Weekly Story: What the Baal Shem Tov Said Before Tekios
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
As we conclude our 11th (K) year of posting this Weekly Story and the third year of A Taste of Chassidus, I thank all who have taken the time to write me an email or stop and say that you enjoy it.
Those comments, while they may seem small, have encouraged me to write some articles that I wouldn’t have thought to write about.
This includes the thought I am posting this week about our footwear at the Ohel. I am not a Rov, and I am not saying Halachah, rather I am noting observations.
As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcomed.
A Kesiva V’chasima Tova, L’shana Tova Umesukah for every Jew wherever they may be, and each one of us among them.
Today Friday, is the 238th birthday of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, who was born on Erev Rosh Hashanah of the year 5550 (1789). Therefore, at least on his birthday, I believe, that we as chassidei Chabad, should recite after Shacharis (or sometime during the day) his new kapital which is chapter 89 in Tehillim.
Footwear at the Ohel.
As everyone knows the Lubavitcher custom is that when we go to the Ohel of the Rebbeim, we do not wear leather shoes, but rubber or other sort of shoes.
As a child I was told that this is based on what Hashem instructed Moshe Rabeinu when he neared the burning bush, “Remove your shoes from upon your feet, as the land which you are standing upon is sacred.”
For quite some time I was wondering, if it is because it is sacred land, why do we wear any type of shoe that is not made from leather? Isn’t the halacha that a Kohen must walk barefoot in the Beis Hamikdash? They weren’t allowed to wear anything on their feet.
In the past year, I asked this to a few people, and their reply was this is our custom, even the Rebbe wore shoes that weren’t leather and that is it.
But Chabad Demands that we try to understand everything to the best of our ability, so my reply was, Yes, that is how it is to be done, and we all do so, but is there a reason for it?
This past Gimmel Tammuz, on the way back from the Ohel, I got a ride with Rabbi Binyomin Baras. In the course of our conversation I asked him if he knew the reason why we wear other sorts of shoes at the Ohel, and why is it different than the sacred land of the Beis Hamikdash?
He replied, that while a Kohen is not permitted to wear any footwear, while he is doing service in the Beis Hamikdash, the Yisroel who brought the sacrifice or Mincha (flour) offering is allowed and is supposed to wear footwear, just not leather ones.
The words that Hashem instructed Moshe to remove his shoes were שעל נעליך. The Torah uses the word נעל also by a woman whose husband passed away, and he had no children. Her departed husband’s brother has the mitzvah of Yibum (marrying her). If he doesn’t want to, then the widow is to do the process of chalitzah, which also entails her removing his shoe.
There too, the halachah is that the shoe must be made out of leather, and any other shoe doesn’t suffice.
Similarly next week on Yom Kippur, it is noted in Shulchan Aruch that it is forbidden to wear a נעל and as we know that that means we are not allowed to wear leather shoes, but we wear shoes that are made out of other materials.
Hopefully, this clarifies to some of you, the reason behind this custom of ours.
Now to The Moshol the Baal Shem Tov said on Rosh Hashanah before Tekios.
A king wanted to test the loyalty and love of his subjects and especially his son. So he built many tall walls surrounding his palace, with each wall a distance from the other, in order that the person doesn’t see the next wall until a while later. This way the person would think the they overcame their challenge and from now on it will be easy sailing, until they face the next wall (obstacle).
Additionally, in front or right behind the wall he placed different valuables or enjoyable items, that are available to whoever desires it. Just that by each wall, it was better than was by the previous one.
His objective was to see if his subjects and son loved Him, for who he is, or loved Him because of what He is providing to them.
Some of His subjects turned around as soon as they noticed the first wall which was thirty feet high. However, the majority weren’t deterred and were determined to press forward and meet their king.
But then after climbing over the wall, they noticed a beautiful garden [or in today’s language, a large water park with numerous boats, etc.], some were content with that enjoyment and lost their drive to keep on trying to meet the king. This demonstrated that their connection and more importantly their loyalty is because of what he provides them with.
As understood by each obstacle (wall) and then each enticement which offered more value or pleasure than the previous one did, more and more people gave up on their drive to search for their king.
But there was one or a few individuals that persevered and overcame all the obstacles and temptations and made it all the way and with an expression of sheer happiness, greeted and hugged the king.
In Likketei Maharan, he notes that when the king’s son sees all these obstacles (he mentions that by some walls there were dangerous and vicious animals) he says to himself, my father loves me and desires to meet and hug me, he is such a loving and passionate father that he definitely would not create obstacles to prevent me from reaching him. That mindset is what gives him the strength and determination to keep going forward.
Then whenever the person stops in his quest to personally meet and greet the king, and turns around to go home, they are startled as they see there was no wall, no obstacles, everything that they saw was their imagination, as it was all just an illusion.
