Shmuli Sagel on Jeremiah (2)

Dear Daily Nach learners,
Last week we learnt the perek that is called ‘Sefer Yirmiya’ by the Nach, in which Yirmiya expresses his advice and direction for the Jews who had been exiled to Bavel. The truth is though, that this advice was not restrictive to his time only. Rather it is the eternal message of Hashem, sent through his prophet, to every Jewish community and society who lived, live and will live outside of Land of Israel until the coming of Moshiach. The Jewish people solely belong in Israel and every other place we find ourselves we are merely visitors. Of course there have been countless places and times throughout our exiles where we have been brutally oppressed and made to feel as strangers in a strange land. But we have also enjoyed times of prosperity and security in foreign lands living within tolerant and supportive countries.
For the last 60 years Jews in the western world have on the whole been fortunate to find themselves in countries of ‘ מלכות של חסד’ where the host country has not only afforded us the freedom of religion but have also actively facilitated our Jewish practices and specific requirements. This kindness shown to us by our host nations is not purely a modern phenomenon (which can be explained away as being due to the relative liberalism of the modern world) but it is a repeat of what we already experienced in our ‘Golden Age’ in Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries and in the ‘Berlin is our Jerusalem’ era when we dominated the high classes of German society for an extensive period. Many of these times when the Non-Jews treated us well, it was because they saw the value in having the Jews as active citizens in their countries. They realised that which Lavan realised many centuries earlier, when he appreciated that his blessings where due to Yaacov’s presence. In all the aforementioned societies the Jews rose to the top becoming influential government ministers, leaders of the economy and highly acclaimed philosophers. This is by no means a negative thing, but rather it allowed for Judaism to flourish although in alien surroundings and enabled for it to evolve and remain applicable to the ever developing world.
However, this success we and previous generations have enjoyed even though in Golus would never have been possible if we were not recognisably good citizens. The Jews became exemplary citizens wherever they went and were a people who respected others along with conforming to that which their hosts demanded of them. The nations who realised this tremendous citizenship utilised their ‘new friends’ to the avail of their own countries and in return let the Jews remain as practicing Jews. This requirement to conform to and respect our host countries, which in return highly increases our chances of religious survival in Golus, is what Yirmiya is telling us when he says, “דרשו את שלום העיר” – “Seek out peace in the city.” It is imperative we know our differences and appreciate that our plane of existence differs from theirs, but we must also take extreme caution that we remain exemplary citizens and valuable members of the wider society. Being Jewish does not permit us to violate the law, when it is not consistent withhalacha, because the halacha demands us to follow the law as ‘דינא דמלכותא דינא’. We cannot isolate ourselves and pretend that we live within our own dominion because we rely somewhat on our hosts. Acting in a fashion which creates a קידוש ה' is not only a ‘good thing’ to do but also actively enhances this notion of ‘seeking out peace in the city’ i.e. ensuring that the natives see us in a positive light.
