פרשת עקב
The People Who Come Out Ahead Are Those Who Have Anava
עֵקֶב also means the heel. Why the heel? This can be a Remez. The heel is the lowest part of the body, the part of the body that steps in the dirt and gets dirty. Our Dor is called Ik'visa Dim'shicha, i.e., the “heel" of all the Doros; the lowest, the nobody. We can say that עֵקֶב the "heel” refers to a humble person; the type of person who “listeners”, a person who hears Hashem's messages, who hears another person's opinion, a person, who, when it's not going his way, he tries to understand. He understands other people's ways of doing things, even when they are very different; the person who tolerates other Shitos, etc. The Parsha starts off with עֵקֶב which means Anava.
Avraham Avinu is a: רוּחַ נְמוּכָה humble spirit, and can bend and get along with people who are different than him. He rescues Lot right after Lot went against him, and he davened for Anshei Sedom who were his arch enemies
To such a person will come all the Brachos, like it says וַאֲהֵבְךָ וּבֵרַכְךָ וְהִרְבֶּךָ וּבֵרַךְ פְּרִי בִטְנְךָ וּפְרִי אַדְמָתֶךָ דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךְ וְיִצְהָרֶךְ שְׁגַר אֲלָפֶיךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹת צֹאנֶךָ all types of great wealth. The word עַשְׁתְּרֹת (sheep) means עַשִׁירוּת (wealth), meaning that his sheep are going to be so Gevaldig; so fat and delicious and bring in a fortune of money. That is the reward for those who go with עֵקֶב meaning that they have Anava, like it says וַעֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ תהלים לז יא the humble will inherit the earth (and delight in abundant peace).
The Anav, the one who bows down to what's going on in his life, and doesn't complain (even though he married a witch. And she may decide that he's the witch...) Even though he doesn't know the Gemara, he's not good in learning, he makes mistakes, he does Aveiros; but he's an Anav! He's a broken heart, he feels bad; that person is powerful. He's going to end up with עַשְׁתְּרֹת צֹאנֶךָ which means עַשִׁירוּת wealth from sheep that make you rich (and a sheep is a humble animal). You will have the best in the world. The fat of the land is yours because you are an Anav, and: עֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ the people who come out ahead are those who have Anava.
STORY FROM THE GEMARA
The Gemara tells¹ the story of R' Acha bar Yakov who was coming to learn by Abbaye. Although Abbaye was the Gadol HaDor, there was something special about R' Acha bar Yaakov, who was a super-Tzadik. In the town of Abbaye, there was a big problem. In the Bais Medrash, there was a Mazik (demon) that looked like a dragon. It was some type of a creature that coughs fire, some kind of serpent, with seven heads. He was so dangerous, that he attacked even in the daytime (something these creatures normally don't do). And he attacked even when there were two people (usually they only attack when you are alone, but not this monster). They needed to get rid of this thing, so Abbaye announced to everyone “Lock your doors! Don't invite R' Acha bar Yaakov to sleep over tonight”. Without anywhere else to go, he had no other choice than to sleep in the Bais Medrash (not knowing what was in store for him there...) Abbaye knew that he was a Tzadik, and he would be alright.
The person who knows how to give in becomes a winner
R' Acha bar Yaakov entered the Bais Medrash, and suddenly he sees the creature. So he starts davening “Hashem, save me!" When R' Acha bowed his head in davening, boom! One of the heads of the creature fell off. Then he bowed again, and another head came flying off. After seven bows, all seven heads were destroyed. (The next day, he protested: What did you do to me? I could have gotten killed!) What was the power of R' Acha's bowing?
A Person Who Has Hachna'a to the Eibishter Has Power
Bowing means Anava. Bowing means giving in, accepting, being thankful. That part of davening is the part that killed those heads. The part that says “I bow”. “I'm no good” “I'm not great”; THAT did the job. How did he kill such a powerful Mazik? By bowing down you can go places. When you give in, and you don't have to be right, and you let the other guy win; you're not a big-shot or a Baal Ga'ava'nik. That's a Baal Bitachon.
