This week's Parasha-Page has been sponsored by Mrs. Miriam Triebitz in memory of her grandmother, Rebbetzin Zipporah Chava Lifshitz of blessed memory, and in honor of her two-month-old baby who proudly bears her great-grandmother's name.
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai 5756
LIVE AND LEARN!
If you do not listen to Me and do not keep all of these commandments... I will scatter you among the nations ... and your land will be desolate.... Then I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and I will remember My covenant with Avraham, and I will remember the Land. The Land will be deserted and will be appeased for its Sabbatical years [which were not observed]... because you rejected My laws....
(Vayikra 26:14,33,42,43)
In this week's Parasha we read the "Tochechah" -- the lengthy litany of curses with which Hashem warned the Jewish people of what will befall them should they not remain faithful to His words in the Torah. When reading these words of admonishment, one is immediately struck by one seemingly misplaced verse. After listing the many punishments and afflictions that Hashem would bring upon the people, the Torah tells us that Hashem will eventually remember His covenant with our forefathers and His Promised Land (v. 42). Then, the very next verse goes on to describe yet more curses and warnings, as if nothing had been said about the reconciliation of Hashem with His people! How can the apparently inappropriate placement of this verse be accounted for? The Shlah (Rav Yeshayah Horowitz, 17th cent. Poland-Israel) quotes a tradition from his teachers that offers a highly interesting and original explanation for the positioning of this verse.
II
People from different backgrounds are held accountable for their actions to varying degrees. Consider, for example, a person who was brought up in a household where spiritual values are held in high regard and another who grew up in a home where corruption and immorality were the norm. Obviously, we should expect more from the person with the positive upbringing. If he decides to pursue a life of sin and depravation, he would be held more culpable than the other person, who was taught by example a corrupt lifestyle.
This, explains the Shlah, is the meaning of the verse in question. This verse is not meant to be taken as an isolated statement of consolation surrounded by curses (the way Rashi and most other commentators seem to understand it), but is rather to be understood as one more component in the series of curses that make up the Tochechah. Hashem will recall that He had made a covenant with the forefathers of the Jewish nation, and that will cause His anger with them to *grow*, rather than to abate. He will say, "The Jewish people had such illustrious ancestors from whom to learn the ways of Torah and righteousness, yet despite this fact they veered from the proper path and pursued lives of sin. This is cause for an even more intense punishment!" That is why the next verse continues with the list of curses that began earlier in the chapter -- there is actually no interruption in theme at all.
The Shlah goes on to explain the end of the verse in question ("...and I will remember the Land") in a similar fashion. The Land of Israel is especially conducive to learning the principles of justice and the Torah way of life (see Parasha-Page, Ekev 5755). Hence, when Hashem recalls the Land He has even more reason to be angry with its inhabitants, since they did not allow the spiritually positive character of the Land to influence their own behavior.
We may add that another difficulty may be resolved by the Shlah's reading of this verse as well. As noted by the commentators, this is the only place in the Bible where the three Patriarchs are mentioned in reverse order: "...the covenant of Yaakov... of Yitzchak... and of Avraham." What is the significance of this unusual order? According to the Shlah, we may answer as follows.
Rabbenu Bachye (13th cent. Spain -- in his commentary to Bereishit 11:9, Bemidbar 1:51, ibid. 5:15 and in his work Kad HaKemach, entry on "Purim") tells us that a backwards arrangement of letters or words can indicate a reversal in intent. For instance, the four-letter name of Hashem (the Tetragrammaton) is known to be the Name which represents His attribute of mercy. When this four-letter name is spelled (in an acronym) backwards, however, it is an indication of Hashem's attribute of strict justice. Perhaps we may say, then, that when the Patriarchs are listed in their proper chronological order, it indicates that Hashem in His mercy is recalling the righteousness of the Patriarchs on behalf of their descendants. In this instance, however, they are listed in reverse order because it is *not* Hashem's mercy and kindness which are being aroused. Rather, by recalling the saintly lives of the Patriarchs His attribute of stern justice is aroused, as the Shlah explained.
III
We learn from the words of the Shlah that there are two sides to the association with people of high spiritual stature. Exposure to saintly, pious people can be on the one hand a tremendous opportunity for spiritual growth. On the other hand, if one does not take advantage of this opportunity, the experience can become a source of tragedy. This theme is borne out in several places in Tanach and Midrashim as well.
In I Melachim 17:10-18 we read about the prophet Eliyahu's (= Elijah's) stay at the house of a woman from Tzarfat (a city in Israel). One day, his landlady's young son died. The bereaved woman came to Eliyahu and exclaimed bitterly, "What [malice] is there between me and you, man of G-d, that you have come to call attention to my sins and to put my son to death!" Rashi (loc. cit.) explains based on a Midrash that what she meant to say was, "Your very presence in my home, Eliyahu, has caused Hashem to judge me according to a higher standard than usual. Until now, I was judged according to the standard of the ordinary people of my town. Now that you have come here and live in my proximity, I am judged in comparison to your saintly behavior!"
Similarly, we read in Bereishit 19:19 that Lot (Avraham's nephew), when he was saved from the destruction that befell Sodom, told the angels who were escorting him, "I cannot escape up to the mountain, for evil will reach me there and I will die." Rashi (loc. cit.), quoting from the same Midrash, explains that Lot pleaded with the angels not to take him back to live in the vicinity of Avraham (where he had lived before moving to Sodom). Living in proximity to such a great saint would certainly lead to "evil reaching me, and I will die." While living in Sodom, Lot explained, he could be considered in a favorable light. He would only be compared to the other citizens of Sodom, who were notorious for their wickedness and immorality. But if he took up residence with Avraham he would be judged according to a much stricter standard, one which he was sure he could not withstand. (See Bereishit Rabba, 50:11.)