Furthermore, not only must we not be provocative but we have to also be actively positive citizens as the possuk carries on, “...והתפללו בעדה אל ה' כי בשלומה יהיה לכם שלום” – “...And pray to Hashem for its peace, because its peace is your peace.” Every Shabbos morning when we make the Prayer for the Queen and her Government we are fulfilling these words. Yirmiya is saying that we must daven for security and peacefulness of our host nations because we will be affected by a lack of these just as much as they will be.
Another brilliant perek we learn in the last week was Chapter 31 in which we had a string of famous pesukim, pertaining particularly to Rachel’sbeseeching to Hashem and His acceptance of it. These pesukim are found in a Rashi in parshas Vayechi (Chapter 48 possuk 7) where Yaacov is explaining to hi son Yosef that although it appears ‘wrong’ that he buried Rachel on the way side but in truth this was the desire of Hashem. Rashicomments by quoting from Yirmiya 31 and explains that Hashem wanted Rachel’s Tomb to be the place that her descendants could pray at as they were exiled from Israel. On this Rashi the Maharal in his commentary on Chumash, Gur Aryeh, brings out two beautiful ideas which I would like to share with you here.
The Maharal asks, why Rachel ‘cries’ more than any other of the Imahos? Answers the Maharal quoting the Midrash Eicha that Rachel says toHashem, how can you blame my children for the punishments brought upon? Since if it due to their idolatrous practices, which is called צרה, surely my husband Yaacov who loved me intensely, worked for seven years in order to marry me and in the end my father gave him my sister (which the Torahcalls צרה). Yet, says Rachel, I put my love for Yaacov to one side and gave over the signs to my sister. I who am merely flesh and blood [did this selfless act], You Hashem who is the All Merciful King how much more so you can have mercy on the Jewish people. To which Hashem replies (Yirmiya31:15), “ושבו בנים מארץ אויב יש שכר לפעולתך” – “There is reward for your actions and your sons will return from the enemy’s lands.” The Maharalexplains this Midrash as follows. Rachel knew that Yaacov was to marry two wives because this world, which is a world of division and separation, is not conducive to there being oneness and would Yaacov have only had one wife than Klal Yisrael would have been united and there would have never been Yehuda (one Kingdom) from Leah and Ephraim (another Kingdom) from Rachel. This unity is saved for the time of Moshiach but until such a time we must be fractured. Understanding this, Rachel therefore accepted her fate with love and therefore she proposes that Hashem forgive his people in a similar fashion that she was forgiving even though in her impossible situation. She was highlighting that this world is intrinsically fragmented and hence idolatry is rife and this is what caused Yisrael to serve idols.
The Maharal brings another Midrash which comments on our possuk of, “רחל מבכה על בניה”, which says that Yisrael is called after Rachel and not only after Rachel but also after the name of her son as the possuk in Amos 5:15 says, “אולי יחנן ה' צבקות שארית יוסף” and not only that but also after her grandson as the possuk later on in Yirmiya 31 says, “הבן יקיר לי אפרים”. This Midrash is telling us something extremely profound, says the Maharal, that Klal Yisrael is called after Rachel because she was the bedrock of Yaacov’s home and all else was subsidiary to her. Therefore she represents theבית יעקב, and is the source of כנסת ישראל which gives the ability for the Jewish people to once again be gathered (meaning of the word כנסת) in their Land. Even though we now find ourselves flung in all four corners of the globe, we still feel a sense of togetherness and this comes from the fact that we are all part of the בית יעקב which is rooted in Rachel. The is why Rachel is buried on the way-side rather than with the other Avos in Mo’oras Hamachpeila because she in some way remains to this day ‘with her children’ as after all it is her who represents the hope that we will all again be one nation in one land. Happy learning, Shmuli

