The Weekly Dvar Torah
Volume I Issue #30
Who Did That??? The Dilemma of Freewill
Vayeshev
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.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated to my dear friends Mr. and Mrs. Robert Koltai and their wonderful children in appreciation of their outstanding friendship and support. May they be blessed with boundless blessings of ruchnius and gashmius.
The medrash relates an interesting story about the great Roman Emperor Anthony and Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishna. Anthony once travelled to Eretz Yisroel and upon arriving summoned Rebbi Yehuda to come appear before him. Rebbi Yehuda set out, accompanied by his son Rebbi Shimon, and the legendary Rebbi Hiya. As they approached Anthony's entourage, Rebbi Shimon commented on the stunning build and height of Anthony's soldiers. Rebbi Hiya on the other hand, was far less impressed. To explain his reaction, Rebbi Hiya told Rebbi Shimon to come with him to the market place. Once there, Rebbi Hiya pointed to a large cluster of grapes and figs that were surrounded by a swarm of flies. "Do you see those flies?" Rebbi Hiya asked Rebbi Shimon. "The Emperor's soldiers are no more impressive than those flies". The pair then left the marketplace and returned to where Rebbi Yehuda was waiting for them. When Rebbi Shimon reported Rebbi Hiya's remarks to his father, Rebbi Yehuda was even more dismissive of the Roman legionaries. Rebbi Yehuda said "Rebbi Hiya equated them with flies!? Those soldiers don't even amount to a bunch of flies! Whereas Hashem utilized flying insects during the ten plagues as his agents to punish the Egyptians, these soldiers amount to nothing at all". This is how Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi characterized the importance of the mighty Roman army.
The medrash goes on to state that when Hashem decided to carry out the decree that was declared at the bris bein habesorim – the covenant between Hashem and Avraham, He implemented it by means of the youngest, and seemingly least significant of the brothers, Yosef. An integral element of the covenant was Hashem's decree that the descendants of Avraham would have to journey to a foreign land and endure slavery and suffering for four hundred years. As a result of the strife and jealousy between Yosef and his brothers, Yosef ended up in Egypt. Incredibly, he eventually rose from the status of an abandoned, incarcerated slave to find himself the viceroy of all of Egypt. While the brothers acted on their own volition in setting this chain of events in motion, they were in effect messengers of Hashem to carry out the decree of exile that was pronounced upon the Jewish people two generations earlier. The medrash concludes with the following quote from Psalms 92 "How incredible are your deeds Hashem; how deep are your thoughts!" How deep are the thoughts of Hashem – when it came time to carry out the decree of exile, Hashem inflated Yakov's love for Yosef, thereby igniting the jealousy and hatred of the other brothers. This, in turn, brought about Yosef's sale as a slave to Egypt and his eventual rise to power which ultimately enabled his father and brothers to descend to Egypt with wealth and honor. All of the aforementioned events transpired so as to bring about the fulfillment of the ancient edict that Hashem proclaimed upon Avraham hundreds of years before – how deep are your thoughts Hashem!
Rav Tzadok HaCohen points out that this amazing medrash raises the issue of free will versus fate. A superficial reading of the biblical account of the animosity between Yosef and his brothers gives one the erroneous impression that this was just another example of petty sibling rivalry. In reality though there was much more going on behind the scenes. This is why the medrash associates the story of the great Emperor Anthony and his giant soldiers with the story of Yosef and his brothers. From a Torah perspective the mighty Roman soldiers were not even equal to a fly. Whereas the fly has no free will and unconditionally submits itself to the will of its Creator, the Roman soldiers act arrogantly of their own free will even while in reality Hashem is simply utilizing their wickedness for the sake of a greater plan. Although both the flies and the Roman soldiers can do nothing that Hashem does not acquiesce to, the flies at least can claim to be faithful agents of Hashem. By contrast, the Romans could take credit for nothing other than their own evil intentions. Thus they don't even amount to a pack of flies.
