by Rabbi E. Tauger
IYAR : Dates To Remember
The Second Of Iyar
This is the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe Maharash is identified with the following Chassidic adage: "The world at large says: Try to crawl under, and if you can't crawl under, climb over. And I say: At the outset, try to climb over. " This thrust to active optimism characterized his own life and serves as a directive to us all.
Pesach Sheni - The 14th Of Iyar
The Torah relates that in the first year after the Exodus, when the Jewish people were preparing to bring the Pesach sacrifice, "There were [certain] men who were impure... They came before Moses... and said, `Why should we be held back from bringing the offering of G-d in its time?...'
Moses said to them: `Stand and hear what G-d will command concerning you.' G-d stated..., "If any man be impure... or on a distant way [on the day of the Pesach offering]..., he shall sacrifice the Pesach offering to G-d, in the second month, on the fourteenth day at dusk...." Anyone who did not bring a Pesach offering, whether because of impurity or even because he had willfully transgressed G-d's will, was thus given the opportunity to compensate for his shortcoming by bringing an offering on Pesach Sheni.
The Previous Rebbe explained that, "Pesach Sheni teaches us that 'Nothing is ever lost: it's never too late!'" Our conduct can always be rectified. Even someone who is impure, who was far away and even desired to be so, can still correct himself." There is no justification for despair. Every individual, no matter what his situation, always has the potential to make a leap forward (the literal translation of the Hebrew word Pesach) in his service of G-d.
Lag B'Omer - Iyar 18
One reason we celebrate Lag BaOmer is that an epidemic which caused the death of 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's disciples ceased on that day. Our Sages relate that the epidemic had been caused by the failure of these students to relate to each other respectfully. This is very surprising. After all, was it not Rabbi Akiva who defined the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" as "a fundamental principle of the Torah"? How could his disciples have departed from his teachings so drastically that their interpersonal conduct resulted in an epidemic?
Chassidus explains that each of Rabbi Akiva's disciples had his own personal approach to divine service. Operating from within his own perspective, each of them perceived any approach different from his own as incomplete, an inadequate and inferior path. Moreover, being men of integrity, these students no doubt spoke their minds plainly and each one tried to influence his colleague to accept his path. Since all were intensely involved in their own path of service, none of them would change. The tension between them began to escalate as the deep commitment every student felt to his own particular approach barred a proper show of respect for colleagues who followed a different path.
This teaches us a fundamental lesson: No matter how deeply we are involved in our own service of G-d, we must always be broadminded enough to appreciate that someone else may have a different approach. Although, from our perspective, his path may appear inadequate, our perception of his inadequacies may stem from our own limitations, and not from his. Furthermore, even if someone is indeed underdeveloped, his deficiencies need not prevent us from looking upon him in a favorable light. For every individual possesses a potential for growth. We should concentrate our efforts on helping him realize that potential, rather than merely accentuating his need to do so.
Lag BaOmer also commemorates the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the foremost sages of the Talmud and author of the Zohar, the primary text of the Kabbalah. Rabbi Shimon was uniquely able to perceive these two areas of knowledge not as distinct, self-contained disciplines, but as one composite unit, the legal aspect being the body and the mystical element the soul of one integrated Torah. This unity within the Torah which Rabbi Shimon recognized, enabled him to perceive the Divine unity within our material world, and moreover, to have this unity expressed in actual fact as well as in the abstract.
On Lag BaOmer, it is customary for young yeshivah students to leave the halls of study and go out to the fields. The intent of this custom is obviously not to mark Rabbi Shimon's yahrzeit by taking a vacation from the study of Torah, but rather, to bring the yeshivah out into the fields.
Rabbi Shimon was able to unite the deepest mystical elements of the Torah with the natural elements of the world. In emulation of him, children extend the atmosphere of the yeshivah to encompass even the field, an area seemingly beyond the realm of Torah.
Iyar - The Month Of Divine Healing Iyar, the name of this Hebrew month is an acronym for the Biblical phrase: "I, G-d, am your healer." We all know what infirmity is. We have all seen friends or relatives stricken - or perhaps been stricken ourselves - with various physical, psychological, or spiritual infirmities, and we hope for recovery. We often feel helpless in the face of such ailments. For regardless of the great strides forward man has made in improving healing, there are still sicknesses and conditions which mortals cannot presently remedy and we can only hope for G-d's intervention. And even when science and technology gives us expectations for a cure, sei'ata dishmaya, G-d's blessings and assistance, is always necessary.
Never Despair What is the key to recovery? A positive perspective. The intent is not naive euphoria, for a person must look his reality squarely in the face. But having said that, a person who is ill should never consider himself beyond help. On the contrary, such negativity will reinforce the infirmity that is affecting him and can hamper his potential for recovery. In this vein, the Rebbe would frequently reiterate the popular Yiddish maxim: Tracht gut un vet zein gut, "Think positively, and the outcome will be positive." He would constantly emphasize an overhaul of our approach to this subject. For example, the Hebrew term for hospital is Beis Cholim, literally meaning: "A home for the sick." "Call it a Beis Refuah, `a house of healing,'" he would continually say. And when doctors would tell patients that there was no hope, the Rebbe would criticize them harshly. "The Torah tells us," he would often repeat, "that a doctor is given permission to heal. That is his expertise. When he gives a prognosis of doom, he has stepped beyond his field." On countless occasions, the Rebbe gave blessings for recovery when according to all medical knowledge, there was no possibility of the patient regaining health. Once when a teenage boy from Italy fell victim to cancer of the groin, his family appealed to the Rebbe for a blessing. "The boy will recover and will father children," the Rebbe promised. Not every member of the family was happy with the blessing. "Why does the Rebbe spawn hope when there is no hope?" one uncle complained. And yet today, years later when the boy has grown to be the father of a family, even that uncle will gratefully attest to the benefits of the hope the Rebbe instilled.
