Weekly Story: The Powerful Impression Upon A Child
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
This week’s post is in the merit of Zalman Yaakov ben Yehudis, may Hashem grant him a complete and speedy recovery. A FREILICHEIN PURIM TO ALL OF KLAL YISROEL!
Shortly after the kinus HaShluchos, which took place a few weeks ago, I heard someone mentioning a personal story and his reflections of it.
I thought that one of the lessons of Parshas Zohcor reflects the same thought and concept, and with his permission I am joining them together.
As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcomed.
It is a mitzvah to remind ourselves everyday of how Amalek attacked us after we left Mitzrayim, but before we entered Eretz Yisroel.
The Torah uses the word Korcha to describe their attack, and the root of that word is Kar which has the meaning of cooling off.
One of the stories that is often mentioned when we discuss what Amalek represents nowadays is, when the Baal Shem Tov was once traveling with a number of his disciples. They passed by a group of Gentiles who were carving an image of a cross into a large block of ice.
Turning to the Baal Shem Tov they said, Rebbe, you have taught us, that everything that one hears, sees or experiences, there is a lesson to be taken from it. What lesson can we take from this, as we just saw them carving an image of an idol into this ice and are preparing to bow down to it?
The Baal Shem Tov replied, when a person acts indifferent to others and to occurrences that are happening around them, and do not learn from it, in other words they are cold to it, that is considered, as if they are about to serve an idol.
In other words, we can and should learn from situations we witness and observe.
With this introduction I would like to relate this person’s experience and reflections.
Sunday morning, when he entered the living room, he noticed his daughter who is on shlichus in a college town, holding her nine-month-old baby, and looking exhausted.
In response to his question of what happened, she replied that the baby was fussy and cried the entire night and didn’t give her an opportunity to even sleep a wink.
It is now almost seven and you were planning on leaving at around ten. Give her to me, he said, and get some rest. You are going to need it.
My daughter thanked me, and happily handed her to me, and went to her room.
I said the birchas hashachar and korbonos, but now I was afraid as to what will happen when I put my granddaughter down, while I will be putting on my tallis and tefillin.
But to my pleasant surprise, she just stared at me while I was putting on my tallis (and tefillin) and continued looking intently while I was davening, without even a whimper.
After davening I began wondering, what has just happened in my house? Why was my granddaughter so uncomfortable while she was with her own mother, yet didn’t even whimper when I was in the room with her?
It dawned on me that perhaps last night, she realized she was in a strange place, and as many young children have a difficult time falling asleep when they are not in their comfort zone. However, when she saw me wearing a tallis, she felt comfortable, as every shabbos her father, puts on the tallis at home so that Jews might notice him walking to the campus minyan. So that sight calmed her, yes, the rooms were different, but now she had both her mother and something that reminded her of her father.
But then a few days later, while I was walking on the streets of Crown Heights, I noticed an aide or cleaning help, coming out of an apartment and saw her crossing herself. That got me thinking.
Every day I see hired helpers walking our own children to school, and often they are having conversations with them, discussing school and other topics. Who knows what our helpers’ philosophy and approach to Torah and Mitzvos is? And their innocent comment can and most probably will have a lasting impression on our children.
We all know how the Rebbe explained that on the clothing we buy for our children there shouldn’t be images of non-kosher animals, so how much more so do we have to pay attention to and be careful with the information that they hear, especially from people that we, the parents, tell them to trust.
This is especially important when we rely on our help to babysit, when we go on a few day vacation, etc. Then their influence is so much more. Who will remind our children to say a brocha, etc?
A Taste of Chassidus
Vi’attah Tetzaveh, Torah Ohr p. 81a
In this maamar, the Alter Rebbe is going to explain what is the deeper meaning or insight that we can learn from the fact that Aharon is the one who lights the seven candles of the menorah. And being that this was given to Aharon, why is it necessary that the oil for the candles be brought to Moshe and he then gives it to Aharon? In other words, what role does Moshe play in the lighting of the candles?
Aharon and Moshe are two of the seven Shepherds of the Jewish people. But each one has their particular role. Moshe’s role was to bring the Torah down to the Jewish people. Simply speaking, to bring Hashem’s essence closer to us, that we can receive it. While Aharon’s role was the elevate the Jewish people, that they should become closer to Hashem.