The Cohen Gadol is a powerful person. Do you know what he can do? He is מַקְרִיב חֵלֶק בָּרֹאשׁ וְנוֹטֵל חֵלֶק בְּראשׁ יומא יד א meaning that all Cohanim would have a Goral (lottery) to decide who gets to do the Avoda (e.g., I'm going to schpritz the blood, you will do Ketores, etc., each one got a job). And all the meat and Menachos and the skins of the Korbanos were split equally among the members of the Mishmar. Suddenly, the Cohen Gadol pops up, and he says “I'm doing all those jobs” and they have to keep quiet because he's boss. He's powerful, he's king! In fact, RSRH says² about the Cohen Gadol that whatever the other Cohanim did, they were HIS Shaliach. They don't really count; everything is the Cohen Gadol. And how does he daven Shmoneh Esrei? Everyone else who davens Shmoneh Esrei, bows down 5 times (Rambam³) and that's it. But he, by every single Bracha he bows down! (Gemara⁴). A person who has such Hachna'a to the Eibishter, he's got power! He's a Mach'nia, and that's why the Cohen Gadol is a special person. He gets more than everyone else. He is the #1 man!
The More Hachna'a, The More Power
There's one man even better than him, a Melech. When the Melech davens Shmoneh Esrei, he puts down his head, and it stays down throughout the Shmoneh Esrei. Because a Melech is way bigger than a Cohen Gadol. If anyone says the smallest chutzpa to a Melech, the Melech kills him. There's no such thing in the universe, such power. The Melech is a Melech, he's the #1 man.
Novardokers pride themselves with being M'vater and giving in, even when they are right!
We see that those with the most Hachna'a, the more power he has. We have a story with Shmuel HaNavi which is fascinating. Shmuel's father was Elkana, who used to go to the Mishkan in Shilo (this was in the days before the Bais Hamikdash was built in Yerushalayim). The Passuk says, why did Elkana go to Shilo? לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת To bow. What about going to daven? What about bringing Korbanos? (the Malbim points this out). לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת To bow. The Passuk says this 3 times⁵, inappropriately, it's always rubbing it in. No, he went to bow down! And when they left, they bowed down again. What about everything else they went for?
"Bowing" Means A Humble Thankfulness to Hashem
Because by Elkana, bowing was the main part of everything. That is the reason why he was the father of the man who was equal to Moshe and Ahron put together. This is the history of Shmuel; a man who used to always bend, and he loved saying "Thank You” to Hashem. הִשְׁתַּחֲוָאָה “Bowing” means a humble thankfulness, and Elkana was full of that. When he went up to Shilo, that's all it was, by him; a humble thankfulness. He was so Mach'nia to Hashem.
And that's why he was the one who got the whole Klal Yisroel to go back to the Mishkan. In those days, people weren't going anymore, and he got them to go. He made a whole shtick. He used to sleep in the streets, and people would wonder and ask "Why are you sleeping here?” And he would say “I'm on the way to the Mishkan”. “Ohhh! I'd like to go too!" He tricked them all. Every year he took a different route, until he got all the cities to come. People would join him, and the crowd got bigger and bigger. He made a bandwagon.
A Rabblerouser Can be the Perfect Candidate for Kiruv
Just like his Zeide, Korach, who was a rabblerouser for evil, he was a rabblerouser to bring people back to Hashem. He was a man who had tremendous Hachna'a, who loved the Eibishter, and he wanted everyone to come to the Eibishter. Such a person got himself a son, Shmuel HaNavi, who also went around like his father did (more than Moshe and Ahron, who stayed put in one place). He went around, and he was Mach'nia himself for the Klal. He was the real Kiruv-man, going around being M'karev people. He went out of his Daled Amos! He didn't "stay home"! He moved and he accomplished, and he became one of the greatest. And he was the one who created Malchus; he created Shaul and Dovid. This is another example of the power of Hachna'a.
