Every morning, before korbanos, we say, תהו מעשהם רוב כי ...היו כלא השם ואנשי לפניך כאין הגבורים כל הלא ...חיינו מה אנו מה הבל הכל כי אין הבהמה מן האדם ומותר, "Who are we? What is our life...? Behold, all the mighty are like nothing before You, the famous are like non-existent.... because most of their deeds are foolishness, and there is no benefit of man over an animal – everything is vain."
ירושתנו יפה ומה גורלנו נעים ומה חלקנו טוב מה אשרינו ...אהבך אברהם בני בריתך בני עמך אנחנו אבל, "But we are Your nation, the children of Your covenant, the children of Avraham, whom You loved... We are fortunate! How good is our portion! How sweet is our lot! How beautiful is our inheritance!" Reb Noach Chofetz z"l was a close student of Reb Yechezkel Levinstein zt'l. There was a time that they learned b'chavrusah, as well. A couple of years ago, he was ill, and I visited him. He told me that as a bachur, he began to go to a particular chassidic rebbe for Shabbosim, and Reb Yechezkel Levenstein asked him, "What do you get there that you don't have by us?"
Reb Noach replied, "The lessons of חיינו מה אנו מה, 'Who are we? What is life?', I learned very well from you. You taught me that the gashmiyos of this world are nothing. But the אנחנו אבל, that we are Hashem's beloved nation, that I learn by this Rebbe."
Reb Yechezkel Levenstein zt'l praised this answer and said he should continue going to this Rebbe. And then, to himself, Reb Yechezkel repeated many times ...אנחנו אבל ...אנחנו אבל!
Several years ago, in Eretz Yisrael, there were fierce battles regarding מתים נתוחי, autopsies. The Israeli Police insisted on performing autopsies on the deceased. The religious community was very against this, because Halachically, a dead body must be treated with utmost honor and buried whole. When it isn't necessary, it is a disgrace for the body to be operated upon.
Once, a person who didn't have children was niftar in his apartment, near a yeshiva dormitory. The bachurim in the yeshiva quickly grabbed the body and brought it to the dormitory, so that it wouldn't be desecrated. The police arrived to claim the body, but the bachurim were prepared for them. They placed benches, tables, and furniture on the pathway, from the entrance to the third floor, to make it difficult for the police to get in and to climb up to the third floor. They even poured oil on the stairs to make it hard for the police to ascend the steps.
But the police didn't give up. It would be humiliating for them to be beaten by yeshiva bachurim. So, they worked for a few hours until they managed to get to the body. They carried the body, covered in a tallis, into an ambulance that was waiting outside.
As the ambulance was riding to the hospital, the police officers noticed some movement under the tallis. The police didn't know what to do, and they began panicking. Then, in front of the eyes of the shocked officers, the "niftar" sat up, jumped out of the bed, opened the ambulance door, and ran off.
(Now, the police probably needed an ambulance for themselves, due to the fear that gripped them.)
Where did the actual dead person go? The police saw the barricades going up to the third floor, so they assumed that the dead person was on the third floor. The corpse was actually on the first floor. The bochurim created this obstacle course to fool the police into thinking the niftar was upstairs. There, on the third floor, a bachur pretended to be the corpse, and the police took him into the ambulance. When the police left the site, the bachurim took the niftar (which was lying on the first floor) and buried him next to the dormitory.
Let us learn from the bachurim's prank one of the techniques of the yetzer hara. The police were tricked into thinking that what they were looking for was on the third floor. The yetzer hara does the same. He tries to trick us into thinking that we are looking for, we will find in distant and forbidden pleasures and desires of this world. We must remember what we should seek. Only Torah and mitzvos will satisfy us. They are the source of our true joy.
Here is another lesson: The police weren't afraid of the bachurim in the dormitory. They trudged through the obstacle course the bachurim prepared for them, without fear, and with confidence. However, when the police saw the "corpse" move under the talis, they melted in fear. This can be used as a mashal. The yetzer hara isn't afraid of a Yid, as long as he isn't moving. However, when a Yid begins to move (with performing Torah and mitzvos), the yetzer hara becomes afraid.
A similar mashal is told by Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter Shlita. A chasan came out of the yichud room, looking forward to all the attention he would receive at the chasunah, but saw that there was another "chasan" at his chasunah, dancing in the hall that his family had ordered. This other chasan was receiving all the attention. Music was playing, and everyone was rejoicing with the "new chassan", who took away his chasunah! The true chasan's face fell. He is sad, and the imposter chasan is happy.
People became confused. How did it happen that there are two chasanim at the same chasunah? They checked what was happening on the other side of the mechitzah. They discovered that there is only one kalah there – the kalah of the sad chasan. The question remains who this other chasan is, why he came there, and why he was taking away the chasunah from the true chasan?
It was discovered that this other "chasan" was just a letz, a joker, and a rasha. He thought it was funny to pretend to be the chasan, but he took away all the attention from the true chasan. If the true chasan knew that the imposter was just a joker, he wouldn't be upset, and he wouldn't be sad. He would realize that all the people who came to the chasunah, the band, the meal, and everything else were all for him. If he realized that, he would ignore the other chasan and enjoy his wedding.
The nimshal of this story is that the taavos of this world are impostors, and they want people should think that they are the purpose of the world. Even those who are occupied with Torah and mitzvos may also believe this (to an extent) and accept that they are missing out on the "good world." But the wise know that pleasures and futile pursuits are just impostors, nothing at all, and it is best to ignore them. Instead, they should be occupied with the true "chasan", the true purpose – Torah and mitzvos.
Now, during Shovavim, we seek the true awareness that all the taavos are nothing at all. They are an illusion, and not at all what we are looking for. The true "chasan" is a Yid occupied with Torah and mitzvos. For him, the entire world was created and is sustained. That is the true enjoyment and the true importance. When a person attains this realization, he will dance joyously, because he knows that everything is for him.
Reb Mendel Luria zt'l (who wrote להבין בינה, and was the son of the Avodos Pnim of Slonim) tells that in his youth (approximately a hundred years ago), people from Tveria would often spend the summer in Tzefas because it was very hot in Tveria. Once, Reb Mendel was in Tzefas, and as he went around to see the stores, he came across something entertaining. There were brothers who owned a watch store. Reb Mendel saw that they tied a very thin string (fishing string) to a gold watch and put the watch out on the street. When a passerby noticed the watch and bent down to pick it up, the brothers would pull the string a bit, and the watch came closer to them, and further away from the person who tried picking it up. Inevitably, the person would try again, and they would pull the string once again. This went on until the person was brought into the store, and everyone had a good laugh.
But there is something odd about this prank. Why did people follow the watch when it jumped away from them? Didn't they realize that there must be someone pulling it away? A watch can't move on its own! But the answer is that when a person really wants something, his mind doesn't think rationally. His taavos take over his entire being. This shows us the power of taavos. It takes over a person. Nevertheless, a person has the strength to think even then... so it won't end in humiliation.
Knowing Our Yichus
But the bachur insisted, so when Reb Chanina brought him before the Beis Yisrael, he said, "He wants the rebbe to know that he is a grandson of this-and-this tzaddik." The Beis Yisrael replied, "I should know? He should know!"
The same is regarding the Avos. We should know our yichus. We should know that we are descendants of the holy Avos. This awareness should fill our hearts with pride and joy, and in their merits, our tefillos will be answered.
