Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
With great pain and sorrow, we join the family of chassidim and shluchim in mourning the passing of Rabbi Shimon ben Reb Menachem Shmuel Dovid Halevi Raichik, and send our birchos tanchumin to his dear family, hamokom yenachem eschem besoch shaar aveilei tziyon veYerusholayim, and speedily should be hokitzu veranenu shochnei ofor!
Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Aryeh Lavner on the birth of their son. May they bring him up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayol! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Many are asking about, and obsessing about Eruvin these days. I am not the expert or the authority on this very complex subject, not by a long shot. But we can discuss some of the very basic aspects.
[Somehow, it seems, Eruvin are always associated with controversy and conflict. Close to 40 years ago, my family was celebrating the bar mitzva for one of my brothers. At that time, in Toronto, there was much talk about putting up a new and higher standard eruv in the city. Toronto was no exception to the above rule, and the community was embroiled in the controversy, with many people passionately arguing in favor of one side or the other, and criticizing one position or the other. In the shuls and the mikvaos, that was the hot topic. My father a”h was a genuine lover of peace. He avoided any type of politics or conflicts to an extreme. Even when people wronged him personally, we wouldn’t hear a negative word from him about them. Understandably, the growing machlokes was very painful to him. At the same time, if something needed to be pointed out, if a behavior needed to be censured, he didn’t shy away from that either. He knew how to get his message across in a manner that had people ready to accept without getting upset. When he got up, by that bar mitzva, to give his speech, he began by saying: “Rabosai, the truth is that a city like Toronto needs a proper eruv”. Into the shocked silence that resulted, he continued: “No, I don’t mean what you think I mean. I’m not talking about that kind of eruv. That is something for the rabbonim to decide, and not for us balebatim to mix into. I mean an eruv as it says כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה, - that all Yidden are joined together with ahavas Yisroel and achdus Yisroel. That eruv is crucial for our city, and one that we can’t possibly do without”. The point was made, and taken!]
One of the many issues, when considering constructing an eruv, is determining the status of the place where the eruv would be put up. If it’s a reshus horabim d’orayso, then the eruv is not an option. So, what would render a space a full-fledged reshus horabim? The first criteria is the size. In order to be considered a reshus horabim min haTorah, the area has to be at least 16 amos wide. That would include many major streets and thoroughfares in most public areas, disqualifying them for an eruv.
But many opinions have an additional criteria; - there must be 600,000 travelers using the space on a daily basis. Lacking that, it would be a כרמלית, for which an eruv would be effective. Many poskim accept that view, greatly limiting the places that could qualify as a reshus horabim. The Alter Rebbe also follows this view, however, he calls on a yerei shomayim to be choishesh for the other opinions (and, thus, treat as a RHR min haTorah even a place without that many travellers, with all the ramifications that would lead to).
But, this condition of 600,000 people raises numerous further questions: Depending on how the 600,000 are calculated, there could be numerous places that may or may not meet that criteria. Firstly, do 600,000 people have to travel on a specific road or way, or is it enough that they live in the general region? Does the condition of 600,000 people to render a place reshus horabim (which is derived from the situation that existed when the Yidden were in the midbar) refer to 600,000 Yidden, or do non-Jews count as well (of course they don’t count... we mean do they count specifically for this halocho)?
And, what if the 600,000 people are travelling in vehicles, in cars or trains? Can they be counted, and, if they can be counted towards the 600,000, how are they counted? Is each vehicle counted as one, or perhaps it goes according to the number of people in the vehicle? Once again, there is a disagreement amongst poskim.
One of the reasons of those who are of the opinion that travellers in a vehicle cannot be included in the 600,000, is because the vehicle, whether a car or a train, is itself its’ own reshus. Thus, the people in the vehicle are not in the reshus (which is outside of the vehicle, that needs to be rendered a RHR), but, rather, in a separate reshus hayochid. The argument is made, then, that they can’t – in that manner – have bearing on the outside reshus (the one on which the car or train is moving).
[In the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan aruch, 'סיה"ש מט"סי, you will find a strong diyuk supporting the view that passengers in vehicles can be counted, as well as a basis for the other viewpoint, but that is beyond the scope of this email, you can continue the research on your own].
So, what is the point of all of this?
We all know what the Rebbe explains in a number of places, about the difference between reshus hayochid and reshus horabim: Reshus hayochid represents the domain of “yechido shel olam”, - of the Eibishter. It is where the atmosphere is one exclusively of Elokus, where Eibishter is bepshitus and ein od milvado is a given. It is where the sense that Hashem is “yochid b’olamo” is prevalent; - that is all that exists and all that matters.
