After reciting the Shemoneh Esrai and the Kaddish, we end with the tefillah םולש השוע במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל ואמרו אמן. He who makes peace in the heavens should make peace amongst all of Am Yisrael. When we say this supplication we step back three steps and bow our heads bending down. What does this tefilla mean and why is it accompanied with such a physical ritual?
Where do we find that Hashem makes peace in His heavens? This is revealed in the heavens themselves which are composed of the elements of water and fire as Rashi comments (Bereishis 1,8). Through Hashem's will, these two opposing elements coexist peacefully together in order to reveal the glory of Hashem's creation.
This identical peaceful coexistence of opposites is reflected in the plague of ברד hail, which the Torah describes as a combination of water and fire. These two polarized elements which under normal circumstances would extinguish one another, made shalom with each other in order to make a Kiddush Hashem in the world.
With the above we can get a deeper understanding in the words יראת שמים fear of the heavens. In reality we don't fear the heavens but rather Hashem who dwells there? However, now we can interpret this to mean that the fear and avodah which we perform for Hashem should be free of machlokes and negativity towards the varying groups of Yidden who don't possess the same minhagim, dress, nusach hatfillah, etc that we have received in our mesorah. Sure we must all strive to have Yiras Hashem but it must be coupled with Yisras Shamayim which exists only because there is shalom between its very fabrics consisting of opposing elements.
Hashem is echad as we declare daily in the Shemah. He therefore chooses to dwell and reveal Himself in shamayim where there is true achdus even amongst opposites water and fire. If we are sincerely seeking the geulah, we as a nation must make earth a residence of achdus worthy of Hashem's presence amongst us. The personal achdus between us and Hashem is stated in the Shema to love Hashem with all your heart all your soul and all your money. What Hashem is asking from each Yid is to become one דחא similar to Hashem. בכל לבבך with all your heart to make your heart one, by enlisting the yetzer harah with the same service to Hashem as the yetzer tov. בכל נפשך with all one's soul that life and death are one and he is willing to sacrifice his life for Hashem. בכל מאדך with all your money. If need be having the money for yourself or giving it all away for Hashem is the same no difference.
The love of Hashem is also manifested in the oneness and unity between all Yisrael as symbolized by the Four Speices which represent four different level of Jews who are bound together.
The gemarah Taanis 20 and Avos D'Reb Nassan 41 relate an episode of Rabbe Elazar the son of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai who was returning from learning Torah and was very elated with his accomplishment. On the way home he encountered what the Chazal describe as an םדא מכוער an ugly individual. This appearance of מכוער can be interpreted in the physical sense or middos wise. As he met this Yid, he unfortunately said to him a condescending remark "Perhaps all the dwellers of your town are ugly like yourself?" Tosafos learns that the peasant was none other than Aliyahu Hanavi incognito, sent to Rabbe Elazar in order to teach him a corrective behavior of how to perceive other Yidden who don't fit his mold. He responded with "If you have complaints of how different I am from you then go straight to the manufacturer who created me such."
Suddenly realizing his mistake he asked forgiveness from the one he insulted but it was not granted to him. Rabbe Eliezer was so full of regret and remorse that he followed behind the peasant humbly all the way to the town of Rabbe Elazar's residence begging for forgiveness, prostrating before him but to no avail. As they came to the town, all the inhabitants came out to greet and give kovod to Rabbe Elazar. Seeing what was happening, the peasant said if you are coming out to give this man kovid then you are making a grave error for he deserves none. The peasant then told them what transpired with him and Rabbe Elaezer on the journey. The townspeople begged the peasant to forgive their leader and he finally acquiesced to their request only on condition that he would never again look down at members of Klal Yisrael who ostensibly look or conduct themselves differently, so long as they pose no danger to the wholesome spirituality of Am Yisrael and their Torah.
When Rabbe Elazar was forgiven he immediately went to the Beis Hamedrash and taught the everyone the message
תוחורה וממד םהמע אבו ךלוה וב תובשוðה זה כל הרוחות באות וðה ולא יהא קשה כארז מה קðלעולם יהא אדם רך כק ןויכ אלא ומוקמב דמוע וðו קולמוס לכתוב ספר תורה. אבל ארז איðה ליטול הימðה עומד במקומו לפיכך זכה קðחוזר הק יו. ומה סופוðשבה רוח דרומית עוקרתו והופכתו על פðש ו ðשל ארז ]באים עליו סתתין ומסתתין אותו ומסבבין ממ םיתב השאר[ משליכין אותו לאור מכאן אמרו יהא אדם רך כק ז
A person should forever be flexible like a reed that bends and sways with the wind. This symbolizes that one must have tolerance not disdain, even for others whose conduct and haskafa are not exactly aligned to the same cookie cutter presentation of your upbringing and chinuch. Being soft and not hard promises continuity in a relationship.
