This shiur is brought to you by TorahWeb.org. These remarks are being recorded Thursday afternoon Erev Hoshana Rabba. Two stories have unfolded in recent days. The first is that of politicians and the press identifying and targeting Jewish neighborhoods. They would never ever do that to any other religious, ethnic, or racial group. The second is that of a massive chillul Hashem in response. We're going to focus exclusively, b'ezras Hashem, bli neder, on the second story. The first should be responded to appropriately, but separately. And the reason for that separation is because it's crucial that we understand that a chillul Hashem is a chillul Hashem regardless of provocation. There's no limud zchus on a chillul Hashem. Provocation, undeniable as it is, doesn't diminish or mitigate a chillul Hashem. There's no suspense in these remarks. When speaking about chillul Hashem, there's one vitally necessary and totally unavoidable conclusion: condemnation. But what needs to be emphasized at the outset and continuously experienced and reinforced throughout is that the condemnation is self-condemnation. כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה, there's no us and them, there's only one encompassing organic we. One final introductory note: please don't draw any inferences from what isn't said, from what is not said. The following remarks, for three reasons, are very incomplete and therefore inadequate. One: lack of time. Response to chillul Hashem must happen in a timely and swift manner, and therefore it doesn't allow for the time to encompass and be comprehensive. Two: lack of yishuv hadaas. What has been happening for all of us has been so personally deeply disturbing and profoundly painful that it's very, very difficult to muster the concentration and focus necessary to organize one's thoughts. And three: my own inadequacies. Let's briefly list instances and incidents, some of them a partial listing, of chillul Hashem these past two nights and afterwards try to penetrate to the core and the crux, or at least part of that core and crux, of the chillul Hashem. Throughout, words are inadequate to depict and denounce the various manifestations of chillul Hashem. Violence. The shocking violence was simply vile and depraved. Perhaps some who were present on Tuesday night were surprised, were taken aback and had no intention of associating themselves with such vile violent behavior. But unfortunately, that limud zchus doesn't exist for Wednesday night. A repeat performance under the same irresponsible so-called leadership. Mob behavior masquerading as halacha. The invoking of the term and halacha of moiser was an intolerable, dangerous distortion and abuse of the term. Hooliganism. Setting fires is wild, lawless, uncivilized behavior, period. Flouting public health measures in a hotspot in the midst of a pandemic. Such binas Benighted behavior is the antithesis of the pasuk in Chumash ושמרתם ועשיתם כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל החקים האלה ואמרו רק עם חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה
what a wise discerning people this great nation is. And instead of acting as an am chacham v'navon and accurately projecting who we are, a goy gadol, our behavior was benighted allowing for and even encouraging irresponsible so-called leadership. Leadership that consists bein hayeter of incitement and nivul peh is not leadership that one can submit to. And if the event was hijacked, then one is obligated to immediately leave and disassociate and cannot continue to associate with an unfolding chillul Hashem. These are but some of the instances and incidents of chillul Hashem these past two incredible nights. Let's try בעזרת השם בלי נדר to penetrate a little bit to the core and crux of the chillul Hashem. Let's begin with a story. A ben Torah once met my grandfather ztz"l in the airport. He went over to give shalom. My grandfather knew who he was, hadn't seen him in a long time, so he asked him where he lived. And this individual responded, he named the community in which he lived. I'm not going to mention the name of the community because this same story, the same incident, could have taken place in context of and conjunction with a different community. So he mentioned a thriving Jewish community in which he lived. And he repeated to me my grandfather's response: very, very nice community, beautiful community, there's only one problem: they forget that they're in galut. ארמי אבד אבי וירד מצרימה ויגר שם במתי מעט ויהי שם לגוי גדול עצום ורב.
