Beur Tefilah: Who is the “Aleinu” in Sim Shalom?

This week's Torah content has been sponsored by my friend and colleague, Rabbi Dr. Elie Feder. Rabbi Feder recently published a book called Gematria Refigured: A New Look at How the Torah Conveys Ideas Through Numbers (2022, Mosaica Press). The approach to gematria he presents in this book is neither fluffy nor fanciful, but rational. If you're interested in some sample chapters, click here. If you have a social media platform and are interested in promoting or reviewing Rabbi Feder's book, let me know and I'll put the two of you in touch. The book is available for purchase at Mosaica Press.

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Beur Tefilah: Who is the “Aleinu” in Sim Shalom?

Sim Shalom, the final berachah of the amidah, opens with the sentence: “Establish peace, goodness and blessing, favor and kindness and mercy aleinu (upon us) ve’al kol Yisarel amecha (and upon all Israel, Your people).” The question is: to whom does “aleinu” refer? Ordinarily we might read this word as a collective reference to the Jewish people, but if that were the case here, the next phrase, “ve’al kol Yisarel amecha,” would be redundant.

It is tempting to answer that “aleinu” refers to the congregation or group of people with whom one is davening. However, R’ Yitzchak Eliyahu Landau (in his Siddur Dober Shalom commentary, published in Siddur Otzar ha’Tefilos) rejects this interpretation, arguing that an individual davening alone ought to then change the word from aleinu (upon us) to alai (upon me). He answers that since peace requires harmony between at least two parties, we ask Hashem to establish peace aleinu, “between me and that which opposes me,” whatever that opposition may be.

I, on the other hand, prefer to answer that “aleinu” refers to mankind as a whole. We ask Hashem to “establish peace upon us [human beings in general,] and upon all Israel, Your people, [in specific].” This accords with the position of R’ Chanina, deputy of the kohanim, who said: “daven for the peace of the government, because were it not for people’s fear of it, each man would swallow his fellow alive” (Avos 3:2). Rabbeinu Yonah there (ibid.) writes:

This means to say that a person should daven for the peace of the entire world and feel pain over the pain of others. Such is the way of the tzadikim, as David said: “But as for me, when they (i.e. my enemies and oppressors) were ill, my clothing was sackcloth, and I afflicted myself with fasting; may my prayer return upon my own bosom” (Tehilim 35:13), for a person should not make his supplications and requests for his own needs alone, but should daven that all humanity should be in a state of peace. And with the peace of the government, there will be peace for the world.

Rav Hirsch endorses this approach in his commentary on the next sentence in Sim Shalom: “Bless us, our Father, all as one with the light of Your countenance, for through the light of Your countenance you have given us, etc.:”

Once this light will enlighten us all equally, once we will all be of one mind in the recognition of God and of what is pleasing in His sight, then the peaceful harmony of life will be a natural outgrowth of this unity of conviction and endeavor. For through this enlightenment all of us are given the Divine Law of life to aid us in the acquisition of understanding, the love of selfless devotion to shape our conviction, and loyalty to duty as the character trait to motivate our conduct. In this manner blessing, compassion, life and peace will come to all men.

Ralbag (Bereishis 1:3; Bamidbar 6:25; Mishlei 16:15) maintains that “light of Your countenance” means knowledge. Rambam (Moreh 3:11) explains that since all interpersonal conflicts are caused by ignorance, therefore, peace can only come about through knowledge, and this will be the cause of world peace at the time of Moshiach:

Just as a blind man, because of absence of sight, does not cease stumbling, being wounded, and wounding others, because he has nobody to guide him on his way, so too, the various sects of men – each according to the extent of his ignorance – does to himself and to others great evils from which individuals of the species suffer. If there were knowledge, whose relation to the human form is like that of the faculty of sight to the eye, they would refrain from doing any harm to themselves and to others. For the knowledge of truth removes hatred and quarrels, and prevents mutual harms … The prophet points out what will be the cause of this change [in the Messianic era], for he says that hatred, quarrel, and fighting will come to an end, because men will then have a true knowledge of God. “They will neither injure nor destroy in all of My holy mountain; for the earth will be as filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covers the seabed” (Yeshayahu 11:9).

This interpretation of Sim Shalom flows from the penultimate statement in the previous berachah of Modim: “and all living beings will thank You, Selah, and they will praise Your Name in truth.” That is, when all human beings thank and praise Hashem, then He will establish peace upon all mankind, and will bless His people Israel with peace.

