Parshas Lech Licha Supplement
There is a Moiradik’e Shmuess from Moreinu Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel Shlit”a on Parshas Lech Licha. The question is, why did Lot go to the city of Sedom? Sedom was the worst place on the planet. There were other cities which had good land and Lot could have settled somewhere else which was not as bad as Sedom? There is a Tosefta in Maseches Shabbos (at the end of Perek ח') which says in the name of Rebbi Nehorai that Sedom had the most Mesinus in the world. Mesinus means patience and calmness. This is what Lot wanted. Lot saw this quality by Avrohom Avinu, and Lot figured that this quality in Sedom will be good for him. Little did Lot realize that the Mesinus of Sedom was the exact opposite of Avrohom Avinu’s Mesinus. And Rav Elya Ber Shlit”a explains it so beautifully. Avrohom Avinu had such a great Yetzer Tov that he actually Shechted his Yetzer Harah. Avrohom Avinu was above the conflict of good and bad; he was able to be calm. There was nothing else in Avrohom Avinu’s world besides doing the Ratzon Hashem - there was no conflict or confusion. Sedom was the exact opposite; they had such a bad Yetzer Harah that they killed their Yetzer Tov. They had no conscience; they were like the Germans Yemach Shmom V’zichrom. That is why they were so calm.
There is a Nevuah in Sefer Yechezkel which seems to say that in some ways Klal Yisroel was worse than Sedom. How are we supposed to understand this? How can this be? Rav Elya Ber explains that this negative Midda of Mesinus which was prevalent in Sedom, was in some ways activated by Klal Yisroel at that time. Perhaps their Aveiros were not as bad as those of the people of Sedom, but in this bad Midda of שלום עלי נפשי and בשרירות לבי אלך they were even worse than Sedom, Rachmana Litzlan. The Pessukim in Parshas Nitzavim say this clearly: וְהָיָה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת וְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ לֵאמֹר שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה־לִּי כִּי בִּשְׁרִרוּת לִבִּי אֵלֵךְ. Such a person will get the worst punishment from Hashem, take a look at the Pessukim there. And the Possuk says that there will be destruction just like Sedom, Rachmana Litzlan. This is frightening. And we should be and need to be frightened - that is what Hashem wants.
Based on this Yesod, Rav Elya Ber Shlit”a explains a difficult Rash”i in the beginning of Parshas Nitzavim. Rash”i says: לָמָּה נִסְמְכָה פָּרָשַׁת "אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים" לַקְּלָלוֹת, לְפִי שֶׁשָּׁמְעוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאָה קְלָלוֹת חֲסַר שְׁתַּיִם, חוּץ מִמ"ט שֶׁבְּתוֹרַת כֹּהֲנִים, הוֹרִיקוּ פְּנֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ, מִי יוּכַל לַעֲמוֹד בָּאֵלּוּ, הִתְחִיל מֹשֶׁה לְפַיְּסָם, "אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם", הַרְבֵּה הִכְעַסְתֶּם לַמָּקוֹם וְלֹא עָשָׂה עִמָּכֶם כְּלָיָה, וַהֲרֵי אַתֶּם קַיָּמִים לְפָנָיו "הַיּוֹם", כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה שֶׁהוּא קַיָּם וְהוּא מַאֲפִיל וּמֵאִיר, כָּךְ הֵאִיר לָכֶם וְכָךְ עָתִיד לְהָאִיר לָכֶם, וְהַקְּלָלוֹת וְהַיִּסּוּרִין מַעֲמִידִין אֶתְכֶם וּמְקַיְּמִין אֶתְכֶם לְפָנָיו. The question is, how is Moshe Rabbeinu trying to appease Klal Yisroel? Is Moshe Rabbeinu telling them that the Klalos will not happen, Chas V’shalom? What is the P’shat? Rav Elya Ber explains that Moshe Rabbeinu was telling Klal Yisroel that if they have that Pachad, then they did not fall into the trap of שלום עלי נפשי, and there is hope for them.
It comes out that this Midda of Mesinus can be great, as it was for Avrohom Avinu, and it can also be a disaster, Rachmana Litzlan as it was for the people of Sedom. And I think that to a certain extent any person who gets on to a good track and is serving Hashem properly, can also have some level of positive Mesinus which will help him serve Hashem. For example, driving on the highway is a Pachad and Hashem should watch over and protect everyone. However, when a person gets into a lane and is moving at a decent pace, to a small degree, he can relax and be calm. This way he will enjoy the trip. So too, this world is a highway and there are all types of lanes and drivers. We must be very careful and cautious every single second. At the same time, it is possible for a person to find the right lane and just keep on moving in a very healthy and happy way. That is the מסילת ישרים and ארחות צדיקים. V’yehi Ratzon that every person should find his Mehalech in serving Hashem and be Zoche to the Mesinus of Avrohom Avinu.