In the Haggadah we quote from the Sifrei: Vayagar sham, the shoresh ger to be a stranger, מלמד שלא ירד יעקב אבינו להשתקע במצרים. Yaakov Avinu did not descend to Mitzrayim with the intent of lehishtake'a, to settle, to strike roots, ella lagur sham. He went down on a temporary basis. Shene'emar, when the shivtei Kah have their audience with Pharaoh: Lagur ba'aretz banu. We here on a temporary visa. Strange. Yaakov Avinu was aware that his earthly life was going to end in Mitzrayim. Chazal tell us that when Hakadosh Baruch Hu appears to Yaakov Avinu when Yaakov Avinu is on his way down to Mitzrayim, Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells him אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה ואנכי אעלך גם עלה. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is promising him that even though his life will end in Mitzrayim, he'll merit kevurah in Eretz Yisrael. So what does Yaakov Avinu mean that I'm only here temporarily? He's not there temporarily, he's there for the rest of his earthly life. Clearly, regardless of how long a person lives in a certain place, regardless of whether his sojourn in a particular place represents the concluding chapter of his life, whether the person is settled there and strikes roots, or whether the person is there temporarily is a question of attitude. It can't be measured only according to the calendar in terms of days and months and years, ultimately... It's a question of attitude and the attitude, there's only one attitude which is appropriate and which is justified when a Jew is in Chutz La'aretz lagur b'eretz plonim. The Meshech Chochma in his famous immortal words in Parshat Bechukotai commenting on Yaakov Avinu's request from Yosef to be buried in Eretz Yisrael. Why was it so crucial? Veyedu'un, Yaakov Avinu wanted to instill within the shevatim, tartei mashma, the twelve sons and the progenitors of Knesset Yisrael l'dorei dorot וידעו כי אבות האומה ויחוסו בארץ כנען. ובזה נקבע בנפש בניו קישור טבעי
and through this a natural, organic connection and bond was forged להשתוקק אל ארץ אבותיהם that a Jew always, always longs for home, for Eretz Yisrael velachshov atzmam k'gerim. And to view himself, a Jew, if he's anywhere outside of Eretz Yisrael, views himself as a visitor, as a stranger. And this, vayagar sham מלמד שלא ירד יעקב אבינו להשתקע אלא לגור שם פירוש מלמד לדורות.
Yaakov Avinu, galut Mitzrayim is the paradigm, it established the paradigm for how a Jew lives, thinks, and conducts himself in galus. מלמד שלא ירד יעקב אבינו להשתקע אלא לגור שם פירוש מלמד לדורות בכל גלות וגלות ההנהגה.
How does a Jew think, how does he comport himself? שידעו שלא ירדו להשתקע רק לגור. The Jew did not come to galus to strike roots, to settle, rak lagur עד בוא קץ הימים until moshiach tzeiten, until the end of days, no matter how long, ואף על פי שיתמהמה, no matter how many years pass, no matter how many years elapse, a Jew is a stranger. And rabosai, let's hear the concluding line of this section written by Reb Meir Simcha ויהיו נחשבים בעיני עצמם לא כאזרחים. One's self-image should be that of a visitor, someone who's present with a temporary visa. And then Meshech Chochma says שבזה הניחו שורש גדול בלב ישראל. And this is the root for Jewish existence, Jewish continuity, Jewish identity. This is the essence of what it means to be a Jew in galus, to have a sense of not being an ezrach, of being a ger. There's a way to protest al pi Torah. And there's a way not to protest al pi Torah. Chazal in the Gemara Rosh Hashanah talk about having a protest. The Gemara tells us that פעם אחת גזרה מלכות גזירה שלא יעסקו בתורה ושלא ימולו את בניהם ושיחללו שבתות.
There was an edict throughout the Roman Empire forbidding talmud Torah, milah, shemirat Shabbat. מה עשה יהודה בן שמוע וחבריו? What did the heilege Chazal do? הלכו ונטלו עצה ממטרוניתא אחת שכל גדולי אמרו להם בואו והפגינו בלילות.
Protest, have a protest, have a protest at night! בואו והפגינו בלילות. הלכו והפגינו בלילה. What did they say? What did they say? This is our neighborhood. Let anyone try to take away our right to practice our religion. Confrontational, arrogant, brazen, is that what they said? No, that's not what Chazal said. Amru E Shamayim, Lema'an Hashem, Lo acheichem anachnu? We Bnei Yaakov, you Bnei Eisav, we're cousins. ולא בני אב אחד אנחנו? Are we not descendant, don't we have a common patriarch, Yitzchak Avinu? ולא בני אם אחת אנחנו? and a common matriarch, Rivka Imeinu? מה נשתנינו מכל אומה ולשון שאתם גוזרים עלינו גזרות קשות?