Shmuli Sagel on Jeremiah (1)

Dear All my fellow Daily Nach learners,

Now, not that we need a sign from G-d to tell us that what we are doing is the correct thing, but the way the Daily Nach calendar has worked out is nothing short of Min HaShomayim. I have mentioned this point before but once again when I turned to the Haftorah on shabbos it was nothing less than a few of the perokim which we had just learnt in the previous week!! I hope that as we continue to fly through Nach many more aspects of our learning and our lives will gain more clarity as Tanach, more so than any of our other learning, is our direct link back to Har Sinai. In the very pesukimwe learn each day are contained the eternal messages from our Creator and as the Gemoro in Chagiga 11a refers to Nach as divrei “kabbala” (not the spooky type) meaning our “heritage”.

Yesterday’s perek, Yirmiyahu 17, was of particular interest and is jam-packed with so many relevant and fundamental ideas that I would like to share with you some of these. I am sure you would have realised this when learning it, as (for the first time in Yirmiya) we had a number of very famouspesukim (which are of course only famous because someone put them to a decent tune!) which beg for a little more explanation than our usual schedule of learning allows for.

This year, 5768, being a shemitta year, much has been written about mesiras nefesh of those farmers in Israel who have left their fallow and in doing so have allowed themselves to incur huge financial losses. These farmers are the heroes of Klal Yisrael and we all know the amazing stories of how such people have actually prospered more than those who do not observe the shemitta, whose crops have been destroyed by freak locust infestations or by extraordinary weather conditions etc... In verse 4 of our perek, Yirmiya alludes to the fact that the Jewish people are being thrown off their land and will have to work the land of their enemies because they did not observe the shemita. Both Rashi and Metzudos Dovid learn from the word ‘VeShomatato’ that the Navi is hinting to the core reason for this aspect of their golus bavel. How relevant it is for us, that still two and a half thousand years later and we are back on our home land, but we continue to face the same issues and have to fight that same battle as Yirmiya found himself tackling. But digging a little deeper we have to try and understand the underpinning notion of shemitta and what aspect of our character is it coming to address? The obvious answer is BITACHON. The commandment to let ourselves become totally reliant on another Being for one year in every seven, demands for us to draw from our wellspring of Emunas Hashem and have absolute Bitachon in Him that He will provide. This leads us directly in to the following pesukim of the perek where Yirmiya homes in on this idea of bitachon.

Rabbi Yissocher Frand in his fiery Teshuva Drasha of Elul 2001, brings out a fundamental point in the hashkafa of a Jew and with this belief at hand it will totally change the way we approach our teffila. Rabbi Frand quotes a Marbitz who says so profoundly, “Ein Mi Sheyamalo Chesroneinu Elah Hu!” – “That there is no being that can provide us with that which we require, besides Him – HaKodesh Boruch Hu.” If we can internalise this fact withoutHashem sustaining us every moment that we are alive and granting us everything we have we would simply cease to exist. And therefore it follows, that davening is not merely a religious exercise which we have to carry out but rather is the key to our existence as we are absolutely dependant onHashem. Now, this feeling that we are completely insufficient when void of Hashem demands a ton of bitachon but it is pivotal to our being a trueEved Hashem. However, conversely it explains why putting faith and trust in either oneself or more specifically in another human being is so antithetical to Judaism because it displays the fact that this person doesn’t buy in to the notion that there is no being who can sustain him besidesHashem. It is this person that Yirmiya curses when he says is passuk 5, “...Cursed is the man who trusts in man...” Then in direct comparison Yirmiyapraises the one with Bitachon in the famous passuk 7 of our perek where it says, “Blessed is the man that he trusts in G-d, and G-d will be his security.” Here we find the Navi extolling the virtues of Bitachon and warning us of the pitfalls of those who put faith in others but let us explore this idea a little further.

The opening Kli Yakar on parshas Miketz addresses this idea in explaining why Yosef was decreed to stay in prison for a further two years. The Kli Yakar quotes the famous Midrash which explains that Yosef was made to serve two extra years in prison than had originally been decreed on him because he put his trust in Pharaoh’s butler as the possuk in tehillim says (40:5), “Happy is the man who places his trust in Hashem and who does not turn to Rehavim (explained to mean Egyptian).” The Kli Yakar asks a number of questions but I am going to focus on two of them. Firstly he asks why the tehillim uses the terminology of “Asher Som Hashem MivTacho” meaning that he places (Som) Hashem as his trust surely it should say, “Asher Som BAHashem MivTacho” that he places his trust in Hashem? Secondly he asks on our possuk, what does the second part of the verse mean, “....and G-d will be his security”?

Explains the Kli Yakar, that in this world when someone has a specific talent or attribute where they stand out from others, they do not lessen themselves to give any credibility or attention to those who are not as talented or successful as them, because of their haughtiness. This logic the philosophers wrongly applied to Hashem claiming that due to His sheer awesomeness and infiniteness He therefore is not interested in us lowly mortals who live on this spec within the expansive universe. But our belief tells us that is utterly false and that in reality Hashem takes an accounting of every action which we do be it big or small and even every thought he knows. So important this is that Hashem is involved with even the lowest of beings, Hashem demonstrated this fact to us in His very name itself. The three letters of Hashem’s name, Yud, Hei, Vav and another Hei, when written out fully have the three smallest gematrios of all the letters in the alphabet when written out in full.