How are we to understand this Midrash? Hashem can certainly discern the evil in a person even if it is not contrasted with the righteousness of his surroundings! Apparently, this Midrash is a reflection of the Shlah's principle. When people are exposed to a righteous surrounding, they are expected to absorb that holiness into their own personalities. If they do not do so, they are punished for their shortfall. On the other hand, living among wicked people and yet managing to maintain an average standard of decency is considered to be a virtuous accomplishment. This is why Hashem takes a person's neighbors and environment into consideration when the person is judged.
IV
I once heard from Rabbi Israel Dissin (presently of Jerusalem, Israel) that this principle can be used to deal with another difficult passage from the Torah. In the beginning of Parashat Vayera we are told that three people/angels came to visit Avraham. Their missions were to inform Avraham and Sarah that they would soon have a son (Bereishit 18:1-15). After having fulfilled these tasks, two of these angels went on to their next mission -- the annihilation of the wicked populations of Sodom and its environs and the salvation of Lot, Avraham's nephew, from the devastation. Two angels were required to accomplish this, one for each of these two tasks (Rashi 18:2). Rashi (ibid.) explains why it was necessary for the angel that saved Lot to first visit Avraham. However, he offers us no insight as to why the angel of destruction was first sent to the house of Avraham, rather than going directly to his true destination, Sodom. Rabbi Dissin suggested the following explanation.
One of the most outstanding of Avraham's virtues was his extraordinary kindness and compassion. Rashi (18:4) tells us that when Avraham saw the three angels traveling in the desert, he did not realize the true nature of these "men" -- he in fact believed them to be idolatrous Arab nomads. Nevertheless, he ran out into the desert, despite his age (99) and weakened condition (post-circumcision) and despite the intense heat of the day, to invite the men into his house. He then prepared for them an extravagant meal.
The contrast between Avraham's attitude and that of the Sodomites is striking. The people of Sodom were extremely inhospitable to strangers, to the point of seizing and molesting them (see ibid. Ch. 19). It was precisely this contrast between their own behavior and the behavior of their illustrious neighbor (for Sodom was not far away from where Avraham lived -- see ibid. 19:28) which sealed their fate for destruction. They could have learned from the righteous actions of Avraham, yet they chose to ignore him and continued in their path of wickedness. This is what made their evil behavior unforgivable.
Perhaps, then, this is the reason that the angel of destruction was sent to Avraham on his way to punish the people of Sodom. The angel's journey was meant to enact
the cause of Hashem's outpouring of wrath towards Sodom. As Hashem would view Avraham's whole-hearted acts of compassion, His anger at Sodom would grow greater and greater until it finally took its toll!
The verse tells us that Hashem felt He had to inform Avraham of His plan to destroy Sodom before that plan was put into action, "so that [Avraham] would teach his descendants to observe the ways of Hashem, to act in righteousness and justice" (ibid. 18:17-19). Perhaps Hashem wanted to demonstrate to Avraham the importance of having *others* learn from one's own personal example. The extreme consequences that the members of his household would suffer if they would *not* learn from his example were underscored by the punishment of Sodom.
Avraham, in turn, understood the hint. He realized that he was, in a sense, responsible for the annihilation of Sodom. This, Rabbi Dissin pointed out, may be the reason that he offered such a lengthy, impassioned plea on behalf of the Sodomites, begging Hashem to spare them (ibid. 18:23-33). He knew that it was his exemplary behavior and virtuous way of life that was reinforcing the guilt of the people of Sodom, and he thus felt a personal responsibility to intercede on their behalf!
V
The concept that when "good" is more evident "bad" looks worse can help us understand another aspect of the destruction of Sodom. The Kli Yakar writes that when Lot told his sons-in-law that they must evacuate Sodom immediately because Hashem is destroying the city, they ignored his plea. In fact, "it seemed to his sons-in-law that he was joking" (ibid. 19:14). What was so incredulous about Lot's words that his sons-in-law thought he was joking?
The Kli Yakar explains that what bothered the sons in law of Lot was the following. Lot used the Four-Letter name of Hashem (the Tetragrammaton), which always connotes the merciful, compassionate character of God (as noted earlier), to describe the planned destruction of Sodom. The sons in law considered it preposterous to suggest that the *compassionate* attribute of Hashem would destroy the city.
In truth, it indeed was the merciful attribute of Hashem that brought about the destruction of Sodom. The Sages tell us (see Rashi to Bereishis 8:1) that the actions of the wicked transform Hashem's attribute of mercy into the attribute of strict justice. This was the phenomenon that was exhibited with the destruction of Sodom.
We can gain deeper insight into the Kli Yakar's explanation by applying the principle of the Shlah, described above. When there is much righteousness and goodness on earth, Hashem responds in kind by activating His attribute of mercy. Thus, Avraham brought about an expression of Hashem's merciful attribute on earth. The people of Sodom, in their wickedness, instead of embracing the principles demonstrated by Avraham, displayed an exceptional degree of wickedness. Because they did not learn from Avraham's example, they were judged even more strictly. Thus, the very acts of kindness that Avraham performed -- which activated Hashem's attribute of mercy in the world -- led to the strict punishment for the Sodomites, who refused to learn from Avraham's example.
May we take this message to heart and take full advantage of the examples of Torah learning and sanctity that are available to us today!
|