Rashi paraphrases כדי שישמעו השרים דצעקו, they cried out their anguish, כדי שישמעו השרים וירחמו עליכם. They petitioned. There's a way to protest al pi Torah and there's a way not to protest al pi Torah. The brazenness and arrogance of the protests have been appalling and have created a Chillul Hashem. No one's gonna stop us, just let them try. This is our neighborhood. That azzus panim is the antithesis of ג' סימנים באומה זו, three defining character traits of the Jewish people: רחמנים ביישנים גומלי חסדים. Azzus panim, brazenness, arrogance is the antithesis of baishanus. The defiance, the defiance, we'll see you in court. There's a time that a person can avail himself of legal measures, but there's a way to do it. There's a way to talk about it. The defiance and claims of proprietorship are the antithesis of the foundation of Jewish existence in the Diaspora. And in so doing, it threatens to uproot that shoresh gadol that the Meir Simcha tells us of: שלא ידעו להשתקע רק לגור. We're visitors. Visitors don't act brazenly, they don't act arrogant. That doesn't mean that a visitor has to lie down and let himself be trampled. It doesn't mean that he can't protest, doesn't mean that he can't appeal, doesn't mean that he forfeits constitutional rights. But there's a way to protest, there's an attitude, there's a mindset, there's a way to express ourselves as Bnei Torah, as בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב, Bnei Torah, and there's a way not to protest, and there's a way not to express ourselves, and there's a way that's the antithesis of what בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב, Bnei Torah are supposed to do. And unfortunately, what we've been witnessing is not Chazal's recommended, mandated mode of protest. Let's try be'ezras Hashem to probe another aspect of the core and crux of this Chillul Hashem that has played out before our eyes. Let's review a few famous lines from the Ramban in Parshas Kedoshim, Ramban commenting on the same... קדושים תהיו פרושים קדושה involves abstinence, withdrawal. Veha'inyan says the Ramban, what Chazal are expressing here is something fundamental. כי התורה הזהירה בעריות ובמאכלים האסורים. The Torah has specific prohibitions in terms of incestuous, adulterous relationships. The Torah has a dietary code. On the other hand, והתירה ביאת איש באשתו ואכילת הבשר והיין. On the other hand, the Torah certainly allows for marital life, marital conjugal relations. The Torah allows consumption of meat and wine. אם כן ימצא בעל התאוה מקום להיות שטוף בזימת אשתו או נשיו הרבות ולהיות בסובאי יין בזוללי בשר למו.
So the hedonist has an opening to be, to live hedonistically in those aforementioned areas. And what's more, וידבר כרצונו בכל הנבלות. He can engage in nivul peh. שלא הוזכר איסור זה בתורה. Absent the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu, there isn't a direct specific prohibition against that kind of hedonistic indulgence. והנה יהיה נבל ברשות התורה. And absent the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu, a person could have been a naval. Let's for the moment use the standard translation, he could have been a scoundrel, but we'll revisit that בעזרת השם בלי נדר. Berushas HaTorah, absent the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu, he would have had license from the Torah to live such an outrageous hedonistic lifestyle. לפיכך בא הכתוב הזה. The Torah closes that loophole. אחרי שפרט האיסורים שאסר אותם לגמרי. After the Torah finished specifying in Parshas Acharei Mos specific incestuous adulterous relationships. After in Parshas Shemini, the Torah listed ma'achalim asurim. Now, וצוה בדבר כללי שנהיה פרושים מן המותרות. That we should practice moderate abstinence. Generally, we understand this Ramban to mean that absent the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu, that there would have been gaping breaches in the chomas hadas, in that wall of spirituality, of kedusha, that the Torah helps us construct, to envelop ourselves. There would have been breaches and the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu fills in, closes those breaches. But in truth, what the Ramban is teaching us runs much deeper. Let's try b'siata d'shmaya to gain entree by focusing on the Ramban's phrase, naval berushas HaTorah. What is the Ramban communicating with that phrase, that absent the pasuk of Kedoshim Tihyu, a person could have lived as a naval berushas HaTorah? What does the word naval mean? The Ksav VeHakabalah in Parshas Haazinu on the pasuk, on the phrase in the pasuk, עם נבל ולא חכם, explains both the semantics and etymology as follows. Ba'al chai meis, a dead animal. Yikarei neveilah is referred to as a neveilah, same shoresh, על שם הפסד צורתו החיונית, because what the word neveilah denotes is when the physical appearance and contours at least temporarily remain the same. From afar, one couldn't necessarily distinguish a neveilah from a sleeping animal, but what's missing is that defining vitality. So naval means that the crust, the shell, the physical crust, the physical shell is there, but the inner core vitality is missing. וכמו שהונח שם נבלה על הפסד כוח המעמיד צורה גשמית, כך הונח על הפסד צורה רוחנית.
