The Weekly Dvar Torah
Volume I Issue #3
Sifsei Cohen
Shavuos
Adapted from the wisdom of Rav Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk from the Meshech Chochmoh and Rav Tzadok HaCohen from Pri Tzadik and other works.
This issue is dedicated to my dear friend Tzvi Russell. May Hashem bless him with all that is good. Tzvi requested to convey his message that every neshomo needs an aliya so let this be for the living aliya of his neshomo.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
The Talmud in Pesachim tells us of the custom of Rav Yosef who would eat only the finest veal on Shavuos. This uncharacteristic indulgence was rationalized by what would later become one of the most famous quotations from the Talmud. “If not for the day of Shavuos, how many Yosi’s are there in the market place” said Rav Yosef. Rav Yosef celebrated with a flare because the day that Hashem gave the Torah is something quite unique. Rav Yosef’s fame and greatness were due to his accomplishments in Torah scholarship. Had it not been for the Torah, Rav Yosef recognized that he would likely have become just and another ordinary Joe of whom there are so many. However, Rav Tzadok HaCohen explains this in an entirely different way.
Rav Yosef was an enigma. On the one hand, he was a Torah giant who was likened to Mount Sinai itself (Brachos 64a). On the other hand we find him ‘blowing his own horn’ when he exclaimed that as long as he was still alive there remains a paragon of humility in the world (end of tractate Sota). The humble person possess a deprecating self awareness and views others as superior to himself. How can one boast about humility?
In order to help us understand this Rav Tzadok HaCohen points out an amazing story concerning Rebbe Elazar b”R’ Shimon (Ta’anis 20). Rebbe Elazar came across and exceptionally unattractive individual and made a scornful comment about his abhorrent appearance. The man was deeply offended and told Rebbe Elazar that if he has complaints about his appearance he would be better off directing them to the craftsman who produced him. Rebbe Elazar understood that he had sinned and went to great efforts to appease the man and acquire his forgiveness. Tosfos explains that this man was Eliyahu HaNavi incognito. What was Eliyahu trying to teach Rebbe Elazar?
Rav Tzadok explains the story in following way. To evaluate the stature of another Jew can be quite ‘tricky’. The spiritual majesty of the great tzadikim and talmidei chachomim is self evident, or so it seems. Whereas the less learned people are merely ordinary Jews. However, genuine tzadikim do not employ this method of evaluation. It is overly simplistic. Here is what a tzadik thinks about when he looks upon his fellow Jew. The Jewish neshomos were transformed at Har Sinai from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Before the giving of the Torah only people who had the ability and willingness to exert themselves with enormous effort were able to scale to great spiritual heights. After the giving the Torah the neshomos of Yisroel were upgraded making it possible for every Jew to reach amazing heights in avodas Hashem. The truly humble tzadik realizes that his own personal greatness is due, to a large degree, to the special upgrade and transformation that his neshomo underwent at Har Sinai. The tzadik therefore does not think of himself as superior to any other Jew. In fact the opposite may be true. Since the tzadik was blessed with a special neshomo the expectations from him exceed those who possess a neshomo of lesser capacity. The simple Jew, with his simple neshomo, may be living up to his full capacity through the great effort he employs in his personal avodas Hashem. In contrast, the great tzadik may be doing only that which is natural for the elevated neshomo that he possesses. This is the view of the humble tzadikim of Am Yisroel.
This is the lesson that Eliyah haNavi was teaching Rebbe Elazar. The ugly man was not just superficially unsightly. He had ugly deeds and ugly thoughts. That is what Rebbe Elazar was pointing to with scorn. Rebbe Elazar looked down upon this underperformer with disapproval and rejection. Eliyahu’s lesson to him was that there are people who are created to struggle at the base level. Their entire lives they will need to struggle just to remain at a minimal level of decency and Torah observance. These type of people were designed by the Creator, the same Creator of the neshomos of the great tzadikim. They are very special in the eyes of Hashem and should also be viewed as righteous.