Many great Torah scholars have pondered the question as to why the Egyptians were punished for carrying out the Divine decrees of inflicting slavery and suffering upon the Jewish people. This seems unjust given that in reality they were no more than pawns of the Divine will to carry out the previously ordained decree of exile. Rav Tzadok gives a simple but profound answer to this question. Indeed the Egyptians did carry out Hashem's will, but they did it with nefarious feelings of relish and pleasure which were not part of the divine decree. Had they applied the yoke of slavery and suffering on the Jews without sadistic personal satisfaction, they would not have been punished. But since it was their own choice to execute the decree with wicked enthusiasm – they were held accountable for every ounce of pain and suffering that they inflicted upon their victims. It is in this light that we need to understand the strife between Yosef and his brothers. In truth the whole series of events was scripted at the highest levels of Divine design, to bring about the events that were necessary to forge the spiritual fiber of our nation while in the crucible of our conception in Egypt. To the extent that the brothers could claim they were acting purely out of necessity, following the 'script' they could be excused. On the other hand, even a slight ulterior motive would render them liable and potentially subject them to Divine retribution.
This idea raises a fundamental question and moral dilemma. Where does freewill begin and where does destiny take over? It is often beyond the scope of our understanding to determine what part of our actions stem from Divine design and what is really our own doing. Rav Tzadok explains that the purpose of the yeitzer hara – the evil inclination, is to create temptation and in so doing enable free choice. It is our job to exercise all of our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual strength in order to overcome the ignoble drives that lurk within us. If despite all of our efforts we stumble we can still do teshuva – repentance. If we do not repent we are held fully accountable because in most cases our sins are accompanied with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction of personal desire. We are seldom completely divorced on an emotional level from our deeds. Our passions and desires, that for the most part are not predetermined, are inextricable parts of our actions. We are so intimately attached to our desires that we define our personal identities based upon them. Although at times the results of our actions may be predetermined we bear full responsibility and accountability for them.
It is important to bear in mind that the aforementioned idea is also true regarding our positive actions. In many cases the main component that we, of our own freewill, contribute to these good deeds is in fact our personal desire and passion. This in turn explains the great emphasis that the Torah places on performing the mitvos with simcha -joy. The great kabbalist the Ari tz"l credited his awesome insights and revelations into the deepest secrets of the universe – to the immense simcha that he worked upon and developed in his observance of the mitzvos. May these thoughts serve as an inspiration to assist us in accomplishing our mission in life and fulfill the mandate of the verse "serve G-d with joy"!
By Rav Yitzchak Schwartz Rosh Yeshiva Orchos Chaim Jerusalem
yschwartz@orchos.org.
This publication, Zichron Yehoshua, is in memory of Yehoshua Yakov ben Moshe-Jeffrey Nussbaum through a generous grant from Dr. Eric Nussbaum and family.
This issue is dedicated to my dear friends Mr. and Mrs. Robert Koltai and their wonderful children in appreciation of their outstanding friendship and support. May they be blessed with boundless blessings of ruchnius and gashmius.
The medrash relates an interesting story about the great Roman Emperor Anthony and Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishna. Anthony once travelled to Eretz Yisroel and upon arriving summoned Rebbi Yehuda to come appear before him. Rebbi Yehuda set out, accompanied by his son Rebbi Shimon, and the legendary Rebbi Hiya. As they approached Anthony's entourage, Rebbi Shimon commented on the stunning build and height of Anthony's soldiers. Rebbi Hiya on the other hand, was far less impressed. To explain his reaction, Rebbi Hiya told Rebbi Shimon to come with him to the market place. Once there, Rebbi Hiya pointed to a large cluster of grapes and figs that were surrounded by a swarm of flies. "Do you see those flies?" Rebbi Hiya asked Rebbi Shimon. "The Emperor's soldiers are no more impressive than those flies". The pair then left the marketplace and returned to where Rebbi Yehuda was waiting for them. When Rebbi Shimon reported Rebbi Hiya's remarks to his father, Rebbi Yehuda was even more dismissive of the Roman legionaries. Rebbi Yehuda said "Rebbi Hiya equated them with flies!? Those soldiers don't even amount to a bunch of flies! Whereas Hashem utilized flying insects during the ten plagues as his agents to punish the Egyptians, these soldiers amount to nothing at all". This is how Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi characterized the importance of the mighty Roman army.
