Scary but
Special
Bereishis is the
scariest parsha
in the Torah. It
creates
responsibility
and frames our
life's mission.
God's world is
pregnant with
purpose and
demands
accountability;
a notion so
overwhelmingly
transformative
that Rav
Elchanan
Wasserman
profoundly
suggested, it
spurs the mind
to conjure a
world without
Him; hence the
pull of the
agnostic/atheist;
for at the end
of the day,
there is a part
of us that
detests
accountability
and craves
freedom.
The flip side of
the coin is even
more compelling,
for in the
cosmos, we
ostensibly feel
sooo
insignificant, a
theme we
constantly evoke
in our liturgy:
Mah enosh ki
tizkirenu u'ven
adam ki tifkienu.
Mah anu, Meh
chayeinu ..Who
are we? What are
we? U'mosar
ha'ada min
habeheim ayin ..
So frail and
yet: [Yom Kippur
Neilah]
ata hivdalta
enosh mirosh,
vatakireihu
la'amod
lefanecha..
You set aside
man from the
beginning and
recognized him
to stand before
You
You set us apart
and elevated us
to in order to
have a
relationship
with You. Man is
dear and Bnei
Yisrael even
more so! We can
and thus must
have a
relationship
with the Hashem.
He wants it and
we need it!
*******************
Of Fruit Trees
and Rebellious
Man
It is Tuesday
and God commands
the trees to
produce [Bereishis,
1:11]
Elokim said,
"Let the earth
sprout grass,
seed-yielding
herbs,
fruit trees
bearing fruit of
its own kind,
with its seed
within it, upon
the earth." And
it was so.
The text
delineates the
results:
The earth
brought forth
grass, .. and
trees
bearing fruit
which
has in it seeds
of its kind; ..
Note the change
in wording from
fruit
trees [eitz
peri] to
trees
[eitz].
Rashi presents a
famous midrashic
approach::
This implies
that the taste
of the tree
should be the
same as the
taste of the
fruit.
However, it [the
earth] did not
do this, but
rather: "The
earth sprouted
forth... a tree
producing a
fruit," but the
tree itself was
not a fruit.
Therefore, when
Adam was cursed
for his sin, it,
[the earth] too,
was punished for
its sin and was
[also] cursed.
For those
possessors of a
formal Jewish
education, it is
a midrash that
we imbibed with
our mother's
milk. But what
does it really
mean? Consider:
Why
would the earth
disobey in this
manner?! How can
the inanimate
ground disobey
the will of
God?! Why
wait to punish
it until man
comes along?
These are famous
questions:
Chizkuni tackles
our first
question: The
ground had a
gutte tayne
- a great
argument: were
it to produce
fruit-like bark,
it would be
risking its very
existence,
exposing itself
to human
consumption. The
ground thus
produced a bland
bark with
delicious fruit
in order to
preserve its own
fruit. It's a
great argument -
with one
problem: God
disagrees!
In classic
Talmudic
language, such
grounded logos
was impeccable
save for the
reality that it
meddled God's
secrets. Man is
entitled and
compelled to
follow his
logic; that's
why God gave
him a brain.
When the mind
arrives at a
different
conclusion from
its Creator, it
must obey the
Divine yield
sign and
surrender to
Hashem.
Years ago, a
student tried to
argue it was
better for her
to "do" college
on a Jew
forsaken campus,
for in the
challenge her
Judasim will be
accentuated and
enhanced - as
opposed to
Jewful campus [Touro,
Stern, Queens,
etc. ] where her
Judasim would be
too easy and
taken for
granted. It's a
great and
compelling
argument, I told
her that derives
from ancient
wisdom; Adam
HaRishon[1]
also reasoned
that his loyalty
to Hashem would
be so much
greater were he
only to
internalize the
yetzer hara and
still transcend.
To fight an
external yetzer
hara is
kindershpiel!
There was only
one problem with
the logic - it
was contr God.
Adam's sin and
the ground's sin
coalesce - for
they both derive
from compelling
logic that will
surely promote
personal
greatness. The
only catch is
that we don't
know better.
