Follow Up to Responses on "The Moon's Lost Light" by Rebb. Devorah Heshelis

(DY: This post is a portion of Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis' responses to HER ORIGINAL GUEST POST about her book, The Moon's Lost Light. - For those who would like to read more of her responses, you can DO SO HERE. As explained by Rebbetzin Heshelis in this post, I have decided to disable comments. After reading the book, those who wish to discuss the important issues being discussed here with her directly may do so at the e-mail address she indicates below.)

Well, I’m finally getting around to answering the comments made about half a year ago in relation to the post on my book, The Moon’s Lost Light. As I explained before Pesach, those comments only recently became known to me since I don’t have an internet connection and couldn’t read the blog directly. It was only when a neighbor discovered the dialogue on Dixie Yid’s blog and gave it to me, that I become aware of everything that had been said.

There were some points which raised questions that many people might be asking, and they deserve good answers. I put a great deal of time into trying to clarify these matters - so much, in fact, that I ran into a problem. My responses, which run for over 20 pages, were simply too long to put on a blog.

I doubt that the readers would be interested in wading through so many pages of responses to comments which appeared nearly half a year ago. I therefore decided to put only one response on the current post, and the other responses are being placed HERE. Those responses deal with many comments, including the comments of Ariella and Chaim B. that I hadn’t seen, and I also replied to Jacob’s comment, which I think is important..

It will not be possible to place more comments on the post, because I simply cannot go on answering comments and counter comments indefinitely. A question that takes three minutes to ask, can take over three hours to answer. Furthermore, I found that many of the questions were superfluous as the points were explained in the book. If, after seriously reading the book someone has a question they are very welcome to write to me at targum(at)targum.com.

Now for some of the replies:

Dear Jacob,

Firstly, your problem is very understandable. I’m sure that there are many other women who feel as you do. Secondly, what you read on the post must of necessity be short and does not include many points in the book which you might find helpful.

As Dixie Yid told you, this book was written not as a practical guide, but rather to give women understanding. Nevertheless, I wish to relate to your points one by one.

You cited the gemmara in Maseches Brachos where Yeshayahu told King Chizkiyahu “Bahade kavsha diRachmana lama lach; mah di’alecho likapdi, Asei” which you translated as “Don’t worry about the greater scheme and how Hashem runs the world, just do what you have to.” So first I wish to answer this point.

When Yeshayahu told Chizkiyahu not to meddle in Hashem’s affairs and just to do as he should, he was speaking about a very different type of situation. Chizkiyahu knew that he would father a son who would be a rasha, so he did not want to marry and have children. But the law of the Torah is that a man must marry and have children. Because Chizkiyahu wanted to go against the Torah, Yehsayahu answered him as he did. This book, however, is saying that one must be careful to always keep the laws of the Torah. Once that is established, then there is nothing wrong with asking for understanding, as indeed we do in the tfila of ahava rabba (or ahavas olam) which is said before the Shma.

Is understanding alone, without practical advice, of any value?

After tisha b’av there are seven weeks where we read in the haftara about the wonderful good that will come with the ge’ula (redemption). Those seven weeks are called “shiv’a dinechamasa” the seven weeks of consolation. Why is this consolation? Has anything changed on the practical level? We’re still in the same galus (exile). Reading about the ge’ula doesn’t take away the problems of the exile. The answer is that just reading and thinking about the eventual ge’ula and all the good that will come with it, gives us the strength and joy we need to go on. If it hadn’t been for the prophecies of the ge’ula the Jews never would have survived the galus.

This same principle holds true for women today. Knowing that whatever bothers you is not forever, that there is a wonderful future awaiting you, is very encouraging, not only because of how we will benefit from this, (although that is certainly important) but also because it shows that Hashem didn’t relegate women to a secondary position because He thinks that this is good, or because He doesn’t care, cholila, but rather because it was necessary, and as soon as it is not necessary He will change this. I brought this out in the book, because for many women it influences their relationship with Hashem.

Furthermore, feeling virtuous or feeling subdued both have to do with feelings. So what my book is about is not giving practical advice, but rather about changing our feelings through understanding. I’m not saying that this will definitely solve all your problems, but it might help.

You ask, “Do I follow modern trends which are very appealing to me and in some sense make me feel more fulfilled, or do I do as I’m told and stick to the role of Jewish women that seems to be painted all over Jewish literature which seems in some way to be virtuous but makes me feel subdued? ....Does it imply that I should ignore the Torah sources because they were talking to a different point in history?"

You aren’t specific and I don’t know exactly what issues are bothering you, but I’ll try to give a general picture. Halacha is halacha, and it must be followed exactly. This really is being virtuous. Women today have more intellectual and financial opportunities than in the past. So long as these do not interfere in any way with the letter or spirit of Torah (such as tznius, or being a good mother) then go ahead and take advantage of them. In fact the book strongly stresses that women should develop their intellectual abilities. But if there is any contradiction between halacha, or even the spirit of halacha, then we must watch out, because this is the yetzer hara trying to destroy us. We still have to work at making a good Jewish home, it doesn’t just happen on its own, and a good Jewish home is no less important in our period than it was in previous ones. Those Torah sources were talking to a different point in history in some ways, but definitely not in others. As I wrote in the introduction to The Moon’s Lost Light, “Some people reading this book have described it as speaking of women’s changing roles, but I wouldn’t put it that way. Women were meant to be the bayis, the life and spirit of the Jewish home, and that is just as true today as it ever was. What the book speaks of is women’s enriched role” (The Moon’s Lost Light P.xxii).

Yes, you should develop yourself in a way that will make you feel fulfilled, but it you have to find the proper balance. This can’t be done through a book. Sometimes what is right for one person is wrong for another. For this you must speak to an understanding and reliable rav or rebitzen about your own particular issues. The mentor must be both well versed in halacha and hashkafa, and also very understanding of human nature and your particular needs. What is painted all over Jewish literature, as you put it, might be right for most women, while you might need to follow, or partially follow, the role model of a more unusual great woman in Jewish history. Every soul has its own tikun.

There is one more very important point that we all need to think about, both men and women. How many of us would be willing today to die for kiddush Hashem? In times gone by, how much did Jews sacrifice in their loyalty to Torah? Even a few years ago, what did Jews who kept Torah in the U.S.S.R. have to go through? There is such a thing as sacrificing al kiddush Hashem, and different people have to do it in different ways.

Nevertheless, people are also meant to be happy and fulfilled, and its important to find a way that combines loyalty to Torah with making you feel happy and fulfilled. This can’t be done merely through a book, it needs lots of personal guidance, and a general strong Torah hashkafa. If you want

to be in touch with me, you can do so by writing to me at targum(at)targum.com.

-DH

(Picture courtesy of Ami & Eliana's Chasuna)

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Reb. Heshelis of "The Moon's Lost Light" Avaiable to Speak in America

Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis, author of the book, The Moon's Lost Light, which addresses the issue some have with how women are portrayed in Chazal from a new perspective, based on the writings of the GR"A. She shows how events and movements in modern times, including the feminist movement, are related to the times of Ikvsa D'Meshicha.

She will be in the United States and available for speaking engagements from January 23 till February 23.

You may contact her while she is in the states at 718-339-3275 or anytime before or during her trip at dolinsky(at)actcom.net.il.

The Moon's Lost Light

Review of the book by Rabbi Meyer Twersky in Jewish Action

Guest Post here at Dixie Yid by Rebbetzin Heshelis on what lead her to write this book

-Dixie Yid

(Picture courtesy of livefromthehilltop)

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Author of Moon's Lost Light Seeking Help For Someone in Need

I received the following letter from a Rebbetzin who is very learned and an innovative thinker. I featured a guest post based on her fascinating book, The Moon's Lost Light, a couple of years ago. She is looking to help someone who desperately needs if. If you can, please send a check to the address at the bottom of the letter. We should only know simchas. Kol tuv & gut chodesh.

Dear Friends,

My name is Devorah Heshelis, and I live in Yerushalayim. I'm a speaker and author.

About three years ago I read a flier about a woman in Bet Shemesh who died, leaving behind eight orphans. The flier, which was trying to raise money for the orphans said that the woman had been divorced and had no family to help her. In addition to trying to raise the children, she cleaned a school at night for income. She also received some help from tsdaka funds but it wasn't nearly enough. She begged the gabai tsdaka for help, saying that if they didn't raise the money for her, they would have to raise it for her orphans, but nothing helped. There simply wasn't enough money to go around. Then, one night it happened. She went out to clean and never came back. They found her dead body in a field.

The story shocked me to the core of my being. Over and over again I asked myself how our Jewish society could allow such a thing to happen. Yes, there is a recession. Yes, people give lots of tsdaka to many different worthy causes. But many people still have money for good food, cars, nice furniture, and even vacations. And even those who have less are still buying ice creams, pizzas, and an extra pair of shoes to match a new outfit. Why didn't people help? Why, why, why??? The story gave me no peace. I kept thinking about it, over and over, and over again.

