Angels arrived. Rabbi Yocḥanan heard one angel say to the other, “Let’s knock this wall down on them and kill them on account of their choice,” whereas the other angel replied, “Leave them, as there is one whose time of achievement has yet to come.” Rabbi Yocḥanan heard all this, but after asking his peer, it was obvious that Ilfa did not. Rabbi Yocḥanan said to himself, “Since I heard the angels and Ilfa did not, I can learn from this that it is I whose time of achievement has yet to come.” He stood up and returned to the Yeshiva, where he subsequently became its rosh yeshiva.
When Hakadosh Baruch Hu speaks, His message is specifically directed to those who need to hear it. You will perceive what is intended for you and remain unaware of what is not. The Yerushalmi (Shabbat, 6) brings three stories that each pivot on the pasuk (Yeshayahu 30:21):
And, whenever you deviate to the right or to the left, your ears will heed the command from behind you: “This is the road; follow it!”
The first story is about Bar Kappara, who once arrived in a city and as he was walking, he fell and hurt his finger. As he stood up, he heard the children saying: If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself (Shemot 21:3). Bar Kappara said, "It seems to me that aside from this bruise, I will not accomplish anything else here." He turned around.
The second story involves Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish, who traveled to Bavel to visit Shmuel, who was ill. However, they were unsure if they would arrive in time to see him before he passed away. They decided to embark on the journey, relying on the possibility that a heavenly voice would guide them. While passing by a Beit Midrash, they overheard a teacher reciting the verse: And Shmuel died, and all Israel mourned for him (Shmuel I 28:1). They interpreted this as the sign they were seeking, recorded the day and time, and returned home. Later, when they encountered people returning from Shmuel's funeral, they inquired about the exact time of his passing and discovered that it coincided precisely with the time they had noted.
The third story is a similar one involving Rabbi Yonah and Rabbi Yossa, who set out to visit Rabbi Acha, and who successfully continued their journey upon hearing a woman say to her friend, "My candle is not yet extinguished."
The Mishna and Gemara recount similar stories, with vision and sight replacing hearing and sound. One of them (Kallah Rabbati 2:9) involves Rabbi Akiva who witnessed a man lugging heavy packages while being beaten by two individuals at his side. Interestingly, the man did not jettison what he is carrying to defend himself or run away. He simply absorbed the blows, and Rabbi Akiva wanted to know why. He ran after the man to inquire, and was told, “I am a neshama that has returned to this world for tikkun, and these are two angels of punishment beating me for my aveirot.” Rabbi Akiva asked his identity and whether he had any children. The man had no children but had just left behind a pregnant wife whose fate he was unsure of. Rabbi Akiva went to the man’s town and asked the local gabbaim, only to be told, “May the memory of that person be uprooted, and their bones be ground!” It turned out the man had performed every imaginable sin, and his wife was ready to give birth at any moment. Rabbi Akiva went to the wife and pledged to look after the child – giving him a bris and an education. We’re not told how long that process took, but it must have been at least two years, and perhaps longer, because only upon teaching the child how to recite Kaddish and say Barchu did Rabbi Akiva leave. Tanna debei Eliyahu Zuta adds, the deceased man subsequently appeared before Rabbi Akiva in a dream, thanking him for teaching his son how to recite Barchu and Kaddish on Motzei Shabbat. It said to Rabbi Akiva: May your mind find rest in Gan Eden, for you have saved me from the judgment of Gehenom.
We have learned the story of Rabbi Akiva’s origins numerous times, but there is an element that can be tied directly into our yesod. The Gemara (Ketubot 62b) tells us that Rabbi Akiva returned home after twelve years, with twelve thousand talmidim at his side. Upon reaching his house, he overheard a conversation between his wife and a neighbor: "Tell me, did your husband leave you as a widow, leaving home for twelve years? Is this how people behave?!" His wife responded: "If it was up to me, he would stay and learn for twelve more years!" Rabbi Akiva immediately turned around and headed back to the Yeshiva.
The famous question arises: He had already arrived home – why not enter, greet his wife, give a kiss to the children, and then return after a grand total of five minutes delay? Why did he not go inside at all? Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, it's very simple. Twelve and twelve is not twenty-four. Twenty-four is when the matter is continuous, without interruption and without other endeavors in the middle. It is similar to a kettle that could be on the stove for an hour yet not be hot. If after it stays on the fire for a minute you keep taking it off for two – it will not reach the target temperature. It will only be hot if it remains on the gas for ten continuous minutes!
That is the famous response of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, but I believe there is another, very relevant, explanation. Rabbi Akiva arrived to hear the neighbor say to his wife, "Your husband has left you. Don't you think it's excessive that he hasn't been home for twelve years?" He then heard his wife respond in support of his learning, and immediately turned back. Why? Because he said to himself, "I don't understand. This man could have approached my wife yesterday. Or he could have come last year or two years ago. He could also come tomorrow or the next day. Why did he come right now, at the precise moment I arrived?" The answer, to Rabbi Akiva, was simple. “Hakadosh Baruch Hu brought him at that very moment so that I would hear my wife say, ‘He should stay twelve more years.' My wife didn’t speak for the sake of this man and to answer his charge. She spoke for my sake! Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent him for my sake!”