But can the
inanimate really
rebel? Thus we
need Maharal [Gur
Aryeh]
who finds here
the very notion
that rebellion
and separation
is rooted in
Creation of the
lower worlds. It
is natural to
want to be
independent. The
ground "wanted"
to disobey!
Indeed, consider
that even the
fruit was
separate and
distinct from
its source. Man
is a tree is a
fruit!
Our natural
predilection
towards
independence is
not a product of
sinful urging -
it is nature
itself. It could
be that there
will be a time
that children
will be happy to
clean their
rooms and
spouses [gender
neutral on
purpose] will
desire to take
out the garbage
while students
will willingly
do their
homework - but
it will only be
before they are
asked. A
metuzveh v'oseh
- a commanded
being must
transcend to
comply. The
moment anything
on earth is
commanded , it
feels the desire
to deviate.
That is natural
and creative
What we do with
that creative,
independent
spirit makes all
the difference
in the world!
**********
Kayin, Hevel and
Us
Kayin and Hevel
bring
sacrifices.
Kayin brings
from the ground
while Hevel
sheep. Kayin is
angry; God
regards Hevel's
offering and
disregards him.
Kayin then says
something to his
brother and
kills hims:
And it happened
when they were
in the field
Kayin said
[something] to
his brother
Hevel, , that
Kayin rose up
against his
brother, Hevel,
and killed him.
What did he say?
- the text skips
the meat: Three
midrashic
interpretations
fill it in: [Bereishis
Rabah, 22:7]
They said: "Lets
divide up the
world Kayin
said, "You take
the moveable
property and I
will take the
immovable
property. Kayin
said, "The land
that you are
standing on is
mine, go fly
away." Hevel
said, "The
clothing that
you are wearing
is mine." Kayin
tried to chase
Hevel off of his
property and
ultimately
killed him.
Rabbi Yehoshua
of Sachnin ..
they were
fighting
concerning
the sadeh,
field, [Beis
Hamikdash] One
said "On my land
the Beis
Hamikdash will
be built" and
the other said
"On my land the
Beis Hamikdash
will be built.
Their argument
continued until
Kayin finally
killed Hevel.
.. Yehudah Bar
Ami .. they were
fighting over
Chava[2].
Note that not
much has
changed: In
man's lust for
unbridled
materialism,
inappropriate
sexuality and
misguided
religious fervor
can be found the
overwhelming
amount of the
world's
bloodshed.
The 1st
approach, they
argue over
ownership of olam
hazeh - the
material world[3]
seems counter
to the reality
that they each
brought
sacrifices to a
world which
belongs to God?
Perhaps they
were willing to
cede to God -
but neither
Hevel [Kayin,
take off your
clothing]
nor Kayin [Hevel:
get off my land]
were willing to
give to man.
Recognition that
this world
belongs to
Hashem however,
requires one to
enjoy, delight
and help others
to prosper.
Do Not Covet,
says Ibn
Ezra begins with
the recognition
that the world
is God's and
plenty big
enough for all
of us!
The 2nd
approach sees
their dispute
rooted in
spirituality.
They were
fighting over
where the Beis
Hamikdash shall
be. Kayin kills
Hevel. Yoma [23]
records a Kohein
so incensed by
his losing out
on the avodah
that he killed
the victor - in
the Beis
HaMikdash!
In the end, even
God's service
can be
ego-centric. As
the ba'alei
mussar teach, we
must be wary of
our sins and
more wary of our
mitzvos.
A Gutten Shabbos
Asher Brander
[1]
According
to the
standard
understanding
of
Rambam.
Cf. Rav
Dessler
Michtav
M'Eliyahu
on this
topic.
[2]
Women: a
person
is
referred
to in
the
chumash
as a
field (Dvarim
20:19:
Ki
HaAdam
etz
Hasadeh).
[3]
The
pasuk
mentions
that
they
were in
the
field -
so their
conversation
must
have had
something
to do
with a
field or
land.