Those who leave their home town & their big Yeshivos in order to do for Klal Yisroel in some far-off place, are known to be happiest people
Dovid HaMelech is the progenitor of Moshiach (Rambam⁶), and many say that he is Moshiach himself. But he was a man who married an Eishes Ish! He killed the husband! That's Moshiach? That's who we're all waiting for, a man like that? True, Chazal say: Dovid כָּל הָאוֹמֵר דָוִד חָטָא אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא טוֹעֶה שבת נו א never did any sin whatsoever. But it's embarrassing! What's with these Jews? That's Moshiach? That's the king? Is he the example for the Klal, the one who everyone looks up to?
Moshiach Helps Us Realize That We Are Only Human
Aderaba, Davka he is Moshiach. Moshiach means "the savior". Do you know what is going to save all of us? When we realize we're only human. We are going to respect our mistakes (but don't you dare sin! Not even the smallest sin. You're out of your mind!) Dovid is an example of what the world was created for, i.e., to be a person, NOT a Malach who doesn't sin. When Hashem wanted to give us the Torah, the Malachim complained “What about us?", and Moshe replied: "Do you have any Kin'ah, Sin'ah, Ka'as, Ga'ava? You have none of that? The Torah is not for you”. (Gemara⁸). It's for someone with a lust, with a horrible Yetzer Hara, someone who can't control himself, whose going meshuga, and yet he tries. That's Moshiach. That's going to save you. That's the healthiest religion in the world. That's Dovid.
Leave The Guy Alone, He's Depressed!
The other king, the one who didn't “make-it", was Shaul. Do you know what terrible things Shaul HaMelech did? If you read Tanach, you would think that he was the biggest Rasha that ever lived! Yet, he remains a great Tzadik, and he's in Gan Eden with Shmuel HaNavi. (Gemara⁹). And forever he remains one of the: שְׁמֹנָה נְסִיכֵי אָדָם סוכה נב ב eight princes. How did that happen? They say that he wasn't really, really guilty, because he was depressed (of course, not our type of depression. We don't understand him; he's too great for all of us. But for us, he is an example) “Leave the guy alone, he's depressed!"
Just as it's difficult to work on Bitachon, so is it difficult to constantly judge yourself L'kaf Zechus, despite your many mistakes and Aveiros
So we have a Dovid on one hand, and we have a Shaul on the other hand. So many things we do that are no good. "You're depressed! Bug off!" Don't expect the world to be the perfect Tzadik. You can't! You're a broken depressive guy! You don't treat such a person the same as you would a regular person. You are Dan him L'kaf Zechus! You treat him totally different. Dovid and Shaul are both examples of weaknesses in human beings, and that's what we need; i.e., to realize that we're only humans. And Hashem understands us, like it says: כִּי הוּא יָדַע יִצְרֵנוּ Hashem knows our tendencies, and He's not looking to hurt us.
Moving-On and Trying Despite Your Sin, Is the Epitome of Greatness
Last week, I announced in camp (in front of 200 kids) “Rabosai, everyone should know, I am not perfect!” I never will be, and so are you, not perfect! כִּי אָדָם אֵין צַדִּיק בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה טּוֹב וְלֹא יֶחֱטָא קהלת ז כ No one is perfect; it's impossible. By the Catholics, the pope never sins! Novardok used to laugh at that. You never sin? Baloney! We sin; but the fact that we move on and we keep trying, that's exactly our greatness. Aderaba, a Baal Teshuva is even better. That's why Dovid, who had to be the very best human as possible, the Melech of Klal Yisroel, is someone who sinned and did Teshuva. בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁבַּעֲלֵי תְּשׁוּבָה עוֹמְדִים אֵין צַדִיקִים גְמוּרִים יְכוֹלִין לַעֲמוֹד ברכות לד ב Baalei Teshuva are even GREATER than pure Tzaddikim; THAT'S the epitome of greatness. The person who falls and gets up, the Baal Teshuva, all his Aveiros turn into Mitzvos (but don't do any Aveira if you know what's good for you. Just if it happened already, be positive!) RSRH Zatzal says about Dovid that he was looking forward to the Teshuva he did. He was so thrilled. True, he was sad about the sin. But at the same time, he was overjoyed. “Now I'll reach Madregos I never reached before. I'm so lucky! I sinned and I did Teshuva! It's unreal how lucky I am”. He looked at it as: "This is the way to go; this is Gevaldig”. We should be Zoche to the Geula Shleima B'karov Mamash.