Rav Yosef’s understood this principle. His humility was genuine. He understood that whatever greatness he had achieved was because of the elevated neshomo that he possessed. He took no credit for his greatness and could honestly exclaim that he was a paragon of humility. He sincerely believed that none of his greatness was due to his own credit.
This what he meant when he explained the reason for his lavish celebration on Shavuos. Had it not been for the day of the receiving of the Torah the vast majority of people would have no chance to reach the spiritual stature that Rav Yosef attained in his lifetime. True, with tremendous effort it was possible to scale the heights of spiritual perfection even prior to the giving of the Torah, as did our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov in addition to many other great tzadikim. But there numbers were few and far between. This is the deeper meaning of what Rav Yosef said “If not for this day (Shavuos) how many people could have attained the greatness that I have achieved? “How many ordinary Yosi’s would there have been in the marketplace… how many people could have reached the level of spiritual elevation that I did?” Now that the Torah was given everyone can be a super achiever, a tzadik!
Rav Yosef was reflecting on his own monumental achievements in Torah. “How could I have achieved this greatness?! My achievements are so incredible that based on normal human capacity would be highly improbable to accomplish. I could not have achieved this on my own!” But now that the Torah has been given every single Jew can attain a level of spiritual greatness beyond ordinary human expectations. Indeed, Shavuos is a day for a very special feast!
But spiritual greatness still needs to be defined. Is it possible only through acquisition of vast Torah knowledge and excellence in observance? Eliyahu HaNavi has taught us differently. True greatness is the fruit of toil and struggle with the yetzer harah. The more that we struggle the greater we become. There are tzadikim who toil with amazing effort to fulfill Hashem’s every commandment. There is another type of tzadik who, although lacking Torah erudition and scrupulous mitzvah observance, is in continual battle with his yetzer harah. It is possible that the latter is even greater in Hashem’s eyes than the former. The ability and strength to carry through with our every day stuggles is also due to the upgrade our neshomos received at Har Sinai. Yes, Shavuos is a day for special celebration. It is the day that commemorates the transformation of an ordinary folk to a mighty nation of tzadikim. Amech kulam tzadikim!
This issue is dedicated to my dear friend Tzvi Russell. May Hashem bless him with all that is good. Tzvi requested to convey his message that every neshomo needs an aliya so let this be for the living aliya of his neshomo.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
The Talmud in Pesachim tells us of the custom of Rav Yosef who would eat only the finest veal on Shavuos. This uncharacteristic indulgence was rationalized by what would later become one of the most famous quotations from the Talmud. “If not for the day of Shavuos, how many Yosi’s are there in the market place” said Rav Yosef. Rav Yosef celebrated with a flare because the day that Hashem gave the Torah is something quite unique. Rav Yosef’s fame and greatness were due to his accomplishments in Torah scholarship. Had it not been for the Torah, Rav Yosef recognized that he would likely have become just and another ordinary Joe of whom there are so many. However, Rav Tzadok HaCohen explains this in an entirely different way.
Rav Yosef was an enigma. On the one hand, he was a Torah giant who was likened to Mount Sinai itself (Brachos 64a). On the other hand we find him ‘blowing his own horn’ when he exclaimed that as long as he was still alive there remains a paragon of humility in the world (end of tractate Sota). The humble person possess a deprecating self awareness and views others as superior to himself. How can one boast about humility?
In order to help us understand this Rav Tzadok HaCohen points out an amazing story concerning Rebbe Elazar b”R’ Shimon (Ta’anis 20). Rebbe Elazar came across and exceptionally unattractive individual and made a scornful comment about his abhorrent appearance. The man was deeply offended and told Rebbe Elazar that if he has complaints about his appearance he would be better off directing them to the craftsman who produced him. Rebbe Elazar understood that he had sinned and went to great efforts to appease the man and acquire his forgiveness. Tosfos explains that this man was Eliyahu HaNavi incognito. What was Eliyahu trying to teach Rebbe Elazar?
