The Sensible Segulah
Now some people imagine that it’s just a charm, a segulah. When a man feels that there is a sword hanging over his head only he doesn’t see it, so he should say these words, “There’s a nice fat goat that You can slaughter instead of me” and somehow, by means of this secret formula, he’ll be saved. That’s how we might think.
However, we should always give credit to our Chachomim for being wiser, more sensible, than we are. And therefore it pays to investigate it a bit more and to explain what’s really doing here.
So pay attention now. Who’s the ‘fat goat’ that we’re talking about here? It means “Find some guilty goy please instead of me.” Now, before you put up a protest and start calling me at all hours of the night to yell at me, listen well. Because of course, if it’s a quiet, innocent goy, let him alone. We’re not interested in innocent goyim suffering; on the contrary, we want them to be happy and healthy. Why not? Nothing wrong.
The Good Italians
We’re very grateful to all of the Italian firemen. Here he is speeding through the streets with the siren screaming, and he’s coming. Tony is coming to the rescue. And so we’re happy with all the Tonys. We like the gentile roofers too. The fact that they’re around causes competition; it causes the price to go down. The Jewish roofers would take a lot of money if the Italians weren’t around. And the plumbers too. Sometimes on erev Shabbos in the afternoon it’s hard to find a frum plumber. And the toilet is overflowing. So we need all the good goyim and we want them to live well. They shouldn’t catch colds. They should get along with their wives and children. Yes, absolutely; all the good gentiles should be well.
But there are plenty of not so innocent ones too — look outside the window; there are plenty of reshaim — and we’re asking Hashem that He should pick one of them. He should select one of the goats that are already in the slaughterhouse who deserve it anyhow.
Like the wicked fellow, a rasha, who drove by the yeshiva last year in his roofing truck and he threw a stone at the yeshiva boys; so him, the world would be better off without him.
And so when you have a bad premonition, an unexplained fear, you can think how good it would be if he would have a crash-up next block. Instead of me, even if it’s something I, chas v’shalom, deserve, let him get hurt.
Stimulating Suffering
Now what’s the svara in it? So we go back to the important principle: We should never forget that Hakadosh Baruch Hu brings trouble for one purpose — in order that people should become better; they should remember Hashem and become better.
The world must have a certain amount of suffering in order that people should be stimulated to repent. Without yissurim, without any kind of misfortunes, there would be no movement to become better, to change. And therefore, it’s inherent, it’s part of the procedure of life that Hakadosh Baruch Hu must send yissurim upon the world for people to look and listen and repent.
Now sometimes the yissurim is sent on that person himself, he should do teshuvah. And sometimes it’s sent on him to cause others to do teshuvah when they look at him. Therefore, this man requests of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, that He should send a punishment on someone else — someone who deserves it anyhow — in order that people, including this Yisroel who is frightened, should learn from him when they see the punishment that comes and they should come back in repentance to Hashem.
The Crosswalk Prankster
And so the next time you see a goy hopping down the avenue and as you get closer, you see he’s missing a leg, make sure to take that lesson from him. It could be that this man, this fat goat, was waiting one time in his car for the red light to change, and he saw a Jew with a beard crossing the street. So while he was waiting, he blew his horn to frighten the Jew. The Jew jumped, and this goat enjoyed it. I saw that once. I was standing in Brownsville and a goy was sitting in his car waiting for the light to change. An old Jew was going across the street. He wanted to have some fun, this goy, so he caused his car to jump at the old Jew and frighten him.
I looked at him. He acted like he didn’t do anything. His wife sitting next to him was laughing at the husband’s chochma. So I said to Hashem, “I don’t want him to die. No. It was a prank; he doesn’t have to die for that. But at least his foot should come off above the knee. One foot, I’m satisfied.”
Now, I can’t tell you what happened, but in case you come across such a goy, let me know. It was fifty years ago already, and I saw many goyim with one foot. Many. I don’t know which one it was, but it could be he’s the one you saw coming down the avenue because Hakadosh Baruch Hu maybe said, “Oh, here’s a customer. If some Jew will ask me for a kaparah for himself, here’s one I can use.”
Reverse Revenge
Now, it’s not merely that we should have revenge and be happy. No! It’s something much more important. Of course, we’d like to see revenge on our enemies. Yes. But that’s not so important. We’re expected to learn to be afraid of Hashem. Chas v’shalom it shouldn’t happen to us!
If you pass by a man with an empty leg sleeve, you have to learn yiras Hashem from that! That’s the main purpose. When you see a goy like that you have to be afraid because chas v’shalom Hashem might say, “You’re forgetting about Me even now that I’m trying to remind you? Do you utilize your legs for serving Me? Do you use it to go to the beis medrash at night or do you walk into other places? You want chas v’shalom I should remind you in a different way?”
I saw a goy without any arms a month ago. No arms at all! I shuddered from that! You know what it means to live without an arm? And two of them? Two empty sleeves! You’re supposed to learn from that! Hakadosh Baruch Hu is taking vengeance for some wicked act that the person did! And you have to be afraid!