We see that the essence of Hashem’s name is a testimony to us that however unfathomable Hashem truly is he still is actively involved in every single aspect of our lowly lives. That is why the possuk in tehillim doesn’t say, “Asher Som BAHashem MivTacho” that he places his trust in Hashem because as it is written it can be read, “Asher Shem Hashem MivTacho” that the name of Hashem is his trust because the name of Hashem reassures us that even though we are nobodies Hashem still loves us and is involved in our lives. The word Som, place, is the same two letters as Shem, name. This similarly sheds new light on the second part of our passuk, “Vehaya Hashem MivTacho” meaning that he is fortunate and blessed if he places his trust in G-d because the name Hashem is his security! Knowing that this limitless Being cares about you is the greatest security there is in this world and hence is also the biggest blessing.

Perhaps the definitive work on Bitachon can be found in the renowned machshava work of Rabbaynu Bachya called Chovos Halevovos where the fifth chapter of this sefer is dedicated to this subject and is aptly named, ‘The Gate of Bitachon’. It is a must learn thing (the whole sefer really but specifically this chapter) and he spells out all the virtues of one who lives with bitachon. There he gives the litmus test to Bitachon in the first chapter of the ‘Gate’ where he says that someone who has full Bitachon has ‘menuchas HaNefesh’ - tranquillity of the soul. This concept that someone who lives with immense trust in Hashem therefore enjoys the most secure life, can only be so because he lives constantly aware with the truth of ‘Ein Od Milvado’ that there exists nothing besides for Hashem and that everything is really just a part of Him. When you reach this recognition that there is nothing besides Him than it is obvious that your entire existence is reliant upon Him and of course who is there to trust in besides Him. When you have this at heart then you are truly at ease because you know that you have a direct relationship with Him - namely our davening.

Moving on in our perek, the Rabbeinu Bachya brings in Sha’ar HaBitachon possuk 11, “...he creates wealth illegally, he will lose it prematurely and in the end it will become despised to him.” The Navi is warning us that cheating in business, cutting corners in our finances will never pay off but rather we will always lose it later down the line and in the end the effort will be for our detriment. However, the Chovos Halevovos bring it as it displays what a lack of bitachon causes. One who does not trust in Hashem feels the need to gain wealth which is not meant for him but we live in a world whereHashem runs the show and in the end each one gets what’s meant for them. We see the theme of Bitachon reoccurring in this perek and here againYirmiya is letting us know that trust in Hashem is the only real security and that there’s no way besides His Way.

The chapter closes with the interesting prophecy extolling the virtue of Shemiras Shabbos and how simply observing Shabbos will be the saving factor when it comes to exiling them. Interestingly the possuk dwells on the aspect of carrying on Shabbos as being the most severe desecration of it. Rabbi Landau suggests that carrying is the only one of the melochos of Shabbos which can only be transgressed in public and therefore it is the most blatant defiance of the Shabbos and hence encapsulates the desecration of it the most. (It is interesting and very relevant to think about this idea on the flip side......but I can’t say any more here, ask me privately if you want to know!!). The Radak asks why the sin of Shabbos is highlighted as being the cause for their exile whilst they were committing more severe sins, such as idol worship? He answers that it is because keeping Shabbos is the most profound declaration of Belief in Hashem that a Jew can make. Not keeping Shabbos is in affect declaring that ‘I have no Emuna in Hashem’. And similarly keeping Shabbos says that, ‘I believe that G-d made the world and I am a servant of His’. This is why Shabbos is the make or break factor as it truly symbolises whether we are on His side or chas ve’shalom, not. Emuna is the theory that goes behind that which Bitachon is in practice. Here again we see that the focal point comes down to Bitachon and how what He wants from us more than anything else is to Trust in Him.

“Baruch HaGever Asher YivTach BaHashem” this is the greatest blessing we can enjoy when we trust in Him and will be afforded the life of tranquillity.

Shmuli Sagal

shmulisagal@gmail.com