A few days later a woman knocked on my door asking for help. She was divorced with eight children. Two are already adults, two live with their father, but four of them live with her. She got no support from the father. Although she received welfare, it didn't nearly cover the basics. The main problem was her rent which was $400 a month, a relatively small amount, but totally beyond her capacity to pay. I felt as if Hashem who had read my thoughts was saying to me, "Well, here's your chance to act differently. See what you can do about it."

I called former students, especially one who had gone to America and worked as a lawyer. For a couple of years I was able to help her. Then my sources dried up, each for their own reason. I went abroad to speak about my book and was able to raise some more money for her. She also began to receive some government help for rent payments, although still too little. She was even offered a rent free apartment from the government, but there was a condition that she pay 6000 shekels (about $1700) for security. She didn't have the money, and so lost the apartment. She has now been placed again on a waiting list for an apartment and her case should be reviewed in about three months, but she still has no money for the security payment. Furthermore, she now has nowhere to live. She has been evicted from her previous apartment and is staying for a few days with a friend, while the children were sent to their father - who doesn't want them! In order to rent another apartment she must give two months payment in advance, which means at least $900. She also must pay $1000 for what she owes her former landlord. Her landlord's lawyer sent her a letter stating that if she doesn't pay the sum immediately the case will be taken to court and she will have to pay the court expenses. Furthermore, each letter from the lawyer is billed to her, for an additional 100 shekels. (I read the lawyer's letter.)

I went with her to the Va'ad Harabonim Li'inyonei Tsdaka who said they would consider the case after Rosh HaShonoh. But what is she supposed to do until then? And even if they do help her it will be a maximum of 2000 shekels, (about $480). I am not blaming the va'ad hatsdaka. They get thousands of requests which they cannot cover. But how is this woman going to survive? She is out on the street and her children are in a different city with a father who can't care for them. And where will they go when school starts? How can we let this happen?

I am trying desperately to get help for her. Yes, everyone has expenses, times are hard, etc., but most of us have comfortable homes and all our basic needs. What will HASHEM say about us if we don't help?

I personally went from door to door raising money, but it isn't nearly enough. I gave my own money as well, but we have very little and I can't help her on my own. Please, please, help!

Sincerely,
D. Heshelis

P.S. Anyone wishing to verify this story can e-mail Dixie Yid, who will forward the message to me.
Tax deductible checks can be made out to Tsedaka V'chesed and mailed to Mrs. Manne, 1433 East 16th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230. I will make sure it goes to help this family.

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Please donate to my son's cheder by going to minivanraffle.org to buy a raffle ticket. The drawing for a new minivan, car, or $20,000 cash will be IY"H Chanukah time. $100 for 1 ticket. $360 for 5. Where the form says "Referred by," please write "Dixie Yid." Tizku l'mitzvos!

Guest Post by Author - Women from the Fall of Eve to the Full Redemption

It is my pleasure to present this article, written by the author of a new book, The Moon's Lost Light, by Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis. In it, she tells the amazing story of how she had been bothered her entire life growing up in Bais Yaakov in the Lower East Side by the apparant inequality of women in Yiddishkeit. Her example of constant searching, learning and davening are a tremendous lesson for us. My sense is that this book is different from any other and will begin to truly open up your understanding of this topic through sources from both Niglah and Nistar. You can get ahold of her book from Targum HERE (for 30% discount). You can also read a great review of the book by Meyer Twersky in Jewish Action Magazine HERE.

-Dixie Yid

It’s no secret that women’s status in Judaism is one of the most difficult areas for modern people to deal with. When one looks at the Torah’s treatment of women one gets the impression that although women are considered important - Jewish women are called G-d’s daughters - they are not on the same level as men. There’s even a blessing for men to say for not having been created a woman.

But if women are not equal with men, then how do we reconcile the Torah’s relegating women to a secondary position with our belief in the Torah’s goodness and perfection?

In times gone by this wasn’t a pressing issue. No society considered women entirely equal, but Jewish women were much better off than non-Jewish women, enjoying many more rights and privileges, than their non Jewish counterparts. Furthermore, life had so many more difficult issues to struggle with, like abject poverty or blatant and dangerous anti-semitism. Under the circumstances, pondering women’s equality or inequality was far from being top priority on people’s minds.

Times have changed. The world around us has gone all out for total equality, considering any inequality as unfair and cruel. Suddenly the Torah world found itself in a very difficult position.
Those who were not loyal to Torah had no problem with this.. They said, “Change the Torah and make women equal.” This makes as much sense as saying that if you don’t like the fact that diabetics can’t eat sugar you should change your policy and let them eat sugar. G-d’s laws - which include the laws of the Sages whom He appointed to be his agents - cannot be changed to our likes and dislikes, any more than one can change the laws of physics or chemistry. They all come from the same source. Just as the scientist cannot change the laws of nature, he can only learn to understand and apply them, so the rabbi cannot change the laws of the Torah, he can only show us how to understand and apply them.

How did those loyal to Torah respond? The old world response was “This is from G-d, the Creator of the world who gives all life and existence. If this is the way He wants it, who are we to ask questions on G-d?” Although there is much truth here, the problem was that it required more faith than most people had..

Others who realized that this answer wasn’t enough, pointed out the many positive, and complimentary things the Torah has to say about women. They showed how those who virulently criticized the Torah’s attitude towards women were uninformed and/or misinterpreting things. The critics thought women were being treated as inferiors because they were judging the Torah’s attitude by non Torah standards. For example, child bearing and child raising, doing chesed and being modest are not considered prestigious in the modern world - but in the Torah world they are considered very lofty spiritual goals which place those who adhere to them on a lofty spiritual level. On the other hand, the defenders pointed out, the “feminist” ideals have left most women robbed of those things which would give them real happiness - a loving , loyal, stable, family, that honors their wife and mother.

Yet, while all of this was very true, it still didn’t cover all the sore points. Yes, men and women are by nature different and so it makes sense that they should have different tasks. And yes, the Torah does have wonderful things to say about women. Yet there still remains the fact that there really are some ways in which women do have a secondary position...

If this wasn’t enough to have to deal with, the Talmud and later rabbinic sources sometimes describe women in a way that doesn’t correspond with our reality. For instance, men were seen as generally having intellectual capabilities while most women were seen as has having practical common sense but incapable of abstract intellectual achievements. Traditional Jewish life was designed to correspond to this. Men were expected to learn Torah and women were expected to do practical things.

But the pattern didn’t fit. There were too many exceptions - intellectual women and not so intellectual men.

I was sixteen years old when I began to be bothered by questions on the Torah’s attitude towards women. Having been born to a religious family on New York’s Lower East Side and attended the local Bais Yaakov, I was able to learn Torah commentaries directly from the sources. Being an avid reader with a philosophical bent, I searched for answers, but I couldn’t find ones that satisfied me, not from the modern writers who wrote in defense of the Torah, nor from the traditional commentators. My teachers didn’t have answers for me, nor did anyone else I asked. Eventually, I realized that no one around had the answers I was looking for. Then, out of sheer desperation I did something I thought was very daring. I turned to Hashem and explained that I had done everything humanly possible to find the answers I needed to make me love His Torah, but I was unsuccessful, so I asked Him to give me the answers Himself. Over and over again, I asked Hashem to answers my questions. I prayed at the kosel. I got up for forty nights after midnight and said tikun chatzos (psalms and prayers about the exile and our hope and longing for the ge’ula). Perhaps I fasted too, I don’t remember. Again, and again I begged Hashem to help me.

And He did.

It didn’t happen all at once. It took many, many years, but little by little I found the pieces that when put together created a dazzling puzzle - a puzzle which revealed a glorious Divine plan. It was no wonder that no one I knew had the answers to my questions, for those answers were in the area of Torah known as “sod”, secret. There was a great secret about women that was related to the future. But it wasn’t just the future. What almost nobody knew was that this great change in women wasn’t going to start only when Moshiach comes. It had already started!

I put what I found out into a book called The Moon’s Lost Light - A Torah Perspective on Women from the Fall of Eve to the Full Redemption. When Rabbi Zev Leff read my book he said, “It’s phenomenal! How did you do it?” The answer, of course was that I didn’t do it. It was all siyata dishmaya - assistance from heaven. It wasn’t me, it was Hashem taking me by the hand and showing it to me. Hashem answered my prayers.

But as I said, it didn’t come in a day. The process took over twenty years. First I found out from some of the tradition commentaries that I read that women’s inequality was coming from Chava (Eve’s) sin. That meant that women’s lower status was not how it was originally meant to be, and the way things are now is not the ideal. This in itself was comforting. It showed that Hashem “agreed” that women being unequal was not how He really wanted it to be.

