by Rabbi E. Tauger

Sivan

A Month When We Confront Persecution

The Shabbos before the advent of a new month is distinguished as Shabbos Mevorchim, the Saturday of blessing. A special prayer is recited to bestow manifold beneficence on our people in the coming month. Usually, directly after reciting this prayer, we proceed to the prayer Ashrei yoshvei veisecho, "Happy are those who dwell in Your house." We omit the prayer Av Harachamim, "Merciful Father," which is recited in memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to sanctify G-d's name, for the festive nature of Shabbos Mevorchim would be disturbed by the mention of this prayer. There is, however, one month when an exception is made. After blessing the month of Sivan, we recite the Av Harachamim prayer. For Sivan is set aside as a month of martyrdom. In the era of the crusades in France, horrible tragedies occurred and later in the Cossack revolt in Poland and the Ukraine of 1648, hundreds of thousands of Jews met their death in this month. Thus despite the festive nature of this Shabbos, there is no way we could continue without showing reverence for the martyrs.

Why Are There Martyrs?

There are some Torah sages who explain that such tragedies come as punishment for sins. "The Holy One, blessed be He, does not render judgment without a reason" (Berachos 5b). If tragedy occurs, there must be a cause - sin - that brings it about.
Nevertheless, this rule has exceptions, the Talmud relates (Menachos 29b) that when Moses our teacher had a prophetic vision of the cruel death to be inflicted upon Rabbi Akiva, he protested and G-d told him: "Be silent. This is what has arisen in My will." And in the vision of the classic instance of Jewish national suffering, G-d told Avraham our Patriarch that his descendants would be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. This suffering could not have come as a result of the Jews' sins, because it was ordained before our people came into existence. Instead, the covenant G-d made with Avraham subjected his descendants to Divine decrees that "arose in His will" and which cannot be comprehended by mortal wisdom.
Similar concepts apply with regard to the tragedies that mark the month of Sivan. Innocent children were slaughtered, together with righteous men and women. There is no way that any sins could be found to justify the horrors that were perpetrated. And it is not only then. Fast-forwarding through Jewish history, we can find numerous examples of martyrdom and suffering that man could never explain. Take the Holocaust half a century ago: Even Satan himself could not find sins to justify the awesome cruelty to which our people were subjected.

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

In truth, the question is as old as time itself. At times, because of things that happened to ourselves and at times because of things that happened to others, each of us has questioned G-d's judgments. Why did He cause - or at least allow - this or this to happen? One of the books of the Bible, Job, is dedicated to precisely this issue, as man questions the judgment meted out to him by G-d, seemingly without cause or justification.

Getting a Lens With Wider Focus

Generally, the way these questions are answered is by broadening the picture until some justification is found. For example, a person is told to examine his conduct carefully, for it is possible that there are transgressions that to him appear minor, but to G-d are of consequence. Or he is told about mutual responsibility; in his family or community or among the Jewish people as a whole, there are transgressions that warrant retribution that is too great to be visited on merely one person. Instead, the punishment is spread out among many, either the family, the community, or our people as a whole. Alternatively, a person's previous incarnations are taken into consideration and sins committed in a previous lifetime effect what happens to one at present.
The common line between all these explanations is that they are trying to justify G-d and explain how His conduct makes sense. Within the context of the small picture our eyes see, there are times that we do not understand what He does. Were we, however, to be able to see the larger picture, we would understand the justification for His conduct.
To employ an analogy: If an uneducated person were to enter an operating room, he would not understand why the doctors were cutting open the body of a patient. To his untrained eye, their acts would appear vicious and cruel. In truth, however, their acts are kind and generous, saving the lives of a patient.