The way Chassidus explains these two roles is based on what our sages teach, that Matan Torah is considered the day that Hashem married the Jewish people. The custom by a wedding is, that both the chosson (groom) and the Kallah (bride), are escorted to the Chuppa. It is explained, the reason why they are being escorted is because they may be somewhat hesitant out of shyness to greet their future spouse. So one who has already overcome this challenge is escorting each on,e to help them overcome their nervousness.
Therefore, Moshe to whom Hashem had already revealed Himself to him, brought this concept to the Jewish people, that Hashem is revealing Himself to them, by giving us His Torah. While Aharon who already elevated and connected himself to Hashem, demonstrated to the Jewish people that they too have this ability to elevate themselves to Hashem, just they have to bring out that potential into action.
To clarify what this means, the Alter Rebbe uses a parable of a person who is being praised by others for their writing prose or artistic talent, or some other talent of theirs. While the people are heaping praise on that individual, in reality they are only praising that person’s talents but not the person themself.
The same thing is over here, the Jewish people already declared that they would fulfill every mitzvah Hashem gives to them. However, that does not mean that they truly appreciate the true beauty of the mitzvahs. They might and probably do appreciate it to a certain extent and know that as a result, in Gan Eden they will bask in Hashem’s glory.
However, Aharon is coming to infuse within them the point that every mitzvah we do, is connecting ourselves to Hashem’s essence, and not just to a radiance from Him. You have the opportunity to be connected with Hashem without any separation between Him and you. This is called simcha shel mitzvah – the joy of being able to do the mitzvah. This joy is much higher than any other Joy they had before that.
So too here, one is going to be rewarded with Gan Eden, however, in Gan Eden we only bask in Hashem’s glory, Aharon is elevating us that we shall be able to bask in Hashem’s essence. [As Mitzvah means connection and not commandment.]
He explains the difference between these two levels as follows; yes, there are all sorts of pleasures, but then there is the source from where these pleasures emanate from. So instead of connecting yourself and enjoy a particular pleasure, the simcha shel mitzvah – the enjoyment in doing Hashem’s mitzvah, enables every Jew to connect themselves to the source of all pleasures.
But in order to accomplish and attain this level, there must be a preparation, and therefore before Aharon lit the wicks in the cups of oil, he first had to prepare them. That is teaching us that in order for us to obtain simcha shel mitzvah, we too must make a preparation. And that preparation is by contemplating the greatness of Hashem in davening.
When one comprehends that Hashem is everything, that person won’t have a desire for anything else besides to be connected to Hashem Himself. As we say in the fourth Halilukah, רוממות ק-ל בגרונם וחרב פיפיות בידם – They praise Hashem in their throat and hold a double-edge sword in their hand. Chassidus explains this to mean, through praising Hashem and noticing how everything humbles themselves to Hashem, we come to recognize His true greatness, and that gives us the ability to humble our own ego and take down the haughtiness and entity of the Nefesh Habihamis (the animalistic soul), who claims he is also an entity, and focus on serving Hashem.
In other words, a person has to remove any and all barriers that can prevent him from attaining Simcha Shel Mitzvah. This explains why by Aharon the possuk says, from “the evening through the morning”, as he must first remove the darkness, his own ego and desires, that is covering up his Neshoma, in order to bring in this light (day) of serving Hashem.
This process is what brings Moshe into the picture, as it is Moshe that gives every Jew this ability.
The Possuk (Mishlei) says נר מצוה ותורה אור -A mitzvah is the candle in its holder, and the Torah is what lights it up, so in general the Torah is what gives the candle the ability to shine and give off light. Here in our parsha, the possuk states חקת עולם לדורתם מאת בני ישראל – an eternal decree for their generations from the children of Yisroel. The word מאת is formed by the three letters of Mem, Aleph and Tuff. That is telling us that the letters from Aleph through Tuff, in other words from the Torah is what gives us this ability.
As noted previously, we must go out of our darkness (the evening) to attain this light (morning). The one that can give us that power is one who is not affected by the darkness, and that is Moshe who gave us the Torah.
So the oil, which is extracted from the olive, by crushing the olive, signifies the crushing of the concealment that is on the Nefesh Elokis (the G-dly soul), is first given to Moshe who has no connection to any concealment, and he transfers that power and ability to Aharon, who then gives it to every Jew.
Therefore, by Moshe the possuk states the word תמיד – constantly, as by Moshe there is only the stage, the stage of light (day).
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.