Then I found out about the verse in Jeremiah 31:21 which prophecizes that women will become equal with men. Literally the verse reads “nekevah tisovev gever”. There are many explanations of this phrase, but the deeper commentaries explain it to mean that in the future females would have equal spiritual perception with men. (Later I found out that it also means that women would learn Torah, and would become eqaul in other ways as well.) But this still didn’t make sense to me, because as far as I could see women already had equal spiritual perception with men. Finally, when I was about 40 years old I read an amazing book called Kol HaTor. Written by a student of the great Gaon of Vilna, it contained his secret teachings on what would happen before the redemption.

This book explained that from the year 5500 (1740) the powers of the redemption begin affecting the world, and that everything that will be in the full redemption enters the world little by little from this period onward, growing stronger as time progresses. In other words, the “future” equality of women which the commentators had spoken about had already begun to materialize. That’s why the Sages descriptions didn’t always suit our reality. We were living in a different reality, the reality of ikvesa demeshicha, the turbulent period before the coming of Moshiach, and this reality things were different.

There was something else I learned as well. Kol HaTor said that the powers of evil would rise to fight against the progress towards the ge’ula. The more the powers of redemption would enter the world, the stronger the forces of evil would grow. As I found out from my chassidic reading, these sources, called klipos, outwardly resembled the holy forces, using the same powers but for opposite goals. Elsewhere, the Vilna Gaon said that the klipa, the impure side would come before the holy side. And that was just what had happened - it explained feminism perfectly.

But that wasn’t all. When I looked at Jewish history from the year 5500 onwards I saw that this pattern was affecting everything. Zionism, haskala, and every other change in Jewish life was all connected to this.

I was so full of this amazing discovery that I was bursting with it. I told it to anyone and everyone who would listen to me. People were absolutely fascinated.

Fascinated? That’s not even the word. I remember speaking to a group and one young lady literally jumped out of her seat. Eventually, I wrote down what I had learned in a book, adding more and more interesting details along the way. For instance, the book explains that even throughout most of world history, when women had a lower position, they were equally important and beloved in their essence. The book also speaks about the blessing for not having been created a woman, and the women’s blessing for having been created according to Hashem’s will, which has many secrets in it. According to kabbalah, women parallel and resemble the Shchina, Hashem’s presence in this world which is compared to a mother. Whatever happens to the Shchina happens to women and vice versa. Paralleling the Shchina isn’t a put down, it is one of the greatest (although sometimes difficult) honors there could be. Women’s lower position is because of the Shchina’s lower position, and when the Shchina rises, so will women.

The book brings 192 sources to substantiate these teachings. It has approbations from Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, Rabbi Dovid Goldwasswer, Rabbi Zev Leff, and Rabbi Michel Twersky. Many other leading talmidei chachamim, including Rabbi Mattisyahu Solomon of Lakewood, personally told me how much they like the book. The publisher is Targum-Feldheim and it can be obtained from book stores or from the Targum website.

So if you’re interested in a different approach to this subject, happy reading.

-Devorah Heshelis

Update from D. Heshelis on 4/6/08:

About three months ago, there was a post here on my book, The Moon’s Lost Light. It caused quite a stir mainly amongst two readers. Because I do not have an internet connection I could not see the comments directly. Some of them were forwarded to me and I answered them, but there were other comments that I never saw.

Recently an acquaintance came across this post on a Google search and he printed and gave me the entire dialogue. For the first time, I became aware of questions and comments which I hadn’t answered. I am very sorry about this because my failure to respond may have deprived people of answers they needed to see and perhaps left them wondering if there were any answers. It is therefore important for me to inform the readers that my silence was not intentional. Presently, I am very busy preparing for Pesach and responses take much longer than most people realize. But I hope to answer a pertinent point after Pesach. Dixie Yid will אי"ה inform you when and where they will be posted.

A wonderful Pesach to everyone,

Devora Heshelis

Update 6/23/08: Rebbetzin Heshelis has responded to the loose ends left by the comments. You can read her detailed responses to many of the comments, including to Chaim and Ariella in particular. In a few days, there will be a short version of some of these responses as a new post.

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Animals for Slaughter, Korbanos... The Deeper Reasons - Guest Post by Rebb. Devorah Fastag

I am happy to present, below, a guest post by Rebbetzin Devorah Fastag, author of The Moon's Lost Light, which is a  book I found to be very enlightening in better understanding why things are the way they are in these "last few minutes before Moshiach," as Rav Moshe Weinberger always says. We featured a guest post about the book here at Dixie Yid here and you can see some of her other guest posts here. All the best.

 

His Mercy is on All His Creatures
 

By D. Fastag

 

Recently I came across a story about a student in a ba'al tshuvah yeshivah who objected to korbonos, saying "I don't kill animals". The teacher answered that we don't kill animals unnecessarily – that would be tsa'ar ba'aley chaim – but since animals were created to serve human beings, it is perfectly acceptable to kill animals for our valid use. So ends the discussion.

 

But does it? True, this is from Hashem, but The All Merciful One is not like a human king who makes decrees without caring if it hurts others unjustly. Hashem is totally just, good, and kind.         Why, then, would He want to cause suffering to feeling creatures?

 

To emphasize the question, one needs only to look into Ashrei, which is taken from Tehillim 145. There we say "Hashem is good to all and His mercy is on all His creatures". Yet how can we understand that it is merciful to animals to have them killed, and that this is called being good to them? 

 

Ashrei also says: "Hashem is a tsaddik in all His ways and does chessed with all His deeds.  Yet where is the fairness and righteousness towards the animal who is killed for our needs?

 

Some answer that the animal reaches a tikun, a rectification, through becoming the vehicle of a mitzvah.  But the animal is dead. What good does it do the animal that it reached a tikun if it does not feel or know about this tikun?

 

The answer is that it does feel and know about this tikun. In order to understand this, we need to realize that the superficial level with which we view the world, is far, far, from accurate. It is like taking pieces of a story out of context, leaving out essential factors.  This is true not only of the way we view physical reality, but even of the way we view Torah. Our understanding is incomplete because the secrets behind the mitzvos will be revealed to us only in the future. Rashi, explaining the second pasuk of Shir Hashirim says: 

 

"… He gave them His Torah and spoke to them face to face, and that expression of love is still more precious to them than any pleasure. And He promised them that He would appear again over them to explain to them the secret of its reasons and the mysteries of its hidden content, and they beseech Him to keep His word. That is the meaning of 'He shall kiss me from the kisses of His mouth'"

 

This is also the meaning of Chazal's statement that Hashem says: "A new Torah will come forth from me" (Vayikrah 13:30). The new Torah is the hidden meanings of the same Torah we have now. Until we receive this, we are missing eye opening parts of Torah which would make us aware of its greatness, goodness, and depth.

But why did Hashem do this to us? Why didn't we receive the whole Torah at Har Sinai?

Forty days after the giving of the Torah, while the Jewish People were still encamped at Har Sinai, they made a golden calf.  This happened on the 17^th of Tamuz, which later became the day when the walls of Jerusalem were breached, and it is the fast day that begins the three weeks leading to tishav ba'av. The sin of the golden calf forced Moshe to break the first luchos. Had those luchos remained we would have received the full Torah at that time. We would have learned it all effortlessly, with great love and passion, and never would have forgotten our learning.

But the sin of the golden calf changed all that. That sin became the first link in a chain leading to our present galus. And since then, at some level, the Torah itself was also in galus.  From then until the coming of Moshiach we must fulfill the Torah out of pure emunah, without understanding the reasons behind it. Emunah, like the moon, is the light which guides us through the darkness of the night of galus.   

 Yet our period in history is like none before it. According to the Zohar we are now in the period called the erev Shabbas of the world, and just as on erev Shabbos one is supposed to taste of the Shabbos food, so in our times we can – and should – begin to taste of the secrets of the Torah, the spiritual food of the world's Shabbos. This is how the Ba'al Shem Tov explained his teaching the Jewish masses Torah secrets, and this was also the policy of the Vilna Gaon, the Ohr HaChaim, the Chofetz Chaim, and many others, who spoke openly of Torah secrets which had previously been known only to very few tsaddikim.

So now let us look into some of those great secrets.

The Sfas Emes on parshas Emor (5658) comments on a medrash which draws a corollary between bris milah, performed on a baby's eighth day, and the law that a baby animal may be sacrificed only on its eighth day. The Sfas Ems explains that just as milah is super natural, connected to things above and beyond this world, so sacrifices are something outside and above nature, something other worldly. He then goes on to say:

"… therefore regarding animals that were slaughtered outside [the mishkan] it is written 'it is considered murder [literally blood] as one who spills human blood. Because when it was sanctified as a korbon, it rose to the aspect of a human being, as explained above."

In other words, when an animal is sanctified as a korbon it rises to the aspect of a human being, so that if it was not afterwards sacrificed properly this is considered as having murdered it. That is why regarding this sin the Torah uses a term reserved for murder.