“Ooh, no, no, no. No, please no! I’m going to take a lesson from that goy. Oy, Ribono Shel Olam, have rachmanus and let me stay whole!” You have to use that goy to learn to be afraid of Hashem.
An Ethnocentric Hashkafa
And don’t say “What’s it got to do with me?”. It’s an open Gemara in Yevamos (63): םָלֹעוָל הָ‡ָּב ֹ̇וּיƒנָﬠ¿רֻּפ ין≈‡ ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי ילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב ‡ָּל∆‡ – No troubles come upon the world unless for the purpose of Yisroel. Oh, that’s a statement! You hear that? You might think that man with no leg or the troubles in Bosnia are because that man and the Bosnian people are not tzaddikim. No. That’s not the reason. That’s not the reason! ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי ילƒב¿ׁ ̆ƒּב ‡ָּל∆‡ – it’s for us. For us! And Rashi says,ּו‡¿רƒּי∆ׁ ̆ – so that Yisroel should be afraid, הָבּוׁ ̆¿ּ ּ̇וׂ ֲ̆ﬠַי¿ו – and they’ll become better.
Now you have to understand that well. This world is because of us, and I don’t care what people will say. If you’re a ma’amin in the Torah, you understand that the world is because of the Am Yisroel. There’s no question about that. Whatever happens is only because of us, and it's to make you afraid. If you hear troubles in the end of the world, it’s for you to be afraid of Hashem!
Psychology of Fear
So you will ask, “Is that a life? To be afraid? You have to respect Hashem. You have to love Hashem. But to be afraid of Hashem? Is that the kind of life to live?”
Yes. Believe me, it’s a good life. If you’re afraid of Hashem, you’re going to live long. יםƒמָי יףƒסֹוּ ̇ 'ה ַ̇‡¿רƒי (Mishlei 10:27) – You’ll live long because of that! I guarantee! You won’t have to go to psychologists because of fear of Hashem. You go to psychologists because you fress too much, you talk too much, you waste too much time, you don’t work enough. But people who are afraid of Hashem don’t need any psychologists. יםƒמָי יףƒסֹוּ ̇ 'ה ַ̇‡¿רƒי – You want to live? You want to be well? Be afraid of Hashem.
So next time you see a goy in the street feeling his way with a cane, tapping, tapping, you should say, “Hashem is showing me something to make me afraid. I want to keep my eyesight.”
And Hashem says, “Well if that’s the case, then be careful what you do with your eyes. Don’t look with your eyes where you’re not supposed to look.”
Movies, Smartphones and Magazines
When people go to movies with their eyes, “Oh,” Hashem says, “You don’t need any eyes. You use your eyes to go to movies; you’re better off without eyes. If you use your eyes to sit and look at TV, you’re better off without any eyes.” Oh, it’s a wonderful thing, a blind man. He can’t look at the TV! Terrible pictures are on the television shows. Even in the newspapers and magazines, terrible pictures.
There was a couple — they happened to be Jewish, Mr. and Mrs. Wax — who were involved in publishing a dirty magazine. I was thinking once that they deserve to go blind. That would be a lesson of yiras Hashem if these wicked people would lose their eyes! And Hashem did even more! There was a party given for them in Los Angeles on Friday night and they were traveling in a plane to go to that party — of course they were traveling on Shabbos. But they never got there. They crashed.
You know what we have to think when we hear that. Hashem hates zimah; He hates those things and the Waxes were a kaparah. They were Jewish fat goats. Of course we’re not guilty of such wicked crimes, but still, there are plenty of sins. Don’t we use our eyes for things we shouldn’t?
Self Reflection
All of these things should remind us of our own sins. Point the finger this way (the Rav pointed at himself). So therefore, when you see as you walk in the street early in the morning a wreck of a car smashed up against a telegraph pole, and now the people inside are not there anymore. They were driving very early or at nighttime, probably inebriated, drunk; they probably were not especially great tzaddikim. They were out for a good time at night and who knows what kind of good time it was. And now either they’re in the morgue or they’re in the hospital.
So we shouldn’t let that opportunity go lost and we should say, “Hashem! I’ll take the lesson! I’ll do teshuvah right now!” Don’t think it can’t happen. Yes. We ride in cars too. Chas v’shalom. Everybody that drives in a car and those that don’t drive in a car too, even pedestrians have to be afraid. We’re constantly in danger. הָנָּכַס ַ̇ ̃¿ז∆ח¿ּב יםƒכָר¿ּ„ַה לָּכ today. No question about it. Some say even when you start out, when you’re still in the city, you say tefillas haderech. Some say that. It’s a sakanah even in the city today.
And so when you see such a thing you have to be very much afraid of Hashem. You should be meharher b’teshuvah. If a man said something to his poor wife and hurt her heart by saying a mean word, ona’as devorim, it’s a terrible sin to hurt his wife’s feelings. The poor woman is working all day long with children and she’s busy. He comes home and says something mean, it’s like a knife in the heart! Oooh!
Think about that now. “Ribono Shel Olam, never again! I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Ribono Shel Olam! I’m afraid!” Don’t just look at the crushed car and think that it’s an interesting sight. Oh no, there’s nothing interesting about it unless you make use of
