Where are You? • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on October 24, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Pinchas Avruch | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level: Beginner

 

Nachmanides (R’ Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270, of Gerona, Spain, one of the leading Torah scholars of the Middle Ages; successfully defended Judaism at the dramatic debate in Barcelona in 1263) opens his renowned commentary on the Bible expounding on the narrative chosen to begin the Torah. Although the Torah is not a history book, rather it is a guidebook for life (“Torah” translates literally as “guidance” or “teaching”), the Torah starts with the creation of the universe and not the first  commandment  given  to  the  Jewish people as a nation, the declaration of the new month. Amongst the rationales tendered is    the lessons to be learned from all those who were expelled from their homeland (Adam,

Cain, the Generation of Dispersion after the Tower of Babel, all similar to the Jewish people in today’s exile) because they did not follow the word of G-d.

Two of the most famous sins in the history of the human race occur in this week’s Torah portion. The consumption of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (by the way, it wasn’t an apple) by Adam and Eve and the murder of Abel by Cain are two acts that changed the course of world history.

Interestingly, greater punishment was inflicted for the evasion of responsibility by Adam   and Cain than for the sins themselves. When G-d calls out to Adam “Where are you?” after  he has eaten (Beraishis/Genesis 3:9), Rashi points out it is an effort to gently approach him so that he might repent for the violating G-d’s trust. How does he respond?

“The woman You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.” (3:12) An ingrate, Adam casts    the blame on the woman G-d had given him as a mate, afforded to him by G-d as an act of kindness. Nachmanides explains the ingratitude on the basis of the introduction of G-d’s punishment to Adam. “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree about which I commanded you saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,'” (3:17) indicates G-d’s wrath was directed at his foolishness in listening to her contrary to the command of G-d, that the ultimate blame lay at his feet. G-d gave Adam the chance to repent; he squandered it.

Rashi indicates that G-d gave Cain the same opportunity in His gentle query, “Where is Abel your brother?” (4:9) Kli Yakar (commentary on the Pentateuch by Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Lunshitz, c.1550-1619, Rosh Yeshiva/Dean in Lemberg and Rabbi of Prague) indicates that Cain understood the depth of the question, but he lacked an appreciation of his obligation to safeguard the well being of his fellow man. Nevertheless, explains Kli Yakar, common sense obligated Cain to comprehend that the human race had no future with unregulated homicide. He, too, had the chance to repent, but wasted it. But when his life sentence of endless wandering was felt to be too taxing, he begged G-d for mercy and leniency, and his request was granted. He may have discovered teshuva, repentance and return to the path of G-d, a little too late, but he did, eventually, realize that G-d always welcomes us warmly when we choose to return to His path.

Rosh HaShanah. Yom Kippur. Succos. Simchas Torah. We have spent the last many weeks discussing the inspiration to be drawn from these holidays. But the reality is that we do not live our lives in the cocoons of these holidays. We now venture out into our everyday world with our everyday challenges where our newly inspired selves must face the realities that come with everyday life.

There will be some failures. We will not rise to meet all the challenges we should. The Rosh HaShanah season may be over, but G-d is not a seasonal acquisition. Don’t shift the blame. Don’t squander the opportunity. He is always waiting with open arms, calling to us, gently, invitingly, “Where are you?”

Have a good Shabbos!

Copyright © 2001 by Rabbi Pinchas Avruch and Project Genesis, Inc.

 

Kol HaKollel is a publication of the Milwaukee Kollel Center for Jewish Studies 5007 West Keefe Avenue; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-447-7999

An Imperfect World

 

 

Posted on October 24, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The Garden of Eden is portrayed for us as being the perfect place. Mortality had not yet entered the way of the world and our aged father and mother lived in an environment where everything was provided; food, shelter and freedom from external dangers. Yet, in this most idyllic of situations – one that we cannot begin to contemplate or imagine – temptation lurked even in this setting.

Humans are the union of the body and soul, and as such, perfection cannot be achieved. Humans are destined to always be unsatisfied. We desire foods and pleasures that we do not need, and in fact are not beneficial to us, but we want them just because we haven’t acquired them yet. Once having achieved our goal and desire, so to speak, we are always disappointed and look to find another area of seeming pleasure, in order to satisfy our unquenchable thirst to attain more..

There was a famous comedic skit that was popular in the United States many decades ago about a very wealthy man who built an enormous mansion with many more rooms that he could ever populate or use. Nevertheless, he invited all his friends to the housewarming dedication of his mansion and gave them all a tour of this enormous building. As everyone was showering compliments upon him for having created this monstrosity, he was heard to remark: “This is nothing! Wait to you see the next house that I am going to build for   myself.” His Garden of Eden was certainly still not enough.

 

The rabbis of the Mishnah accurately observed that the more one has, the more worries one acquires. Though Judaism does not preach poverty or asceticism, it does emphasize moderation and for satisfaction not to be found in material items and pleasures alone.

When Adam and Eve were driven from the perfect world that they had originally inhabited and were sent out into the dangerous and less-than-perfect world that we now inhabit, they never lost the original human drive that brought about their expulsion from that perfect world.