Rabbotai, we can now understand the question everyone asks: How can Rabbi Akiva, who stands up one thousand talmidim each year, and who dedicates his entire life to study and teaching chiddushim, take a pause and dedicate years of his life to teach an orphan how to recite Kaddish and Barchu? Is that Rabbi Akiva's role? Let him take a young man fluent in Tefilla, give him a few shekels, and ask him to take care of the child. Why does he suspend his own life for several years in some remote village to teach one child?
Rabbi Akiva provides the simple answer: “The poor man, with the packages on his back and two men beating him, could have come an hour before I passed by, or a half hour after I was gone. Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu bring us both to this place, and synchronize our timing so that we reach it together? It must be because He wants me to take care of the matter! That is my mission!” This is why Rabbi Akiva insisted on being the one to take care of the child.
One final Gemara (Sukkah 52a) tells of Abaye overhearing two individuals planning to travel a long distance together, by foot, alone. They were not married, and as a result, Abaye inserted himself into the picture and expressed a desire to travel with them. Was he the new Mishmeret Tzniyut or Morality Police? Why could he not let them do as they pleased? He answered, if Hakadosh Baruch Hu placed him in a position to hear their plans, it was for him to get involved. What we see and what we hear is targeted to us and designed for us.
We can now turn back to Shavuot. Ruth arrived from Moav together with Naomi and was sent to collect scraps in the fields of Boaz, whose family had all just died. There is a debate whether Boaz was the brother or nephew of Elimelech, but either way, he took interest in Ruth and praised her modesty. Naomi proposed an idea to Ruth, advising her to approach Boaz during the nighttime and request his hand in marriage. The reason behind this suggestion was Boaz's role as the future go'el, or redeemer. A young woman, of Moavite descent, without a penny to her name, sneaking up and requesting marriage from a four-hundred-year-old widower who was the gadol hador. Nothing in this equation sounds promising and it is hardly the recipe for guaranteed success! Could she not have sent a shadchan to his front door in the morning and approached the goal more softly?
Turn to David HaMelech, who generations later proclaimed: At midnight I arise to thank You for Your righteous judgements (Tehillim 119:62). He is expressing gratitude that Boaz had not spoken negatively against Ruth. A brazen woman entered his field in the middle of the night, yet he did not shout, “Who’s there?!?” nor did he curse her. David is thankful, for had that occurred, he would not have come into existence. Everything he accomplished in this world is because of how Boaz handled that moment upon being awoken. Not only did Boaz not reject Ruth, but he also assured her that he would take care of her and would marry her if indeed he was the closest-related redeemer!
Sefer Ma'ayan HaMoed asks how and why Naomi would endanger Ruth in such a manner. If any of Boaz's workers had noticed Ruth secretly entering the fields, they would have killed her immediately. Furthermore, it was highly probable Boaz would have reacted quite unfavorably to her bold arrival. Based on what we have learned, the answer is very simple. Naomi was essentially saying to Boaz, "When Hakadosh Baruch Hu initiates a process and it reaches you, it is a sign you are being summoned. If Ruth manages to reach you and says to you, ‘You are the redeemer,’ it is a sign that Heaven has sent her, and it is your role.” Boaz responded accordingly, “If no one stopped her along the way, and she succeeded in reaching me to say, 'I am Ruth, spread your wing over your maidservant, for you are a redeemer,’ it is because Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants me to redeem! If He did not want such, there would have been enough obstacles along the way.”
When Hakadosh Baruch Hu initiates and leads something to your doorstep, it is intentional. He has given you the task! That is what Rabbi Akiva did when he saw the neshama; what Abaye did when he overheard two people deciding to meet each other; and what Boaz did when Ruth approached. If it came to their doorstep, it belonged to them!
This lesson connects beautifully to our Parsha. One who sees a Sotah in her disgrace shall abstain from wine – but why? He sees the Sotah in her humiliation and says to himself, "Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu show me this vision? Five hundred other people could have seen it too! Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu summon it to me? For one reason alone – because He wants me to abstain from wine and over-indulgence.”
In our generation, we don't need to wait to see a Sotah in her disgrace. The Imrei Emes said, in the name of the Chiddushei HaRim, even though Chazal say one who sees a Sotah in her degradation shall abstain from wine, the order of these massechtot in the Talmud differs. First comes Nazir and then Sotah. Why? Because we need not wait until seeing a Sotah before deciding to abstain from indulgence. We are commanded already today to abstain, in the form of עֲשֵׂ ה טוֹב – doing good, even before we see the רַ ע – evil. Doing good protects us, so that we don't ever see the evil!
As we bid farewell to Shavuot, we cannot part from these elevated days without taking upon ourselves a commitment. We must accept upon ourselves to abstain from over-indulgence. We must instead see and hear our mission and seek opportunities to do good. We must work to transform ourselves into angels, connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. May the spiritual heights we experienced accompany us all the way until our next holiday, הַ בָּא עָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה.
