The Weekly Dvar Torah
Volume I Issue #12
The Sweet Fragrance of Jewish Unity
Parshas Devarim
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.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
In honor of my new grandson, the son of Tehila and Ilan Sender, to be named at his bris on erev Shabbat
In this week's haftorah the great prophet Isaiah chastises the Jewish people "Bring Me no more of your futile offerings the smoke that pillars up from them is detestable to Me…" Why does the prophet describe their offerings as futile and detestable? In order to fully understand the brilliant explanation of Rav Meir Simchah of Dvinsk that follows, we need to point out that the word for "offerings" in Hebrew is mincha which is usually refers to meal offerings. The Hebrew word used for "smoke" is ketores which alludes to an incense offering. What was Isaiah trying to teach us in his rebuke when he singled out the meal offerings and the incense offerings? Rav Meir Simcha explains that both the meal and incense offerings have some seemingly peculiar attributes. Let us begin with the incense – ketores offering. The incense offering was comprised of eleven spices. Ten of them possessed a good fragrance. The eleventh was a spice called helbana - galbanum that possessed an unpleasant odor. At first glance the inclusion of this particular spice seems an enigma. Why does the Torah require including a bad smelling spice in the incense offering? Even more perplexing is an amazing halacha that the Talmud derives from the presence of the foul smelling helbana - galbanum together with the other spices of the incense offering. The Sages teach us that just as the bad smelling helbana - galbanum had to be included in the incense offering in the Temple so too there is a halachic requirement that in every prayer assembly of the public fast days, including Yom Kippur the wicked must be included along with the righteous in the community. If the community does not include the wicked together with them in prayer the fast day cannot achieve its goal of obtaining atonement for our sins (This is the reason that on Yom Kippur before the Kol Nidrei prayer begins two respected members of the community join the chazzan to form an ad hoc beis din and quietly proclaim that in their capacity as a beis din they give permission to pray together with the wicked.).
When people come together and form a group for a common purpose it creates a spiritual force that far exceeds the sum of the individual participants. If all of the participants are righteous there will be a powerful positive force created. By contrast, if all of the participants are wicked a horribly dangerous force will emerge. That is the spiritual power of a group, i.e. it can create an awesome synergy that can bring about wondrous results. The key is that the group bands together for a common purpose. One would think that a group made up of the totally righteous would have the greatest potency. However our Sages tell us that this is not so, and use the helbana - galbanum spice as a metaphor to convey this powerful message.
The helbana - galbanum was included in the group of sweet smelling spices because it had the unique capability to improve the smell of the other spices. At the same time, the helbana - galbanum's own bad smell was neutralized by it absorbing the fragrance emitted by the other spices of the offering. However, if the spices are burned separately instead of simultaneously, the helbana - galbanum remains with its putrid odor and the other spices lack the full potential of aroma that the helbana - galbanum could have elicited from them. Similarly, the Jewish people are made of many different types and none are perfect. Some are stingy, others are gossipers, and some have hot tempers. The good news is that for every fault that an individual Jew possesses, he usually also has a positive trait too. For example, whereas the gossiper lacks self control of his tongue, on the other hand he is likely to be extremely generous when it comes to sharing his wealth with others and spending on mitzvos. Thus although negative character traits present a major challenge for us, there is a solution that can be achieved through Jewish unity. When Jews come together to form a community in service of Hashem the stingy fellow has an opportunity to learn others how to spend generously when it comes to mitzvos and tzedaka. The gossipers can observe how others are loyal and keep tight lips when speaking about others. The ones with short tempers can observe how others are able to control their tempers and bear the shortcomings of others with patience.