Wise men and women throughout the ages have always defined the struggles of society, its wars and decisions, its lack of fairness and the presence of so much evil, as being the futile attempt of humans to try and batter down the gates of that garden and reenter and create a perfect world. The obvious inability of human beings to do so only adds frustration and disappointment. It destroys societies and political  systems  and  destabilizes  seemingly great and powerful countries and nations.

But there is an inner voice that reminds us that we do have within us a piece of that perfect world, a system of morality and human goodness, kindness and obedience to the moral   code that our Creator has fashioned for us. This enables us to survive and thrive in the imperfect world in which we now live.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

The Easy Way Out! • Torah.org     Posted on October 15, 2009 (5770) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner   And it was from the end of days, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground; and Hevel he also brought himself of the firstlings of his flock and of the choicest. HASHEM turned to Hevel and to his offering, but to Cain and his offering He did not turn. This  angered Cain exceedingly and his countenance fell. And HASHEM said to Cain, “Why are  you angry and why is your face fallen. Surely if you improve yourself you will be forgiven,   but if you do not improve yourself sin squats by the door. Its desire is against you but you  can conquer it.” And Cain spoke with his brother Hevel, and it happened when they were in the field that Cain rose up against his brother Hevel and killed him. (Breishis 4:3-8) Here we have such a terribly tragic episode so early in human history; one brother kills another. How did such a thing happen? What was the motive? The answer can be summarized in one word, “Jealousy”. Cain was upset that his brother Hevel excelled in an area that he initiated and gained the ultimate, a cosmic ovation from The Creator. His reaction can be described in clinical terms as “angry and depressed”. He was in need of   some serious psychological intervention. Who came to the rescue? None other than HASHEM! From here we can learn the art of good counseling. Our sages tell us that the question of the wise is half an answer, and so HASHEM asks, “Why are you angry and why are you depressed?” What’s so brilliant about that question? The Ha’emek Davar the Netziv cleverly points out that there are two questions here. 1st- Why are you angry? And 2nd-    Why are you depressed? What difference does it make that there are two questions? Are these not two conflicting emotions? Let’s see! What makes someone angry? One is brought to experience anger, I would suggest, when something or someone frustrates his power.   When somebody suddenly usurps your parking place or behaves against your will, a   fighting rage may be aroused. Here is an area where you feel empowered and someone has curbed your clout, thwarted your will, or disregarded your expectation. The result is anger. Who was the object of Cain’s anger? He felt betrayed by and he blamed Hevel. Over whom does he have real power? Who is the only one that he truly has control of? Isn’t it obviously true that he is only fully responsible for himself!? Why does someone become depressed? Is it not when all hope is lost, at least in the imagination of the thinker!? The person feels de-energized at the news from the doctor or lawyer that there’s nothing more to do. Concerning whom has Cain given up? He’s given up on himself. Who is the only one that he has full control of? You guessed it! Why then     should he give up on himself? Why should he try to control his brother? Rebbe Nachman ztl. said, “When you try to break a “mida” – a character trait, you end up with two broken character traits.” Cain had two strong responses to his brother’s meteoric rise to stardom. One was energizing, the other enervating. While trying to boost the battery of a car the positive and negative cables must be properly aligned. If the wires are crossed  the result can be disastrous. Cain’s wires were crossed, so he was told to take control of his own destiny. “Surely if you improve you will be forgiven”. The talent and tendency to “let   go” is for Hevel. Why then did he fail? Cain’s jealousy over Hevel’s success was a sign of his own potential. Cain could have and should have allowed himself to become inspired. He had three choices, though. 1) Improve. That’s hard. 2) Accept the status quo. That hurts. 3) Chop Hevel down. That’s the easy   way out. DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.   Be Creative • Torah.org     Posted on October 5, 2018 (5779) By Torah.org | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner In the beginning G-d created the Heavens and the Earth… The High Holiday prayer books have been shelved, the Sukkah is stored away (or at least that’s the plan), and we start reading the Torah again from the beginning. The custom of restarting the Torah readings at this time seems designed to neatly line up with the inspiration and growth we’ve had over the High Holidays and Sukkos, and gives us the opportunity to start again from our own beginning. Ahead of us is a new year. Genesis chronicles the steps G-d took to create a new universe, and we are now tasked with the creation of our year, ourselves — our personal universe. The story is told of G-d’s desire to create, and man, “in G-d’s image,” has an innate desire to create a life for himself. G-d’s creation was a complete change from its prior state of nothingness, to a world of something-ness. The G-dly image within us desires the same — to model the Divine by making changes in our lives. This desire, however, is most often expressed in a drive to earn more money, to buy more things, to “accomplish” in our material pursuits. The Alter of Slobodka wisely said in Yiddish, “ Ah mentch vort besser un shayner, uhber nisht anderish” — “Man likes better and nicer, but not different.”   But what our souls truly seek is a very different form of growth. We have the ability to make something from nothing; to do things differently this year, and live closer to our values and those of the Torah. (Sefer MiShulchan Gevoha, HaRav Aharon Kotler ztl) May G-d give us the strength and the courage to make our new beginning.