In contrast reshus horabim, tureid’pruda (the mountains of detachment), is the place of diversity. It is the place of metzius bepshitus, where we relate with olam hazeh better than with G-dliness, where we need special effort to grasp and appreciate a vort chassidus. It is the place of rabos machshovos belev ish, because the further we are from the one nekudah of Emes Hashem le’olam, the more we get distracted and confused by the מרובים צרכי עמך, that result from the fact that דעתם קצרה.
Of course, the place where we would choose to be, the place where we could succeed and grow and thrive in our Yiddishkeit and chassidishkeit, is in reshus hayochid. Reshus hayochid is a shul, a Yeshiva, a makom kodosh. It is where we can be engulfed and engrossed in holiness and spirituality, to the point that that is all that exists for us, and our sole goal and objective is to be יחידה ליחדך!
But, as we see in the above halochos, there is a crucial prerequisite: You need to, in fact, be in the reshus hayochid. But, if you come in in your own vessel, your own vehicle, then you remain within your own reshus, that separates between you and the reshus hayochid that is outside.
What is a separate vehicle? Generally, it’s our own ego, our personal desires and agendas. If we are concerned about ourselves, if I am preoccupied with what I want and I need and I care about, then I am not in Tomchei Tmimim or in another makom kodosh (with all of the benefits that I hoped to gain from it), but in myself!
[Reb Zushe of Anipoli, one of the foremost talmidim of the magid, lived in abject poverty. Once, in the days leading up to the yom tov of Sukkos, there was not a morsel of food in the house. Reb Zushe went to shul the night of yom tov with strong hunger pangs, not having taken a drop of food into his mouth in days. He davened with full intensity, but didn’t rush home after maariv, knowing that there was nothing awaiting him there. In the meantime, at home, his Rebbetzin was cleaning for yom tov as best as she could. As she was brushing off one of Reb Zushe’s old jackets, she was surprised to find a coin in the pocket that had been overlooked and forgotten. Overjoyed, the tzadeikes rushed to the market, and managed to prepare a meal of wine, chalos and potatoes. Finally, Reb Zushe came home, expecting to find everything dark and bare. Instead, to his pleasant surprise, he saw licht in the Sukka, and a meal prepared. With great simcha, Reb Zushe made kidush, and began to eat the seuda. But after just a few bites, he stopped, and said to himself: “Zushe, Zushe, what are you doing? It’s Sukkos today, and the Eibishter commanded us not to eat anything outside of the Sukka, to only eat in the Sukka. But, you, Zushe, are not sitting in the Sukka, you are completely engrossed in the food, you are sitting in plate of potatoes, not in the Sukka. So, it is forbidden for you to eat!”. He pushed away the plate, and didn’t resume his meal!]
When we learn Torah we are in a reshus hayochid, we are achieving a יחוד נפלא שאין יחוד להיות... כמותו לאחדים ממש מכל צד ופינה. It is the ultimate reshus hayochid, through which we are completely at one with Eibishter. But we have to ensure that we’re not driving into it in our own vehicle (our own Escalade or Lamborghini), because then we are not in the RHY; - we need to leave them outside in the garage!
Practically, what that means is like Chazal teach us אין התורה מתקיימת אלא במי שממית עצמו עליה. What does it mean this mesirus nefesh that we’re supposed to practice while learning Torah? I heard on Yudtes Kislev (from Rabbi Sholom Ber Cohen) that the meaning is as the Alter Rebbe writes elsewhere in Tanya (in perek 41); - death in when a person ceases to think about his own needs and desires and agendas.
מסירות נפש is to forget about ourselves, about our ego and our aims, and to focus exclusively on the Eibishter and His Torah and mitzvos. It is to get out of our vehicle, leave it by the door (or with the valet), and actually come personally, ourselves, into the reshus hayochid.
Similarly, when it comes to davening, we need to leave our phones and fears and plans by the door, and focus exclusively on attachment to the Eibishter. Then we can be truly considered to be in reshus hayochid, without anything separating between us!
And, the lesson works the other way as well: just as there is the tremendous benefit of being in reshus hayochid, and we need to take advantage of it by getting out of our vehicles, so, too, there is extreme danger of being in reshus horabim. The reshus horabim is the midbar ho’amim, that is rampant with dangerous and damaging creatures, it is the path about which Chazal teach us כל הדרכים בחזקת סכנה. But, here, the vehicle is our protection. The way to safely pass through reshus horabim without being at risk, is by travelling through in a separate vehicle, so that we are never actually – halachikally - in the reshus horabim, but in our own, separate, reshus hayochid! This is what the Alter Rebbe teaches us (in Torah Ohr on Parshas Noach), is the meaning of בא אל התיבה. Notwithstanding the inherent danger of the worldly reshus horabim, of the מים רבים, the מים הזדונים, we can immerse ourselves in a vort of Torah, in a davening, and we are not in the domain of the world but in the domain of the Eibishter!