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If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.

If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  Email me if you'd like to be added to my WhatsApp group where I share all of my content and public shiur info. 

Judaism and the Benefits of EFT (Episodic Future Thinking)

The Torah content for these two weeks has been sponsored by Judah and Naomi Dardik in loving memory of Rabbi Moskowitz zt''l, who taught his students to pursue truth by asking questions, who modeled love of Torah and learning, and who exemplified living a life of the mind.

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Artwork: Witness the Future, by Anato Finnstark

Judaism and the Benefits of EFT (Episodic Future Thinking)

Note: This is a sequel to yesterday’s introductory article on EFT. If you haven’t read that, then this will be difficult to follow.

Soon after I began reading McGonigal’s book, I realized that as an Orthodox Jew, I pass by countless opportunities to engage in EFT as part of my day-to-day halachic observance. Every time I daven, I express my yearning for a future in which our nation has returned to Israel, the judges have been restored, our enemies have been destroyed, Jerusalem rebuilt, the Davidic monarchy reestablished, the shechinah returned to the Mikdash, and the world filled with peace. Every time I say mussaf, I ask Hashem to bring back our korbanos. So many of the pesukim I recite on a regular basis are about the Messianic era, the climax of world history. Shabbos, Pesach, Sukkos, Tishah b’Av, Purim, and Chanukah all have future-looking themes. Judaism certainly focuses on the past, but it is a remarkably future-oriented religion.

If you noticed, I said that “I pass by countless opportunities to engage in EFT as part of my day-to-day halachic observance.” I haven’t truly seized these opportunities by imagining these future scenarios in vivid detail, as EFT requires. I haven’t taken the time to really apply my full imagination to these phenomena, asking specific questions such as: Where exactly am I in this future? Who else is here? What is around me? What is true in this version of reality that isn’t true today? What do I really want in this future moment? How will I get it? How do I feel, now that I’m here?

What would happen if I did these things? Not only would the future become more real to me, but it would trigger a shift in my entire perspective which would lead to other psychological and intellectual perfections. McGonigal explains:

When you take a mental time trip ten years into the future, your brain starts to think with a different point of view. This isn’t a metaphor – it’s a literal fact. Scientists describe this as switching your imagination from first-person to third-person perspective … When you’re thinking in first person, you’re totally immersed in your own thoughts and feelings. When you’re thinking in third person, you escape your own ego and get a more objective and expansive experience.

(She goes on to support this assertion from the scientific literature, which I can’t summarize in a 1-page article; let me know if you’d like the citations.) Afterwards, she enumerates some of the benefits of this shift in perspective:

a major benefit of switching from first person to third person is that it’s a huge empathy booster. In scientific language, we “reduce our egocentric biases” and become “less ego-identified” – which means we get out of our own heads and can start to see things the way someone else might. We’re better able to consider that others might have different wants, needs, values, or ideas than we do. We also become more open-minded – and this is particularly important when it comes to thinking about how the future might be different, or how we ourselves might change. Studies show that when we zoom out in time and perspective, we become much more likely to take in new information that runs counter to our existing beliefs. This is a kind of mental superpower.

I can’t help but wonder whether Jews tap into these benefits on a minimal level simply by thinking about the future so often, even if we don’t practice EFT. Thinking about the ingathering of exiles three times a day must, on some level, chip away at the feeling of permanence we have about our current home. Yearning for the judges to “remove sorrow and sighing” must, on some level, give us hope that our emotional turmoil is not everlasting, and that there is hope for a cure. Verbalizing our conviction in a future of peace with our neighbors must, on some level, rewire our minds and emotions to believe in peace as a real possibility; this, in turn, will make us more likely to do something about peace in our lifetimes.

It seems to me that it would be a worthwhile investment of time and energy to practice EFT on the future scenarios we talk about in davening, whether through journaling, simulations (like this cool video of a modernized Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Third Mikdash), reading fiction, writing fiction, fleshing out these scenarios when we encounter them in our learning and teaching, or even by taking a few moments just to visualize what we’re saying when we daven.

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If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.

If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  Email me if you'd like to be added to my WhatsApp group where I share all of my content and public shiur info. 

King Kamehameha III and Moshiach

This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Joey and Estee Lichter in honor of the marriage of Isaac and Aviva.