 Mind boggling!!

And so the Sfas Emes gives us a tiny peek into the great secrets of the Torah to be revealed in the future. And with it we get a gleam of understanding of Hashem's caring for His creatures. Far, far from being the decree of an uncaring king, Hashem, the ultimate of love and kindness, has, through korbanos, given the animal the ability to rise to the level of a human being.

Shchitah, too is for the animal's benefit. Far from what people imagine, the spirit of an animal does not expire with its death. Koheles tells us that the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth. And so earth is placed over the animal's blood which contains its spirit.

Where into the earth does the spirit go? What happens to it then? Why does the animal need a tikun?  Perhaps we will have to wait until the ge'ula to find out. In the meantime, we are, in the words of Rashi, "beseeching Hashem to keep His word" and teach us the mysteries of His glorious Torah.

May it be very, very soon!

Devorah Fastag is the author of The Moon's Lost Light, a deeper explanation of the turbulence surrounding contemporary women, (originally published under the pen name Devorah Heshelis) and the Jewish ebook, Whatever Happenedto the Aschalta Degeula. She can be contacted at fastag.df_at_gmail.com.
 

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Malchus & Rosh Hashah - By the Author of The Moon's Lost Light

Baruch Hashem, I am zoche to post, on what I believe is an exclusive basis, an essay by the author of The Moon's Lost Light, Devorah Heshelis, who's written here before. Enjoy and k'svia v'chasima tova!

One of the main themes of Rosh Hashana– perhaps the main theme – is proclaiming Hashem as king over all of creation. But what does kingship mean to us? Can we who live in an era of democracy, rather than monarchy, relate positively to the idea of kingship? Weren't the kings of old despots who exploited the people for their own gain? Why, then, should we compare Hashem to a king, when monarchy has such negative connotations for us?  

The piyut, melech Elyon (upper king) which is recited on Rosh Hashono and Yom Kippur compares the greatness of Hashem, the melech elyon, with the poverty of the melech evyon, a human king below. The upper king, Hashem, lives forever, the lower human king dies. The upper king has no physical needs, the human king must sleep. This is what is found in most machzorim today. If you look, however, into the machzor of Breslav you will find another major difference between Hashem and human kings that was deleted by the censors. The melech evyon, the human king, is "moleh resha" – full of evil!  

So it was for the majority of kings in history. This is the reason that the modern world threw off the yoke of the melech evyon and chose democracy instead. Unfortunately, however, the modern world also threw off the yoke of the melech elyon, the true King of Kings, who is only goodness, and actually chose to follow the m"elech zoken uksil" (the old and foolish king) who is the yetzer hara (Koheles). For if we do not follow Hashem then we bow the will of the yetzer hara. There is no in between. 

What does the word melech actually mean?  The Hebrew word melech comes from the word molich which means to lead, or literally, to cause people to go or walk in a certain way. This is different than a moshel, a ruler. A moshel rules by forcing an unwilling populace to obey him. A king must also be obeyed but the people want him to be their leader. The Rambam actually says in hilchos mlachim that if a king is not accepted by the people he may not collect taxes, and if he does, he is a robber.  A king, is someone who is both loved and revered by the people.  

This doesn't mean a king doesn't use force or that he bows to the people's wishes. On the contrary; a king must use force to keep people in line, for as Pirkei Avos says "were it not for the fear of malchus a man would swallow his friend alive". And the king cannot consistently bow to the people's wishes for then he is not leading them at all, they are leading him. 

But why should the king not bow to the wishes of the people? Wouldn't this be making them happy?  

In those instances when the people's wishes are both good and wise, then of course the king should accommodate them, since his job is to help the people. But in those cases where the king sees that the people's wishes are either unwise or morally wrong, then he should definitely not give in to public pressure in order to be popular. The people are interested in getting what they want but the king must give them what is truly good for them. This is true for kings in general, but all the more so for a Jewish king. He is appointed by Hashem and his entire job is to represent Him. The purpose of a Jewish king is to get the people to do what Hashem wants, instead of what the yetzer hara wants.  

Yet although the Jewish king exists as Hashem's representative, he is not an angel but rather one of the people. The Torah tells us that he must be their brother. Only someone we know is part of us, and truly cares about us can be our king. This king feels our pains and understands our very human needs and weaknesses. He is also a human being with a yetzer hara, just like the rest of us (which is why so many kings failed); but that is his very advantage. He can understand our tests, and he can show us that they can be overcome, and that if we fail then we can do tshuva and go on.  

It is for this reason that Dovid Hamelech is the example of Jewish kingship.The Sfas Emes on Parshas Vayigash asks why it is Moshiach ben Dovid (who is a reincarnation of Dovid himself) who is the primary who is connected othe soul of Yosef).  Wasn't Yosef even greater than Dovid? Yosef was tested by the wife of Potiphar and succeeded in defeating the yetzer hara. Dovid, on the other hand, failed in his test with Bat Sheva. Why, then, is Dovid the main moshiach rather than Yosef?  

He answers that Dovid is the main moshiach because it is he that people can learn from most. Very few people are on the level of a Yosef. Most of us have failed in one way or another. Dovid teaches us that this is not a reason to give up. Do tshuva and go on!! Your relationship with Hashem is not lost as it says, "שובו אלי ואשובה אליכם" – return to me and I (Hashem) will return to you".   

And so the main redeemer is Dovid, because the Jewish King is not someone we cannot relate to. He is our brother who can direct us because he understands us. 

What are the other jobs of a king? 

PROTECTION:

The king is there to protect the nation. In Shmone esrai we call Hashem, מלך עוזר מושיע ומגן, the King who helps, saves and protects. The human king must do the same. He represents Hashem by protecting us from all outside dangers. He must be at the forefront in all our wars, fighting against our enemies. 

TORAH:

The Jewish king must see that the Torah is known and enforced, as it says in Eicha, מלכה ושריה בגויים, אין תורה. When the Jewish king and officers are in exile there is no Torah, for there is no one to enforce it. A king must write his own sefer Torah and keep it with him at all times. In addition he must read the Torah to the entire people in the Beis HaMikdosh on the festival of Succos at the end of each shmitta cycle. In this way, the Jewish king is Hashem's mouthpiece.  

ADMINISTRATING JUSTICE:

The king must be a judge of the people, making sure that there is fairness and justice in the land. Just as Hashem is called   ,מלך המשפט the king of justice, so the human king must also save the weak from their oppressors, and punish the evil doers. 

KDUSHA

The Jewish king must exemplify kdusha. Although the king has wealth and all physical pleasures he must not allow these to control him. Although he uses the physical world he must do so not for self gratification but only lishem shomayim. He is the representative of the גוי קדוש, the holy nation, and he must emulate Hashem who is "המלך הקדוש".  

In this sense the kdusha demanded of the Jewish king is higher than that demanded of the Kohen Gadol or the nazir, because to be surrounded by physical pomp and pleasures and yet not be lured by one's power or wealth is much harder than to abstain from them altogether.  

An example of this aspect of kingship is demonstrated by Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhin who wore golden boots yet at the same time he walked barefoot because these boots had no soles. So, too, do we find that Dovid Hamelech had the finest food for his royal table; but he didn't eat it. As Dovid testified about himself, he broke his yetzer hara through fasting.   

Shlomo Hamelech attempted an even higher level of kdusha. As it is says in Koheles, he denied himself no pleasures, yet he did this only to use everything in the world for Hashem's sake. (The Sfas Emes explains that Shlomo Hamelch took a thousand wives from all the gentile city states in order to bring these princesses and their countrymen to serve Hashem. They, however, were not yet ready for this, and so he failed.) 

FAITHFULNESS AND SELF SACRIFICE

And finally, the Jewish king represents אמונה, faith. The king must be totally faithful to Hashem, and we must be totally faithful to him. This level of faithfulness requires being ready to die for Hashem's sake and for the sake of the Jewish People, Hashem's children. This essential trait of malchus applies to all Jews, for we are all connected to malchus, we are all Hashem's representatives, and all that is required of the Jewish king is required of all of us on our own level.  

Another aspect of our faithfulness is to spread the knowledge of Hashem throughout the world. Although Jews do not actively proselytize, they must show the world by example what it means to be loyal to Hashem. In addition, when a Jew has the opportunity, he should also speak to others about Hashem, as we find Yosef doing with Potiphar's wife and with Pharoh. Dovid Hamelech also testified about himself that he spoke about Hashem's laws before kings and was not ashamed (Tehillim 119:  ).  And if is true that we must teach Hashem's will even to non Jews, it is true all the more for our own fellow Jews. Kiruv is an aspect of malchus, for anyone who truly loves the King wants everyone to serve Him and love Him as well. 