This is the lesson of the ketores – incense. The helbana - galbanum represents the character flaws that we all possess. Left on our own these faults will produce a "bad odor". However, when we come together as a community with other Jews it is inevitable that we will find another Jew who excels in the very same area that we are lacking. The purpose of the holy temple was to bring the Jewish people together and mold them into a unified community which, in direct, would lead to the self perfection of each individual by learning from the good qualities of others. Rav Meir Simcha brings support for this idea from the Talmud. The Sages ob'm instruct us that when we pray we should direct our hearts towards the holy temple. "If one is outside the land of Israel he should direct his heart in the direction of the land of Israel, if he is in Israel he should direct it towards Jerusalem, if he is in Jerusalem he should direct it towards the direction of the temple, if he is in the temple he should direct it towards the place of the holy of holies, if he is inside the holy of holies he should direct it towards the place of the holy ark, if he is on the opposite side of the holy ark he should envision himself as if he is in front of it and direct his face accordingly, i.e. if he is to the east of it he should direct his face towards the west, if he is to the west of it he should direct his face to the east, if he is to the south of it he should direct his face north, if he is to the north he should direct his face to the south, and in so doing all of the Jewish people unite their hearts around one place." (Talmud tractate Brachos 30a) The holy temple was meant to facilitate the unity of the Jewish people. When our ancestors lived in fulfillment of this goal they came together in marvelous, character building, unity. Indeed for this reason there were always ten miracles in the temple (Pirkei Avos 5). The occurrence of these miracles specifically in the temple was meant to convey the message that although each one of us as an individual is unworthy of miraculous Divine providence, that is only due to our individual faults. However, when we come together as a community, every individual shines forth, one excels in his fear of Hashem, another in his righteousness and love of the Jewish people, one in his generosity in giving tzedaka, and yet another in his greatness in Torah. When we all unite the "good fragrances" are so powerful that the "bad smell" of our faults is overpowered and transformed to sweetness.
This is why Isaiah rebuked the people with the ketores – incense, metaphor. When the Jewish people lack unity of heart and spirit of community; without the complimenting effect of the sweet traits of our brothers and sisters, the foul helbana - galbanum smell within us remains bitterly and stubbornly untransformed.
In light of this we can also understand why Isaiah, in addition to the incense metaphor, chose to chastise the people with the metaphor of the meal offering. Although generally sacrifices can be accepted from two or more people as a partnership, the meal offering is an exception. The meal offering can be brought only by an individual or on behalf of the entire Jewish nation. The symbolism behind this, explains Rav Meir Simcha, is that the community is not just a composite of individuals but a single organism comprised of many parts that come together in harmonious service of Hashem and mutual love and respect. [The meal itself conveys this concept. Flour is a collection of innumerable miniscule particles that owing to their extreme fineness seamlessly combine to a unified velvety substance.-MYS]. When the Jewish people ceased to behave like a unified body, each person pitted aggressively against his brother, they became predators of each other's welfare and good fortune. In such a state they could no longer be considered a community, but rather a collection of individuals and as such were disqualified from bringing the community meal offering. To have brought an offering would have been futile because as individuals they were unworthy. Left to our own limited resources we will never be able to rise above our faults. Only when we come together in heart and loving spirit can we hope to be able to learn the good from each other and triumph over our own flaws and pettiness.
In the megilah of Eicha 1:6 Yermiyahu the prophet laments the spiritual demise of his nation. He compares them to rams. Our Sages ob'm comment that rams, unlike many animals, do not travel in a dispersed grouping rather in single file each ram facing the tail of the one in front of it. So were the Jewish people, they directed their heads towards the "tails" of their fellow Jews. They did not look at each other in admiration of their unique positive character traits. Instead they scrutinized each other seeking to find faults and in so doing felt an unjustified sense of superiority. They looked down upon each other with deprecation and belittlement. In this way Rav Meir Simcha explains the comment of our Sages. "Jerusalem was destroyed because they did not rebuke each other" (tractate Shabbat 119b). Rav Meir Simcha explains that the type of rebuke the Sages refer to is self rebuke. The ideal of rebuke is to direct it to one's self by recognizing the goodness of others and attempting to inculcate those traits in ourselves. Unfortunately the Jews in the era of the temple did not do this. They did not attempt to learn from each other's good traits, rather they sought to afflict rebuke upon each other to belittle and bring each other down, like the rams who see only the tails rather than the heads. The traditional Rosh Hashana blessing "may we become like a head and not a tail" seems pertinent for this tragic time in our calendar.