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King Kamehameha III and Moshiach

“The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness” might sound like a proverb from Sefer Mishlei (The Book of Proverbs), but it’s not. This proverb was not authored by King Solomon, but by King Kamehameha III, who ruled the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825-1854. The original Hawaiian saying, “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono,” was first uttered by the king in 1843 and adopted as the state motto of Hawaii in 1959.

I found myself pondering the meaning of this statement during our recent trip to Hawaii. As per my Mishlei methodology, I decided to attempt to understand it using my own mind before consulting any commentaries. If we assume that the Hawaiian word “ʻāina” (land) refers to society, and that “pono” (righteousness) is the equivalent of the Hebrew word “tzedek” or “tzedakah,” and we rely on the Rambam’s definition of “tzedek” as “bringing every lawfully governed being in line with its lawful principle, and to give to every existing thing that which is proper for its existence” (Moreh ha’Nevuchim 3:53) then the proverb makes sense. No system can perpetuate its existence indefinitely unless the needs of all its constituents are met. If tzedek is withheld from any part of the system, then it will only be a matter of time before the detrimental effects spread and threaten the stability of the system as a whole. It may take a while for the system to fail, but its collapse is inevitable. According to this reading, this proverb is directed at those who hold positions of power within the society, and who are the most capable of providing or depriving the land and its people of tzedek.

After coming up with this interpretation, I looked into the historical context. According to Wikipedia:

This phrase was first spoken by Kamehameha III, the King of Hawaii, on July 31, 1843, on Thomas Square, Oʻahu, when the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii was returned by the British through the restorative actions of Admiral Richard Darton Thomas, following the brief takeover by Lord George Paulet.

Some of the words contained in this phrase have greater, more difficult to define meaning than is commonly ascribed. Mau, for example, implies an unending continuation; Ea means not only "life," but "breath" and, more importantly, "sovereignty." Pono is a well-used Hawaiian word that cannot be concisely translated. It includes aspects of goodness, excellence, fairness, order, propriety, completeness, care, value, organization, purpose, and hope. It is disputed that the word ea in this pronouncement refers to "life." Many now insist strongly that ea refers specifically to sovereignty because of the circumstances at the time Kamehameha III uttered it.

Thus, a possibly more accurate translation would be: "The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." Admiral Thomas did what was righteous (pono) by returning on that day the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to its people through handing it back to their king.

The ambiguity of “ea” as meaning “life” or “sovereignty” is interesting: depending on which translation is used, the proverb is either the expression of an ideal monarchy or a justification of a corrupt one.

However, it seems that there are solid grounds to maintain that King Kamehameha III was a genuine proponent of righteousness. According to Wikipedia: “Under his reign, Hawaii evolved from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with the signing of both the 1840 Constitution, which was the first Hawaiian Language Constitution, and the 1852 Constitution.” This got me curious. I decided to check out the text of the 1840 constitution. Here is the preamble:

“God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth,” in unity and blessedness. God has also bestowed certain rights alike on all men and all chiefs, and all people of all lands.

These are some of the rights which He has given alike to every man and every chief of correct deportment; life, limb, liberty, freedom from oppression; the earnings of his hands and the productions of his mind, not however to those who act in violation of the laws.

God has also established government, and rule, for the purpose of peace; but in making laws for the nation it is by no means proper to enact laws for the protection of the rulers only, without also providing protection for their subjects; neither is it proper to enact laws to enrich the chiefs only, without regard to enriching their subjects also, and hereafter there shall by no means be any laws enacted which are at variance with what is above expressed, neither shall any tax be assessed, nor any service or labor required of any man, in a manner which is at variance with the above sentiments.

PROTECTION FOR THE PEOPLE DECLARED. The above sentiments are hereby published for the purpose of protecting alike, both the people and the chiefs of all these islands, while they maintain a correct deportment; that no chief may be able to oppress any subject, but that chiefs and people may enjoy the same protection, under one and the same law.

The body of the Constitution continues:

It is our design to regulate our kingdom according to the above principles and thus seek the greatest prosperity both of all the chiefs and all of the people of these Hawaiian Islands. But we are aware that we cannot ourselves alone accomplish such an object – God must be our aid, for it is His province alone to give perfect protection and prosperity. Wherefore we first present our supplication to HIM, that he will guide us to right measures and sustain us in our work.