And now that we understand malchus in its human application we can also relate better to the malchus of Hashem. He is our King who helps, saves and protects us, and so He makes us feel secure and cared for. Yet we also fear Him for He punishes evildoers. This fear, however, is not a paralyzing or depressing fear, because it's purpose is not to hurt us but to help us, as it keeps people from perpetrating evil. That is why Hashem created tshuva. The purpose is not to punish us but  us but rather to have us do His will and so if we fail, He will accept our true tshuva. 

He wants us to be loyal to Him and have perfect faith in Him. At the same time He is totally loyal to us, He will never abandon us. Just as we must be willing to suffer and die for Hashem's sake, (ואהבת את ה' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדיך) so the Shchina, Hashem's indwelling presence, suffers in this world for our sakes, leaving its own heavenly abode to be together with us in our suffering (עמו אנכי בצרה). The Tiferes Shlomo says that for the Shchinah this is like death; death for us means leaving this world; for the Shchinah it means leaving the upper world, and residing in a world of spiritual darkness, where Hashem's malchus is hidden. Hashem allows all the spiritual filth and all the hiddeness of His might and glory for our sakes, so that we can have the merit of choosing good over evil, and proving our loyalty to Him. And even when we fail, He patiently allows us more time, even as the Shchinah itself suffers, so that we can do tshuva and make it in the end. For as the Tiferes Shlomo writes in his drush for Rosh Hashono, in the end we all make it to olam habo, which is our ultimate purpose. 

How does malchus relate to Rosh Hashono? 

One obvious connection is that Rosh HaShono is the day of din, judgment, and the King is the supreme Judge. Together with judgment comes the call for tshuva, and Rosh Hashono is the first day of the ten days of tshuva. 

But the most simple explanation is that אין מלך בלא עם , there is no king without a nation. Adam HaRishon, who was created on Rosh Hashono is Hashem's nation. Since all the souls of all mankind were in Adam HaRishon, who came into existence on that day, on Rosh Hashono, so to speak, Hashem, became king.  

(The angels had already been created before Adam, but they are not Hashem's true "nation" for they serve Hashem automatically. Hashem wanted an "am", a nation that would choose to accept Him of their own free will.)  

And that is the greatest manifestation of Hashem's malchus.

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Sarah and Hagar - The Torah's Attitude Toward Slavery II

Last week, I posted an article entited The Torah's Attidude Toward Slavery by Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis, the author of The Moon's Lost Light. As I said, it's a brave approach to the difficult-to-address issue of slavery in the Torah because of the modern attitude toward slavery and how most nations have carried out slavery in the past.

Sarah and Hagar

The story of Sarah's slave woman Hagar is more difficult to understand than the relationship of Avraham and Eliezer. The relationship between Sarah and Hagar, which started lovingly, turned sour, causing pain to both Sarah, Hagar, and Avraham.

Hagar was the daughter of Par'oh, the king of Egypt, who had Sarah taken to his palace. When Par'oh saw the miracles Hashem performed for Sarah, and how he became stricken with leprosy at her word, and cured when he released her, he told his daughter Hagar that she would be better off as a slave in this house than as a princess in the wealthy and mighty Egypt. Why?

Par'oh knew that in Avraham and Sarah's house slaves were not chattel who existed merely for the benefit of the master or mistress, but rather respected people, who, imbued with the teachings of Avraham and Sarah would become the honored and beloved representatives of Hashem.

This idea is illustrated at the end of parshas Lech Lecho, where we are told that not only Avraham and his descendents were told to make bris mila, but also all his slaves. Bris Milah is a covenant with Hashem that removes the barrier to holiness so one can unite with Hashem. And the parsha ends by telling us: "And all the men of his [Avraham's] house born in the house and acquired with money from strangers, were circumcised with him". In other words, the Torah stresses that when Avraham rose up to the high level of attachment to Hashem acquired through bris milah, all the slaves in his house rose up with him. It was into such a house that Par'oh placed his daughter Hagar.

To Sarah as well, a slave was a student, someone whose behavior she could purify, guiding her and teaching her the ways of Hashem. A loving relationship developed between Sarah and Hagar. We can only imagine what the relationship was like, but Chazal tell us that students are like children for one puts one's very soul into them. Sarah loved Hagar and it appeared that Hagar loved and respected Sarah as well. Hagar rose to such a high spiritual level that she was accustomed to seeing angels. Her great teacher must have been everything to her.

Then Sarah decided to give Hagar the greatest privilege possible. She would free her and allow her to become Avraham's wife. Sarah had no children. She thought that when Hagar would bear a child from Avraham, she would raise the child as if he were her own. We see later the same idea with Rachel and Leah who treated the children of Bilhah and Zilpah as if they were their own children. Indeed, there it worked well, for the maid servants were self effacing and full of respect for their wonderful teachers/mistresses. Bilhah and Zilpah were actually freed and became wives, not concubines, but they remained emotionally and spiritually under the influence of Rachel and Leah, to the point where after Rachel's death Bilhah became Yaakov's main wife, for her charachter so resembled her guide, Rachel (just as Eliezer came to resemble Avraham).

And so Sarah, with this plan in mind, talked Hagar into marrying Avraham, telling her what a great privilege this would be for her. Hagar agreed and immediately became pregnant. What was her reaction?

Instead of feeling gratefulness to Sarah, Hagar reacted by openly deriding her benefactor. In her arrogance Hagar assumed that since she immediately became pregnant from Avraham while Sarah did not, it must be that Sarah was not "on the inside what she was on the outside". And Hagar didn't keep these thoughts to herself. She insulted Sarah, to her face, and before Avraham as well. Sarah was hurt to the very core of her being. Her emotional pain was terrible. What a betrayal! This was the thanks she got from Hagar for giving Hagar her own husband, something which is so hard for any woman to do? And what would be of her plan to have a child through Hagar? Her hopes were dashed.

And that wasn't all. Chazal say that Sarah was a great Torah teacher who converted many women. The most respected women of the times used to come to hear her. Hagar told these women that their admired teacher, Sarah, only pretended to be a tsadeket, but in fact, was not. It is a very sorry fact of human nature that people tend to believe, either partially or totally, the lashon hara that they hear. If Hagar were free to do as she pleased Sarah's life would be ruined. Her influence on the world, her life's work of bringing people closer to Hashem, would be destroyed because of Hagar.

Sarah, in her deep pain, blamed Avraham for not reprimanding Hagar. It is unclear as to why Avraham had remained silent and did not come to Sarah's aid. Perhaps he thought that since Hagar was the granddaughter of Nimrod who had thrown Avraham into the furnace, his reprimanding Hagar might be tinged with selfish motives of revenge, or at least be so interpreted by Hagar.

Instead, Avraham responded by telling Sarah that Hagar was in fact still her slave (although Sarah had actually freed her) and that she could do with her as she saw fit. Sarah then afflicted Hagar.

There are different opinions as to what the affliction was. Rashi says that Sarah made Hagar do hard work. Hagar, having been born a princess, was not used to hard work, and Sarah, understanding that, had never asked Hagar to do anything difficult. In order to break Hagar's arrogance, Sarah for the first time, gave Hagar hard work.

On the other hand, Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch points out that the angel later told Hagar that Hashem had heard her affliction. Since the usual terminology is that Hashem saw the affliction, the implication is that Sarah's affliction of Hagar was not physical but verbal. She made Hagar aware of her own low status in behaving as she did, telling her that she could not be free since she was still a slave to the yetzer hara. Yet after tasting freedom, after having been Avraham's wife, Hagar did not want to be under Sarah any more. She rebelled and ran away to the desert.

Did Sarah sin by afflicting Hagar? The Ramban says yes, she did, and so did Avraham by allowing her to do so.

This is truly amazing. Hagar had deeply pained Sarah, who was her Torah teacher and benefactor, and who had until this time showered Hagar with love and positive attention. Yet when Hagar became pregnant, instead of showing gratefulness for Sarah's sacrifice in giving her her own husband, Hagar attacked Sarah's most sensitive area, the deep pain of her barrenness, openly insulting Sarah and trying to destroy her influence on her other students. Hagar was tearing Sarah to shreds. Who would not have reacted as Sarah did? Yet the Ramban's opinion is that Sarah, and Avraham, were expected to be such paragons of kindness that even in such circumstances, one should not afflict a slave.

Other commentators, however, say that the affliction of Hagar was not considered a sin for we find no condemnation of this in the Torah. According to this opinion the affliction of Hagar was both warranted and necessary. Yet even so, we see Hashem's concern for the oppressed, for an angel was sent to speak to Hagar, and tell her that Hashem had heard her affliction.

How great is Hashem's caring for the afflicted!

To be continued....

.

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Follow-Up on "Women & Judaism" Post & Comments

I wrote the basic text here as a comment on THIS GUEST POST by the author of the relatively new book on women and Judaism (The Moon's Lost Light), Rebbetzin Heshelis. She does not have access to the internet, but she subscribes to an e-mail service. She based her responses to the first few comments, which I forwarded to her. However, at a certain point, the questions veered off onto tangential questions on statements she made in response to commenter's arguments. Those questions no longer related to the thesis of her post here or to her book so I have not forwarded those comments to her and she has not seen them. Therefore, the fact that she has not responded to certain posts raised is because she has not seen those comments.

