עיקר נסיונות הקדושה בדרך
The main challenges of the holy way
לֹא תִרְ אֶה אֶת חֲמוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ נֹפְלִים בַּדֶרֶךְ וְהִתְעַּלַּמְתָ מֵהֶם הָקֵם תָקִ ים עִמּוֹ( :כב ,ד)
You shall not see the donkey of your brother or his ox falling on the road and hide yourself from them, you shall surely raise it with him. (22:4)
Anyone who studies Shas sees that holy Chazal understood that there is no extra word in the Torah. Therefore, any word that could have been left out comes to expound. Our Chazal themselves were accurate in the posukim and enlighten our eyes to teach us that there is no limit to the laws and details of laws from every extra word or letter.
True, aside from the details of the mitzvos and laws that Chazal clarified and deduced from the words and letters, the Torah hinted to us with these words the ways of life that the Jewish person is obligated to become accustomed with. Most of them were not revealed to us by Chazal because they are not ‘gufei Torah’ – the main Torah, that is, they do not really stem from the mitzvos. Among them are also various ways that are not eternal, for with every time period there are other challenges, and the Torah is eternal and there are always hints for all challenges. Therefore, there are also words which change meaning depending on the time period, and Chazal were inclined to inform us of the obligations and advice that is permanent. The other hints that signal challenges for that time were designated for the people of that generation to reveal them.
One of the posukim that the Torah hints at timely challenges is the posuk before us. The Torah specifically speaks about the mitzvah of ‘you shall surely raise it with him’, but when we analyze the words, we find a hint for a point that is very timely and mainly for later generations.
The Torah commands the person: ‘You shall not see the donkey of your brother or his ox falling’ and adds that this sighting was ‘on the road’, and this word seems to be extraneous since it has no purpose regarding the mitzvah. True, this incident only happens on the way, but it makes no difference in terms of the law. And if it is not needed for this falling, then teach falling in general, and say that the Torah wanted to reveal that the reason for all fallings is ‘the way’, whether physical fallings as indicated here, which are the result of travelling and the burden, or whether spiritual fallings which are the result of seeing prohibited sightings in the streets of the city.
Like the hint brought down in the holy sefer ‘Tiferes Shlomo’ on the posuk (Bereishis 38:21), 'איה הקדשה היא בעינים על אם הדרך' – ‘Where is the woman of ill repute, the one at the crossroads by the road?’ If you see a person’s longing for holy things has lessened, and when it comes to matters of Torah and avodah he finds it difficult and lacking, and he asks ‘Where is the kedeisha’ [sanctity]? – where is the longing for matters of kedusha hidden? We answer him, ‘He be’einayim al haderech’ – ‘It is with the eyes on the way’ [literal translation of einayim] – you lost it because you did not guard your eyes on the ways. Every prohibited sighting draws the person to terrible filth, and when the person is drawn after the nonsense, his mind is not free for matters of kedusha...
Since this is so, it is incumbent on the person to be very careful not to harm his eyes while walking in the street, especially in our time, the generation of the coming of Moshiach, as is known from the truly righteous whose souls were in the generation of the flood have come down to the world again now (see the sefer ‘Taharas Hakodesh’ which discusses this at length), and the Torah testifies about them (Bereishis 6:12), 'כי השחית כל בשר את דרכו' – ‘for all flesh had corrupted its way’, their nature is still spoiled, and even today they lean toward destruction, and they spread their essence on others, and when we meet these defective neshamos, we can also be tripped up by them, and transgress what is commanded in the Torah (Bamidbar 15:39), 'ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם' – ‘You shall not follow after your heart and after your eyes’.
Tzaddikim and gedolei Yisrael were anxious and very afraid of every prohibited sighting, and there are many stories that testify to this, and I will mention a few. It is told about HaGaon Rebbe Pinchas Epstein, Rosh Av Bais Din of Yerushalayim, who lived in the ‘Batei Brode’ neighborhood near the ‘Machane Yehuda’ market. Every day he walked from his house to the office of the Bedatz which was in the ‘Meah She’arim’ neighborhood. This was a long walk and he had to walk through the market which was filled with immodest people, and since he wanted to be careful and not see anything bad, he walked outside the market on the side of the road, with his eyes lowered, looking at the ground, not paying attention at all to the people walking around him.
Once, he realized that walking on the busy street of Rechov Yafo was very dangerous, since sometimes it was possible that cars would push over and ride on the side of the road, even if the driver could see ahead and stop his car, sometimes he would not be able to stop the car because of the traffic. The result of this was that he might be hit by a car. The Rav ruled for himself: Walking is considered as severe as ‘giluy arayos’, which is ruled, ‘Be killed and do not transgress!’
It is told of Rebbe Elya Roth, the trusted aide to Rebbe Shlomo of Zevhil, that in his old age he lost his sight, and he could not see where he was going. Anytime he had to go out in the street, he needed others to accompany him, and despite the difficulty, he was quick to be grateful for his condition, by saying, “Rebono she olam, I thank You that now I am sure I will not see anything prohibited.
It is fitting for us to know that being careful not to see prohibited sightings is not only a safeguard against loss, but also a great benefit for the person, for through this he arouses great satisfaction in Heaven. Surely, he will merit great reward in the World Above. As told about the author of ‘Bais Avraham’ of Slonim, in one of his talks on the posuk (Koheles 7:10) 'אל תאמר שהימים הראשונים היו טובים מאלה כי לא מחכמה שאלת זאת' – ‘Do not say, “Former times were better than these?” For that is not a question prompted by wisdom.’ The question is, really, why can’t we say this? Former times were surely better than our times, then there were people of lofty levels, where do we find the actions and piety of those people? The Rav tried to answer, “Perhaps the answer is that even in our time we can bring satisfaction to Hashem Yisbarach like those of former generations, for when a man walks in the street now and a prohibited sight confronts him, and in honor of his Creator he strengthens himself and closes his eyes, this is equivalent to the deeds of former generations.” The Rav waited a bit and said, “Certainly, standing up to this challenge is important before HaKadosh Baruch Hu like Tzaddikim of former times.” He again waited a bit and said, “Overcoming this challenge is even greater than the righteous deeds of former tzaddikim.
