Rabbi Frand on Parshas Netzavim - Rosh Hashana
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 295, Burying The Dead on Yom Tov Sheni. Good Shabbos!
Giving In To the Dictates of One's Heart
This week's parsha contains the pasuk [verse] "And it will be, that when he
hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself in his heart, saying
'Peace will be with me, for I will go as my heart sees fit (ki b'sherirus
leebi eilech)'" [Devorim 29:18]. This pasuk is discussing a person who does
not take the multitude of curses threatened in the previous Torah portion
seriously.
Rash"i explains the expression "sherirus leebi" to mean "the way my heart
sees it" (as in the expression ashurenu v'lo karov [Bamidbar 24:17]). In
other words, whatever my heart perceives as being the correct path, that is
how I will proceed. This is the simple interpretation of the expression.
Rav Gifter (Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva, Ohio), however, provides an
interesting insight. The word "sherirus" actually should be spelled -- shin
reish YUD reish vov sof. It appears without the yud so that when reading
the letters without vowels, the words sound like "b'serarus leebi" (by the
rule of my heart). Rav Gifter says that if a person wants to follow the
inclinations of his heart, eventually his heart will rule over him. His
heart will control him.
The task of every Jew is to rule over the dictates of his heart. Once a
person says, "I want to go my own way, I will indulge and have a good
time", ultimately he will be so controlled by his heart that he will be
incapable of saying 'no'.
When one goes after the _vision_ of his heart (sherirus), he ultimately
winds up controlled by the _dictates_ (serarus) of his heart.
The Head of the Fish/The Hat of a Chosid: Thoughts for the Days of Awe
On the holiday of Rosh Hashana, there is a Jewish custom that after
returning home from shul [Prayer Services] at night, we eat various foods
that are symbolic of a propitious start to the New Year. We eat the head of
a fish or the head of a lamb so that we "will be at the head and not at the
tail". We dip challah and apple in honey so that we will "have a sweet
year". We eat fish so that we will "multiply like fish".
TIs it not peculiar that we spend a whole day in shul on Rosh Hashana,
pouring out our hearts, asking for what we need, and yet when we come home
from shul we need to rely on these "signs"? Will the head of the fish
accomplish what six hours of davening [prayers] did not accomplish?
To answer this question, let us ask one other question. Our Rabbis tell us
that three barren women were remembered on Rosh Hashana -- Sarah, Rachel,
and Channah [Rosh Hashana 11a]. What point are our Sages making by telling
us this? The Shemen HaTov quotes a Tikunei Zohar: "The people, on the day
of Yom Kippur, bark like dogs, 'give us sustenance' (like an aggressive
dog, who barks for bread)." People come on the Days of Awe with a wish
list. "Hav, Hav (Give, Give) -- give us food, give us sustenance."
This human tendency to focus on one's physical needs causes us to miss the
major focus of the day. If we look at the nature of the Rosh Hashana
liturgy, we will notice that it contains very little by way of asking for
personal needs such as livelihood, sustenance, etc. On Rosh Hashana we
primarily ask G-d to "rule over the entire world with Your (His) Honor".
Rosh Hashana is a cosmic day. Rosh Hashana does not deal with trivial and
mundane pursuits. Rosh Hashana must be more elevated than that. Rosh
Hashana is really all about the concept that He is the King and we are the
servants. Nothing else in our entire life should concern us, other than
that we establish that He is the King.
A recent article in the Washington Post noted that the United Methodist
Church removed the word "Lord" from its liturgy, because "Lord" implies
that we are servants (this was in 1993). "That is too harsh! Redeemer is
fine; Healer is fine; Friend is fine; but if he is the Lord, where does
that leave me? I would then be a servant." That seems to be politically
incorrect thinking today.
On the contrary, on Rosh Hashana, we stress that G-d is the King and we are
indeed the servants. The true servant has no other wish in life other than
that the King should be exalted and glorified.