The medrash goes on to state that when Hashem decided to carry out the decree that was declared at the bris bein habesorim – the covenant between Hashem and Avraham, He implemented it by means of the youngest, and seemingly least significant of the brothers, Yosef. An integral element of the covenant was Hashem's decree that the descendants of Avraham would have to journey to a foreign land and endure slavery and suffering for four hundred years. As a result of the strife and jealousy between Yosef and his brothers, Yosef ended up in Egypt. Incredibly, he eventually rose from the status of an abandoned, incarcerated slave to find himself the viceroy of all of Egypt. While the brothers acted on their own volition in setting this chain of events in motion, they were in effect messengers of Hashem to carry out the decree of exile that was pronounced upon the Jewish people two generations earlier. The medrash concludes with the following quote from Psalms 92 "How incredible are your deeds Hashem; how deep are your thoughts!" How deep are the thoughts of Hashem – when it came time to carry out the decree of exile, Hashem inflated Yakov's love for Yosef, thereby igniting the jealousy and hatred of the other brothers. This, in turn, brought about Yosef's sale as a slave to Egypt and his eventual rise to power which ultimately enabled his father and brothers to descend to Egypt with wealth and honor. All of the aforementioned events transpired so as to bring about the fulfillment of the ancient edict that Hashem proclaimed upon Avraham hundreds of years before – how deep are your thoughts Hashem!
Rav Tzadok HaCohen points out that this amazing medrash raises the issue of free will versus fate. A superficial reading of the biblical account of the animosity between Yosef and his brothers gives one the erroneous impression that this was just another example of petty sibling rivalry. In reality though there was much more going on behind the scenes. This is why the medrash associates the story of the great Emperor Anthony and his giant soldiers with the story of Yosef and his brothers. From a Torah perspective the mighty Roman soldiers were not even equal to a fly. Whereas the fly has no free will and unconditionally submits itself to the will of its Creator, the Roman soldiers act arrogantly of their own free will even while in reality Hashem is simply utilizing their wickedness for the sake of a greater plan. Although both the flies and the Roman soldiers can do nothing that Hashem does not acquiesce to, the flies at least can claim to be faithful agents of Hashem. By contrast, the Romans could take credit for nothing other than their own evil intentions. Thus they don't even amount to a pack of flies.
Many great Torah scholars have pondered the question as to why the Egyptians were punished for carrying out the Divine decrees of inflicting slavery and suffering upon the Jewish people. This seems unjust given that in reality they were no more than pawns of the Divine will to carry out the previously ordained decree of exile. Rav Tzadok gives a simple but profound answer to this question. Indeed the Egyptians did carry out Hashem's will, but they did it with nefarious feelings of relish and pleasure which were not part of the divine decree. Had they applied the yoke of slavery and suffering on the Jews without sadistic personal satisfaction, they would not have been punished. But since it was their own choice to execute the decree with wicked enthusiasm – they were held accountable for every ounce of pain and suffering that they inflicted upon their victims. It is in this light that we need to understand the strife between Yosef and his brothers. In truth the whole series of events was scripted at the highest levels of Divine design, to bring about the events that were necessary to forge the spiritual fiber of our nation while in the crucible of our conception in Egypt. To the extent that the brothers could claim they were acting purely out of necessity, following the 'script' they could be excused. On the other hand, even a slight ulterior motive would render them liable and potentially subject them to Divine retribution.
This idea raises a fundamental question and moral dilemma. Where does freewill begin and where does destiny take over? It is often beyond the scope of our understanding to determine what part of our actions stem from Divine design and what is really our own doing. Rav Tzadok explains that the purpose of the yeitzer hara – the evil inclination, is to create temptation and in so doing enable free choice. It is our job to exercise all of our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual strength in order to overcome the ignoble drives that lurk within us. If despite all of our efforts we stumble we can still do teshuva – repentance. If we do not repent we are held fully accountable because in most cases our sins are accompanied with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction of personal desire. We are seldom completely divorced on an emotional level from our deeds. Our passions and desires, that for the most part are not predetermined, are inextricable parts of our actions. We are so intimately attached to our desires that we define our personal identities based upon them. Although at times the results of our actions may be predetermined we bear full responsibility and accountability for them.
It is important to bear in mind that the aforementioned idea is also true regarding our positive actions. In many cases the main component that we, of our own freewill, contribute to these good deeds is in fact our personal desire and passion. This in turn explains the great emphasis that the Torah places on performing the mitvos with simcha -joy. The great kabbalist the Ari tz"l credited his awesome insights and revelations into the deepest secrets of the universe – to the immense simcha that he worked upon and developed in his observance of the mitzvos. May these thoughts serve as an inspiration to assist us in accomplishing our mission in life and fulfill the mandate of the verse "serve G-d with joy"!