It is therefore our fixed decree, (1) That no law shall be enacted which is at variance with the word of the Lord Jehovah, or at variance with the general spirit of His word. All laws of the Islands shall be in consistency with the general spirit of God’s law. (2) All men of every religion shall be protected in worshipping Jehovah, and serving Him, according to their own understanding, but no man shall ever be punished for neglect of God unless he injures his neighbor, or brings evil on the kingdom.

King Kamehameha III advocated for a government of righteousness, justice, and equality under God’s law. It is reasonable to assume that these are the values underlying the state motto. While we can’t know what he intended by “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness,” the proof is in the pudding.

It was then that it hit me: Kamehameha III, his proverb, and his constitution are all part of the unfolding of the path to Yemos ha’Moshiach (the messianic era). The Rambam introduces the topic of Melech ha’Moshiach (the King Messiah) in Chapter 11 of Hilchos Melachim u’Milchamos (the Laws of Kings and Wars). After detailing the various requirements which must be met for a person to qualify as Melech ha’Moshiach, he launches into a polemic against Jesus, referring to him as “the greatest stumbling block” who “caused Israel to be annihilated by the sword and the remnant to be scattered and lowered” and who “caused the Torah to be exchanged and the led the majority of the world to erroneously worship a god other than Hashem.” It is at this point that the Rambam takes a surprising turn:

But the plans of the Creator of the universe are not within the capacity of man to grasp, for our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts. All these matters of Jesus of Nzareth and the Ishmaelite who arose after him – all these have only straightened the pathway for the Melech ha'Moshiach, and prepared the world to serve Hashem together, as it is stated: "then I will transform all the peoples, that they all will call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one purpose" (Tzephania 3:9).

How so? The entire world has already been filled with statements about the Moshiach, about the Torah, and about the mitzvos. These matters have spread to the far-off islands and many peoples of uncircumcised hearts. They have debated these matters: these say that the mitzvos are true but they were only in effect for a set number of generations and are nullified in the present era, and these say that there are hidden matters in [the mitzvos] and they are not to be taken at face value, and the Moshiach has already come and revealed their secrets.

And when the true Melech ha'Moshiach will arise, and he will succeed, be exalted, and be venerated, immediately all of them will return, knowing that they were bequeathed falsehood by their fathers, and that their prophets and ancestors caused them to err.

According to the Rambam, even Christianity – with all its evils and harms – has nevertheless paved the way for Yemos ha’Moshiach (the Messianic Era) by spreading awareness of Torah and mitzvos throughout the world. What better example is there of “these matters spreading to the far-off islands” than King Kamehameha III establishing a constitution promoting a righteous society, in the name of God, in which all people are equal under the law? And in case one needs a reminder of just how “Jewish” Hawaii’s first constitution was, here is a passage from Paul Johnson in History of the Jews:

All the great conceptual discoveries of the intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they have been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person; of the individual conscience and so of personal redemption; of the collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without the Jews it might have been a much emptier place.

It turns out that “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness” is not just “Solomonic” in style, but also in substance. Kamehameha III’s proverb and constitution share the same Torah foundation as Shlomo ha’Melech’s kingdom. That the Torah’s ripple effects were so far reaching provides hope for the fulfillment of Tzephania’s prophecy: “I will transform all the peoples, that they all will call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one purpose." May we all merit to see that day.

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If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you. 

If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone. 

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  For the full guide to all of my Torah content, click here. 

Sitting Bull’s Ghost Dance and Moshiach

Today’s Torah content is sponsored by Naomi Mann, in honor of Yeshiva Bnei Torah's 50th year. May Hashem grant YBT continued success!

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Sitting Bull (1831-1890)

Sitting Bull's Ghost Dance and Moshiach

The final section of Jonathan Lear’s Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation examines how Plenty Coups, the last chief of the Crow Nation, saved his people by adapting to the new world after the devastation of the world of the Crow. Although his leadership decisions were influenced by dream-visions, Lear argues that Plenty Coups possessed “imaginative excellence” which allowed him to “facilitate a creative and appropriate response to the world’s challenges” in a pragmatic, non-mystical manner.

Lear contrasts Plenty Coups’s success in this regard with the failure of Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux. In 1889, rumors arose of a messianic figure who would arise and save the Sioux. It was claimed “he would wipe out all whites in a catastrophe, bring back their ancestors from the dead, restore all the buffalo.”