Most of the questions relate back to an assumption which Reb. Heshelis already adressed in one of her comments. They rely on the mistaken assumption, which she corrected, that she was saying that her explanation of these times in history in general, and their application to the "women's issue," was the only true position. If you will re-read what she wrote, and, in fact, the subtitle of her book, you will see that she never said any such thing. She could have called the book, "The Torah Perspective on Women..." However, she specifically called the book "A Torah Perspective..."

The majority of the questions on her comments or what she wrote in the post are built on the mistaken assumption that she was saying that her thesis was the only valid Torah opinion and that anything else is heresy. To disprove something like that is quite easy, since all you need to show is that anyone takes a different view on anything that she said.

However, the truth is that she said that what she wrote was *a* Torah perspective and those that find it a satisfying explanation will cling to it. Those who don't will not. Her main points in the book are well sourced (I have read the book and gone through the footnotes) and, as the Rabbonim who wrote the haskamos and to whom she has spoken, show, her explanation is at least a proper Torah view. It is not she who is trying to "pasken hashkafa."

Her basic thesis is not earth-shatteringly new, such that it deserves such dismayed reactions by some. The great thing her book does is to explain that view of our times very well in English and apply that theme to the "women's issue." I have seen the basic ideas in the writings of Rav Itchie Mayer Morgenstern in his unpublished Kuntrus on Chochma and Bina, which I translated HERE.

I will quote part of that here:

We will [now] speak about the dispute between the GR"A, zy"a, and Chassidus. The explanation is that the GR"A was the aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef (as was stated by the students of the GR"A and received by the Maharil Diskin). One of the purposes of Moshiach ben Yosef is to wage war with the Klipa (husk) of the Erev Rav (other Jews in our midst who infiltrate illegitimate ideas from within) which gets stronger before the redemption. The klipa of the Erev Rav is the klipa of the Haskala (the "Enlightenment") whose roots were beginning in those days. In truth, Chassidus was the counterpart (ze leumas ze) of the Klipa of the Haskala. And the Klipa of the Erev Rav of the Haskala was related to the 50th gate of impurity, which is the aspect of Amalek, which is called "Reshis Goyim," the first of the nations (Bamidbar 24:20), (as the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh said in parshas Shmos, that before the redemption there would be a strengthening of the 50th gate of impurity). Therefore, the Maskilim ("Englightened Ones"), may their name be blotted out, attempted to disseminate impure forms of wisdom which eminated from the 50th gate of impurity. (The wisdom of holiness is, l'havdil, a counterpoint to this, and is a revelation of the aspect of Keser, Crown, the 50th gate of holiness.) Chassidus was the cure that preceeded this disease because it was a revelation of the Yechida [the highest of the 5 "parts" of the soul], the 50th gate of holiness. Chassidus revealed the Holy Englightenment of the revelation of G-dliness in Chochma-Bina-Daas, which is the cure which preceeds the Klipa of the Haskala.

Therefore, the GR"A, who was related to the aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef, is the aspect of the Sefira of Chochma (as we said earlier). The Sefira of Chochma pushes away the Chochma of impurity in a way of waging war, because the method of clarifying between good and evil is the job of the Sefira of Chochma, "כולהו בחכמה אתברירו. (Zohar)" And therefore the GR"A had to wage war with the Klipa of the Erev Rav. But the revelation of Chassidus, which relates to Moshiach ben Dovid, the Sefira of Malchus, whose destiny was planted at the beginning in the Sefira of Keser, is the remedy to the sisease of the Wisdom of Impurity. It is a repair and a remedy by spreading the Wisdom of Holiness. When the kingdom of Moshiach ben Dovid will be in its perfect state of repair, receiving [he'ora-illumination] from Keser, then he will be able to repair the world without the use of war. [As opposed to the time of] the birthpangs of Moshiach and the wars that preceed the redemption, which relate to Moshiach ben Yosef [before] he is included [joins] with Moshiach ben Dovid, about which this is not the place to expound). [The GR"A's job was to fight against the Wisdom of Impurity with war, under the flag of Moshiach ben Yosef. Chassidus is the aspect of Moshiach ben Dovid, post war, and is the aspect of Moshiach ben Dovid.]

Bottom line: These issues seem to have gotten your juices flowing. If you are truly interested in seeing whether or not her explanation is *a* kosher Torah explanation, which may satisfy many people (obviously not you!), then you really should read her book, available at the link the post its self with a 30% discount. Most of your questions about whether or not the view she espouses is a true view are answered in the book. She can't write every source for every point in this post. That would be silly. She might as well reprint her book on Dixie Yid then. :-)

-Dixie Yid

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Yitz's Comments on "Women & Judaism" Post & Comments

Yitz, at A Waxing Wellspring, has a very nice post reflecting on the the Guest Post at Dixie Yid by the author of The Moon's Lost Light. A big part of his post, though, relates to the comments section on that original post.

Click here to read.

-Dixie Yid

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The Torah's Attitude Toward Slavery

Rebbetzin Heshelis, the author of The Moon's Lost Light offers this exploration of the fact that the Torah does not completely prohibit slavery, although it has laws regarding the proper treatment of Jewish and non-Jewish slaves. I cannot say her explanation will satisfy everyone, but it is a brave effort to tackle a subject which is difficult especially to modern people. Hopefully, in upcoming weeks she will offer an explanation for why Hashem's hashgacha has decreed in the last century that there should be a worldwide revulsion to the idea of slavery among all civilized nations. That, I think, is also a fascinating question, one which I think Rav Kook addresses in Oros Hatorah, which Rav Weinberger spoke on in Friday's shiur.

The Torah's Attitude Toward Slavery

Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis

In parshas No'ach, we are told that No'ach cursed his grandson Cna'an, saying that he would be a slave to his brothers. In the next week's parsha, Lech Licho, we find that Avraham Avinu, who represents the very embodiment of kindness, had slaves. His wife, Sarah,  his partner in kindness who's virtue in Hashem's eyes led her to great heights of prophecy, also had a slave woman, Hagar, with Avraham's approval. And when learning the laws of the Torah we see that they clearly permit slavery.

Yet isn't slavery the exact opposite of viahavta lire'acho kamocha, which Rabbi Akiva said is the great rule of the Torah? We wouldn't want to be made slaves, so how could we do this to other people? Isn't slavery the opposite of kindness and love for fellow human beings? Why, then, does the Torah permit, and even encourage it?

The answer is that there are two types of slavery. There is the slavery that was common throughout most of world history, which was pure selfishness, seeing others  as existing for one's own benefit, and hurting them without compunction. This is the type of slavery that existed in Egypt, and from this the Jewish People had to learn how not to be.

But there is also another type of slavery, which exists primarily for the benefit of the slave, and only incidentally for the benefit of the master. To understand how this is so, we have to first understand the Torah's concept of a (permitted) slave.

A slave is someone who cannot or will not control their passions, and so must be under the control of someone else who will control it for them. This way they are prevented from hurting themselves and others, and they can become a worthwhile and beneficial member of society, which would otherwise not be possible.

Although slavery existed before the flood, it was of the evil type, where the strong oppresses the weak. The first time we find the permitted type of slavery is in the case of No'ach and his grandson Cna'an. The Torah tells us that after the flood Noach planted a vineyard, become drunk from the wine and became uncovered in his tent. No'ach's son Cham, told this to his brothers Shem and Yefet outside, who then covered their father with their faces turned backwards. When No'ach woke up he knew what his smallest son had done to him, and No'ach said, "Cursed is Can'an" making him into a slave to his brothers Shem and Yefet.

The meaning of the story is unclear. If Cham sinned, why should his son Cna'an be the one to be punished? And what exactly was Cham's sin?

The sages explain that Cna'an was the one who first saw his grandfather No'ach uncovered and then told this to his father, Cham. Cham then went and castrated his father, in order to prevent him from having a fourth son, who would compete with the others in the inheritance of the world. He also sodomized his father. Yet it is Cna'an, and not Cham that No'ach said was cursed. Why?

The sages explain that it was impossible for Cham to be cursed, because Hashem blessed all of No'ach's sons after they left the ark, and one who is blessed by Hashem cannot be cursed. (This, of course, does not mean that Cham was not punished for his evil deeds, but it was not in this way.)

But one can also see from here the terrible effects of lashon hara. Although Cham was the one who actually committed the criminal acts against his father, the cause of it all was Cna'an, who, by speaking lashon hara about No'ach to his father, brought all this about. At any rate, Cna'an shared his father's raw nature and was a partner to the act.

