Why have we combined a simple, everyday story of a shopping trip with the tale of bravery against thugs? The answer will become clear when we contemplate this story a bit: The Rebbe Rayatz finds special interest in showing the young groom that even in the big store, there is no knife like his. The pride one takes in owning a particular object is a sign that the individual has an inner sense of affinity to that object. Interestingly, in the Rebbe Rayatz’s case, the inner sense he had was for knives, whether in the pocket or outside it. The world of weaponry was not foreign to the Rebbe Rayatz. He was not afraid of the young thugs' pistols, and later in his life, he kept his composure when faced with the pistols of the Communist secret police investigators. Given the grave danger he was in while still in Communist Russia (both from the authorities and from antisemites) it is even reported that he would sometimes carry a pistol himself. However, this story shows that there was also something beyond how he dealt with thugs or weapons.
ORNAMENTS
The subject of weaponry is dealt with in many halachic/legal contexts in the Talmud. Everything from the impurity that weapons carry to the future vision of Isaiah when those same weapons will be “beat into plowshares... and into pruning hooks.” One such discussion appears in the tractate of Shabbat and deals with the question of whether weapons carried by a soldier may be carried around on Shabbat or not. Rabbi Eliezer is of the opinion that it is permitted. His very interesting reason is that they are considered like ornaments for the soldier and therefore are not a burden that may not be transported around.
However, the other sages of his time rejected his view. They argue that because eventually, in the Messianic era, weapons will be “beat... into plowshares, etc.,” even though a weapon may still be necessary, it should not be praised and therefore cannot be regarded as an ornament. But Rabbi Eliezer argues that because we still need to use weapons in our times, that is enough of a reason to consider it something with which one can adorn oneself. What can we learn from this debate?
DESIRES
Let us begin with the sole appearance of the word “knife” (יןִכַּס) in the entire Bible: “Thrust a knife into your gullet if you are a person of spirit” (ָּתְמַׂשְו הָּתָ אׁשֶפֶל נַעַּם־בִ אָךֶעֹלְּין בִכַּׂש). According to the commentaries, “a person of spirit” here refers to someone who is gluttonous, i.e., a “person of appetite,” since the Hebrew word for “spirit” (also translated as “psyche”) stems from the verb that also means “to desire.” Thus, this verse refers to the need for restraining one’s appetite. Proverbs likens it to cutting off as it were one’s oral cavity which continually craves more and more food. However, the plain meaning is not lost, and the verse can also be referring to a person who has an overpowering need for intellectualism. Either way, this verse follows the Chabad-centric dictum that precisely in that which you desire excessively, it is there that you must exercise control, falling back upon the innate ability of the mind to control the heart’s desires. Armed, so to speak, with this verse, what can we say about the inner meaning behind the debate regarding viewing a weapon as an ornament?
SUBMISSION OR TRANSFORMATION, WAR OR PEACE
Like life itself, our Divine service splits into two modes. Sometimes in life it is a time for war, and sometimes it is a time for peace (until eventually, with the Coming of Mashiach and the true and complete Redemption, there will be everlasting peace). The state of war in Divine service is the war we wage against our evil inclination. This state is known as itkafya—the service of submission. The Tikkunei Zohar describes it as “the other side is subdued” (אָרְחַא אָרְטִא סָיְפַכְּתִא). The state of peace in Divine service refers to when the evil inclination has been transformed into a positive influence. The Tikkunei Zohar’s description of this state is ithapcha, and it is described as, “Darkness is transformed into light” (אָכֹוׁשֲא חָכְפַהְתִא אָרֹהוְנִל).
In the debate between Rabbi Eliezer and the sages, the latter’s focus is on the long-awaited end of days when we will experience the complete transformation of all that is evil into goodness. But Rabbi Eliezer, and similarly, the Rebbe Rayatz, though they too yearn for the Redemption, they appreciate the beauty and virtue to be found in resolutely confronting and battling the evil that continues to destroy God’s world, whether this evil be our own internal inclination or our external enemies. They hold that it is precisely because holiness is not afraid to struggle to be victorious that God's glory is elevated in the eyes of many.