The messiah was teaching that the current task of the Indian was to perform a Ghost Dance, which would help usher in the apocalypse. The dance spread like wildfire across the reservation, but nowhere did it take greater hold than at Sitting Bull's camp at Standing Rock. The dance was ecstatic: participants would dance into a frenzy and continue until they dropped of exhaustion; they wore ghost shirts that would protect them from bullets; they abandoned all other activities in order to bring about this cataclysm … The dance continued through October and November and into December, when it was forcibly ended. As is well documented, U.S. authorities were greatly disturbed by the Ghost Dance – they were concerned it might lead to an uprising or, at least, the breakdown of civil order – and they sought to suppress it.

Lear writes: “There is no evidence that Sitting Bull actually participated in the Ghost Dance, but he did support it.” The following is Lear’s analysis of Sitting Bull’s fatal error:

Sitting Bull used a dream-vision to short-circuit reality rather than to engage with it … It is a hallmark of the wishful that the world will be magically transformed – into conformity with how one would like it to be – without having to take any realistic practical steps to bring it about. The only activity in which one is enjoined to partake in is a ritual, in this case a dance. But when the ritual comes to take over one’s entire life, as it did for the Sioux of Standing Rock in the fall of 1890, this is a case of what Freud called “turning away from reality.” Symbolic rituals take over life – whether in an individual’s private life or in the group activity of a culture – and they become a way of avoiding the real-life demands that confront one in the every day. And it led to a disaster for the Sioux.

The Rambam, in his Letter on Astrology, blames the destruction of the Second Temple on such a mistake:

This is why our kingdom was lost and our Temple was destroyed and why we were brought to this, for our fathers sinned and are no more because they found many books dealing with the matters of the star gazers, which are the root of idolatry ... they erred and were drawn after them, imagining them to be glorious science and to be of great utility. They did not busy themselves with the art of war or with the conquest of lands, but imagined that those studies would help them. Therefore, the prophets called them "foolish children" (Yirmiyahu 4:22) – and truly fools they were, for "they followed after that which does not benefit" (ibid. 2:8).

We, too, believe in the coming of a moshiach (messiah). However, our messianic era will involve no changes in the natural order (see Hilchos Tehsuvah 9:2, and Hilchos Melachim u’Milchamos 12:1). The process of bringing about the messianic era is eminently practical and political, and neither supernatural nor miraculous (ibid. Ch11). What remains to be seen is whether the “imaginative excellence” of the Jewish nation and its leaders at the critical junctures in the future will follow the model of Plenty Coups, enabling us to courageously engage with reality, or whether we will follow the model of Sitting Bull, to our peril.

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If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you. 

If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone. 

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and my podcasts: "The Mishlei Podcast", "The Stoic Jew" Podcast, "Rambam Bekius" Podcast, "Machshavah Lab" Podcast, "The Tefilah Podcast"  For the full guide to all of my Torah content, click here. 

Chesed Hashem in the Messianic Era

Originally posted in December 2008, during my Rabbi Sacks period. Please pardon the somewhat jargon-heavy writing style.

Artwork: Rush of Knowledge, by Eric Peterson

Chesed Hashem in the Messianic Era

The shortest perek (chapter) in Sefer Tehilim (The Book of Psalms) is perek 117, which says:

Praise Hashem, all peoples; praise Him, all the nations! For His chesed (kindness) has overpowered us, and the truth of Hashem is eternal, Halleluyah! 

The phrase "His chesed has overpowered us" is peculiar. We don't typically describe chesed as something that "overpowers" the one who receives it. "Overpowered" implies resistance on the part of the recipient. Why should there be any resistance to Hashem's chesed?

To answer this question we must define the term "chesed" and understand what chesed our pasuk (verse) is referring to. The Rambam [1] explains that the term "chesed" literally means "excess," and is typically used to denote an excess of tov (good). According to the Radak [2] this chapter is about the Messianic Era. What chesed (excess) will Hashem bestow upon humanity in the Messianic era?

The Rambam answers this question in two places in the Mishneh Torah. The first is in the Laws of Repentance [3]:

In those days [of the Messianic Era] there will be an increase of knowledge, wisdom, and truth, as it is stated, "For the entire world will be filled with knowledge of Hashem" (Yeshayahu 11:9), and it is stated, "They will no longer teach - each man his fellow, each man his brother" (Yirmiyahu 31:33), and it is stated, "I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh" (Yechezkel 36:26), because that king who will arise from the offspring of David will be a master of wisdom, greater than Solomon, and a great prophet, close to Moses our teacher. Therefore, he will teach all of the nation and instruct them in the path of Hashem, and all of the nations will come to hear, as it is stated, "It will happen in the end of days: the mountain of the Temple of Hashem will be firmly established as the head of the mountains" (Yeshayahu 2:2).

