Close To Torah

וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב (כו:מב).

 ”I will remember my covenant with Yaakov” (26:42).

Rashi informs us the reason that Yaakov’s name is spelled here with an additional Vav (יעקוב). There are five times that ‘Yaakov’ is spelled with an extra Vav and five times that ‘Eliyahu’ is spelled with his Vav missing (אליה-ו). This is to signify that Yaakov took this letter from Eliyahu’s name as a collateral to assure that Eliyahu would come to redeem the Jewish people from exile! Now, this certainly is a deep Torah secret, but let us delve into it to see what we can glean.

The Chida (Chomas Anach) quotes the following fascinating Chazal. Eisav got his name because he was born highly developed and full of hair. His name shows that he was עשוי, fully made! Yaakov got his name because he grasped on to the heel of Eisav struggling to emerge first, thus עקב, heel. Yaakov stole the Yud of עשוי, making his own name יעקב, and left his brother with עשו. In the future when Moshiach comes, Yaakov will take the Vav of עשו as well thus becoming יעקוב and leaving only עש, moth, a worthless tiny creature! This too is a Torah secret, but perhaps we can gain a practical lesson from it all!

The Chida goes on to explain that Yaakov’s action of taking the letter Vav on five occasions is to hint to two important letters. First and most obvious is the ו,Vav itself, the letter which he took. The second is the number of times that he took it which is five and is equivalent to the hebrew letter ה, Hey, hence ו-ה. These two letters are highly significant for Chazal say, that as long as Amalek are in the world, Hashem’s name (י-ה-ו-ה) is minimized to only י-ה, G-d, and is lacking its ending of ו-ה! Thus, the bringing of Moshiach will restore the final two letters. What does this all mean?

Amalek’s (עמלק) etymological root is מליקה, decapitation of the head. Why is this their name and essence? Hashem gave us freewill by providing us with a brain and a body. Our body has animalistic and earthly drives; it desires the pleasures of this world. Our brain on the other hand knows what is good and true and desires spirituality and perfection. With our conscience decisions we can choose to control our impulses and steer ourselves towards proper actions. The battle rages and victory is only in the hands of one who kings his intellect over his body thereby making his knowledge guide his actions. Thus, a head decapitation signifies a separation from knowledge and bodily application. The body is removed from the head’s control. Amalek strives for us to cut off our heads (knowledge and connection to Hashem) and rather let our bodies rule! The Seforim write that theי-ה of God’s name represents knowledge and the ו-ה at the end represents the body, physical action. Our job is to connect them, whereas Amalek strives to detach them! (Indeed, Eisav, the grandfather of Amalek and founder of their hedonistic worldview died by decapitation and his head was buried in the Cave of Machpayla! His body, the ruler of his life, surely did not belong in that holy burial plot!)

Thus we can begin to understand the above quoted Chazal. Yaakov’s role out of the three Avos was to be the family builder of the Jewish Nation; to show the twelve tribes how to live their lives connected to Hashem. Yaakov desired to connect the ו”הto the י”הand to act accordingly! In fact, when Moshiach comes Yaakov will undermine all of Eisav’s strength by grasping his Vav (physicality), showing that he had conquered it! Yaakov entrusted Eliyahu with this responsibility as well. Thus, the two letters which the Chida found hinted in the words of Chazal (the letter ,ו Vav, and its five times (,ה Hey) that it was taken from Eliyahu) were precisely the letters which represent the practical application (ו-ה) of Torah observance! Eliyahu thereby became the enforcer of Torah law. He was entrusted to act when necessary, to ensure that the Nation was living by Hashem’s commands. Indeed, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 98a) tells us that Eliyahu stated that he will arrive to announce Moshiach when we repent and listen to Hashem’s voice! In Eliyahu’s time he saw that the people weren’t acting properly and thus he made a public display of Hashem’s sovereignty on Mount Carmel. He took action and entreated his fellow brothers to follow his lead! Hashem rewarded Eliyahu by sending him to be present at every Jewish Bris Milah, circumcision, as this act shows our willingness to subjugate every part of our body to act for Hashem. (Incidentally, this is hinted by the word בריתי in our exact verse!)

