When it comes time to create man, the Torah uses a unique language:
בראשית פרשת בראשית פרק א
(כו)
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ
וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל הָאָרֶץ
וּבְכָל הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ:
And the L-rd said, let us make man in our image…
LET US!? What a strange
statement for G-d to make, when we know, of course, that He made man all on His
own!?
Rashi explains as follows:
אף על פי שלא סייעוהו ביצירתו ויש מקום למינים לרדות, לא נמנע הכתוב
מללמד דרך ארץ ומדת ענוה שיהא הגדול נמלך ונוטל רשות מן הקטן.
Even though this would open up the door for those who want to claim
there is no one Gd, Hashem didn’t care.
He wanted to teach the mida of of humility.
But is that a worthwhile risk?
Couldn’t we learn the moral lesson somewhere else?
Alter from Kelm (in Chochma U’Mussar) offers an answer. The Mishna in Pirkei Avos lists 48 Kinyanei
Torah, 48 ways through which one can be successful in Torah learning, and one
of them is “Nosei B’Ol Im Chaveiro”, to help other people carry their
hardships.
And he asks: This is a beautiful mida, but it has nothing to do
with learning!? And he answers that the Torah
is absolute truth, and one must have a healthy relationship with TRUTH to connect
with Torah. Someone who is too caught up in themselves, has a hard time seeing
objective truth. He translates all the
events of the world through his own lens, his own needs. But when someone becomes nosei b’ol im
chaveiro, then you are willing to see other perspectives, to hear others, to
see their needs, have an ability to step back and see the world through a much
clearer lens.
The Ponovezher Rav was building a yeshiva and an orphanage after
the holocaust. And he had very little
money for either. His son asked him,
Abba, just build the yeshiva, you’ll have a foundation of Torah, and then you’ll
be able to do other things!
He responded: Torah is techilaso gemilas chassadim and sofo gemilus
chassadim. The Torah begins with chesed
and ends with chesed. If you’re engaged in helping others, appreciating their
suffering, then everything else can flow.
If not, then we have no foundation at all!
When Hashem created man, He knew that if he would be someone who was
totally enveloped and consumed ONLY in himself, then he wouldn’t be
successful. If he is a person who feels
the need to consult with others, feel connected to others, then life will be
worth creating and living.
And so, when He created man, Hashem chose a language of paying
attention to the needs of others, consulting with others, REFUSING to live life
only for myself. Even if that meant that
the FOUNDATION OF JUDAISM, THE BELIEF IN ONE GD was open to questions! Because for HKBH, way worse the people not
believing in Gd, would be if people wouldn’t believe in each other!
There is a midrash that states: Hashem didn’t begin the Torah with
Aleph, but rather with Beis. Why?
Because Beis is the language of bracha, of blessing, but not aleph because
aleph stands for Arira, a curse.
And the Torah Temima asks: There are a million words that begin
with an Aleph which are beautiful and a million not nice words with a Beis!? So what is this medrash really coming to
teach us? He gives an answer.
But I heard another answer from Rabbi Jacob J. Schachter: To be an Aleph, to be alone and isolated is
lashon arira, it’s a curse. But to be a Beis, to be able to be with someone
else, not to feel alone and lonely, that is the definition of Bracha. When we feel connected that is a Bracha
It’s one of the very first things HKBH says ABOUT HUMANKIND: LO TOV HEYOS ADAM L’VADO.
It’s not good for man to be alone.
This week, we saw the absolute worst of what human beings can be,
but we have also seen the absolute greatest of humanity. We are seeing the
Jewish People come to realize, that if we want to be successful as a people, we
need to focus more on becoming a Beis.
–
We
have people saying, I’ll kasher my restaurant, so a chayal who keeps kosher can
eat my food!
–
We
have people who have different religious and political views, singing and
dancing together, singing Am Yisrael Chai.
Eitan Martin told me about the place where the troops were housed,
on a kibbutz which is NOT DATI:
–
They
brought home-cooked food for the meals, but also brought sealed items that were
kosher, and made sure to label them for everyone.
–
They
gave everyone could take turns taking showers at their homes.
–
When
it came time to do laundry, it was almost Shabbos, so they asked them, if you
don’t want it done on Shabbos, please let us know, and we’ll make a sign and
only do it after Shabbos.
Somehow, we have begun to see some of those lines drawn between us,
melting away just a little.
And like I said on Thursday night at Votee Park, while I have been
sadder this week than maybe any other time in my life, I have NEVER in MY LIFE
felt prouder to be a Jew.
I’m not naïve. I understand
that these waves can come and then it’s hard work to keep it going. But I am feeling more optimistic than ever
that after this is all over, we will find a way to continue becoming less about
ALEPH, LESS ABOUT NUMBER 1, and more about being a BEIS.
We are starting to realize that the values of derech eretz, being
slow to judge others, and respecting each other even when we disagree are NOT
icing on the cake. They are the
fundamentals of who we are as a people.
As we move through this crisis, we must remember: lo tov heyos adam
l’vado. You can create so much good for
others, just by BEING THERE, just by BEING a BEIS. By being someone who will never leave someone
else alone. And may Hashem see our
commitment to being there for each other, and commit to being there for us too.