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.

 

You Can’t Have it All

 

 

Posted on June 7, 2002 (5756) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha | Level: Beginner

 

Last week, a friend pointed out to me a very interesting insight. He noted that both the first direct command in the Torah to an individual and the last have a striking similarity.

Hashem’s last charge in the Torah is the directive to His beloved servant Moshe. Hashem tells him to stand on a mountain and view the Land of Israel. He shows him its beautiful hills, valleys, and fertile plains. Then He says, “you shall not go there.”

Similarly, the Torah begins with a very similar scenario. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, is shown the entire Garden of Eden. After he is shown the fruit of all its trees and invited to partake in all its delicious beauty, he is warned. One tree, The Tree of Knowledge, is forbidden.

Can there be a connection between the restrictions placed upon Adam in the Garden and those placed upon Moshe in the final stages of his life? Why does the Torah begin and end with bountiful visions that are bordered by restrictions?

As Rav of the tiny village of Tzitivyan, my grandfather, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, and his family lived in dire poverty. On his meager wages, the children went hungry and had hardly any clothes to wear. It was no wonder that jubilation filled Reb Yaakov’s home upon hearing that he was the preferred candidate for the Rabbinate of Wilkomir, the third-largest Jewish city in Lithuania. He was assured of the position and was told that the K’sav Rabbanus, the Rabbinical contract, would be forthcoming.

After a few weeks of waiting, however, Reb Yaakov was informed that his hopes had been dashed. The position was given to a colleague whose influential family had affected the revised decision. Though the Kamenetzky family was almost in mourning, Reb Yaakov assured them that sometimes no is the best answer. “We may not always understand it at the time, but, there is a clear future even when your hopes and dreams seem to have been destroyed.”

The continued dire poverty solidified my grandfather’s decision to come to America, where he eventually created a life of Torah leadership.

The town of Wilkomir was decimated by the Nazis, who killed almost all of its inhabitants along with their Rav.

Perhaps the Torah is sending an underlying message through its greatest mortals. Not everything you would like to have is yours for the asking. And not everything that your eyes behold is yours for the taking. This world is confined. You can’t have it all. And sometimes what you don’t take may be a true blessing. On this earth there will always be wants that we will not, cannot, and should not obtain.

The Torah is replete with restrictions. They present themselves in what we put in our mouths, what we put in our minds, and what we wear on our bodies. Life must embrace self-control.

Torah Jews are lucky, however. Their sense of “no” is already in the know. By following the clear guidelines of the 365 negative commandments, they are safeguarded and conditioned for many of the difficult responses they face in a very tempting society.

The Torah surrounds its entirety with that message. Moshe on his exit had to hear it, just as Adam did upon his entry. As we just ended a year and begin a new one, it is important for us to hear it as well.

Dedicated by Dr. and Mrs. Blair Skolnick in memory of their grandfather, Rabbi Morris Blair of blessed memory.

Mordechai Kamenetzky – Yeshiva of South Shore

 Good Shabbos

 

Text Copyright © 1997 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc. The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore.

Drasha is the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion which is sponsored by The Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation

 

Moshe's Final Song • Torah.org

 

Posted on September 24, 2009 (5770) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The final song of Moshe is the main subject of this week’s parsha. It is a dark one to contemplate. Though it promises a happy ending for Israel, at the end it outlines a long list of travail and challenges, tragedies and losses on the way. Moshe raises but does not   answer the underlying question of Jewish history: Why are the people of Israel apparently fated to suffer such continuing calamities?

The underlying reasons seemingly are connected to Jewish behavior itself, but to our finite and seemingly rational minds this reason is often deemed to be insufficient to justify the disproportionate troubles of Israel. Factoring our permanent and never ending minority status in the world population, it still seems to be highly unfair for the Jewish people to   bear the downturns that Moshe accurately forecasts for them in the song of Haazinu.

It is no accident of chance that the parsha is always read in public in the Yom Kippur  season of the Jewish year. It – the Torah reading -combines within it the awe and dread of the day of Yom Kippur coupled with its message of hope, forgiveness and healing. The parsha fits the season of the year with its mood of solemnity – as well as confident hope.

The parsha reflects the Jewish story and mood perfectly. Troubles and hope, trepidation  and optimism combine to define our personal and national lives. Haazinu speaks to us as a timeless gem of commentary on our current situation and circumstances.

Rashi on Haazinu quotes the two opinions of Rabi Yehuda and Rabi Nechemia regarding  who is the main subject of the bulk of the middle part of the parsha – is it the Jewish people or the nations of the world generally? Like many apparent differences of opinion that    appear in Talmud and Midrash, here also it is possible to say that both opinions are correct and accurate.

History has shown us time and again that the Jewish people are the canary in the mine and that the fate of other nations and even of the world as a whole is tied to the Jewish story    and its happenings. Europe was destroyed in the twentieth century because of the story of the Jews. The Soviet Union disappeared coincidentally and not accidentally because of  Soviet Jewry, the State of Israel and Jewish dissidents and refuseniks.

