Despite this being a very long and difficult exile, we have succeeded in creating our own Torah culture. We have our own manner of dress and speech; we have our own goals and priorities. We even have our own newspapers, music, and books. We now even enjoy a vast body of Torah literature. Whether stories of our Gedolim or fictional novels that convey Torah values, it is a great accomplishment and necessary to remaining an exalted nation.
However, there is a small fly in the ointment. It seems that the Gedolim written about in the popular books today are presented as molochim – as if they never failed, never suffered any setbacks, and never went through nisayonos. The average Gadol started learning Mishnayos at age two, mastered Shas Bavli at age 10, polished off Yerushalmi for his bar mitzvah, and then spent the rest of his life reviewing! Never fell. Never questioned himself. Never felt lost or confused. He just knew from a tender young age that he was destined to greatness and followed that path unerringly throughout a lifetime of growth and accomplishment.
The reality is quite different. Every Gadol has suffered. Every great person goes through tests and tribulations. Each of the Avos and Imahos had periods of darkness and difficulties, and on some level, they all failed. The true distinction between those people who became world class Gedolim and those who didn’t is how much they were willing to pay the price, how committed they were to serving HASHEM, how many times they were willing to get knocked down and get back up again. If you find a Gadol story that doesn’t include dark times, you are reading pure fiction. In the world that HASHEM created, fighting fights is integral to growth, and fighting means that sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. The Mesillos Yesharim explains that man was put on the planet to learn, to serve HASHEM, and fight the fights of life. There is no fighter in existence who hasn’t gotten knocked down. No fighter ever entered the ring without being ready to get hit. That is just part of life.
It seems that in an attempt to portray Gedolim as great, we have made them non-human – angels just barely wearing human form. While this may stem from a noble motivation, it is false, and it brings with it a real danger. If a Gadol is barely human, I can’t learn from him. After all, I am very human. I have ups and downs, moments of great inspiration, and times of doubt and questions. I fall down and need to pick myself back up. If Gedolim were such perfect angels, what connection do they have to me? How can I learn from them?
This seems to be the answer to the question on Rashi. Avram was a human being. Granted he was on a remarkable level of spirituality, but he was still a human with real feelings, real attachments, and real emotions. For him to leave his birthplace and his homeland was difficult. He grew up there. He had memories and connections there from most of his life. It was home. Was there a question in his mind about listening to HASHEM? Certainly not. But each expression was an added dimension to the test because it made it somewhat more difficult, thereby increasing his reward.
Understanding that the Avos were genuine people with real feelings, goals, and aspirations allows us to understand that while they may have functioned on a different level than we do, they were people much like us. They suffered setbacks and had difficult moments, yet they became who they were because of their powerful commitments. This allows us to use them as guideposts for our own growth, allows us to look up to them for inspiration and motivation, recognizing that their lives were much like our own. We then see them as shining stars by which we can set our own path in life.
For more on this topic please listen to Shmuz #61 - Heroes