And the term of naval or neveilah can refer not only to the absence of that defining physical vitality, but it can also refer to the absence of a defining spiritual vitality or quality. It's interesting. The pasuk in Tehillim, Dovid HaMelech says amar naval belibo—the naval says belibo ein Elokim. The atheist is described as a naval. He maintains his outer shell, his physical human shape and appearance, but the vital human dimension, the defining vital human dimension, connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu is missing. And perhaps for this reason, Dovid HaMelech describes אמר נבל בלבו אין אלוהים. The quality of naval, that there's a dry, lifeless outer crust bereft of inner vitality, is further represented by the fact that the atheist postures, אמר נבל בלבו אין אלוהים. Outwardly, he professes to be a man of faith, but what's lacking—the crust is there, the chitzonius is there, the profession of faith is there, but inwardly אמר נבל בלבו אין אלוהים. The depth, or at least some of the depth of the Ramban in Kedoshim Tihyu, is that not only absent Kedoshim Tihyu are there breaches in the wall of avodas Hashem, but all of Torah, rachmana litzlan, is distorted. Zehirus on arayos and ma'achalos asuros is designed and intended by the Torah as part of a spiritual regimen of discipline, moderate abstinence of kedusha. When the naval is שטוף בזימת נשיו ורבים and is ochel achila gassa, when the naval lives outrageously, hedonistically, he distorts and ultimately destroys the inner core of mitzvos. Issurei arayos and ma'achalos asuros are transformed from a discipline, from a beautiful discipline of kedusha into technical, legalistic traditions. And ultimately, absent Kedoshim Tihiyu, if a person were to live as a naval birshus haTorah, the divinely beautiful blueprint and vibrant roadmap for Kedusha, for Nitzchiyus, would be reduced Rachmana Litzlan to a caricature, a dry, lifeless legalistic system. That's what the Ramban is expressing through naval birshus haTorah. You'll have the crust, you'll have that dry, lifeless shell, but it will be lacking the tzura hiyunis, will be lacking that inner, defining, indispensable, vital, spiritual dimension. And that, for a person to live as a naval birshus haTorah, constitutes a colossal chillul Hashem. The protests have Rachmana Litzlan had this effect of naval birshus haTorah. Let's illustrate, meaning to give representative examples, not an exhaustive list. Mitzvas Tefila, Avodas Hashem in general is rooted in shiflus. A person is עובד הקדוש ברוך הוא ke'eved kama marei, as a servant before his master. Mitzvas Tefila and simcha in particular are beautiful expressions of and rooted in this sense of shiflus lifnei Hashem. אין עומדין להתפלל אלא מתוך כובד ראש, the Mishna teaches. Rashi explains koved rosh hachna'ah, submissiveness. A person gets up to daven before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, a person whose existence is not his own, ein od milvado, existence is HaKadosh Baruch Hu's. A person stands before HaKadosh Baruch Hu not to demand, a person stands before HaKadosh Baruch Hu bekoved rosh behachna'ah, with submissiveness. Simcha is also rooted, genuine simcha is also rooted in the sense of shiflus. And that's the Rambam writes famously at the end of Hilchos Lulav, השמחה שישמח אדם בעשיית המצוה ובאהבת הקל שצוה בהן עבודה גדולה היא.