Eliyahu was a reincarnation of Pinchos the Cohen. Pinchos is most famous for his passionate action for the glory of Hashem when he rose from among the Jews to protest and punish Zimri’s terrible sin against God. The theme here is action! Additionally, Eliyahu HaNavi performed resurrection of the dead on a young boy. That child grew up to be the prophet Yonah, whose book stresses the theme over and again that we must act in accordance with the will of Hashem! This is the precise idea here.

Surely the concepts discussed here are of a very lofty nature, but the lesson that we see is clear. Our job in life is to live by the beautiful truths that we have in our heads and to apply it as best that we can to our everyday lives. Indeed, we all know that although this is often a most difficult task, when we do it we are rewarded with the greatest happiness and fulfillment available to mankind!

אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה (ו:ו).

“A constant fire you shall keep burning on the Altar, it shall not be extinguished” (6:6).

This verse dictates that a fire shall be burned on the Altar every day. Chazal (Yuma 21b) say that even though fire would be sent down from heaven to consume the sacrifices, nevertheless, there is a commandment for the Cohanim to place wood and fire on the Altar on their own.

This concept seems very strange. Why would Hashem require us to light a flame ourselves if He sends one down from Heaven?

The Sefer HaChinuch shares an important principle to answer this question. He says that even the greatest miracles which Hashem performs are always done in a hidden manner. Hashem allows His great actions to appear as natural. Even by the Splitting of the Sea, which was a phenomenal miracle, the Torah tells us that Hashem sent a powerful eastern wind to blow strongly all night. This is how Hashem works. This is the reason that we must provide wood and fire on the Altar, to cover up and prevent the miracle of the descending fire from being seen.

Why is it done this way, why does Hashem desire not to perform open miracles? The answer is in order to allow mankind to maintain their freewill. The viewer is never forced to believe. If his heart is filled with biases and perversion, he has the option of writing off everything as natural and coincidental. If one wishes to remain unmoved and uninspired, denial is possible. For those however who wish to see Hashem’s great acts, it is available before their very eyes. If one is striving for the truth, then he will see Hashem, the source of all, in everything that occurs and he will not be deterred by the mask of nature.

R’ Chaim Volozhin explains the same idea based on the doctrine of Chazal, “any place that you find Hashem’s greatness mentioned, you also find His great Humility expressed”. Hashem’s great kindness is that He hides Himself in this world in order to provide us with a battleground on earth in which we can fight to cling to Him, thus providing us with reward for what our efforts have earned for us.

Man’s challenge in every physical endeavor which he undertakes is to recognize that Hashem is the only One who can take him through. “Rabos machshavos b’lev ish vatsas Hashem hee sakum, man has many plans, but only Hashem’s counsel will prevail.” Even though, to the human eye it seems as if one is taking a certain action and thereby accomplishing a project, we believe with complete faith that everything is being done by Hashem! This is the perspective of a Jew. This is the message which the fire we light on the Altar expresses. Hashem doesn’t perform open miracles, rather He allows us to find Him in our daily life!

ויודע הדבר למרדכי ויגד לאסתר המלכה ותאמר אסתר למלך בשם מרדכי (אסתר ב:כב)

“Mordechai found out (about the assassination plot) and informed Esther the queen who reported the plans to the king in the name of Mordechai” (Esther 2:22).

There is a perplexing line in a Mishnah which needs much understanding.

The Mishnah in Avos (6:6) lists the forty-eight keys for acquiring Torah. The very last one is, “אומר דבר בשם אמרו, when quoting something not originating from your own self, be sure to credit the true producer”. The Mishnah states that this brings גאולה, redemption, to the world! The proof cited is our above quoted verse, “Esther informed the king in the name of Mordechai.”

Haman’s Downfall

Mordechai heard Bigson and Seresh plotting to poison the king. He immediately informed Esther of the plot and the king launched an investigation that ended with the verification of the scheme and their swift execution. At that time, it was recorded in the king’s chronicles for posterity. According to Esther’s statement, it had been Mordechai who had uncovered the plot and this was duly recorded. The event was well forgotten and Mordechai never got any recognition for it. Meanwhile, years later, the king was unable to sleep one night and requested that his records be read to him to review his royal affairs. He was thus reminded of what Mordechai had did for him and realized that he never rewarded him for it. It was at that moment that Haman the Evil arrived before the king to request permission to hang Mordechai. This enraged the king and thus began Haman’s downfall! Hence, it was because Esther stated the original report in the name of its’ true source that the framework for Haman’s destruction was laid!