The second source is in the Laws of Kings: 

The chachamim (wise men) and the prophets didn't desire the Messianic Era so they could rule over the entire world, or to dominate the nations, or to be exalted by the nations, or so that they could eat, drink, and rejoice - rather, [they only desired the Messianic Era] so that they could be free to occupy themselves with Torah and its wisdom, without any oppressor or nullifier, so that they can merit the World to Come. 

During that time there will not be any famine or war, jealousy or rivalry, for the tovah (good) will be abundantly bestowed, and all pleasurable things will be available like dust, and the sole occupation of the entire world will be to know Hashem. Therefore, the Jews will be exceedingly wise and will know hidden and deep ideas, and they will apprehend the knowledge of their Creator to the extent that is possible for humans, as it is stated, "For the world will be filled with knowledge of Hashem, like water covering the sea bed" (Yeshayahu 11:9). 

What tov will be bestowed in excess during the Messianic Era? The tov of knowledge of Hashem. This is the chesed which we will experience as "overpowering," as the pasuk states, "For His chesed has overpowered us, and the truth of Hashem is eternal, Halleluyah!" This "truth of Hashem" is the  chesed (i.e. excess of tov) that will be bestowed in the Messianic Era.

In order to understand why this excess of tov will be experienced as "overpowering," we must delve a little bit deeper into the idea of tov. 

Our lives are governed by the pursuit of two different types of tov. The first type is the tov of Bereishis, as it is stated, "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw the light that it was tov" (Bereishis 1:3-4), and "God saw all that He had made and behold - it was exceedingly tov" (ibid. 1:31). This is the tov of God's wisdom as expressed in His universe - the tov of lawful existence. Our tov, as human beings, is the contemplation of this wisdom, which we experience as the ultimate pleasure of ahavas Hashem (love of God) and the ultimate humility of yiras Hashem (awe of God).

But there is another tov: the tov of the nachash (snake), as it is stated, "The nachash said to the woman, ‘You will surely not die, for God knows that on the day you eat of [the fruit of the tree] your eyes will be opened and you shall be like gods, knowers of tov and ra.’" (ibid. 1:4-5). The tov of the nachash is the tov of the god-fantasy: the self-centered, deep-seated belief that the universe revolves around "the Great, Mighty, and Awesome Me." The tov of the nachash is the source of the drive for pleasure and the drive for success, as it is stated, "And the woman saw that [the fruit of] the tree was tov for eating: tempting to the eyes and desirable as a means to success" (ibid. 1:6).

Why will we experience the excess tov of Bereishis in the Messianic Era as "overpowering"? Because the tov of Bereishis is a threat to the tov of the nachash. To recognize the Sovereignty of the Creator in the universe is to forfeit one's own claim of divine sovereignty. To acknowledge the reality of the Supreme Being is to admit that one's own feelings of supremacy and greatness are rooted in fantasy and falsehood. To behold the lawfulness governing the entire universe is to confront the terrifying fact that one's own life is governed by that same lawfulness. The mind's encounter with the objective reality of lawfulness forces one to confront the harsh truth that reality doesn't conform to me, but I must conform to reality.

Contemplation of the wisdom in God's universe leaves no room for feelings of greatness, as the Rambam [5] writes in his explanation of yiras Hashem:

What is the way of loving Him (ahavah) and being in awe of Him (yirah)? When a person ponders His great and wondrous works and creations he immediately loves, praises, and extols and is filled with a great desire to know the Supreme Being, as David said, “My soul thirsts for the living God” (Tehilim 42:3). And when he contemplates these things he immediately is drawn back with great reverence and he realizes that he is a small, insignificant, unenlightened creature standing with a frail intellect in the presence of a Being Who is Perfect in Knowledge, as David said, “[When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that you have set in place, I exclaim,] ‘What is frail man that You should notice him, [and the son of mortal man that You should be mindful of him?']” (ibid. 8:4-5). 

This experience of yiras Hashem - the realization of one's small existence in the reality of God's lawful universe - is utterly despicable to our inner-nachash, as it is stated, "Yiras Hashem is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (Proverbs 1:7). It is for this reason that influx of excess Bereishis-tov at the advent of the Messianic Era will be met with tremendous resistance and will be experienced as "overpowering" by all but the greatest chachamim.