In this week’s Parsha, we learn about ויוסף הורד מצרימה, about the descent of Yosef to Mitzrayim. In a sicha (in which the Rebbe elaborates on the connection between parshas vateshev and yudtes kislev) the Rebbe quotes Chazal, who interpret the word הורד as from the term וירד מים אלים, - the idea of rulership and reign. Although superficially it appeared that Yosef came down to Mitzrayim as a prisoner in captivity, Chazal tell us that the opposite is true. In truth, from the moment of his arrival he was in charge and he was reigning. This was possible because Yosef was completely above and detached from olam hazeh, to the point that even when he was in the world he remained aloof and detached from it. Yosef was in his own vehicle, his own reshus hayochid, and the influences of the reshus horabim had no impact or bearing on him at all.
As we learn about it and live with it, we have to take this lesson and nesinas koach into our own lives, each person according to his level and abilities, to take advantage of the protection achieved by immersing ourselves in our vehicles, to be completely detached from olam hazeh and the RHR!
On a personal note:
BH, I am continuing to undergo treatment, and all the signs point to continued improvement. My last CT scan, which was Tishrei, showed overall improvement all over, and all the signs seem to point to us continuing in the same direction. My next scan, in a few weeks, we hope will show further progress.
In the meantime, however, there is a price that I have to pay for this, which is that I am dealing with the side effects of the treatment themselves. Although relatively unimportant, especially in comparison with the disease itself, still, the continued impact of the treatment (on a bunch of areas) has been wearing me down. The poison that is, BEH, destroying the disease, is also leaving it’s mark on many other areas (for now).
[When the Mitteler Rebbe was visiting the health springs in Carlsbad, he met with a number of gedolei Yisroel. One was Rabbi Mordechai Bennet, who asked the Mitteler Rebbe whether the waters that are taken for medicinal purposes require a brocho, or not (because we don’t make a brocho on medicines). The Mitteler Rebbe replied that a brocho is required. He explained: Every medicine, however effective it is, still has negative impact in other areas. These waters are only beneficial, with no negative effects, so they can’t be compared to other medicines. (I will leave it to the lomdim to figure how – or if - this can be reconciled with what is recorded in reshimos hayoman page 196, in the name of the Tzemach Tzedek)].
So, as a result, I have a harder time learning, and a harder time concentrating. It’s difficult to daven and hard to focus. And I convince myself that I’m even weaker than I am to justify not waking up to learn chassidus etc.
[Which is a fascinating phenomenon: The poison that they keep injecting in me is taking its toll on every part of my body. Nothing severe, BH, but everything is worn down and weakened. Except for my nefesh habehamis. Somehow, it’s still healthy as a horse. As healthy as 2 horses, - as 10 horses! Instead of becoming weakened and less functional, like everything else, it is managing to exploit the situation for its end and its agendas! Seemingly, the NHB is in possession of very powerful antibodies, that render it immune to the negative effects of the disease, the treatments etc. If we could only figure out how to harvest these antibodies of the NHB, we could bring relief to so many people (and maybe become wealthier than Pfizer in the process...).]
But, somehow, lately, I’m not feeling so fargrebt. Which is not really what I would expect after so much pustkeit. My first assumption was that I am experiencing the spiritual benefits of “mevatshin lei”. When the guf becomes – even a bit – mushmetert, even though it’s not through avoda but a gift from Above, it still can bring positive results to the neshomo. But, then it occurred to me that this might, in fact, be me experiencing the hayom yom that דער וואס איז אליין נידעריג און גראב פלט נישט די אייגענעקייט' נידערע און גראבקייט. So, maybe it was merely that my progressive pustkeit of recent weeks finally brought over the threshold to not feel my own niderig’keit etc., hence the resulting feeling. [Presumably there can be ways to determine which is the correct answer, but I would be afraid to find out...].
The truth is, what difference does it make? If one feels less fargrebt, he feels less inhibited, more capable to daven. So, whether that’s real or imagined, the fact that it makes it easier to apply himself to avodas Hashem is a positive thing, and that’s really all that matters. Perhaps that’s the message of איני יודע באיזה דרך מוליכין אותי, of the לא תהי משכלה, for אנשים כערכינו: It doesn’t matter where I’m actually holding, what is my actual level of chassidishkeit. What matters is only what I do about it, how I best use out every situation to increase and improve my avodas Hashem.
So let’s learn from our NHB, who knows how to exploit every situation and circumstance for its own agenda. And let us channel every situation that we’re in into a means to become better Yidden, better chassidim better tmimim, and together bring more light into the world!
L’chaim! Let us put in effort to immerse ourselves into our reshus hayochid, into a vort of learning or davening, and may the Eibishter very speedily transform the entire world into a reshus hayochid to yechido shel olam, with the immediate hisgalus of Melech haMoshiach TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