You can be a partner in disseminating these wonderful teachings.
Please contact us for dedication opportunities.
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
In honor of my new grandson, the son of Tehila and Ilan Sender, to be named at his bris on erev Shabbat
In this week's haftorah the great prophet Isaiah chastises the Jewish people "Bring Me no more of your futile offerings the smoke that pillars up from them is detestable to Me…" Why does the prophet describe their offerings as futile and detestable? In order to fully understand the brilliant explanation of Rav Meir Simchah of Dvinsk that follows, we need to point out that the word for "offerings" in Hebrew is mincha which is usually refers to meal offerings. The Hebrew word used for "smoke" is ketores which alludes to an incense offering. What was Isaiah trying to teach us in his rebuke when he singled out the meal offerings and the incense offerings? Rav Meir Simcha explains that both the meal and incense offerings have some seemingly peculiar attributes. Let us begin with the incense – ketores offering. The incense offering was comprised of eleven spices. Ten of them possessed a good fragrance. The eleventh was a spice called helbana - galbanum that possessed an unpleasant odor. At first glance the inclusion of this particular spice seems an enigma. Why does the Torah require including a bad smelling spice in the incense offering? Even more perplexing is an amazing halacha that the Talmud derives from the presence of the foul smelling helbana - galbanum together with the other spices of the incense offering. The Sages teach us that just as the bad smelling helbana - galbanum had to be included in the incense offering in the Temple so too there is a halachic requirement that in every prayer assembly of the public fast days, including Yom Kippur the wicked must be included along with the righteous in the community. If the community does not include the wicked together with them in prayer the fast day cannot achieve its goal of obtaining atonement for our sins (This is the reason that on Yom Kippur before the Kol Nidrei prayer begins two respected members of the community join the chazzan to form an ad hoc beis din and quietly proclaim that in their capacity as a beis din they give permission to pray together with the wicked.).
When people come together and form a group for a common purpose it creates a spiritual force that far exceeds the sum of the individual participants. If all of the participants are righteous there will be a powerful positive force created. By contrast, if all of the participants are wicked a horribly dangerous force will emerge. That is the spiritual power of a group, i.e. it can create an awesome synergy that can bring about wondrous results. The key is that the group bands together for a common purpose. One would think that a group made up of the totally righteous would have the greatest potency. However our Sages tell us that this is not so, and use the helbana - galbanum spice as a metaphor to convey this powerful message.
The helbana - galbanum was included in the group of sweet smelling spices because it had the unique capability to improve the smell of the other spices. At the same time, the helbana - galbanum's own bad smell was neutralized by it absorbing the fragrance emitted by the other spices of the offering. However, if the spices are burned separately instead of simultaneously, the helbana - galbanum remains with its putrid odor and the other spices lack the full potential of aroma that the helbana - galbanum could have elicited from them. Similarly, the Jewish people are made of many different types and none are perfect. Some are stingy, others are gossipers, and some have hot tempers. The good news is that for every fault that an individual Jew possesses, he usually also has a positive trait too. For example, whereas the gossiper lacks self control of his tongue, on the other hand he is likely to be extremely generous when it comes to sharing his wealth with others and spending on mitzvos. Thus although negative character traits present a major challenge for us, there is a solution that can be achieved through Jewish unity. When Jews come together to form a community in service of Hashem the stingy fellow has an opportunity to learn others how to spend generously when it comes to mitzvos and tzedaka. The gossipers can observe how others are loyal and keep tight lips when speaking about others. The ones with short tempers can observe how others are able to control their tempers and bear the shortcomings of others with patience.