Make A Joke Out of Your Oversized, Scary Nisyonos
Why did Hashem Davka send the tiny:צִרְעָה wasp to demolish the enemy? We can suggest that Hashem wants us to be M'zalzel and make a joke out of: רַבִּים הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה מִמֶּנִּי the mighty nations of Eretz Canaan, and He Davka sends a tiny creature to help us grow in our Bitachon; to teach us not to be impressed by our oversize and dangerous and scary Nisyonos in Ruchaniyus and Gashmiyus. Like it says: כל סוּס פַּרְעֹה בשלח יד כד all the “horse” of Paroh, and Rashi says¹⁰ that even though Paroh came with many: סוּסִים horses, the Passuk calls them (just one) “horse”, since the abundance of horses by Hashem are like one horse.
Don't be impressed and afraid of "giant” issues that appear “impossible”. To Hashem, they are a zero and a joke
The Zechus of Laughing-Off the Most Difficult, Unchangeable Matzav Will Bring the Biggest Nissim
In Novardok, even if you spent years working on Bitachon and you were getting nowhere, they considered it Le'chatchila Min HaShamayim, to see that you aren't Nis'pael from the עָבַר (past) which didn't bring the slightest Yeshua; e.g., for that much needed Refua or belated shidduch, etc. The Zechus of laughing-off this most unchangeable difficult Matzav will bring the biggest Nissim. You look like you're crazy, but R' Yisroel Salanter Zatzal said¹¹ that where the Sechel stops, Bitachon begins.
וָאֶשְׂרֹף אֹתוֹ בָּאֵשׁ וָאֶכֹּת אֹתוֹ טָחוּן הֵיטֵב עַד אֲשֶׁר דַּק לְעָפָר וָאַשְׁלְךְ אֶת עֲפָרוֹ אֶל הַנַּחַל הַיֹּרֵד מִן הָהָר ט כא
Do A Good and Thorough Job at Demolishing Your Fear
It is noteworthy that when Moshe describes how he ground-up the Eigel and dumped it in the water, he doesn't get to the point,i.e.,וַיַּשְׁקְ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תשא לב כ that he gave the Yidden to drink from those waters. Also, in Parshas Eikev he adds more details, how he utterly destroyed the particles of the crumbled Eigel. By the Ma'aseh Eigel in Ki Sisa, it just says: וַיִּטְחַן עַד אֲשֶׁר דָּק לב כ “he ground it up until it was finely ground”, but here it adds: וְאֶכֹּת אֹתוֹ טָחוּן הֵיטֵב עַד אֲשֶׁר דַּק ט כא "Moshe ground it up well”, i.e., a good thorough job at demolishing the Eigel. Also, here he adds וָאַשְׁלִךְ אֶת עֲפָרוֹ אֶל הַנַּחַל he threw the leftover ashes into the water. We can suggest that since this entire Perek starts off with the message of “don't be Nis'pael”, this is a continuation.