But this struggle against reality will only be temporary, as the prophet states, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My spirit within you, and I will make it so that you will follow My decrees and guard My ordinances and fulfill them" (Ezekiel 36:26). What is this "spirit of Hashem"? "The spirit of Hashem will rest upon him - a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and yiras Hashem" (Yeshayahu 11:2). Hashem will assist His servants by releasing us from the shackles of the tov of the nachash and guiding us in the light of the tov of Bereishis.

The Rambam writes that ideally, we should all yearn for the coming of the Moshiach. This perek of Tehilim reminds us that we must begin by acknowledging the part of us which does not yearn for the coming of Moshiach. So long as we are unwilling to face that part of ourselves, we cannot truly yearn for the redemption. 

[1] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Guide for the Perplexed 3:53

[2] Rabbeinu David Kimchi (Radak), Commentary on Sefer Tehilim 117

[3] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer ha'Mada, Hilchos Teshuvah 9:2

[4] ibid. Sefer Shoftim, Hilchos Melachim 12:4-5

[5] ibid. Sefer ha'Mada: Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 2:2

The Execution of a Prophet

Originally posted in July 2013.

Artwork: Public Execution, by Anthony Palumbo

The Execution of a Prophet

Sefer Yeshayahu begins with an account of his 86-year prophetic career:

The vision of Yeshayahu ben Amotz, which he saw concerning Yehudah and Yerushalayim, in the days of Uziyahu, Yosam, Achaz, and Yechizkiyahu, kings of Yehudah (1:1).

In truth, Yeshayahu prophesied during the reign of a fifth king: the evil King Menashe, son of the righteous King Chizkiyahu - or "Yechizkiyahu," as the pasuk calls him here. Menashe's mother was Cheftzi-bah (II Melachim 21:1), the daughter of Yeshayahu (see Rashi on Bava Basra 15a, d"h Chizkiyah v'siyato). In other words, Menashe was Yeshayahu's grandson.

Seeing as how Yeshayahu was alive when the kingship passed from Chizkiyahu to Menashe, why doesn't the introductory pasuk mention that Yeshayahu prophesied into the beginning of Menashe's reign? Factually speaking, the answer is simple: because he didn't prophesy during that time. But why didn't he prophesy during Menashe's reign? Certainly, there was a need for a navi at that time!

Rashi, on our pasuk, provides the shocking answer: because Menashe killed him! That's right: the grandson killed his own grandfather, who was also one of the greatest neviim of all time! The source of this tragic report of Yeshayahu's end is a midrash in Yevamos 49a:

Menashe killed Yeshaya. Rava said: He brought him to trial and killed him. He said to him: "Moshe, your teacher, said: ‘For man cannot see Me and live’ (Shemos 33:20) – and yet you said: ‘I saw Hashem sitting on a throne, high and lifted up’ (Yeshaya 6:1). Moshe, your teacher, said: '[For which is a great nation that has a God Who is close to it,] as is Hashem, our God, whenever we call to Him!' (Devarim 4:7) – and yet, you said: 'Seek Hashem when He can be found; call upon Him when He is near' (Yeshaya 55:6). Moshe, your teacher, said: ‘The number of your days I will fill’ (Devarim 23:26) – and yet, you said: ‘I will add fifteen years to your life’ (II Melachim 20:6)."

Yeshaya said [to himself]: “I know that whatever I answer to him, he will not accept, and that if I do answer him, I would only cause him to be an intentional [murderer].” Thereupon he uttered [God’s] Name and was swallowed up by a cedar tree.

So [Menashe's men] brought the cedar tree and split it [with an axe]. When [the axe] reached [Yeshayahu's] mouth, he died. [His death was brought about by a blow to the mouth] because of what he said: "and I dwell among a people of impure lips" (Yeshaya 6:5). 

I will admit right up front that I don't know what Chazal intended to teach in this midrash. I acknowledge that what I am about to say might be (or at least, border on) drash rather than pshat. Still, I'd like to express the thoughts that I had when I first read this midrash because I believe they have value, whether or not they reflect Chazal's intent.

According to this Gemara, Menashe didn't openly attempt to murder Yeshayahu. Instead, he put him on trial, accused him of heresy, and supported his allegations with "proofs" from Torah. Even more astounding is the Gemara's assumption that Menashe's arguments were not merely a pretext. Apparently, Menashe genuinely believed that Yeshayahu's words contradicted Torah - as is evident from the fact that Yeshayahu considered him to be a shofech damim b'shogeg (an unintentional murderer).