This is true to such an extent that the only time we really worry about our
sustenance, about our ability to have children, or about having a little
sweetness in our own lives, is when we come home at night after having
finished in shul. Then we have the "signs". The context of those "signs"
becomes "Yes, G-d, I know what it is all about. It is about serving You.
But I can not serve You unless I have a livelihood, unless I have health,
unless I have children, etc. Therefore, please help me out."
That is why these three women were remembered on Rosh Hashana. These three
women had something in common. They all worried about someone else.
"G-d remembered Sarah as he said" [Bereshis 21:1]. Rash"i cites the
connection between this portion and the immediately preceding portion.
Since Avraham prayed for a cure for Avimelech, Avraham's own needs were
answered. Avraham thought about someone else's needs, and therefore his
needs were provided for.
"G-d remembered Rachel" [Bereshis 30:22]. Why did G-d remember Rochel? G-d
remembered Rochel because she remembered someone else. Rochel thought about
the embarrassment of her sister. She was selfless. That is what Rosh
Hashana is about -- selflessness.
Chana was also remembered on Rosh Hashana [Shmuel I 2:21]. Why did G-d
remember Chana? He remembered her because of the reason why she was asking
for a child. Chana was not asking for a child because she wanted someone to
cuddle. Chana wanted to have someone to dedicate to G-d all the days of his
life. Her request was altruistic.
This is the difficult task of Rosh Hashana. It is a day when we must put
things in their proper perspective. Life is really about being a faithful
servant. As hard as that may seem for modern man living in the end of the
twentieth century, that is the name of the game. All the needs that we
present to G-d must be in the context of "Can I thereby become a better
servant?"
The Shemen HaTov tells of the following incident, which involved the
grandfather of the present Belzer Rebbe. It was Yom Kippur in Belz. They
had finished the Mincha prayer early, and the Chassidim went to take a rest
or a walk before they began the Neilah prayer, the final prayer of Yom
Kippur. Everyone left the Beis HaMedrash [Study Hall]. Like many others,
one of the honorable and wealthy Chassidim left his Shtreimel [fur hat worn
by Chassidim] at his seat. When he returned before Neilah, the Shtreimel
was missing. Someone stole a Shtreimel from the Beis HaMedrash in Belz on
Yom Kippur!
There was a great commotion. Who could do such a thing?! The Rebbe (unaware
of what had happened) went to begin Neilah as scheduled. After Yom Kippur
the Rebbe called over the Chassidim and asked them, "What was the big
commotion before Neilah?" They told him "Someone stole a Shtreimel". The
Rebbe told them to all to go and break their fasts. Later, the Rebbe asked
to see a certain chossid.
The chossid came to the Rebbe and the Rebbe told him "You stole the
Shtreimel". The fellow denied it. The Rebbe persisted in the charge until
finally the chossid broke down and confessed.
The next day in Belz, "For the Jews there was Light" [Esther 8:16].
Everyone proclaimed a miracle: "the Rebbe has Ruach HaKodesh [Divine
Spirit]." However, the Rebbe explained that "It was not Ruach HaKodesh. The
way that I knew who stole the Shtreimel was as follows. Before Yom Kippur,
all of my Chassidim gave me a kvittel (a small written note with their
prayer requests). Everyone had needs. This one asked to see nachas from his
children, this one asked to marry off a daughter, all sorts of requests.
One Chossid, however asked only for Parnassah (livelihood). A Jew who can
think to ask for nothing else on Yom Kippur besides Parnassah, is the type
of person who would steal a Shtreimel on Yom Kippur." That is how the Rebbe
knew.
As important as all of our needs are, Rosh Hashana is the day on which we
must put them in perspective. All these needs are only the medium for being
able to do what we are supposed to be doing -- working to establish the
Kingship of G-d over the entire world, speedily in our days.
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion (#295).
The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is: Burying the Dead on Yom
Tov Sheni. The other halachic portions for Parshas Nitzavim and/or VaYelech
from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
