Merkaz Anash, Beis Hamedrash L’shluchim and COLlive.com present The Chassidic Perspective with Rabbi Yoel Kahn, a weekly short webcast on topics that are timely and relevant.
Rabbi Kahn, often referred to as “Reb Yoel,” is the most preeminent authority on Chabad-chassidic teachings and was the chief reviewer and transcriber of the discourses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Rabbi Kahn is also the lead editor of Sefer Ha’erechim, a multi-volume encyclopedia of abstruse chassidic and mystical concepts and the head Mashpia at the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.
This webcast is delivered in Yiddish and a transcription in English, prepared by Rabbi Shraga Dovid Homnick, appears below or can be printed in a PDF format.
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The parsha of Vayeitzei concludes with Yaakov and Lavan making a pact, pledging never to harm each other, and erecting a pile of stones between them which was to serve as a testimonial to this agreement, “Gal-eid.”
Seforim point to two pesukim which serve as an allusion to the significance of Lag Ba’omer: “Gal einai v’abita niflaos mi’torasecha,” open my eyes and I shall gaze upon wonders from Your Torah, and the pasuk under discussion, both of which contain the word “gal” which is comprised of the letters Lamed and Gimmel. However, while the link of the first pasuk to R. Shimon bar Yochai is fairly obvious, what relevance does “gal-eid” have, other than the word itself?
Tes Kislev
Interestingly, the Mitteler Rebbe’s passing has a number of parallels to the histalkus of R. Shimon bar Yochai. Rashbi is described as spending his last day revealing secrets of the Torah never divulged previously, and his soul departed with the word “chaim” on his lips. Similarly, the Mitteler Rebbe spent his last night saying an inordinate amount of chassidus, and he too passed away while saying the word “chaim.” In fact, the Tzemach Tzedek explicitly stated that his father-in-law passed away in the same manner as Rashbi.
Considering that this parsha is always read in conjunction with 9 Kislev, the Mitteler Rebbe’s yahrtzeit, it follows that the above-cited remez is related to his passing as well, which only serves to amplify the need to determine this pasuk’s meaning.
Hashem’s Livelihood
Yaakov’s trip to Charan has been cast as a metaphor for the soul’s journey into this world. Just as Yaakov left the comforts of Eretz Yisroel for the difficulties of dealing with the devious Lavan, our neshama descends into this ‘world of falsehood,’ and has to contend with a similar set of problems. The crucial question is: How will we relate to this new challenge?
The Rebbe Rayatz tells of how the Baal Shem Tov, while still a hidden tzadik, would visit town after town, seek out the simple folk, and converse with them, inquiring about the state of their health and livelihood, with the hopes of eliciting a hearty ‘Baruch Hashem!’ He once entered a beis midrash and encountered a parush (ascetic) engrossed in learning. The Baal Shem Tov approached him, but the parush irately dismissed the Baal Shem Tov’s inquiries about his health and livelihood. “Reb Yid,” said the Baal Shem Tov, “you are depriving Hashem of his parnasa!” The parush was understandably puzzled. The Baal Shem Tov then proceeded to explain that Hashem is described as “Yoshev tehilos Yisroel,” which the Baal Shem Tov interpreted to mean that Hashem is sustained by our praise and exclamations like ‘Barush Hashem.’ The refusal of the parush to respond in that vein thus served to deprive Hashem of His ‘livelihood.’
What’s curious about this story is why the Baal Shem Tov insisted on broaching mundane subjects with the parush, when he could have asked, far less awkwardly, how his learning was coming along. The parush would then have been far more keen to respond that Baruch Hashem, it was going well, and Hashem would have then received His “tehilos Yisroel.” But what the Baal Shem Tov was really after was to root out the notion that G-dliness was only a product of severe spirituality, and to establish that Hashem can actually be present in our everyday activities.
Specifically the Everyday
There are two models for connecting with Hashem through our routine actions: “Kol maasecha yihyu l’sheim shamayim,” and “b’chol drachecha da’eihu.” The former means acting with G-d in mind, like making money in order to support a Torah lifestyle, but there might not be anything necessarily Jewish about how we go about earning that money, and it’s only the manner in which we spend it which is for the sake of Heaven. The latter, on the other hand, is about connecting with Hashem specifically through our everyday acts. The Baal Shem Tov wasn’t content to focus on the obvious methods for serving Hashem, but rather wished to call people’s attention to Hashem’s involvement in our health (“rofei kal basar”) and livelihood (“zon es ha’olam”) and arouse a ‘Baruch Hashem!’
When in ‘Charan,’ we face two options: We can practice avoidance, like the parush who surely had no choice but to eat occasionally, yet saw that act as an unfortunate necessity, and the brachos he’d need to make as a mere halachic requirement. He only felt capable of experiencing a true connection with Hashem through fasting and studying Torah. Then there is the perspective of the Baal Shem Tov, which is to discover Hashem within our physical lives. To see holiness only in the spiritual is to interact with Hashem in a limited, reduced fashion; the revelation of a far more powerful level of G-dliness enables us to connect with Hashem even in the mundane aspects of our lives.
Melting the Walls
This then is the difference between the revealed and hidden parts of the Torah. The revealed part of Torah demands that we construct a wall in the face of ‘Charan,’ barring the ability to engage. A “gal,” on the other hand, poses a warning but does not prevent passage. Yaakov and Lavan’s pact stipulated that they could not pass the stones – with the intent to harm the other, but they were explicitly permitted to cross over to each other’s realm for the purpose of commerce. This represents our quest to mine gashmiyus for the holiness buried within, which is possible with the power of p’nimius ha’Torah.
This is reflected in the pesukim we began with: “Gal einai v’abita niflaos mi’torasecha” – when Torah’s wondrous inner dimension is revealed, the walls dividing the physical from the spiritual melt away, leaving the “gal-eid,” a demarcation which reminds us not to slip, but encourages us at the same time to forge ahead and reveal Hashem within our lives. This aptly captures the essence of what Rashbi, and later the Mitteler Rebbe, who broadened chassidus, represent.
For further learning see לקו”ש חלק ה’ ט’ כסלו.
Excellent. Always so inspiring. Thank you.