Weekly Story: Chof Cheshvan, Erev Shabbos Parshas Chaya Sarah 5785

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

Thursday was the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab. I will post this week a thought I mentioned Wednesday night at a farbrengen. 

While people enjoy hearing news stories and insights about each one of the Rebbeim’s life and accomplishments, nevertheless, it is important to realize that Chassidus Chabad demands that whatever we know, should be brought into our life, into our thought, speech and action. Therefore, I am focusing on one aspect of the Rebbe Rashab and seeing how it applies to us a hundred and sixty-four years after his birth. 

As always, your comments and feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

As is well known the Rebbe Rashab established a permanent Yeshiva for Lubavitch in Elul 5657, and thirteen months later during the hakofos of Simchas Torah he named it Tomchei Tmimim. 

Before establishing it, he called a meeting with 50 experts in the field of Education. They were Rabbonim,  Mashpiim and communal leaders of numerous Chassidishe Chabad communities throughout Russia.

He presented to them his thought of opening up a Yeshiva, pinpointing the unique mission of this Yeshiva. In other words, he explained to them what is to differentiate his Yeshiva from all other yeshivos. The Rebbe replied, thank you for your honest and candid thoughts, however, this strengthens my resolve to establish it, as I see from your experience with this age group, that the necessity for it is more than I thought it to be. 

The following year, when the students came back from Zhembin with their Mashpia Reb Shmuel Gronem, everyone saw that the Rebbe was successful in accomplishing his goal. They were astounded at off their perception of the situation was, as they saw that what they thought was impossible is now a reality. 

When thinking into this a little bit deeper, we see that the Rebbe was able to elevate those teenagers to a level higher than anyone believed possible. 

In other words, the Rebbe Rashab was able to discern the inner potential that is in every student, and not just pay attention to what was seemingly apparent to all.

Furthermore, he was able to let each one of the selected students bring out that potential of theirs, because they knew that the Rebbe believed in them. They felt that the experts threw up their hands in surrender, as they felt they could not change them, but the Rebbe was not trying to change them, he was just trying to help them bring out their inner good. 

Not only were they outstanding then, but throughout the history of Tomchei Tmimim, its students stood strong to preserve authentic Judaism. Just look at who remained steadfast during the tyrannic years of Communist rule in Russia.

This concept is something we each can and hopefully do apply to our own lives, as well as to those that we interact with as well. 

Each person has their own situation and challenges. My challenge may not be something that will bother you at all and you might definitely not consider it a real challenge. But at the same time, your challenge might not be something that will faze me either. But to me, my challenge is a challenge, and to you your situation is a challenge. Everyone has their own unique situation.

Challenge, by definition means it’s going to be difficult to overcome it. If it is something that I can easily ignore or take care of so, then it is not a real challenge. So now that I am in that situation, and I don’t see how I could overcome it, how indeed could I succeed in overcoming it.? 

So we learn from the Rebbe Rashab. He demonstrated and later explained it in his numerous Maamorim, that while on the surface I don’t see that I have the capability of standing up and overcoming my situation, every person should realize that they do have deeper and much more powerful capabilities than they realize on their own. They have to tap into that inner power and source. 

Hearing from someone whom you trust, because you know that that person loves you, encourages you and fortifies you to bring out that inner strength and accomplish what you felt was either extremely difficult or perhaps even impossible. When you overcome that challenge, you realize that it wasn’t at all as difficult as you imagined.

The same thing is when you’re dealing with other family members or those that are in your orbit, when they sense that you believe in them that strengthens them to believe in themselves as well and they will bring bring out the best in them.

A Taste of Chassidus

V’Hashem Beirach Avrohom BaKol

The possuk says that after Avrohom reached an old age, and [then] Hashem blessed him with everything. The midrash explains that the blessing was that at that point he was in complete control of his yetzer hara (evil inclination). 

So, we have to understand why did that blessing come only after he came  to his old age and by then he had already passed all of his ten tests. By passing all the tests, that  would seem to indicate that even before then, he had control of his yetzer Hara, so what extra blessing did he receive now, after the tests?

The Hebrew word for “the world” is העולם [but being that the third letter, the Vov, is silent we don’t count it out here], are the same four letters of the Hebrew word העלם which means, concealment. In other words, as Chassidus explains, the way Hashem created the world was to conceal His greatness. 

And then when a person is facing a test, the concealment becomes much stronger. For at that moment, the person is in a situation that they might think that in this situation it is impossible to fulfill Hashems will, which demonstrates the tremendous concealment of G-dliness.

Now we can answer the previous question. When Avrohom stood strong and passed all the ten tests, he demonstrated that the Yetzer Hara has no say whatsoever, in other words he incapacitated it. However, as we say in Shema,  B’chol Li’vovcha, with all your heart and Rashi explains that it is spelled with two veises, to inform us that we are supposed to serve Hashen, with both of our hearts. That means, not only is a Jew supposed to save Hashem with his yetzer tov, but he is also supposed to get the yetzer hara to join in that effort. 

So once Avrohom was able to have complete control of his Yetzer Hara (that it had no say in his conduct), which in Chassidic terminology this is called Iskafya, then he was blessed with the power Ishapcha, turning the Yetzer Hara into an active participant in my mission to serve Hashem. 

So originally Avrohom controlled the Yetzer Hara, until he accomplished that it no longer attempted to cause him to act contrary to Hashem’s wishes. But now he was blessed to be able to harness its powers to serve Hashem.

This higher level is similar to the difference between what is accomplished by fulfilling a positive Commandment, to what can be accomplished with negative Commandments. In general, the way we bring down G-dliness into the world is by fulfilling a positive commandment. The only thing we do with negative Commandments, is to abstain from participating in them. 

However, when somebody does repentance, they are able to elevate the negative Commandments as well. The reason for this is, Negative Commandments come from Olam HaTohu, which contains much higher levels of G-dliness than olam Hatikun (the world we are living in). Therefore, generally speaking a person cannot draw down such exalted levels and revelations of G-dliness into this lower world.

However, through sincere repentance it is possible to accomplish this. With this insight we can explain The Midrash; During the six days of creation the Torah writes each day “And it was good,” while at the end of the sixth day, It says “It was very good.”  The Midrash explains the words “it was good” is referring to the Yetzer Tov, while the words “It was very good. refers to the evil inclination.

How can the evil inclination be very good, better than the Yetzer Tov? Isn’t its entire existence to influence a person to go against Hashem’s will! But the explanation is, just as the Satan tried to prevent Avrohom from bringing his son Yitzchok on the altar, by creating A body of water In his way. And only Avrohom had to defeat it was by ignoring that pool of water until is was up his mouth, and then it disappeared. 

So we see that this Impediment to fulfill hashem as not an actuality, rather It was only an illusion. The same thing is with the evil inclination itself. Hashem created it, In order to test man. However, the evil inclination itself desires that you do not follow the thoughts It places in your mind. 

So when a person not only negates the influence of the evil inflammation, but also transforms it around, that it itself should help them serve Hashem, You brought out the deeper and inner essence of the yetzer hora, and that is a higher and more powerful revelation of G-dliness, then is contained in the positive inclination.

Rabbi Avtzon os a veteran mechanech and 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.