Rav Tzadok explains the story in following way. To evaluate the stature of another Jew can be quite ‘tricky’. The spiritual majesty of the great tzadikim and talmidei chachomim is self evident, or so it seems. Whereas the less learned people are merely ordinary Jews. However, genuine tzadikim do not employ this method of evaluation. It is overly simplistic. Here is what a tzadik thinks about when he looks upon his fellow Jew. The Jewish neshomos were transformed at Har Sinai from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Before the giving of the Torah only people who had the ability and willingness to exert themselves with enormous effort were able to scale to great spiritual heights. After the giving the Torah the neshomos of Yisroel were upgraded making it possible for every Jew to reach amazing heights in avodas Hashem. The truly humble tzadik realizes that his own personal greatness is due, to a large degree, to the special upgrade and transformation that his neshomo underwent at Har Sinai. The tzadik therefore does not think of himself as superior to any other Jew. In fact the opposite may be true. Since the tzadik was blessed with a special neshomo the expectations from him exceed those who possess a neshomo of lesser capacity. The simple Jew, with his simple neshomo, may be living up to his full capacity through the great effort he employs in his personal avodas Hashem. In contrast, the great tzadik may be doing only that which is natural for the elevated neshomo that he possesses. This is the view of the humble tzadikim of Am Yisroel.
This is the lesson that Eliyah haNavi was teaching Rebbe Elazar. The ugly man was not just superficially unsightly. He had ugly deeds and ugly thoughts. That is what Rebbe Elazar was pointing to with scorn. Rebbe Elazar looked down upon this underperformer with disapproval and rejection. Eliyahu’s lesson to him was that there are people who are created to struggle at the base level. Their entire lives they will need to struggle just to remain at a minimal level of decency and Torah observance. These type of people were designed by the Creator, the same Creator of the neshomos of the great tzadikim. They are very special in the eyes of Hashem and should also be viewed as righteous.
Rav Yosef’s understood this principle. His humility was genuine. He understood that whatever greatness he had achieved was because of the elevated neshomo that he possessed. He took no credit for his greatness and could honestly exclaim that he was a paragon of humility. He sincerely believed that none of his greatness was due to his own credit.
This what he meant when he explained the reason for his lavish celebration on Shavuos. Had it not been for the day of the receiving of the Torah the vast majority of people would have no chance to reach the spiritual stature that Rav Yosef attained in his lifetime. True, with tremendous effort it was possible to scale the heights of spiritual perfection even prior to the giving of the Torah, as did our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakov in addition to many other great tzadikim. But there numbers were few and far between. This is the deeper meaning of what Rav Yosef said “If not for this day (Shavuos) how many people could have attained the greatness that I have achieved? “How many ordinary Yosi’s would there have been in the marketplace… how many people could have reached the level of spiritual elevation that I did?” Now that the Torah was given everyone can be a super achiever, a tzadik!
Rav Yosef was reflecting on his own monumental achievements in Torah. “How could I have achieved this greatness?! My achievements are so incredible that based on normal human capacity would be highly improbable to accomplish. I could not have achieved this on my own!” But now that the Torah has been given every single Jew can attain a level of spiritual greatness beyond ordinary human expectations. Indeed, Shavuos is a day for a very special feast!
But spiritual greatness still needs to be defined. Is it possible only through acquisition of vast Torah knowledge and excellence in observance? Eliyahu HaNavi has taught us differently. True greatness is the fruit of toil and struggle with the yetzer harah. The more that we struggle the greater we become. There are tzadikim who toil with amazing effort to fulfill Hashem’s every commandment. There is another type of tzadik who, although lacking Torah erudition and scrupulous mitzvah observance, is in continual battle with his yetzer harah. It is possible that the latter is even greater in Hashem’s eyes than the former. The ability and strength to carry through with our every day stuggles is also due to the upgrade our neshomos received at Har Sinai. Yes, Shavuos is a day for special celebration. It is the day that commemorates the transformation of an ordinary folk to a mighty nation of tzadikim. Amech kulam tzadikim!