G-d Does Not Have To Make Sense

The above argument is true to a certain extent. For ultimately, G-d is good and everything that He performs is good. Nevertheless, the perspective is earth-centered, it is as if G-d has to prove His goodness to us for us to accept Him.
Our approach should be the very opposite. To identify with G-d, because He is G-d; to be happy to receive anything and everything from Him, because it is coming from Him.
This is true from the point of emotional commitment: When you love someone and make a commitment to him or her, it is not a form of barter. Instead, you love them because you love them, without putting yourself and your interests in the picture at all.
But it's also true from an intellectual perspective. G-d does not have to make sense to mortal man. On the contrary, to a certain extent, it's correct to say that He cannot make sense. Man is limited and defined and He is truly unlimited, surpassing even the bounds of perfect wisdom to the extent that wisdom is baffled by Him.
Our identification with G-d should be on His terms, i.e., bonding with Him not only when we mortals think that what He has done is good, but at all times, connecting with Him because He is who He is.

Unbounded Good

Just as there are horrors that we do not understand, there is G-dly good that transcends our comprehension. In microcosm, we all have witnessed expressions of such good in our lives. But in an ultimate sense, the world as a whole is moving to a realization of such good, an era when our material desires will be met, but our focus will be beyond them. We will have what we need, but our needs will not be the center of our attention. Instead, we will be focused on G-d. In an atmosphere of peace, plenty, and tranquility, we will be able to direct our lives to what is truly important - connecting to Him and allowing that bond to filter through our understanding.
As Maimonides states: "The sages and the prophets did not yearn for the era of Mashiach so that… they would have dominion over the gentiles, nor that they be exalted by them, nor in order that they eat, drink, and celebrate. Instead, their aspiration was to be free [to involve themselves in] the Torah and its wisdom…. The Jews will be great sages and know the hidden matters, attaining an understanding of their Creator to the [full] extent of mortal potential."

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Telling Tales

The holiday of Shavuos marks our identification with the Torah. In that context, we would like to share a interesting story of a woman's personal journey to her Jewish roots.

Rabbi Zalman Serebryanski, dean of the Lubavitch Rabbinical College in Melbourne, Australia, once brought a girl to Rabbi Chaim Gutnick Chief Rabbi of Melbourne, "please, help this girl convert," he asked.
Rabbi Gutnick listened to the girl's story. She lived in Balaclava, and from her youth had felt a strong attraction to Judaism. Whenever she heard stories of the Holocaust, she was deeply touched. She had been reading and studying about Judaism for a long time and now wanted to convert.
Rabbi Gutnick was touched by her sincerity. Nevertheless, he did not want to perform the ceremony. The girl was still young and living at home with her non-Jewish parents. Would she be able to practice Judaism in her parents' home? Would her interest continue as she matured into adulthood? Since he could not answer these questions, he decided to let time take its course. If the girl was still interested when she was older, she could convert then.
Rabbi Gutnick's refusal plunged the girl into deep depression and she had to be confined to a hospital. Reb Zalman, stirred by the depth of her feelings, continued to visit her from time to time.
After several weeks, he called Rabbi Gutnick, telling him of the girl's condition and asking him whether perhaps he would change his mind because of the strength of her feelings.
Rabbi Gutnick answered that the reasons for not performing the conversion were still valid. Nevertheless, he promised to write to the Rebbe about this matter.
When Reb Zalman told the girl that the Rebbe was being consulted her condition improved immediately. She also wrote to the Rebbe, explaining her desire to convert.
Rabbi Gutnick did not receive an immediate reply to his letter. Afterwards, at the end of a reply to another issue, the Rebbe added: "What's happening with the Jewish girl from Balaclava?"
Rabbi Gutnick was surprised. The girl and Reb Zalman had both made it clear that her family was Anglican!
He and Reb Zalman went to confront the girl's mother. At first, she insisted that she was Anglican, but as the sincerity of the two rabbis impressed her, she broke down and told her story. She had been raised in an Orthodox Jewish home in England. As a young girl, she had rebelled against her parents and abandoned Jewish life entirely, marrying a gentile and moving to Australia. She had not given Judaism a thought since. She loved her daughter, however, and would not oppose her if she wished to live a Jewish life.
Once the girl's Judaism was established, Rabbis Serebryanski and Gutnick helped her feel at home in Melbourne's Lubavitch community. She continued to make progress in her Jewish commitment, and today is a teacher in a Lubavitch school.
But Rabbi Gutnick still had a question: How did the Rebbe know she was Jewish? At his next yechidus, he mustered the chutzpah to ask.
The Rebbe replied that he knew from the girl's letter. "Such a letter," the Rebbe declared, "could only have been written by a Jewish girl."