It's a great, great form of avoda that a person should experience and express simcha in avodas Hashem. וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו, if a person holds himself back, doesn't allow himself to experience and express that simcha, ra'uy lehipara mimenu, he's deserving Rachmana Litzlan to be held accountable for that, שנאמר תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב.
vechol hamagis da'ato, a person who's arrogant, vecholeik kavod le'atzmo, and is concerned with according himself self-respect, ומתכבד בעיניו במקומות אלו חוטא ושוטה. He's a sinner and, translated literally, deranged. A shoteh in Halacha doesn't mean a fool, it means a person who's out of touch with reality. ועל זה הזהיר שלמה ואמר אל תתהדר לפני מלך. vechol hamashpil atzmo, when there are occasions and times of simcha and a person is mashpil atzmo, he lowers himself, he feels, experiences, and expresses genuine shiflus, ומיקל גופו במקומות אלו הוא הגדול המכובד העובד מאהבה. He's a genuinely great person who's being oveid Hashem me'ahava. וכן דוד מלך ישראל אומר, and Dovid Melech Yisrael said, venikallosi od mizos. I would lower myself even more than I did in dancing before the aron, ve'hayisi shafel be'einai. Tefillah, mitzvas simcha, simcha in general in asiyas hamitzvos as a modality for all mitzvos and simcha as an individual mitzvah are beautiful expressions of and rooted in a sense of shiflus. When we protest brazenly and arrogantly, even violently, in the name and the cause that we invoke is being allowed to gather for tefillah and simchas yom tov, so then we act rachmana litzlan as a naval bireshus haTorah. It's not only that these, it's not only that the brazenness and arrogance of the protest are themselves a discrete violation, a discrete cheit, but the naval bireshus haTorah destroys all of Torah the same way the person who is שטוף בזימת נשים ורבים and is ochel achila gassa, he distorts all the mitzvos of arayos and all the mitzvos of ma'achalos assuros. When a person comes with brazenness and arrogance, he, he distorts all his tefillah, all his simchas yom tov, all these beautiful, beautiful mitzvos and experiences of the Torah are distorted. When sacred halachos are used to provide cover for mob violence, once again we see the effect of naval bireshus haTorah and the chillul Hashem is colossal. When we react selectively on multiple occasions, past and present, not only present, very confrontationally, very provocatively, protest the Governor's actions and at the same time we remain inexplicably silent about the widespread zilzul which created the hotspots and subsequently that inexplicable silence continues regarding the chillul Hashem of the reaction to the Governor's actions, that too creates a naval bireshus haTorah effect. It distorts all of Torah. Torah is concerned just with, it's a lifeless legalistic system rachmana litzlan that only advocates for religious ritual and is not interested in life-saving public health measures and doesn't protest when there's a chillul Hashem, when there's a wholesale naval bireshus haTorah distortion. That's a distortion of all of Torah. That's a naval bireshus haTorah effect and that's a chillul Hashem. And finally we can't conclude without underscoring the fact, the very fact that many of our neighborhoods are hotspots in this resurgence of COVID itself is a chillul Hashem. Itself is not just a self-contained problem, but is something which distorts all of Torah. הלא למדת אסור להתמהמה, the Rambam in the context of where chillul Shabbos is necessary, אסור להתמהמה בחילול שבת לכל שיש בו סכנה. A person can't procrastinate in the slightest, shene'emar אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם. אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם ולא שימות בהם. הלא למדת שאין משפטי התורה נקמה בעולם.
The mishpetei hatorah don't represent harsh, exacting justice, אלא רחמים וחסד ושלום בעולם, compassion, kindness, peace. Ve'elu haminim, and the heretics, she'omerim shezeh chillul, who have disregard for life because of this misplaced emphasis on legalistic, the legalistic approach to mitzvos. ואלו המינים שאומרים שזה חילול ועשו עליהם הכתוב אומר וגם אני נתתי להם חוקים לא טובים ומשפטים לא יחיו בהם.
The teshuva for chillul Hashem Rabbeinu Yona teaches us is kiddush Hashem. May we be zoche to a piska tova, a year of kiddush Hashem, of yeshuos venechamos.