But what does all this have to do specifically with slavery?  Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch points out that it was not that No'ach cursed Cna'an, but rather that No'ach recognized that Cna'an was spiritually cursed in that he had untamed and uncontrolled passions, and so he made him a slave to Shem and Yefet, who were on a higher level, and would control his evil impulses.

What actually happened to Cna'an? Chazal say that he became Eliezer, the slave of Avraham Avinu!  Eliezer was a very great person. Chazal tell us that he drew from the Torah of Avraham and taught this to others. He learned so much from Avraham, and copied his behavior so well, that his face actually came to look like Avraham's face! This is very significant because a person's character is written on their face. And before Avraham had children he thought that Eliezer would be his heir. The greatness of Eliezer is so recognized that it became a common Jewish name, and great rabbis were named Eliezer.

Yet Eliezer needed to be a slave because his greatness came from the fact that he was not independent. On his own, he never would have made it. However, as time went on he grew more and more spiritual to the point where Avraham Avinu put such faith in him that he sent him to find a proper wife for Yitzchok and bring her back, which he did very faithfully. On this trip he was completely independent with no one checking on him, and he could have easily given in to the yetzer hara, but he did not. When Avraham saw this, he freed Eliezer.

The Sfas Emes in parshas Chayey Sarah says that Chazal warned people not to free an eved Can'ani since this would cause harm both to society and to the eved himself, who would then run amuck, not functioning responsibly. However, says, the Sfas Emes, this was said regarding the usual type of slave. If, however, the master sees that this particular slave can function properly as an independent person, he should be freed, as Avraham freed Eliezer.

Next week, we will IY"H discuss Sarah and Hagar.   

The Torah and Slavery - the Pesach Story - Rebb. Devorah Heshelis

Rebbetzin Heshelis, the author of The Moon's Lost Light ,offers this exploration of the fact that the Torah does not completely prohibit slavery, although it has laws regarding the proper treatment of Jewish and non-Jewish slaves. I cannot say her explanation will satisfy everyone, but it is a brave effort to tackle a subject which is difficult especially to modern people. This is a continuation of a series she started here.

Rebbetzin Devorah Heshelis
A continuation of "on slavery"…

Our next encounter with slavery in the Torah, is the slavery of the entire Jewish People. Here we see the evil, cruelty and injustice that we generally ascribe to slavery. We know that this slavery was basic to Hashem's plan for the development of the Jewish People because Hashem informed Avraham Avinu in the bris bein habsorim (covenant between the parts) that his children would be enslaved and afflicted in a land which was not theirs. From the context of that prophecy, it seems that the enslavement of the Jewish People was a necessary prerequisite to inheriting the land of Israel. But why would Hashem, who is only good, make suffering a prerequisite to inheriting the land?

Before answering this, let us look at the introductory passage to Pirkei Avos. This passage states: "All of Israel have a share in the world to come, as it says, "And your nation are all tsaddikim, forever they will inherit the land, the branch of My orchard, the work of my hands, to be proud of."

This is certainly very comforting, but are all of the Jewish People really tsadikim? And if this is assured, then where is free will?  And why is the assurance that they will forever inherit the land (of Israel) proof that they all have a share in the world to come? Is there an intrinsic connection between being tsaddikim, inheriting the land of Israel, and having a place in the world to come?

The answer, of course, is yes. Chazal tell us that three great presents were given to the Jewish People, which are acquired only through suffering. They are: the world to come, the Torah, and the land of Israel. These three gifts are all connected and are actually different aspects of the same thing; our connection with the Shchina.

Chazal say that olam habo – the world to come - is the place where "tsadikkim sit with crowns on their heads and enjoy the the shine of the Shchina".  Chassidus says that in olam habo we actually unite with the Shchina. This is the greatest pleasure that exists and is the ultimate purpose of our creation.

(The term olam habo as used here, is not referring to the soul's temporary enjoyment of Gan Eden which takes place after a person's death. It is referring to the ultimate olam habo which the entire Jewish People experience after the revival of the dead, and the great Day of Judgment.)

And there is an intrinsic connection between olam habo and Eretz Yisrael, because Eretz Yisrael is the Shchina's place in this world. Because of this connection, Chazal said that "Anyone who lives in Eretz Yisrael it is as if he has a G-d, and anyone who lives outside of Eretz Yisrael it is as if he has no G-d", for living in Eretz Yisrael means being directly attached to the Shchina. Furthermore the nefesh (lower soul) of every Jew comes from Eretz Yisrael, even if that Jew was never physically present in Eretz Yisrael. This is because the lower Shchina is the essence of Eretz Yisrael and every Jew's nefesh comes from the lower Shchina. If we forever inherit the land of Israel this means that we forever have a connection with the Shchina, which means that we are assured a place in olam habo.

(The fact that we do not always feel the presence of the Shchina in Eretz Yisrael is because there are klipos - impure, hard barriers - both surrounding our hearts and covering up the inherent holiness of Eretz Yisrael. Nevertheless, even now, despite the presence of the klipos, we see Hashem's clear hashgacha in a way which is rarely seen outside of Eretz Yisrael. Outside of Eretz Yisrael is it very rare for people who are not tsaddikim (according to our terms) to experience miracles. In Eretz Yisrael the entire country has again and again experienced miracles, especially during the wars, may Hashem continue to protect us and show us His presence.)

And there is also an intrinsic connection with the Torah, because the Torah is the means through which we become tsaddikim, so that we can be attached to the Shchina. Hashem told us very clearly and very strongly that our presence in Eretz Yisrael is dependent upon our keeping the Torah.

But what happens if the Jews do not keep the Torah? How, then, will they have an eternal connection with Eretz Yisrael? This was Avraham Avinu's question when he asked, "ba'meh eidah ki irashena" – with what will I know that I will inherit it? The answer Hashem gave him was: exile. If the Jewish people sin they will go into exile, but they will never lose their intrinsic connection with Eretz Yisrael, and when the sins are atoned for, they will return.

But why are all of am Yisrael tsaddikim, even though they sometimes don't keep the Torah? And if they are, then where is free will?

All the Jewish souls, including those who were as yet unborn, agreed to accept the Torah of their own free will. This was especially great because the Jewish People signed an unread contract, not knowing what Hashem would require of them. They did this simply out of their love and belief in Him, their desire to do His wishes, and to be His people. Their acceptance of the Torah made them tsaddikim, and assured them of a share in olam habo. This applies to true converts as well, who agree to keep the Torah, come what may.  

(Most commentaries add that one's share in olam habo can be lost through especially severe breaches of the Torah, but Chassidus says that if a Jew loses his share in olam habo in one lifetime, Hashem will bring him back again and again until he regains it. The merit of sincerely accepting the Torah lasts forever. By accepting the Torah we received a Jewish soul which is a "chelek Elokah mima'al, a part of Hashem above, and as so, is never lost. This is true of a sincere convert as well.)   

So now we see the connection between Torah, Eretz Yisrael and olam habo. Through accepting the Torah we acquired an eternal connection to the Shchina which is the essence of both Eretz Yisrael and olam habo.

But why must these three great presents be acquired only through suffering?

Hashem's plan for creation was to give goodness and pleasure to His creatures. But He wanted them to do something to deserve this awesome goodness, for in the world of truth, if one receives great gifts without earning them one can never fully enjoy them. Chazal explain that one who receives free bread is embarrassed to look at the face of his benefactor.

Furthermore, Hashem wants to give us the ultimate gift of being His equal, His partner, so to speak. This is what Shir HaShirim is about, and is also referred to by the prophets who call the Jewish People Hashem's wife. The reward of olam habo is not like a material reward which is outside of oneself, but rather it is a rewards of being, of who you, yourself, are. And what you are, is what you made yourself into. We have to create ourselves spiritually, by withstanding tests of evil, and so become Hashem's beloved partner in creation.   Originally we were given a chance to acquire all three great presents without suffering, through passing great tests. The problem was, that we failed.

The first test was the prohibition of eating from the Etz Tov Vi'ra (tree of knowledge, good and bad) in Gan Eden. What took place there was much, much deeper than one would imagine, and was truly an awesome test. Adam and Chava had in them all the souls of all mankind. Had they withstood this test, the first Shabbas would have been olam habo. But they did not pass this test, and neither did we, whose souls were in them and all took part in this sin.  Therefore, the six days of creation turned into six thousand years of world history, and the all inclusive souls of Adam and Chava separated into many, many separate souls, each with it's own mission in this world. Since that time, to achieve the purpose of creation and bring ourselves to the level of olam habo, it is necessary to first correct the sin of eating from the Etz HaDa'at tov vira.  

And that is why the Jewish People had to go through the Egyptian Exile. The purpose of the Egyptian exile was to cleanse us of sin of eating from the Etz HaDa'at, which now could only be accomplished through suffering.

Nevertheless, the level of suffering was still able to be determined by our own behavior. The prophecy was that the Jewish People would be in a foreign land, enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years. (Four hundred is the number of negative klipot – impure barriers – that spiritually attack a person and separate them from Hashem. Apparently, each year in exile was to remove one level of klipah.)

