E-TORAH
JULY 25th – 22 TAMMUZ
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A Torah Thought!
This week's Torah portion, Matot, focuses on the mitzva (commandment) of making vows, whereby a person forbids him- or herself from partaking of certain foods or becoming involved in certain activities. Why would a person make a vow? Because he sees that he is becoming too involved in worldly entities; that his life is becoming too materially oriented. Therefore he seeks a safeguard. The intention of this path of conduct is certainly positive, but it has drawbacks. Our Sages teach: "Why add more prohibitions? Is not what the Torah has forbidden enough?" For G‑d did not create material existence to be ignored, but instead to be used for a G‑dly purpose and intent.
At the heart of this issue is an inner conflict most of us face. Generally, we conceive of a person devoted to spiritual pursuits as otherworldly, somewhat acetic, not the kind of person with whom we'd like to relax and spend a Saturday night. And for that matter, not really the kind of person we'd like to be.
Where did this concept come from? There are some spiritual approaches that consider all material involvement as "a necessary evil." Some get very graphic about how bad material indulgence is and what difficulties it can lead to.
Since people at large aren't willing to accept such an approach, they go to the other end of the spectrum, seeking out sensual gratification and making that the object of their endeavors. They aren't necessarily protesting against aceticism. They're concerned simply with what makes them feel good.
And there are some who vacillate between the two extremes, at times indulging and at times feeling remorse over their deeds and inability to hold themselves back.
Why these two extremes? Because material satisfaction in and of itself is not very uplifting or fulfilling. It does not expand your horizons or enable you to grow. On the contrary, we all know how we can sometimes get caught up in seeking such satisfaction to the exclusion of all else. Then we become coarse and downward oriented. But this is not what we want to do with our lives. We want our lives to have meaning and depth.
On the other hand, we know that we are not angels and we don't want to pretend that we are.
Judaism offers a resolution to this quandary that satisfies both perspectives: Live in the world, but know that it is G‑d's world. Be happy. Know how to appreciate the good things in life and do so in a manner that others enjoy your company. However, don't indulge in material things out of selfish desire. Instead, partake of material things as an act of appreciation to G‑d for creating a world that contains a great variety of good.
In this vein, our Sages taught that the verse "Know Him in all your ways" is "a small passage on which the entire Torah depends." For the Torah is intended to teach man to relate to G‑d in all forms of experience.
From Keeping in Touch, adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe by Rabbi E. Touger,
published by Sichos in English.
One Friday afternoon, the Baal Shem Tov (the Besht) came to a small town to spend the holy Shabbat there. On his usual visits there, it was his habit to stay in the home of a wealthy householder who prized the honor of hosting the tzadik (holy man). This time, to the consternation of all, the Besht announced that he would be spending the entire Shabbat in the shul.
When he arrived in shul, the Baal Shem Tov prayed at great length, all the while weeping copious tears. The whole congregation joined him in the emotional prayers, and they wept too, although they didn't know the reason for their tears.
The Besht recited Psalms and enjoined the others to do the same. And when the services came to an end, he sent the congregants home to enjoy their Shabbat meal, instructing them to return and continue reciting Psalms.
The next morning, the Besht followed his usual custom and immersed himself before prayer. When he returned to the shul, he announced in a hearty voice that he would be joining his usual host for the Shabbat meal. The people were relieved, and a large crowd gathered at the wealthy man's home, hoping to understand the meaning of the day's events.
The Baal Shem Tov sat at the table in a happy mood, singing one Shabbat melody after another. Suddenly a gentile walked into the room. The Besht beckoned to the Russian to enter and join him at the table.
"Offer him some liquor," the Besht cried, and suddenly glasses and bottles appeared in front of them. The Russian was pleased to down one glass after another, and soon he was quite tipsy. Then the Besht asked him, "Well, now, tell me what happened over there."
"Last night, the poritz (wealthy landowner) called in all his local fellows. He was very angry at the Jews for not buying his grains, and ruining his income. He had to put all his merchandise into storage and he lost a fortune when it began to rot. So, he decided to get them back, those Jews. All the local fellows gathered at the poritz's manor and got good and drunk, while the poritz incited them against the Jews. They were told that tonight was the night to attack the Jews—not only in town, but wherever they could be found. Whatever they could grab would be theirs.
"All of a sudden a man walked into the house, and the poritz stood up to greet him. They embraced like long-lost brothers and went into another room where they stayed for a few hours, while the crowd of hooligans drank more and more. It turns out that the visitor was none other than the poritz's best school chum, whom he hadn't seen in a dozen years. They sat together talking and reminiscing, and in the course of their conversation, the poritz told his friend about his plan to punish the Jews for destroying his business. 'How can you think such a crazy thing?' asked the friend. 'Can't you see that you're being led around by the nose by the enemies of the Jews? Listen to me: of all your local people, it's only the Jews you can really trust not to cheat you. Remember my old estate manager, Moshke? If not for him I would have been bankrupt more times than I care to count!' Their conversation continued in that vein, and when he came out of the room, the poritz had been completely convinced not to harm the Jews. In fact, he now felt that they were his best friends. Who could figure that one out? He paid off the drunken peasants and sent them on their way."
The Russian thanked the Besht for the fine liquor and left. Everyone in the room was perplexed and waited for an explanation. The Besht was obviously pleased at what the gentile had told him, and he explained to the crowd, "I saw from Mezhibozh that there was a great danger hanging over this community and therefore I came to spend Shabbat here. As you know, the poritz had raised his grain prices to the point that no one wanted to buy from him. As a consequence, he suffered a tremendous loss, and the local priest and his cronies took the opportunity to slander the Jews. The poritz was convinced that the Jews were conspiring against him, and he devised a bloody plan to destroy them. I knew that there was only one person who could persuade him otherwise, and that was his old friend. The only problem was that he had passed away some years ago. I was forced to bring him back into this world to avert this terrible tragedy. Thank G‑d, I had success.
The people now understood the heartfelt prayer and the night of reciting Psalms. They were both shocked relieved at what the Besht had related to them. Then, one of them turned to the Besht and asked, "One thing I don't understand: Why did you have to come to our town to accomplish the miracle? Surely you could have done it from Mezhibozh and spared yourself the journey."
The Besht nodded in the affirmative. But then he went on to explain that if, G‑d forbid, his intervention had not been successful, he had desired to be together with his fellow Jews in the time of their great ordeal. The people saw the depth of the love the Besht had for them and the extent of self-sacrifice that the tzadik of the generation has for every Jew.
Have A Wonderful Shabbos!!