שֶׁ֣קֶר הַ֭חֵן וְהֶ֣בֶל הַיֹּ֑פִי אִשָּׁ֥ה יִרְאַת־יְ֝הוָ֗ה הִ֣יא תִתְהַלָּֽל׃
חן איז אַן אָפּנאַר, און שײנקײט איז נישטיק, אַ גאָטספֿאָרכטיקע װײַב, זי זאָל גערימט װערן.
Akeidat Yitzchak
From the above it follows that the most advanced of nations, i.e. Israel, were it to perish G'd forbid, would disintegrate more than any other nation; less would be left of it than of any other more primitive society that ceases to occupy center stage in history. This is so because of the sophisticated nature of the body of the Jewish nation, which by implication implies fragility. When the prophet Ezekiel in chapter fifteen, describes the wood of the vines as utterly useless,- not even fit to be used in building,- he tries to tell us that unless it functions as the bearer of grapes, it is utterly without purpose. Similarly, the Jewish people. Unless the Jewish people fulfils its mission, it is utterly useless in the scheme of nature. The lumber of other trees, even if the tree itself is no longer bearing fruit, can serve builders; not so the wood of the grapevine. Gentiles, whose primary function is not the fruit of the intellect, mind or soul, may remain useful in some other capacity, not so Jews. They would only be good for firewood, serve by the very act of their own destruction. The whole purpose of the Jewish nation, allegorically speaking, is to produce the fruit of the vine. This fruit is available in three distinct qualities. 1) Unripe grapes. 2) grapes. 3) wine. Halachah reflects this view by assigning three different benedictions to the three stages of that fruit when one consumes it. For unripe grapes the benediction is borey pree ha-adamah, He who creates the fruit of the earth. Ripe grapes qualify for the benediction borey pree ha-etz, He who creates the fruit of the tree. Finally, wine qualifies for the benediction borey pree hagafen, He who creates the fruit of the vine. The type of benediction recited, corresponds to the degree of excellence of the product it is recited over. Man's function in the scheme of things is similar to the Jewish nation's function in the scheme of civilization, the scheme of nations. Our function embraces three stages of nature; the inert as represented by stone, the vegetative as represented by plants, and the animalistic, human, as represented by the fruits of various plants. G'd calls a human being "Adam when he fulfils his purpose on all three levels. (compare chapter forty four section one based on Talmud Baba Metzia 114) Justification of one's existence stems from one's having fulfilled one's purpose, one's destiny. When one fails deliberately to fulfil one's purpose, one forfeits one's right to exist. When the vine does not yield fruit, the wood supporting its leaves etc. deserves to be burned. When man does not contribute to yishuv ha-olam, civilization, he loses the right to exist. When Israel fails to make its specific contribution to the betterment of mankind, it loses its raison d'etre. This is what Rabbi Yochanan expressed in the paragraph from the Talmud Ketuvot quoted at the outset of this chapter. In the chapter dealing with the red heifer, we explained that impurity and its relative intensity, exists in direct relationship to the belovedness of the creature in the eyes of G'd. The less beloved, the less capable of becoming impure, the more beloved, the more subject to becoming defiled. Similarly, the higher the expectations that have gone unfulfilled, the more the fragility of the vessel becomes evident, the more total its collapse if and when it occurs. Only its continued proper use keeps it in good condition. The same lesson is conveyed to the prophet Jeremiah in chapter thirteen, about the belt buried near the river Euphratus that had been in disuse for many years, only to disintegrate by the time Jeremiah was to use it again. A belt has four functions which can be viewed as paralleling the tasks of the Jewish people. Garments to man are like character traits, as explained in connection with the special garmens of the High Priest and the priest at large. The belt assures the proper functioning of such garments. Leaving the belt buried somewhere, nullifies the value of the garments it was supposed to complement. The point of the parable is, that even a human being, equipped as he is with all the potential G'd has given him, goes to waste, unless he harnesses his potential in the proper manner. Girding oneself with the ezaur, belt, is like hashem oz hitazor, G'd girded Himself with strength. Man in emulating G'd, does likewise. Possibly, this is why Elijah is portrayed as wearing the belt around his loins when we see him function publicly as a prophet. Basically, linen is a durable material, much more so than wool. It is interesting that while wearing the belt, the prophet is not to wash it, though it undoubtedly would become soiled with perspiration. In the parable then, usage does not contribute to disintegration; on the contrary, careful preservation during disuse causes disintegration. When the Messiah is described in Isaiah 11, the belt appears as the well known symbol. The Messiah will wear a belt of righteousness and loyalty. The generation of Jews who had left Egypt had proven inadequate to their lofty mission. They had demonstrated unwillingness to be mosser nefesh, display acts of supreme dedication for Eretz Yisrael. Only the next generation deserved to inherit the land. Quite possibly, the esteem for Eretz Yisrael expressed by the daughters of Tzelofchod is the key to our understanding why that generation was granted entry, and why the sequence of events related in the Torah is such as it is.
