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Dvar Torah for ShavuotBased on Likutey MoHaran I, 22:9
Pushy. Aggressive. Obnoxious. Brazen. One would expect such harsh descriptions to come from a budding anti-Semite. But this is how our own Sages describe us! "If they wouldn't have the Torah, those Jews would ride roughshod over the entire world" (Beitzah ibid.)! Our Sages did not record this teaching to compliment us. (It doesn't seem that way.) So why did they record it? They wanted to teach us what it takes to be a Jew. As I am sure you noticed, the word azin, above, was left undefined. Whatever it is, it is necessary for being a Jew. What is it? Can it be dangerous? How does one get hold of some? This quality of azin (or to be more technically correct, azut), can be correctly translated in either of two ways, depending upon what is being described. To paraphrase note 41 of this lesson:
Rashi comments that intense study of Torah tames the brazenness of their heart that would otherwise lead them to wickedness. Maharsha (on Zevachim 116a) writes that no other nation would have the azut to fulfill the Torah. So, how come we are sometimes a little short on enthusiasm when it comes to Torah study? Why do we instead show a preference for less-than-desirable reading material? And how come we occasionally crumble in the face of resistance and fail to live up to the Torah standards we know are right? Why do we speak disparagingly of others who are "too religious" for our taste? Our desirable azut has waned. How do we make it grow? Rebbe Nachman writes, "Holy boldness is achieved through joy, as in, 'For delight in God is your boldness' (Nehemiah 8:10). Via the concept of na'aseh v'nishma (we will do and we will hear)" which is a concept of everlasting joy (Shabbat 88a), one can gain holy azut. When, prior to the giving of the Torah, God asked us if we wanted to accept the Torah, instead of inquiring what acceptance entailed, we immediately answered na'aseh v'nishma. The Rebbe explains that "we will do and we will hear" is not a static commitment to fulfil whatever we happen to know. Rather it is a dynamic commitment to steadily and continuously pursue growth in both knowledge and observance of Torah. Rebbe Nachman is offering this interpretation partly to answer the following question. When we received the Torah we should have said "we will hear and we will do," because one must first receive instructions before he can carry them out. What lesson, then, does "we will do and we will hear" imply? "We will do" refers to that which we already know. What will we hear? We will hear how to observe that which we have been introduced to, but don't know how to perform, and we will hear about things that we have never heard of before. How will we "hear" of these? Through prayer, which is clinging to God. Our seeking the level yet unknown to us parallels seeking God, Who is ultimately unknowable. Achieving knowledge of that next level and becoming that much more aware of God both entail negation of self. When one knows that which he desired to know and begins to put it into practice, when new glimmers began to show on the edge of one's horizon, one is re-affirming na'aseh v'nishma, one is having a taste of everlasting joy. That taste emboldens a person to stand up to the challenges that face him, both from within and from without. agutn yom tov! agutn Shabbos! (The Hebrew word azut has as its root the letters ayin and zayin. The following words have the same root: oze (strength) which is Torah (Zevachim 116a); aze (goat) which is brought as a sin offering (to rectify misplaced azut); Boaz, the name of King David's grandfather. His name means "within him is strength.". Shulchan Arukh, the code of Jewish law, begins with an admonition to be az k'nemer, bold as a leopard, and not cave in to people who make fun of your observance of Torah.) REMEMBER TO MAKE AN EIRUV TAVSHILIN! |