The toldos notes, that all of the Baal Shem Tov’s students understood that the meaning of this parable was; Hashem wants to see how deep is our love and attachment to him. Are we so feeble that an obstacle or a few obstacles is going to us stop seeking Him. Or are we going to exchange and give up the opportunity to bask in true bliss by embracing a fleeting moment of enjoyment.
May the wisdom that Hashem grants us, serve us well that we choose properly!
A Kesiva V’chasima Tova Lshana Tova Umesukah.
A Taste of Chassidus
להבין המשנה יום טוב של ראש השנה Likkutei Torah Devorim 56A
We all know that nowadays when (the first day) of Rosh Hashanah is on Shabbos, we do not blow the shofar. The talmud explains that our sages were afraid that a person might be so caught up in the necessity of blowing the shofar properly, that he might forget that it is Shabbos, or that it is forbidden to carry a shofar on Shabbos, and that will cause him to carry his shofar outside to ask the Rov questions etc.
On this reason, there are some obvious questions.
A. Why are we concerned about the person that might carry a Shofar, and therefore the sages instructed all Jews not to blow it on Shabbos, yet they were not afraid that the same person might carry their Lulav [or other necessary items for various mitzvos] on Shabbos. So by some mitzvos we fulfill the mitzvah on Shabbos and others we don’t.
B. Why did our sages prevent the every single Jew from fulfilling such an important mitzvah, because of the remote possibility that a few Jews might mistakenly carry it on Shabbos?
C. This guideline took effect around one thousand years after the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisroel, during the time period of the second Beis Hamikdash. And even then, the guideline applied only out of the Beis Hamikdash, but in the Beis Hamikdash they continued to blow.
We will explain it by understanding a similar concept (or situation) as it applies with the mitzva of Tefillin. A male over thirteen dons Tefillin daily, besides on Shabbos. The reason we do not put on Tefillin on Shabbos is because the Torah calls Tefillin a SIGN as the possuk states וקשרתם לאות, and Shabbos also is called a אות, as the possuk states אות היא לעולם, and being that Shabbos accomplishes the same thing as Tefillin is accomplishes, there is no need to have two SIGNs, so we don’t put on Tefillin on Shabbos.
Therefore, once we understand what blowing the shofar accomplishes, we would also understand why our sages guided us not to blow the shofar on Shabbos.
Hashem says to us, [that on Rosh Hashanah, we are to] proclaim that you accept my Kingdom upon yourself, by reciting passages that declare that I am your king and the king of the universe. And the way to ultimately accomplish this is by blowing the Shofar.
In other words, when Hashem first created the world, He chose to do it on His own, [In Chassidic terminology Isarusa D’Lieila]. However, He did so, anticipating that the creations will accept Him as their King and Ruler, and that will give Him pleasure. And that is what happened on the sixth day of Creation, the day Adam was created, when he said and convinced all creations to come and prostrate in front of Hashem who created us.
That day is memorialized and commemorated eternally as Rosh Hashanah, and every year on that day, we too coronate Hashem as our King as well as the King of the entire world. And the way we do that is by blowing the shofar. But NOW, Hashem stated that the inspiration for Him to desire to become KING, must come from us, His subjects, [in Chassidic terminology, Isarusa D’litatuh].
To clarify it better, when the people accept an individual as their king, they nullify their own ego and interests and pledge to fulfill his instructions even if they don’t understand the reason for it. Furthermore, they are not going to analyze it to see if His commands make sense or not. Their only thought is that this is what His Majesty decided, and this is what we will do.
That resolution and declaration, creates a powerful desire and enjoyment in Him to become their king. In Hebrew this pleasure that the king experiences is called a תענוג.
Shabbos shares that concept of giving Hashem תענוג, as the possuk says וקראת שבת עונג, and you shall make/call Shabbos a delight. Subsequently, since Shabbos brings this aspect of delight to Hashem, there is no need to blow the shofar to bring Him to a state of עונג caused by His creations. Thus there is no need to blow the Shofar.
However, there are many levels of enjoyment, and therefore this guideline was established during the time of the second Beis Hamikdash, when the world was on a lower level, and our nullification and Shofar blowing was then equal to the pleasure Hashem receives from Shabbos. As is known that in the second Beis Hamikdash we were missing five important things that were present in the first Beis Hamikdash, which demonstrates that the world was unable to contain higher levels of holiness.
This answers why for the first thousand years plus, that the Jewish people lived in Eretz Yisroel they blew the shofar even when Rosh Hashanah was on Shabbos. For then the Jewish people were on a higher spiritual level, and their blowing the shofar reached created a higher level of pleasure in Hashem.
And even when they made this guideline, in the Beis Hamikdash itself they continued blowing the Shofar, as the delight that is created by blowing the shofar in the Beis Hamikdash brings to Hashem, is higher than the delight that Shabbos accomplishes. Therefore, they blew the Shofar throughout Eretz Yisroel.
But at that time the Jewish people were on a lower level and their blowing of the shofar throughout the land could only create a delight that is on the same level as Shabbos and therefore there was no need to remake that a level that already existed.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeiim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.