The Torah when describing the disastrous damage that the Plague of Hail had on Mitzrayim, it says that the stalks which innately possessed the character of bending were not destroyed by the ברד. It was only the hard ripened unbending flax and barley that were broken and severed from their source of life energy which was in contrast to the wheat and spelt which were not ripe yet. From here we see that tolerance for others brings extension of life not its demise. Peace and achdus amongst different expressions of avodas Hashem while still adhering to protecting the Halacha, bequeaths Klal Yisrael a stronger preservation Torah and Mitzvos.
Even the plague of Hail itself demonstrated this life energy that is preserved. When the "Barad" plague was terminated, what happened to the hail that was in middle of falling between the heaven and earth? The Torah describes that they stood and froze in midair. Chazal say that the remnants of the Barad were used again at a later date to help Yehoshuah defeat the Pelishtim. Only in this Makkah of Barad we find that part of it stayed intact in order to be used again for the purpose of sanctifying Hashem's name. Hashem the eternal, dwells amongst those elements and people who manifest achdus as the gemarah says in Temurah 15b צבור אינם מתים. The same theme is stated about the eternality of flexible reed. Because of its nature to bend, it has the merit to be used as the pen to write a Sefer Torah in which eternal wisdom of Hashem has been inscribed.
We step back and bow when we say עושה שלום ברמומיו. The reason is to remind us that many a time in order to make shalom one has to step back and bend like a reed even though it might not be comfortable to do so and it might even be challenging. When friction ignites a confrontation on a matter that pertains to insignificant issues or who is to blame, you don't have to prove your righteousness in every disagreement. It is not worth the damage that comes into a relationship by allowing a ripple effect of harboring emotional animosity to be preserved. One is advised to be mevatair and step back and harvest jumbo mileage rewards for your pursuit of shalom.
After the plague of Barad the makah of Locusts begins. Hashem tells Moshe to go to Pharaoh and I will harden his heart and he will not release Yisrael from his bondage. Hashem describes the hardening of his heart as compared to making Pharaoh look like a fool יתללעתה רשא במצרים. By being stiff necked as his name suggests פרעה - the letters of עורף the neck, the fool thinks that he wins by being tough in holding his ground and that every time when Hashem removes the makah he is victorious. Yet sooner than later he finds that this is not a victory for himself but rather a great loss for a new plague returns with a more severe and deeper blow than before.
This is the juxtaposition of these two plagues in these two parshiyos ברד ארבה. we must learn from them that being an ןשקע stubborn in your shitos and opinions and the drive to win and always be right is not a formula for happiness and fulfillment.
One story that has left me with an indelible impression of gadlus haadam is the story of Rav Yisrael Belsky ztl and the Rosh Yeshivah of Torah Vadaath. Rav Reuven Grozovsky ztl had a bachur every day to help him put on tefillin in a private room. As a young bachur Rav Belsky begged to be chosen to don the Rosh Yeshiva's tefillin one time. They allowed him one day to be the special bachur to aid the donning of the Rosh Yeshiva's tefillin but they warned him that after the tefillin he must leave the room. The day came and after he helped the Rosh Yeshivah with his tefillin he was asked by the Rosh Yeshivah to bring a cup of water in order to wash his hands. Rav Belsky quickly brought the water in a basin and accidently spilled some of the water on the Rosh's clothing. Rav Belsky became so embarrassed that he froze. The Rosh sat him down with kind words and chizuk for he realized that the bachur was super embarrassed. When he exited the room the one in charge was upset and raised his voice you were supposed to leave after you donned the Rosh Yeshivah's tefillin. What were you doing for an extra 10 minutes? Rav Belsky told the truth and said he comforting me so I shouldn't feel bad over spilling the water on the Rosh's clothes. "You are a big liar" screamed the gabai. Rav Belsky was in shock. How can you say that about me? The gabai answered it is a known fact that since the age of his bar mitzvah the Rosh Yeshiva never spoke while wearing tefillin!
But the reality was that the Rosh Yeshivah did speak while wearing tefillin in order to soothe the feelings of this bachur. By doing so this stopped his pure avodah of over a fifty years of never to speak while wearing his tefillin. That is approximately passing the challenge of not talking with tefillin on over 15,000 times. I am sure he could and would have reached the record of a lifetime being complete without talking while wearing his tefillin. Imagine ascending to shamayim with such a stunning impeccable record. But no that wasn't the case. He let his aspiration of purity to be interrupted in order to make sure that a young lad who by mistake spilled water on his clothes should not be embarrassed and in shame for the rest of his life. לעולם יהא אדם רך כקנה.
The gematriah of אדם רך כקנה with the kollel equals אמת. Who knows that maybe in shamayim one who allows his potential record of spiritual greatness to be broken in order to do a chesed for someone else, is deemed a greater record and zechus of sacrifice to Hashem than a completed record in its entirety. After all emes is emes and the passuk says ןוכת תמא לעד.
Gut Shabbos,
Rav Brazil