But not all of those four hundred years were passed with great suffering. Hashem began counting the four hundred years from the birth of Isaac, who was expelled by the Plishtim and had his wells stuffed up by them. This was considered as part of the necessary suffering of those four hundred years. Ya'akov's lifetime was also included in the four hundred years, with his suffering included as well. The suffering of the Jewish People as a whole started in Egypt with the death of Ya'akov, as Rashi wrote, after the death of Yaakov Avinu, "the eyes and hearts of Israel were clogged from the enslavement". But at that time the Jewish People were not literally slaves. Yosef was still alive and ruling. Even so, because the Jews were not free to go and come as they wished, and perhaps had to pay special taxes, or had special limitations placed upon them, this was considered being enslaved, i.e. being subjected to the control of others. Yet at this time, when they were still tsaddikim, the subjugation was nowhere near what came later.

Had the Jewish People continued as they were then, and remained completely faithful to their own laws and traditions, the truly harsh part of the exile never would have materialized. However, many of the people stopped making bris milah. The Sfas Ems on Parshas Shmos says that if the Jews would have not stopped making bris milah the Egyptians could never have enslaved them. Rashi, based on Chazal, tells us that many of the people went out of the perimeters of their own area, the land of Goshen, and began to take part in the Egyptian social life, going to their theatres and circuses, till "the land became full of them".  Had they stayed quietly unseen in Goshen, rather than filling up the rest of Egypt, the Egyptians would not have felt threatened and would not have enslaved them. This is a very important lesson for us to remember. When in exile, don't assimilate, don't adopt the cultural pastimes of the host country, and don't act as if the country belongs to you. Stay quietly on the sidelines, leading your own Jewish life. Don't give anyone room to suspect that you are taking over their country.

But why did the suffering the Jewish People had to endure specifically take the form of slavery?

Perhaps part of the answer is that Adam and Chava - who included within them all our souls - did not recognize the necessity to submit to Hashem's will in all circumstances. One of the lessons of the Egyptian exile was that if you do not subject yourself to Hashem's will, you will be subjected to the will of tyrants. It is not always easy to obey Hashem's laws, but if we realize that we must always do Hashem's will, as if we were a slave to Hashem (who only wishes good for us, and will greatly reward us) than we will be saved from slavery under evil people. The Torah says that after the redemption, "Hashem will circumcise your heart to love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and all your soul for the sake of your life" (Dvarim 30:6). At that time we will no longer need to feel that we are "slaves" to Hashem's will for the yetzer will be removed. That is why the  navi Hoshe'a prophecied that after the redemption we will serve Hashem with love rather than fear. Now, however, in the world of tests, when the yetzer hara is still strong, we must remember that we are subject always to Hashem's will. We must make the yetzer hara a slave to the yetzer tov, and if not, cholila, we ourselves will become slaves.

There were also deep rooted personality benefits that were gained from the Egyptian experience. The Torah tells us to be considerate of geirim (aliens or converts) and to love them "for you were geirim (aliens) in the land of Egypt. In the aseret hadibrot (ten commandments) we are told that the slave must rest on the Shabbos,  remembering that "you were a slave in the land of Egypt".  This lesson remained deeply ingrained in the Jewish character. It is part of Jewish nature to prevent the perpetration of cruelty and injustice to the weak and downtrodden.

Furthermore, the Jewish People will eventually rule over the entire world. This will happen with the coming of the full redemption. It would have happened shortly after the Egyptian redemption if it hadn't been for the sin of the golden calf. The Egyptian experience was a preparation for a position of rulership. Anyone who becomes a ruler, must first feel what it means to be subject to others in order to assure that they will only help raise others and not hurt them.

So now we know why the Jewish People needed to go through the suffering and slavery of the Egyptian exile, yet the intensity of the suffering is still incomprehensible. Innocent baby boys were thrown into the Nile. If a man didn't finish his work load, his baby was put into the walls to suffocate. When Pharoh was stricken with leprosy he bathed in the blood of slaughtered Jewish children. Why did Hashem allow all this terrible cruelty?

Moshe Rabbeinu asked the same question. The Ari z"l gives us a glimpse into the answer, which is more amazing than we could possibly have imagined.

The generation of the flood had very high souls, but they had a very great yetzer hara, as well. They sinned and sinned terribly until Hashem brought the flood upon them and they were drowned. However, they were given another chance, being reincarnated in the generation of the tower of Babel. Once again, they sinned, the tower of Babel was destroyed, and they were dispersed. Then they were reincarnated in the people of Sdom, who were even worse. Avraham prayed for the people of Sdom to be saved. His prayer did not go unanswered. Although Sdom was destroyed for its evil, the people Avraham prayed for were brought back again as Avraham's own descendents, this time, in Egypt! The suffering that these children went through was to totally expiate them from their previous sins, in the flood, in the tower of Babel, and in Sdom, so that they could come back again as pure souls of the Jewish People!

There is yet another reason why the Jewish People needed to go through the Egyptian exile and enslavement. They needed it to receive the Torah.

The Torah is the goal and purpose of our lives; indeed it is the purpose of all creation, but it was not a simple thing to be given a chance to acquire the Torah. The Torah is the Etz HaChaim, the Tree of (Eternal) Life that was in Gan Eden, but after sinning, Adam was sent out of Gan Eden and Hashem set up fearsome guards to make sure he would not return to partake of the Etz HaChaim. After eating from the Etz HaDa'as eternal life would only be harmful, because if people would not die, the evil which they absorbed from the Etz Hada'as tov v'ira (Tree of Knowledge [of] good and bad) would remain in them forever. The Torah gives eternal life, and indeed, says the Medrash, had the Jewish People not sinned with the golden calf, their acceptance of the Torah would have caused them to live forever.

And so Hashem would not allow mankind to eat of the Etz HaChaim – the Torah – until they would be purified from the sin of the Etz HaDa'as. Otherwise, the evil would have remained inside of them forever, and the Torah itself would have been contaminated by this evil.

But how can one be so purified? How can the effects of eating of the Etz HaDa'at be nullified? The answer was, the Egyptian exile. The three stages of the Egyptian exile that were told to Avraham Avinu - being aliens in a foreign land, being enslaved, and being afflicted - all served to remove different aspects of the evil that was acquired from the "infection" of the snake, who carried the Satan on him. Kabbalah says that there are three main evil klipot (from which the others stem). It seems that these three klipot had to be expiated through the three stages of the Egyptian exile; being an alien in a foreign land, being slaves, and being afflicted. After those three aspects of evil were removed, the Jewish People could then go on to receive the Torah, the Etz HaChaim.

As mentioned above, all the Jewish souls were contained within the souls of Adam and Chava, and so all these basic souls had to repair the damage caused by their sin. Chazal tell us that particularly the women brought about the redemption from the Egyptian exile, for it was in the merit of righteous women that our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt. This was the perfect tikun (correction) because it was Chava who originally convinced Adam to eat from the Etz HaDa'at and now it was Chav'a extension, the Jewish women, who saved Adam (the Jewish men) from the effects of the Etz HaDa'as.  

And so we went through the Egyptian exile and received the Torah – only not completely. The sin of the golden calf caused Moshe Rabeinu to break the first luchos, which, after the sin, we could not receive. Had we received those luchos, our knowledge of Torah would have been complete, totally accurate, and never forgotten. It would have come easily, with great joy and pleasantness, while living in comfort. Furthermore, we would have had the inner dimension of Torah, now called kabbalah, which we are now missing. The little bit of kabbalah which we have now is only a tiny taste of what we will have in the future. Kabbalah explains the true reasons and inner meanings behind the mitzvohs, and the deeper explanations of the stories, which we now only understand on a superficial level. Because of the sin of the golden calf, we lost all this and it will be regained only with the coming of Moshiach.

And Eretz Yisrael, too, was not fully achieved because of the sin of the spies which caused the Jewish People to cry that they did not want to go to Eretz Yisrael. Although the next generation did enter the land, it was not the same as it would have been; Moshe Rabeinu did not build the Beis HaMikdash, and the permanence and full glory of connecting with the Shchina will be only after the full redemption.

So the sin of Etz HaDa'as, the sin of the golden calf, and the sin of the spies, caused us to lose the easy way to olam habo, Torah, and Eretz Yisrael, respectively. Now they can be gained only through suffering. The sins committed by later generations caused this suffering to become so much more intense. Yet, although we cannot feel this while still in the galus, in the end it will come out even better this way. All the merit of our suffering through the exiles, all the sacrifices we made to be Hashem's people, will be added on, and this merit it so extremely great that it will add so much more, lasting forever and ever.

[Author's not: If a reader wants the source for any idea mentioned here, they can be in touch with me at my email address: fastag.df@gmail.com]

To be continued…

  

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