 

The troubles of the world are many and bitter, dangerous and threatening. Yet they somehow seem to have a connection to the Jewish people, their problems and status in world events, no matter how forced and tenuous it may appear. So, both opinions in Midrash are correct. Moshe’s song applies to Israel and to the nations of the world as well.

 

Their fate is bound up with our destiny and our challenges. And the eventual settling of accounts that Moshe describes at the end of his song of Haazinu affect the general world no less than they do the people of Israel. May the comforting end of the song be the beginning  of our great and good new year.

Shabat shalom. Gmar chatima tova, Rabbi Berel Wein

 

Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs,

audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com

 

Waking Up in Time • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on August 30, 2002 (5762) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

 

I am asleep but my heart is awake… (Song of Songs)

 

I consider it a gift from heaven. I don’t know where it came from or why I was fortunate enough to be able to retrieve it. That year, I had an ambitious study partner that had me up early in the morning at a time bordering on late night. I’m still a little tired from that    time, though I don’t regret the learning a bit. We agreed to allow ourselves to sleep a little later on the Eve of Rosh Hashana so we can be rested and calm to deal with our families in the important days ahead. The inner alarm clock, however, woke me at the usual holy     hour, and I immediately pressed the inner snooze alarm, thankful I still had plenty of time.

While I lay there in a state of half sleep, I became aware of a thought that was percolating there in the back of my brain. Had I fallen back asleep it would have gone as geese and flown away. At that moment, amazingly a thunderstorm whipped up outside and with a brief crackle there followed an explosive boom that rocked the whole house. Everyone was shaken awake. The children started to cry and I was sitting up in bed consciously aware, now, of a new idea, not knowing, yet, what it really meant: “Rosh HaShana is the Krias Shema Al HaMita (The bedtime reading of Shema Yisrael) for the entire year!” Later that morning I shared what I thought it meant with one of my teachers who patted me on the back a said earnestly, “It’s the real truth, Label!” I didn’t dare argue with him.

The Code of Jewish Law begins with the requirement to “wake up like a lion” hungry for life’s important tasks. The only problem is that the law is directed at a sleeping man. How does one wake up in the morning like a lion? Simple! Go to bed like a lion! If one goes to sleep like a lion, he stands a fighting chance to wake up like a lion. If one goes to bed like a slug, he’ll probably wake up like a slug. Therefore, before we go to bed at night, we have a custom to say a “bedtime shema”. This helps set our mind on what we are getting up for. If we go to sleep with a sense of purpose we wake up on purpose.

 

If you were in a hotel in some far off city and the next day there was an important early morning business meeting, before retiring for the night you might do two necessary things:

1) Set that alarm clock there on the night table, and 2) Set off the alarm. Why set off the alarm clock at night? Two reasons: 1) To see if it actually works; 2) To tune your ear to the sound you will need to respond to in the morning when you are deep asleep.

That’s what the evening “bedtime shema” is meant to accomplish, and it could be what the blast of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana is doing as well. On Rosh Hashana we are arousing   our consciousness, if even temporarily, to be clear and intensely aware of our sublime mission here on earth collectively and individually. In accepting The Almighty as our sovereign authority, we are simultaneously crowning ourselves with a supreme sense of purpose. The Shofar, playing the conscience, hauntingly articulates the urgency implied by its potential.

Then (no cynicism intended) we are apt to fall asleep for the rest of the year, losing consciousness of the original who, what why, where, when, and how did we get into this, anyway? The Shofar installs that signal that will stir us from slumber, no matter how deep the exile of sleep. Just as Rosh Hashana impacts the whole year so too the Shofar. It has something strong to say almost all and every day.

Just where do we hear that call and cadence in the course of our daily lives? It’s no mistake that emergency vehicles know just how to get our attention. The tender infant has a song that opens a mother’s heart. Buzzers and birds nudge with a similar subtle urge. Even as I write, workmen saw and hammer. Elsewhere the traffic jams and a chorus of cars clamor. What one person can do to stall or advance the flow of history! Ask not for whom the    phone rings…

When the ear and heart are properly sensitized on Rosh Hashana we may merit to hear the ubiquitous and poetic message of the Shofar speaking directly to us at any time, and hope  to wake up just in time.

Have a good Shabbos

Text Copyright &copy 2001 Rabbi Dovid Green and Project Genesis, Inc.

 

The Spiritual Environment

 

Posted on September 6, 2007 (5767) By Rabbi Chaim Flom | Series: Short Vorts | Level:

Beginner

 

“I can’t believe that you spent so much time watching that wrestling show!! You always were so frustrated because it was so dumb and phony!!”

“After I watched it with the gang a few times, I guess it became entertaining.”

 

Hashem told Moshe and Bnai Yisrael that after we enter Israel  “You will  have seen their   (the nations in the land of Israel) abominable things, their idols, wood and stone, silver   and gold… and some of you who will serve the gods of these nations…” (Divorim 29:16-17)  If we thought that they were “abominable”, why would any Jew eventually worship it? The Brisker Rav said that this is the result of familiarity. First you think it is abominable, then   it’s an idol, then it seems like wood and stone, and ultimately you think it’s silver and gold!! Never think that you aren’t affected by your environment and by what you see!!

