DESERT DESSERT: PARSHAT CHUKAS
Shira Smiles shiur 2017/5777
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
L'iluy nishmat haRav
Meir Yaakov ben Aharon v'Fruma Zlotowitz – R"Ch 1 Tamuz (30 Sivan) 5777
One of the ten recorded Biblical songs, the Song of the Well, is found in
Parshat Chukas. In addition to describing the well itself, where it came from
and where it goes, the well and its song are also a metaphor for Torah, as
water and Torah are both necessary for our survival. The well was mimidbar
matanah/a gift from the wilderness that then continued to nachaliel/the
valley, and from the valleys to the heights and from the heights to the
valleys.
While the well was indeed a gift from the desert, and the valleys and heights
refer to geographical and topographical areas, our Sages find tremendous wisdom
and life lessons in the words the Torah chooses to describe these places. Rabbi
Munk elucidates the explanation of Gemarrah on these names. If one makes
himself into a midbar/desert, one will merit the matanah/gift of
Torah. Then he becomes Nachaliel/an heir to Hashem. He rises higher, but
if he becomes too proud, he will again descend to the valley.
This explanation raises as many questions as it answers. What does it mean to
make yourself a desert? What does it mean that Torah is a gift?
Before we begin our discussion, we must understand that a midbar/wilderness
is by definition hefker/ownerless. Now we can understand Rabbi Schrage
Grosbard's z”l writing that you must share your Torah freely with others.
Teaching Torah must not be just a job to earn a paycheck, but a total
commitment to the welfare of one's students and of others. Rabbi Grosbard z”l
cites the verse from Kings I that states that Yoav ben Tzeruyah was buried in
his house in the midbar. Who was Yoav ben Tzeruyah? Besides being a very
successful and trusted general to King David, he was also so knowledgeable of
Torah that he was the head of the Sanhedrin. Yet, he was completely devoted to
the people. When he won a battle, he would donate his spoils of war to the
needs of the community or to support the poor. His home was open to all, he
considered his wealth hefker. Therefore the Prophet writes that his home
was like the hefker of the wilderness.
Only someone who is so dedicated to others that he has nullified his own ego
and all that belongs to him can be a perfect receptacle for the Torah and for
the kedushah/sanctity that derives from it. As the verse in Vayikra
commands: Venikdashti betoch Bnei Yisroel/That I may be sanctified in
[through] Bnei Yisroel. Sanctification always implies some separation. Rabbi
Grosbard z”l explains that the separation one must work on in order to be able
to sanctify God's name is separation from self and from ego. By searching for
ways to serve and help others rather than trying to boost his own image or
build his personal financial empire one will come to sanctify God's name.
Torah indeed should be made available to all. If you hear a wonderful dvar
Torah, writes Rav Scheinerman in Ohel Moshe, share it freely with
others. It is by seeing to it that others can avail themselves of Torah that
one raises himself and reaches great heights. This was indeed the merit of
Yehoshua bin Nun, continues Rabbi Scheinerman. While he undoubtedly felt joy at
being a dedicated disciple of Moshe Rabbenu, he did not appropriate that Torah
to himself alone. Our Sages tell us that he busied himself with arranging the
benches (or carpets) to make it comfortable for others as well to come and
learn Torah in the tent. Hashem gave Yehoshua the gift of Torah leadership as
his just desserts for involving himself with the needs of others.
Hashem gives you gifts and rewards depending on what you goal is, continues
Rabbi Scheinerman. If you want to learn so you can teach others, Hashem will
help you learn more easily so you can share with others. If your desire is to
help others financially, to give tzedakah, Hashem will provide you with the
means to fulfill this goal.
Torah will only come to someone who is willing to self sacrifice to achieve it,
to kill his ego for Torah's sake. That is how Rabbi Frand quotes the Mepharshim
that interpret the verse, "This is the Torah/teaching of a man who would
die in a tent" (Bamidbar 21:14) The Torah can only be preserved by
a man who is willing to "kill himself" for it. If you want to be
successful in Torah, you must negate your ego entirely.
Rabbi Shmulevitz z”l notes the three preparations Bnei Yisroel made before
receiving the Torah. They did teshuvah, they achieved unity, and, tying these
two together, they camped in the desert. To become a vessel for Torah one must
lower oneself and be willing to listen to others. The Gemarrah Taanis
instructs us "to be soft like a reed and not strong like a cedar." In
other words, one should be able to be flexible like a reed, listen to others
and admit that the other may be right. [In the times of the Gemarrah and by
Sephardim today, the reed (rather than a feather) is used to make the quill for
writing a Sefer Torah, although the reed is still used for scratching the lines
and margins onto the parchment, symbolizing the flexibility one needs to
acquire Torah successfully.]
We reinforce this idea daily at the end of the Shemoneh Esreh prayer,
writes Rabbi Egbi in Chochmat Hamatzpun. We pray that Hashem "guard
my tongue from evil... to those who curse me let my soul be silent and let my
soul be like dust to everyone." Only in that state of self - nullification
can we then continue, "Open my heart to Your Torah..." One must empty
oneself of "I" to create space for Torat Hashem to enter.