Three Difficulties

There are three fundamental questions here.

Firstly, the idea is simple and understood, but why is it a key for acquiring Torah, it seems to be a key for functioning in society and not dominantly for Torah? It appears to be a very significant key as well because it is the final key listed and it is also the only key which has a scriptural source quoted to prove its’ importance?! How are we to understand this?

Secondly, what is the concept of ‘bringing redemption to the world’ and what does it have to do with acquiring Torah?!

Thirdly, why is this lesson intrinsically tied to Purim, it seems to be a mere detail of the entire event. Why is it that this law stems from Megillas Esther specifically? Even if you see it as a major point in the entire story, still, in Torah we must understand why each lesson was derived from where it is found?

Let us get to the depth of this Mishnah and thereby shed light on one of the most fundamental lessons of Purim!

Simple Steal!

Plagiarism is an easy crime. You heard or read something nice and now you repeat it or copy it and give yourself credit! As long as you are not caught, it is quite easy to get away with. After all, your name is on the work; your mouth expressed the ideas, so why should anyone suspect that you are not the genuine author! Only, it is not the truth! An honest person will give proper credit-citation! Yes, it looks like it is my idea, but I must tell you the true creator!

Torah Worldview

When we learn Torah, it is with the recognition that we are studying the wisdom of Hashem. How can we, physical creatures, understand the Great Hashem and His wisdom through our earthly toil?! The answer is that we can’t, and in truth we have no ability to do so! So how do people achieve understanding in Torah? The answer is that it is all a gift from Hashem! Hashem grants us wisdom as a gift in exchange and recognition for our efforts! Hence, we do not produce Torah ourselves, we receive the endowment of understanding from Hashem. This is a paramount principal regarding our study. We can easily deny Hashem’s assistance and state that we thought of things on our own, but this is plagiarism!

In truth, this idea applies to all areas in life as well. It covers our business endeavors and our every undertaking. Man puts in his effort to produce and God carries out and brings him success, if He so wills. This is how the entire world operates. Our job is to give Him the credit!

If a person tells over an idea of someone else and takes credit for it as if it were his own, he is denying truth. But he is doing much worse than that. He is compromising the entire construct of the world; he is missing the whole theme of reality! The entire goal of the universe is to give credit where it is due! This world is comprised of only Hashem’s bestowments and care; our job is to acknowledge it!

We have previously explained how God’s name is totally absent from the entire Book of Esther. This is to show that the entire greatness of the Jews was that they saw and credited how Hashem operated and controlled the world from behind a mask called ‘nature’. They saw the miracles of God throughout the entire Purim story while an outsider would call everything lucky natural chance! They knew Who was doing everything and they took it to heart!

Answer to Question 1: Its’ Relation To Torah

Now we can understand everything. The purpose of the world is to provide a battleground for freewill to allow man to either ignore or deny God and choose evil or to seek and find God and decide on good. Hashem is waiting to be found and acknowledged! This is what we Jews spend our lifetime proclaiming! “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu…, there is a God who runs the world!” We give credit where it is truly due!

Indeed, this is the path enumerated in the Mishnah for how to acquire Torah. Torah is the ultimate truth and the climax of its’ lessons is the full appreciation of Hashem as Supreme King. This is why this key is given the most prominent focus in this Mishnah listing the keys for acquiring perfection!

Answer to Question 2: Bringing Redemption

The Geula which this key brings to the world is that of personal redemptions and a cumulative contribution that will eventually be large enough to bring the final and ultimate redemption. In all times in life when we give proper credit, we are strengthening our ability to recognize the True Source of everything! This recognition prompts salvations!

Answer to Question 3: Why From Purim

This is learned from Megillas Esther and heavily stressed for this is the essence of the entire lesson of Purim. The Jews were “Omer Davar B’Shaim Amro”. They gave credit to Hashem for all that He did for them under a potentially deniable cover. On the outside, plagiarism and denial were possible, but the Jews saw past those distractions and passionately clung to the true Source of their salvation. They acknowledged that all of their triumph was brought from Hashem!

This is the perspective of Purim which can be applied every day of our lives!

In line with the aforementioned concept, I would like to thank my dear friend Rabbi Chanoch Eliyahu Sofer Shlit”a for helping me think of and develop the above quoted ideas!