Even though subtle advertising taught you that your whole toothbrush needs to be filled with toothpaste, a pea’s worth is sufficient !!

Have a great Shabbos !! Rabbi Chaim Flom

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Counsel of My Heart Posted on September 23, 2019 (5780) By Mordechai Dixler | Series: Lifeline | Level: 

Beginner Our reading this week contains an extraordinary passage, one which is very relevant for the upcoming High Holy Days. Moshe gathers the Nation of Israel together, and describes to them a truly unforgivable sin. It is so terrible that “Hashem will not be willing to forgive him, but Hashem’s anger and jealousy will be kindled against him…” [29:19]

What is this great crime? What could a person do that is so terrible and degraded that it is certain to arouse Divine anger, rather than forgiveness? 

The answer describes something so simple that, at first glance, we may not understand why it is so wrong. G-d, through Moshe, makes a covenant with the Jews that they will not follow idols or the immoral practices of idolaters, a covenant that we are sworn to follow. But then the Torah describes an individual, family or tribe that is drawn to idolatry. “And when he hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I will have peace, as I follow the counsel of my own heart,’ adding ‘the watered upon the dry.’” [29:18] 

 What is it that arouses Divine anger? Simply that he lies back, instead of trying to improve. “I will have peace — I can continue misbehaving, and nothing bad will happen.” As I said, we may not understand why that’s so horrible. Isn’t the actual sin what matters? Why is a person’s “lackadaisical attitude” more worthy of Divine wrath than serving idols? 

To be drawn to idolatry, or any form of misbehavior, is to be overwhelmed by a desire. We are human. We want things that we’re not supposed to have, whether power, tempting foods, someone else’s money or a forbidden relationship. And, sadly, we sometimes give in to those temptations. G-d knows we are human, and can forgive us if we turn back, express sincere regret, and commit to doing better.

 Not so the person who says, “I will have peace.” I remember my teacher, Rabbi Asher Rubenstein zt”l, speaking about how dangerous and wrong this is. Self-satisfaction with our own shortcomings? That’s what infuriates Hashem. 

Rashi explains what the verse means by “adding the watered upon the dry.” When a person is indifferent to his own wrongdoing, there is no longer any distinction between inadvertent error and deliberate sin. Once he is willing to callously do the sin deliberately, the fact that today he did it by mistake no longer makes his behavior easier to forgive.

 This thought applies to every person, no matter his or her spiritual level. We cannot be satisfied with where we are; we must look at our actions, and try to do better. And that, of course, is one of the key messages of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. We must grab the special opportunity of these Holy Days to turn away from our mistakes and our bad choices, and set ourselves upon a better path. Let us show HaShem that we are not indifferent to our wrong actions, but sincerely desire greater closeness to the Divine. 

May we all be Written and Sealed for a Blessed Year! Yaakov Menken

The Root Of Unhappiness

 

 

Posted on September 2, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Yochanan Zweig | Series: Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha | Level: Intermediate Beginner

 

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, with happiness and goodness of heart, when you had everything in abundance”(28:47)

The Torah attributes all of the horrific curses which will befall Bnei Yisroel to not serving Hashem with happiness. The complaint is not that we will not serve Hashem, rather, although we will serve Him, the stress is upon the fact that it will not be done with  happiness. Citing the Zohar, the Ramban teaches that the admonition in this week’s parsha refers to the period of the second Beis Hamikdash through its destruction and the subsequent exile.¹

 

The Talmud states that the second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of “sinas chinam” – “baseless hatred”.² This would appear to contradict the reason offered by the Torah, that the destruction was precipitated by Bnei Yisroel’s not serving Hashem with happiness. How do we reconcile this contradiction?

 

The Torah attests to the fact that we were unhappy, even though we had everything. This is mirrored by the contemporary phenomena which finds a high percentage of depressed and disenchanted people to be those who enjoy success and high social standing. Why do    people who apparently have everything that life has to offer, still exhibit a lack of   happiness?

A person can only be truly happy if he appreciates what Hashem has given him. However,     if a person is egocentric, considering himself deserved of all that he has, he will not be content by that which is already his; rather, he will be focused on those things which are     not yet his, but to which he feels entitled. If a person goes through life with the attitude that everyone owes him, he will constantly be miserable, never satisfied with what he has.

Furthermore, since he feels he is entitled to everything that he desires, a person who has something he desires becomes an immediate threat to him. He begins loathing that person for no reason other than the perception he maintains that that person is withholding from him an object which should rightfully be his. It is this type of loathing that the Talmud defines as baseless hatred.

Consequently, baseless hatred can be traced back at its inception to our lack of appreciation for what Hashem has done and continues to do for us. Therefore, sinas chinam is not a different reason than the reason offered by the Torah as to what precipitated the destruction of the Temple; it is a manifestation of being unhappy when serving Hashem.

1.28:42 2.Yoma 9b