Negating the self is not easy. Human nature from the creation of Adam himself
wants to assert its independence. But negating one's desire for the trappings
or honor of this world does not destroy independence and willpower. On the contrary,
writes Rabbi Tatz in Worldmask, using one's free will to make His will
your will is the greatest exercise of one's free will and makes one part of a
greater existence. Moshe, the humblest of all men, was also the greatest of all
men.
The human brain is not capable of comprehending the depths of the Divine Torah
without Divine assistance writes Rabbi Chaim Friedlander z”l, the Sifsei
Chaim. The more we seek honor and wealth, the more we become slaves in
their pursuit, the less independent we are. Therefore, when we remove
haughtiness from our psyches, we make room for Hashem to help us in our
studies. Torah can be found anywhere, and we must be willing to learn
from anyone. Like water, Torah flows down from high places to fill every empty
space and crevice beneath it.
Since the Torah is a spiritual entity, Man must negate and symbolically kill
his physical aspect to receive the gift of Torah. Torah exists within each of
us, writes Rav Dovid Hofstedter, but we find it difficult to access because our
physicality prevents the spiritual Torah from coming down. The midbar
mindset removes these layers of physicality and the light within can shine
forth as we access the gift of Torah.
The Netivot Shalom reveals a truth that should be obvious.
When one is in the midbar/desert, one yearns for water. One should
thirst for Torah and learning just as strongly. If one does not yet yearn to
study Torah, one should at least have the desire to desire it, for complacency
is the enemy. This same holds true for the enjoyment of Shabbos. While we
are meant to enjoy the spiritual tranquility of Shabbos, there are those who
cannot yet appreciate it. But if they at least desire to have a true Shabbos
experience, Hashem will give him the gift of Shabbos. If we can arouse our
desire for the Torah and its way of life from below, from here on earth, Hashem
will fill that desire from above.
We find an interesting anomaly in the Shemonah Esreh prayer, notes Rabbi
Pincus z”l in Tiferes Shimshon. Most of the blessing in which we request
Hashem's help begin directly with the request: "Return us. to Your
Torah..." "Forgive us..." "Cure us..." and so on. Only
one request seems to have an introduction before we make the request: "You
graciously endow man with wisdom and teach insight to a frail mortal."
Only then do we ask Hashem to "endow us from Yourself with wisdom, insight
and discernment." We realize that Torah is a gift directly from Hashem, so
we request that You give us that gift. Shavuot is called zman matan
Torateinu/the Time of the Giving of the Torah, not the time of receiving
the Torah because Bnei Yisroel, unlike the other nations, wanted it immediately
and responded with, "We will do," even before hearing what was in it.
We knew Torah was a precious gift and resolved to use it appropriately.
The level of one's desire will determine how much he accomplishes in Torah,
writes Rabbi Weissblum in Heorat Derech. Our avodah, the work we
are required to do, is to nurture that desire that will help us overcome all
obstacles. The desire will give us the impetus to persevere.
The Torah describes the vision of Hashem at Sinai as a consuming fire. Rabbi
Bernstein, citing the Ktav V'Hakabala, explains the metaphor of fire in
an interesting manner. A fire can immediately consume something as thin as
paper and then disappear. Fire has a more lasting effect on dense matter such
as wood. Similarly, those who did minimal spiritual preparation for their
encounter with Hashem at Sinai had a lesser experience than those who prepared
themselves more intensely.
We have to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah and its wisdom constantly. We
prepare ourselves by desiring to have the ability to learn that which is in reality
beyond our capability. Then, writes Rabbi Friefeld z”l, we have to take that
desire and translate it into heartfelt prayer. When we've reached a level of
success, we must not rest on our laurels, but beseech Hashem to grant us more
wisdom, to learn more from the wonderful Torah He has gifted us with so that we
can rise ever higher and create more godliness in this world.
Hashem has given us this wonderful gift of Torah. He has also planted within us
many emotions and free will. We must use our capacity to choose to desire more
than just a physical life, to free our souls to lead a spiritual life with the
minimal constraints of our physicality. By separating ourselves from what our
egos' influences, we can transcend ourselves and access Hashem's help to
achieve great spiritual heights and wisdom through Torah.
[I feel
this shiur is appropriately dedicated to the elevation of the soul of Rabbi
Meir Zlotowitz, founder of ArtScroll Mesorah Publications, who with much
dedication and love of Torah, Bnei Yisroel, and people in general has made
Torah so accessible to so many people who would otherwise live in a wilderness
where Torah did not grow. His levaya/funeral was today, Rosh Chodesh, in
Brooklyn. He will be buried tomorrow, Monday, in Beit Shemesh, Israel. May his
work continue to positively impact Torah study and Jewish life throughout the
Jewish world.]