This is the lesson of the ketores – incense. The helbana - galbanum represents the character flaws that we all possess. Left on our own these faults will produce a "bad odor". However, when we come together as a community with other Jews it is inevitable that we will find another Jew who excels in the very same area that we are lacking. The purpose of the holy temple was to bring the Jewish people together and mold them into a unified community which, in direct, would lead to the self perfection of each individual by learning from the good qualities of others. Rav Meir Simcha brings support for this idea from the Talmud. The Sages ob'm instruct us that when we pray we should direct our hearts towards the holy temple. "If one is outside the land of Israel he should direct his heart in the direction of the land of Israel, if he is in Israel he should direct it towards Jerusalem, if he is in Jerusalem he should direct it towards the direction of the temple, if he is in the temple he should direct it towards the place of the holy of holies, if he is inside the holy of holies he should direct it towards the place of the holy ark, if he is on the opposite side of the holy ark he should envision himself as if he is in front of it and direct his face accordingly, i.e. if he is to the east of it he should direct his face towards the west, if he is to the west of it he should direct his face to the east, if he is to the south of it he should direct his face north, if he is to the north he should direct his face to the south, and in so doing all of the Jewish people unite their hearts around one place." (Talmud tractate Brachos 30a) The holy temple was meant to facilitate the unity of the Jewish people. When our ancestors lived in fulfillment of this goal they came together in marvelous, character building, unity. Indeed for this reason there were always ten miracles in the temple (Pirkei Avos 5). The occurrence of these miracles specifically in the temple was meant to convey the message that although each one of us as an individual is unworthy of miraculous Divine providence, that is only due to our individual faults. However, when we come together as a community, every individual shines forth, one excels in his fear of Hashem, another in his righteousness and love of the Jewish people, one in his generosity in giving tzedaka, and yet another in his greatness in Torah. When we all unite the "good fragrances" are so powerful that the "bad smell" of our faults is overpowered and transformed to sweetness.
This is why Isaiah rebuked the people with the ketores – incense, metaphor. When the Jewish people lack unity of heart and spirit of community; without the complimenting effect of the sweet traits of our brothers and sisters, the foul helbana - galbanum smell within us remains bitterly and stubbornly untransformed.
In light of this we can also understand why Isaiah, in addition to the incense metaphor, chose to chastise the people with the metaphor of the meal offering. Although generally sacrifices can be accepted from two or more people as a partnership, the meal offering is an exception. The meal offering can be brought only by an individual or on behalf of the entire Jewish nation. The symbolism behind this, explains Rav Meir Simcha, is that the community is not just a composite of individuals but a single organism comprised of many parts that come together in harmonious service of Hashem and mutual love and respect. [The meal itself conveys this concept. Flour is a collection of innumerable miniscule particles that owing to their extreme fineness seamlessly combine to a unified velvety substance.-MYS]. When the Jewish people ceased to behave like a unified body, each person pitted aggressively against his brother, they became predators of each other's welfare and good fortune. In such a state they could no longer be considered a community, but rather a collection of individuals and as such were disqualified from bringing the community meal offering. To have brought an offering would have been futile because as individuals they were unworthy. Left to our own limited resources we will never be able to rise above our faults. Only when we come together in heart and loving spirit can we hope to be able to learn the good from each other and triumph over our own flaws and pettiness.
In the megilah of Eicha 1:6 Yermiyahu the prophet laments the spiritual demise of his nation. He compares them to rams. Our Sages ob'm comment that rams, unlike many animals, do not travel in a dispersed grouping rather in single file each ram facing the tail of the one in front of it. So were the Jewish people, they directed their heads towards the "tails" of their fellow Jews. They did not look at each other in admiration of their unique positive character traits. Instead they scrutinized each other seeking to find faults and in so doing felt an unjustified sense of superiority. They looked down upon each other with deprecation and belittlement. In this way Rav Meir Simcha explains the comment of our Sages. "Jerusalem was destroyed because they did not rebuke each other" (tractate Shabbat 119b). Rav Meir Simcha explains that the type of rebuke the Sages refer to is self rebuke. The ideal of rebuke is to direct it to one's self by recognizing the goodness of others and attempting to inculcate those traits in ourselves. Unfortunately the Jews in the era of the temple did not do this. They did not attempt to learn from each other's good traits, rather they sought to afflict rebuke upon each other to belittle and bring each other down, like the rams who see only the tails rather than the heads. The traditional Rosh Hashana blessing "may we become like a head and not a tail" seems pertinent for this tragic time in our calendar.
You can be a partner in disseminating these wonderful teachings.
Please contact us for dedication opportunities.