When I considered all of these points, I couldn't help but notice the parallels to the predicament we face today. Just as Menashe, the political leader of the Jewish people, brought charges of heresy against Yeshayahu, who embodied the true ideas and values of Torah, so too, there are respected leaders within the Jewish community who strive to discredit those who strive to teach and live according to the true Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu. It has gotten to the point where yesodei ha'Torah are regarded as apikorsus (heresy), and are the cause of accusations against those who hold these views.

And just as Menashe brought "proofs" from Torah to substantiate his claims against Yeshayahu - extremely flimsy "proofs" that any intelligent Torah-educated Jew could easily refute - so too, there are many vocal individuals who believe that their own notions about Judaism represent the true dvar Hashem, and who attempt to support their claims with counterfeit "proofs."

And just like Menashe, whose destructive behavior was b'shogeg (unintentional), the same is unfortunately true of many of the Jewish leaders today. A friend of mine once lamented that ours is a generation of baalei batim lead by baalei batim.

When I thought about our current state of affairs and the grim parallels to the midrash about Menashe, I couldn't help but wonder how we will ever survive. How can the true Torah be resurrected? "Can these bones come to life?" (Yechezkel 37:3). If actual neviim were censored - and, in Yeshayahu's case, murdered - by the wicked leadership in their day, while the Beis ha'Mikdash still stood and the Sanhedrin was still extant and the Mesorah was still intact, what hope do we have?

There is only one source of hope we can draw upon: the prophetic promises of the ultimate geulah, repeated throughout the neviim - especially by Yeshayahu, himself. Were it not for the prophetic assurances of redemption, I would be completely convinced of our impending doom. I am reminded of the famous midrash in Makkos 24b:

Another time they (Rabban Gamliel, R' Elazar ben Azariah, R' Yehoshua, and R' Akiva) were going up together to Yerushalayim. When they reached Har ha'Tzofim they rent their garments. When they reached Har ha'Bayis (the Temple Mount) they saw a fox coming out of the place where the Kodesh ha'Kodashim (Holy of Holies) had been located. They began to cry, but R' Akiva laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" they asked.

"Why are you crying?" R' Akiva retorted.

They answered, "The place about which the Torah says, 'Any foreigner who approaches it shall die' (Bamidbar 1:51) has now foxes treading on it - shouldn't we cry?

Replied R' Akiva, "This is why I am laughing. It was written: 'I appointed trustworthy witnesses for myself: Uriah ha'Kohen and Zechariah ben Yeverechyahu' (Yeshaya 8:2). Now what does Uriah have to do with Zechariah? Uriah lived during the time of the first Mikdash and Zechariah lived during the time of the second Mikdash - and yet, the verse makes the [later] prophecy of Zechariah dependent on the [earlier] prophecy of Uriah! In the [earlier] prophecy in the days of Uriah it says, 'Therefore, because of you, Tzion will be plowed over like a field' (Michah 3:12). In Zechariah it says, 'Thus said Hashem, Master of Legions: "Old men and old women will once again sit in the streets of Yerushalayim"' (Zechariah 8:4). As long as Uriah's prophecy had not been fulfilled, I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah might not be fulfilled; now that Uriah's prophecy has come true, I am sure that Zechariah's prophecy will also come true."

At this they said to him, "Akiva, you have comforted us! Akiva, you have comforted us!"

Perhaps we can draw comfort in a similar manner from the prophecies of Yeshayahu. Yeshayahu prophesied about our nation that "the wisdom of its wise men will be lost, and the understanding of its understanding men will be concealed" (Yeshaya 29:14). We have seen this prophecy unfold over the past two millennia, and it is truer today than it ever was before. But rather than lose hope, we can take solace in the fact that just as Yeshayahu's dire prophecies have come true, so will his prophecies about the ultimate redemption: "They will neither injure nor destroy in all of My holy mountain, for the world will be filled with knowledge of Hashem, like water covering the sea bed" (Isaiah 11:9).

Today is the 10th of Av. On this day, thousands of years ago, the Beis ha'Mikdash was still burning. It continues burning today. May the words of Yeshayahu, and all of the neviim who prophesied about the ultimate redemption, speedily be fulfilled in our days.