goal of global sanctification, by drawing to the Diaspora the spiritual
energies of the land of Israel, the forces of evil have created many
barriers and obstacles. Rabbi Nachman says that the main antidote
against evil's efforts against us is Hashem's unconditional kindness.
Rav Noson explains why Hashem's unconditional kindness is able to deter
the forces of evil. Hashem first gave the holy land of Israel to the
Canaanites, one of the most immoral and corrupt peoples the world has
ever known. The Canaanites desecrated the land's awesome sanctity, as
the verse says, "Do not perform the practices of [the Canaanites who
dwell in] the land of Canaan to which I (Hashem) bring you [for they
contaminate the land through their abonable behavior](" (Lev. 18:3) "For
the inhabitants (the Canaanites) of the land [of Israel], who were
before you (the Jews), committed all these abominations [acts of
immorality], and the Land be came contaminated [through their degenerate
behavior]." (Lev. 18:27) Despite being truly unworthy and undeserving
people, the Canaanites were permitted to dwell in the holiest place on
earth for several centuries before the rightful inhabitants, the Jews
were permitted to dislodge them. Since the Cannanites were strongly
connected to the forces of evil, their desecration of the land's
sanctity for so many centuries pleased the evil forces greatly. However,
it was only through Hashem's unconditional kindness that the Canaanites
were able to dwell in the land. Therefore, when we Jews access the
spiritual energies of the land of Israel through Hashem's unconditional
kindness, the forces of evil want to claim that we have no right. We're
not earning the land through merit, but rather, through Hashem's gift.
But since the Canaanites also possessed the land via that channel and
there was no complaint then, the forces of evil now can have no
legitimate complaint against us. So we see that, it is precisely because
Hashem allowed the lowly Canaanites to dwell in Israel that we Jews can
enter the land through the power of Hashem's unconditional kindness.
GIVES THE LAND TO THE CANAAITES
Now we can better understand the above mentioned Talmudic teaching,
"Torah study is good together with an occupation, for the exertion of
them both makes sin forgotten." As mentioned above, the spiritual
energies of Hashem's unconditional kindness are also activated by work.
The workplace, because of the high level of physicality there, has a
strong connection to evil. The forces of evil must be nourished by the
light of Torah. However, they can only receive this nourishment
indirectly, gleaning it from the Jews when we are spiritually inactive
(i.e., not involved with Torah and mitzvos). Therefore, any attempt to
perform an act of holiness instigates attacks by the forces of evil,
because our involvement with holy matters deprives them of the vital
nourishment they need to survive. When we deprive the forces of evil of
their spiritual nourishment by our performance of the commandments, they
are forced to expose our sins to the heavenly court so that they can be
granted permission to attack us. These attacks are their attempt to
force us put aside Torah study, prayer and mitzvah observance which
enables them to obtain their spiritual nourishment. Because no human is
perfect and without sin, it is very difficult to avoid these deadly
assaults. The only way to protect ourselves is through work. Work
disconnects us from holiness enough to deflect the light of Hashem's
unconditional kindness to nourish the forces of evil, as explained
above, while still being productive in the world. From this, we
understand that uninterrupted study invites the most severe attacks from
the forces of evil.
Rabbi Nachman says that the higher one's spiritual level, the more of
Hashem's unconditional kindness he is able to access. The Tzaddik HaEmes
(the leading saint of the generation) is able to draw forth so much of
those spiritual energies, he can sustain the entire world, including
wicked people, Gentiles, animals, vegetation, and the rest of Creation.
When the Tzaddik HaEmes studies Torah, those who have no share in the
Torah do not receive their life-sustaining nourishment. They only have
access to this sustenance when the Tzaddik refracts the light into the
physical world through tending to his physical needs. Thus, the
existence of the world is dependent upon the intermittent breaks that
the Tzaddik HaEmes takes from his studies to tend to his physical
needs.
The holy Zohar stresses a point, consistent with our teaching, "One must
give the forces of evil a share in every act of holiness in order not to
arouse their anger. This was Iyov's (Job's) mistake as the verse says,
"Iyov offered burnt offerings("[This implies that he acted as an
isolated individual, only for himself, taking all the spiritual
nourishment elicited by his sacrifies for himself and not giving the
forces of evil their share.] Immediately after this incident, the verse
mentions that the Sahtan (the prosecuting angel) brought accusations
against him, which resulted in the many calamities that befell him,
despite his complete righteousness. His mistake was that he did not give
the forces of evil their share of sustanance from holiness. (Job 1:5) On
Yom Kippur (the day of Atonement), it would have been all to easy for
the Sahtan to accuse the Jews, for on this day, all of Israel atoned by
confessing their sins, which at the end of the process, resulted in all
of their sins being erased. At this most critical time, the Sahtan had
to be silenced. Therefore, he was given a goat to mollify him (se'ir
l'azazel). In every commandment we do, some aspect of that commandment
is designed to give evil its share. [Rav Noson gives many examples of
this. However, due to space considerations, we are unable to elaberate
on this interesting topic.]
Torah study together with an occupation nourishes the entire world,
fostering peace, ultimately enabling the Jews to return to the land of
Israel and bring the Messiah.
At the first giving of the Torah, the Jews reached such spiritual
heights that they completely deprived the forces of evil of their
nourishment, inciting them to fiercely attack. This influenced the Jews
to commit the sin the Golden Calf. When the Torah was given for the
second time, in order not to repeat this mistake, the Jews were
immediately commanded to abandon their studies and start the work of
building the Tabernacle, which provided the forces of evil with the
proper nourishment, as the verse says, "If your enemy [the forces of
evil] is hungry, feed him bread, and if he is thirsty, give him water to
drink [so he will be content and not attempt to harm you]." (Proverbs
25:21) Thus the second time, the Jews did not experience any adverse
consequences.
GIVES EVIL ITS SHARE
We mentioned that the forces of evil are nourished through mundane
activity, especially through earning a living ...There was once a poor
Jew who lived in the city of Oohel. He had children of marriageable age
as well as young children. He couldn't bear the pressure of his poverty
any longer and he decided to go to a certain place where the forces of
evil resided. He stood there and said, "I give myself over to you in
exchange for you providing me with all the money I need support my house
and family." The forces of evil accepted his proposal and he became very
wealthy. Because of his newfound wealth, he was easily able to marry off
his sons to women from prominent families. [As part of the bargain,]
every day a messenger from the forces of evil would come and bring him
to them for several hours, [to do some work] and then he would return to
his house. This practice went on for many years.