After Shabbos the chosid went into yechidus. The Alter Rebbe told him to return home and that all would be well. “After all, it says כי לא נחש ביעקב, you have nothing to worry about”! Once again, the Alter Rebbe entered a state of great dveikus, and repeated the Possuk over and over. He then blessed the chosid, who, joyously headed home.
As he neared the village, the villagers came out excitedly to greet him. “Did you hear the news?” they proclaimed, “the 2 women who had been practicing witchcraft died suddenly on Shabbos morning! You are now safe!”
[Of course, it was quickly determined that the timing of their death coincided with the reading of the Possuk by the Alter Rebbe].
I don’t know how many of us are threatened or endangered by witches living in our neighborhoods. But what is witchcraft, after all? It is no more than individuals who know how to tap into the forces of impurity in the world. And that is plentiful.
In fact, as we all know, the Alter Rebbe teaches us in Tanya that this entire world is olam hakelipos vahasitra achera; - simply stated – the forces of impurity are in abundance in this world. And they pose a very real threat to us. Our contact with, and exposure to, them, saps us of our spiritual vitality, and weakens the influence that our nefesh hoElokis has on us.
As the Alter Rebbe teaches us (in the Likutei Torah of this week) on the Posuk לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל: “Yaakov”, the Jew who descends into the world and is involved with worldly matters, needs much effort, עמל ויגיעה, to ensure that this involvement should not have an ill effect on him. True, if he works on it he is assured success, that ultimately לא הביט און ביעקב, but it takes hard work to get to that stage (unlike Yisroel, the one who remains above worldly matters, who doesn’t even need עמל).
And the first step, perhaps, we can learn from the story. Like the yungerman, we need to experience a yearning for a spiritual existence, exclusively of learning and davening. Even if circumstances require us to be involved in mundane occupations, and that is our current shlichus (whether on shlichus literally, engaged in transforming the world, or in business (which may be our shlichus for the moment), or, for a bochur, as a counselor or canteen manager), we need to know what our priorities are, and always strive for and yearn for the ability to forget about everything and lose ourselves in a tosefos or a maamar.
As the Rebbe explained at length in the maamar Hasom nafsheinu bachaim (which we all just spent much time learning and internalizing); - the first prerequisite is כל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים, - to feel very strongly that our goal is to be able to learn more and daven more. Regardless of what our shlichus is, we have to seek every opportunity to tear ourselves away from everything and koch zich in Torah and mitzvos.
And, perhaps there is a further lesson in the story. It is not enough to merely have the yearning, but, like the yungerman in the story, we have to, on occasion, actually act on those feelings, and return – even if only temporarily – to our spiritual existence.
[The story is told about a simple Jew, who came home from shul very inspired. “We had a guest magid”, he informed his wife, “and he spoke marvelously about being merciful. He spoke at length about how Yiden are רחמנים בני רחמנים, and how important this trait is. I was very moved, I can’t wait to implement what he taught.”
As the simple Jew was getting into bed, there was a knock at the door. “Please”, called out a voice, “I am very hungry, I haven’t had a meal in days, please, have mercy, and give me something to eat”.
The Jew was ecstatic! This was exactly what he had just learned about! He lay down comfortably in his bed, and explained to his wife: ‘I am now feeling great rachmonus for that Jew, just as the Rabbi taught!”
The poor man at the door continued to knock and beg, and the homeowner continued to lay in his bed and feel rachmonus, until, from so much rachmonus, the poor man at the door died of hunger (lo aleinu)].
If the yearning is genuine, then, inevitably, it has to sometimes be acted upon. And perhaps, even, like in the story, in an extreme manner, - lemaalo mitaam vodaas. Like the chosid in the story, who carried out an אבא אל המלך אשר לא כדת, we all have to, sometimes put all of our reasoning and cheshbonos aside, and just immerse ourselves in serving the Eibishter.
[It’s interesting to note the contrast between two stories: Once a chosid of R’ Boruch Mezhibuz, had a similar experience. He was overcome by an overwhelming desire to visit his Rebbe, and he left his wagon with all of his possessions in the middle of the street, and travelled to his Rebbe.
When he arrived, R’ Boruch began to publicly reprimand him and shame him. “How can you do such a thing?!” R’ Boruch berated him, “to leave all of your possessions as hefker? That is reckless and foolhardy, and not a way to behave!”
A visiting Rabbi could not take the shame of the poor chosid, and he whispered to R’ Boruch: המלבין פני חבירו ברבים ?!
R’ Boruch retorted: “Why don’t you conclude the maamar chazal? I know what it says, אין לו חלק לעולם הבא. But I saw that this chosid’s recklessness would have resulted in his losing all of his earthly possessions, and as a result of his shame, he will be spared the financial loss, so I said, I’ll gladly forfeit my olam habo to protect a Jew from such a loss”!
(The Tzemach Tzedek related this story to illustrate what true mesirus nefesh is; - not merely giving up your gashmyus for the sake of the Ruchnyus of another Jew, but – as R’ Boruch did – giving up one’s ruchnyus for the sake of the gashmyus of another).
But in the story with the Alter Rebbe, there was, apparently, no need to shame the chosid or the like. The indication seems to be that, under the circumstances, the chosidd behaved appropriately].
When we develop and cultivate our yearning for kedusha and Elokus, and find opportunities to actually act on it, we ensure that our involvement with olam hazeh should be on a solid and secure foundation, and we have the promise, even with the avoda of Yaakov, that לא הביט און ביעקב. And this should lead to all the subsequent brochos in this week’s Parsha, up to and including the brochos and nevu’os for the geula hoamitis vehashleimo TUMYM!
L’chaim! May we all work on the respective avodos of Yaakov and Yisroel that we learn about in this week’s Parsha, and may the Eibishter bring to fruition the many brochos to Yaakov and Yisroel in the nevuos in the Parsha, including and especially דרך כוכב,מעיקב וירד מיעקב וגו', with the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu and וירד מים עד ים TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
הנכונה בריאות מתוך ט"ואויוש ק"ורפו ש"לרפו אסתר 'חי בן מרדכי ברוך 'ר לזכות ס"וכט !ג"הנרוהנ בטוב ט"ואויוש ,ממש י"תומ ק"לרפושו ,'שי מרים בן ב"שד לזכות .ט"ואויוש ק"לרפושו ,חנה בן אהרן ת"הרה לזכות