Duties of the Heart
Even for women who are distinguished by physical beauty but are deficient in spiritual qualities, then not only is their beauty not pleasing, but it becomes ugly, as the wise man said: "as a gold ring in a pig's snout, so is a beautiful woman from who (moral) sense has departed" (Mishlei 11:22), and "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the L-ord, she shall be praised" (Mishlei 31:30).
Kol Dodi Dofek
Let us publicly and frankly confess: we complain about certain Israeli leaders and their attitude toward the values of our tradition and religious practice. The complaints are justified. We have serious charges against the secular leadership of the Land of Israel. However, are only they to be blamed, and are we as faultless and pure as the heavenly angels? Such an assumption is without foundation. We could have extended our influence and done something to shape the spiritual character of the Land if we had but hurried to awaken from our slumber and open the door for the Beloved who is knocking. I fear that we Orthodox Jews are still enveloped in sweet slumber. If we were to establish more religious kibbutzim, if we were to build more housing for religious immigrants, if we were to establish an extensive system of schools, our situation would be completely different. Then there would be no need to come forward with complaints against the leaders of other movements. We Orthodox Jews suffer from a unique illness that is not found in nonreligious Jews (with some rare exceptions). We are all miserly. We do not excel when it comes to giving generously, in comparison with the rest of American Jewry. We are satisfied to part with a couple of pennies, and we demand, in recompense for our piddling donation, our reward in this world and a share in the first allocations. Thus, our dignity has reached its nadir, and we do not exercise appropriate influence on Jewish life here in America and on the course of events in Israel. Great and free America is a land of charity. The government itself, in the years 1945 to 1956, disbursed $55 billion, $350 million in foreign aid projects (the numbers are truly beyond our comprehension), and philanthropists are truly respected in this land that knows how to give and help in such proportions. Accordingly, we Orthodox Jews are not entitled to the greatness that others possess. Lately, we have become experts at criticism and fault-finding. (“And the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean” [Leviticus 13:3]). We know well how to criticize, to look for blemishes and to express opinions as self-styled experts. One thing, however, escapes us, and that is that the priest who pronounces defilement must leave the encampment to be with the afflicted sufferer so as to purify him. “And the priest shall leave the encampment ... and the priest shall command” (Leviticus 14:3–4). We must build not just a few small nooks, whose impact is unfelt, but central institutions throughout the length and breadth of America and the Land of Israel. We have an obligation to purify those who are “outside the encampment,” who are situated in the huge camp of ignorance. To this end, there is a need for vast sums; and we, the Orthodox Jews, are far from being generous and charitable. For this reason, our institutions here and in Israel suffer from want. The Religious Zionist movement especially has to content itself with paltry sums. Due to lack of funds, the movement cannot function appropriately. Indeed, the loyal Lover is quite splendid, her eyes are like twin doves and her face radiates a beautiful charm (Song of Songs 1:15, 4:1). She is much fairer than the nonreligious lover. However, beauty is vain and grace is deceptive (Proverbs 31:30) if this Lover is stingy and very lazy. “I have removed my cloak, how shall I put it on again?” (Song of Songs 5:3). When one calls a rich Jew and asks him to give to a just cause, he answers, “I am going to Florida, and this year I have decided to stay in a luxury hotel, and I don’t have the wherewithal to give you what you requested.” What did the scholar tell the King of the Khazars? “You have embarrassed me, King of Khazars! … And our saying ‘worship at His holy hill’ [Psalms 99:9] is but the chirping of a starling” (HaKuzari 2:24). Do we not hear in our trembling over the safety and tranquility of the Land of Israel in our day, the beckoning of the Beloved who begs the Lover to let Him in? He has already been beckoning for eight years, and still He has not been properly responded to. Nonetheless, He continues to beckon. To our good fortune, our inherited Land has become more beautiful. The Beloved has not shown the Lover any favoritism, but He has compassion for her. The Beloved beckoned for only a short moment that night and disappeared, yet with us He has exhibited extraordinary patience. It is eight years that He has continued to beckon. Hopefully, we will not miss the opportunity!!