גּוֹיִם גְּדֹלִים וַעֲצֵמִים מִמֶּךְ עָרִים גְּדֹלֹת וּבְצֵרֹת בַּשָּׁמָיִם, עַם גָּדוֹל וָרָם בְּנֵי עֲנָקִים אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ וְאַתָּה שָׁמַעְתָּ מִי יִתְיַצֵב לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי עֲנָק ט א-ב
It's Time to Play Down All Those Scary People in Your Life Whom You Blow Up Until They Are Like Gods
And just like Davka a צִרְעָה wasp was used, in order to belittle the enemy and Avoda Zara and to make a joke out of them, so does Moshe elaborate describing the destruction of the worst Avoda Zara, i.e., the Eigel, in order to give Klal Yisroel a feeling of Bittul and: לַעַג derision, like when Eliyahu HaNavi made Leitzanus of Avoda Zara, he said "Maybe your god is in the bathroom?" Moshe is being M'chanech how we need to look at Avoda Zara, and at all those scary issues in our lives, which are indeed similar to Avoda Zara, since we give them so much credibility and we are petrified of them; including fear of people.
Hashem intentionally makes a situation or a person scary like an “ogre” or a “bear”, to see if a person can dominate his mind with fear of Hashem, who is much stronger than anything
where I got this from? I once asked R' Gershon Liebman Zatzal himself, the אַבִי אבות father of Baalei Bitachon, who made a Yeshiva in a ghetto under Nazi occupation! Who defied the Germans constantly; he would daven and learn Mussar long hours, and refused to work on Shabbos, and even during the weekday they would see him learning instead of working.
Who got beaten up again and again with permanent lifetime injuries; and he still hadn't stopped. Who had zero trauma effects from all the horrors he experienced; he was total Simcha and laughter on the highest level throughout his life, especially during the Holocaust (I would never believe this, but I heard it many times from an עֵד נֶאֱמָן reliable eyewitness). Who is responsible for the lion's-share of Yiddishkeit in France today.
With building at least 15 Mosdos, and is responsible for hundreds of Yidden whom he saved and put on their feet for life. He gave his life to acquire Middas HaBitachon, and we all know that he was king in this area. I asked him this question: “Does Bitachon work if you're learning Mussar about Bitachon, and nothing is happening and you're still nervous?" He answered me in one word: !נוֹטִירְלִיךְ "Naturally!” Of course! He didn't just say "yes". He was emphatic about the obvious answer.
This is an example of typical Novardok positivism to the extreme. Years later, I found this same Yesod written by the Ben Ish Chai¹² explaining a Passuk in this week's Parsha that even if a Jewish soldier is afraid of the enemy (which he's not allowed to be), he still shouldn't be afraid of his having fear, since Hashem will save him anyway. As long as he's trying to work on Bitachon, he's in.
Aim For the Highest Madregos
Even in old age, Novardokers believed in starting all over again and aiming for the top. הַכֹּל יָכוֹל Hashem can do anything! The more you believe, the more things actually happen. The Alter Zatzal believed in having a: חֲרוֹן אַף עַל הַשְׁלֵמוּת fierce and unyielding determination to become great and to aim for Madregos of Doros HaRishonim. R' Gershon Liebman Zatzal was the #1 in Novardok; they considered him Mamash a Malach. He was Makriv himself for Hashem 24/7 and wasn't even impressed by horrific Nazis and concentration camps.
Someone once expressed his wishes to become like R' Gershon; so a Novardoker asked him: “What's wrong with aiming to become like Avraham Avinu himself?" If you speak to an Alter Mirrer and many other pre-war European Yeshiva Bachurim, you will find that many, many of them had been in Baranovich Yeshiva in their younger years, and they never stop talking about R' Yisroel Yaakov Lubchansky Zatzal.
Although he was the son-in-law of the Alter Zatzal and he was a total Novardoker, yet he was the Mashgiach of Baranovich, which was R' Elchonon Wasserman's Yeshiva. R' Elchonon was a Malach Elokim and he was total Torah, while R' Yisroel Yaakov was total Mussar (although he was a major Gadol B'torah as well). The awe and respect these two Tzaddikei HaDor had for each other we can't even explain.