Not Reserved For Rebbes Alone There are those who will maintain that such miraculous stories of recovery are the sole province of tzaddikim, righteous men who tower above the spiritual shoulders of the vast majority of their contemporaries. This is not the perspective of Chassidus. It is told that a poor family once came to the Maggid of Meseritch, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, asking for a cure for their lame son. "Bring me 50 golden rubles," the Maggid told the family, "and your son will be healed." "50 golden rubles!" the woman said in shock. "That sum is far beyond our means. Would the Rebbe be satisfied with a little less?" "Not a penny less," answered the Maggid. And so the family set about selling their meager possessions and taking loans, trying to amass the sum the Maggid had mentioned. When they collected 30 golden rubles, they again approached the Maggid. "Would this sum suffice?", for they saw little possibility of gathering more. With unexpected severity, the Maggid refused. And again, they went out to knock on doors, begging and borrowing to try to accumulate the entire sum. When they reached 40 rubles, they came to the Maggid again. "This is all we can raise," the mother said in a pleading voice. "Please take it and bless our son." "I said 50 golden rubles," the Maggid replied. "I will not accept a penny less." In exasperation, the mother threw the money out the window. "G-d will help us without the Maggid," she told her husband. "That's what I was waiting for," the Maggid replied. "Moshe," he said turning to the lame son, "Go out and collect those coins. Your mother will need them." And as the parents looked on incredulously while their son walked out the door, the Maggid explained: "As long as you put your faith in me personally, your prayers could not be answered. Once you put your trust in G-d, there was a chance for your son's recovery."
Why Limit What G-d Can Do? What is the core of the issue? To understand that healing is in G-d's hands, and therefore is always possible. He is the absolute Master of our lives and we cannot put any limits on His potential. And this also applies with regard to the G-dly potential which is invested in each one of us. Every one of us has a soul which is an actual part of G-d. This is the core of our being, our true selves. And therefore, there is always the possibility within ourselves for healing and recovery.
Healing Our World Exile is equated with sickness, and the redemption to be led by Mashiach, with healing. In a personal sense, the key to healing is realizing that G-d is the Master of our future, and that within ourselves, we possess an unlimited G-dly potential. Similar concepts apply with regard to healing sickness, exile, within the world at large. The key to healing is the appreciation that there is more to existence than the natural order, that G-d controls the world and guides its destiny. And that destiny is directed toward Redemption. For as our Sages state: "The world was created solely for the sake of Mashiach." For the purpose of creation is G-d's desire to have a dwelling among mortals. These are not merely abstract ideals, but active potentials invested within the world, propelling it towards this goal. As we become more aware of this potential and do what we can to facilitate its expression, it becomes a more kinetic force. This is particularly true at present. For as the Rebbe frequently told us, all the barriers preventing Mashiach's coming have been swept away and all that is left is for us to open our eyes and accept Mashiach. To refer again to the analogy of physical sickness: It is like a sick person who has already been cured, but because he was sick for so long, he does not realize that he is in fact well and can now function in a healthy manner. This is the challenge of our generation: to tell people that they are healthy, to make the world conscious of Mashiach and to create an environment that will allow his mission to be fulfilled. |
The Torah Portions of the Month
Parshas Kedoshim - This Torah reading contains the commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself," a charge which is considered as equivalent to the entire Torah. What is the rationale for this equivalence? To love another Jew as oneself, one must look beyond the personal dimensions of that person and focus on his soul. Therein lies the potential for unity, for all Jews possess the same inherent spiritual core. And this also reflects why this mitzvah is considered equivalent to the entire Torah. For the goal of every mitzvah in the Torah is to help us look past the physical aspect of our existence and appreciate its spiritual core.
Parshas Emor - This Torah reading contains a mitzvah which is fulfilled every day within the present month, the counting of the Omer, Sefiras HaOmer. This mitzvah is fulfilled for 49 days, beginning after the first day of Passover and concluding on the day before the holiday of Shavuos. The Hebrew word Sefirah means "counting." Every night we count one of these 49 days. But Sefirah also means "shining." During these 49 days, we should endeavor to make our personalities shine.
Parshas Behar - This Torah reading contains the mitzvah of the Sabbatical year. For just as every week, we rest on the seventh day, in the land of Israel, every seventh year, the land was to be left to lie fallow. This pattern is also reflected in the pattern of history as a whole. There are to be seven millennia in the history of man. The seventh is, like the Shabbos and like the Sabbatical year, to be an era of peace and understanding. Just as it is a mitzvah to accept the Sabbath early and to cease working the land before the Sabbatical year begins, the seventh millennium can be inaugurated before its chronological time. This points to the importance of our present age, for it is short moments before Shabbos, as it were, time to welcome the coming era.
Parshas Bechukosai - This Torah reading contains the Tochaichah, the series of curses which the Torah states will be given to the Jewish people if they fail to heed G-d's commandments. Once the Mitteler Rebbe was away from home and fainted when he heard the curses being read. When he came to, he was asked the reason for his intense reaction. "How could one not faint when hearing such curses?" the Rebbe replied. "Haven't you heard the reading before?" the Rebbe was asked. "Ever other time, I heard the passage read by my father," he answered. "And when my father reads it, it is different." Similarly, when we appreciate that any adversity in the world comes from our Father, we will appreciate its positive dimensions and urge them into expression.