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Torah readings of the month

Parshas Naso

The name of the Torah reading, Naso means "Lift Up." It is always read either immediately before or after the holiday of Shavuos, highlighting how the Torah is the medium that enables a person to elevate himself. It gives him the potential to rise above the framework of mortal understanding and to relate to G-d on His terms.
There is, however, an implicit difficulty in such a concept: Generally, when we speak of transcending our personal identity, this usually connotes letting go of our individuality; conforming to a G-d-given code of conduct and thus abdicating our individual wills and personalities.
This is not Judaism's approach. Judaism teaches a person how to lift his self above himself: to conduct himself in a G-dly manner, not by forgetting about who he is and what potentials he has been given, but by using those potentials for a G-dly purpose.

Parshas Bahaaloscha

This Torah reading begins "When you raise up the lamps," i.e., the command to Aaron to kindle the Menorah, the candelabrum in the Sanctuary. The Menorah symbolizes the Jewish people, for the purpose of every Jew's existence is to spread Divine light throughout the world, as it is written: "The soul of man is the lamp of G-d." With "the light of the Torah, and the candle of mitzvos," our people illuminate our surrounding environment.
On the phrase, "When you raise up the lamps," Rashi comments that this means the priest should apply the flame to the wick "until the flame rises on its own," and shines independently.
Interpreting this concept allegorically, each of the expres
sions Rashi uses reflects a fundamental concept.
"The flame" - Every person is potentially "a lamp." This, however, is not enough. He must realize his potential and become a flame, producing radiant light.
"Rises" - A person should not remain content with his current level, no matter how refined. Instead, he should seek to proceed further, searching for a higher and more complete degree of Divine service.
"On its own" - A person must internalize the influence of his teachers until their light becomes his own. The knowledge he learns should endow him with the power to "shine" independently.
Moreover, he should "rise on his own," i.e., the desire to proceed should become his own nature. Even without the encouragement of others, he should continually seek to advance.

Parshas Shelach

This week's Torah reading relates that Moses sent spies to explore the Land of Israel before the entry of the Jewish people. They returned with a frightening report, telling how the inhabitants of the land were giants whom they feared they could not conquer.
The Jewish people became disheartened and stated that they did not want to enter the Holy Land. When G-d heard this, He told Moses that He would punish the people by granting them their wish. They would not enter the land. Instead, they would wander in the desert for 40 years.
This narrative raises a question. Moses handpicked the people sent on this mission. The Torah describes them as men of wisdom and spiritual stature. How could such people commit such a gross error?
Chassidus explains that their error came about precisely because of their lofty spiritual stature. In the desert, they did not have to concern themselves with material affairs. They ate manna, received their water from Miriam's well, and were protected by the clouds of glory. They could focus their entire energy on spirituality.
When they would enter the Land of Israel, this would stop. The people would have to work the land and reap its harvest. There would be less time to study, less time for contemplation. "So why do it," said the spies. "Why not remain in the desert and perpetuate the present situation as long as possible?"
Why then did G-d desire the people to enter the Holy Land? Because keeping the people in the desert would run contrary to His intent in the creation of the world. He created our world to have a dwelling among mortals, that people - as they are involved in their material concerns - would make a place for Him in their lives. Had He desired a spiritual framework of existence, He would have cre
ated one. The fact that He desired that His dwelling be created in a material setting should inspire us to focus on that purpose.
By doing so, we hasten the Era of Redemption when "The world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d", on a higher and deeper level that was experienced in the desert.

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