The Secret Behind Jewish Resilience - Rabbi Asher Weiss

This week we start the story of the other salvation. It is parshas lech lecha. So parshas bereishis, the very first parsha in toras moshe begins with the story of creation. The seven days of creation. Shiv'as y'mei bereishis. And then the story of adam harishon. Noach is about noach. Parshas lech lecha is the beginning of our story. Adam harishon and noach are the story of the world. The story of humankind. Our story starts in this week's parsha. It starts with avraham avinu. And chazal say ein koren avos ela lishlosha. Our forefathers are not noach and not adam harishon. We don't really know much about them. Obviously they were giants. Adam harishon was y'tzir kapav shel hakadosh baruch hu. Noach ish tzadik tamim haya b'dorosav. Our story starts this week. And that is with avraham avinu. Noach is not our father. Adam harishon is not our father. It is the three the big three that are our avos. Ein koren avos ela lishlosha. And in tanna d'vei eliyahu, and just let me give you a brief introduction, what is the sefer tanna d'vei eliyahu? In maseches sukkah daf kuf vav, chazal say that eliyahu hanavi came to learn with one of the great amoraim whose name was rav onan. And that is Torah de Bayit Elyon. Chayev Adam lomar, "Mosai yagi'u ma'asei l'ma'asei avosai?" Every Jew needs to tell himself, or ask himself, "When will I connect and follow in the footsteps of our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov?" Could we b'chlal reach up so high? Could we compare to the greatest giants of yore, to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov? So, Chassidim say in the name of the Rizhiner Tzaddik, Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin, that Chazal actually mean Mosai yagi'u m'rosh negi'ah. Could we touch? Could we touch them? You come to the Kosel Hamaravi, and you touch the wall. It is a certain level of [clears throat] connection, but could we touch the Avos? But anybody familiar in Lashon Hakodesh knows that yig'u and yagi'u are not the same word. And if the Lashon of Torah de Bayit Elyon is Mosai yagi'u, it's not Mosai yig'u. It's a Chassidishe vort, you know, and I belove I love Chassidishe vortlech, but they were never meant to be p'shat, you know? Every Chassidishe vort I say, "Rochak min hap'shat, v'korev el halev." They never intended to give p'shat. And the Rizhiner Rebbe was aware that Mosai yagi'u doesn't mean Mosai yig'u. And I say, that is part of the greatness of the our voice. We could connect. It's not because we could reach that I. It's because they came so low. And they make themselves available. Because they're fathers and we're children. What type of a father is it that is up in the top of a mountain as children can't reach him? So because they are our our voice, the anchor of our voice and the show show. A father needs to make himself available to his children. And a father, it is his duty to enable his children to connect. So it is not our prowess or our power. It is their greatness. And yes, must I ya kill must I the must I our whole time. So the Ramban in his introduction to Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah says, "Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah is called safer I see her." The book of creation. Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah is defined safer go to go to low. The book of exile and redemption. And then the Ramban explains, "Why would Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah be called safer I see her, the book of creation? It is only a very small part of the first part that deals with creation. It's about 20% of Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah dealing with with the way Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah and that that's the end of the story of creation. The Ramban says, "Call Mishnah our voice you see her the burning." Mishnah Mishnah Mishnah is the story of the our voice. The our voice, whatever What did, whatever they said, whatever happened to them is part of our creation. Not the creation of the world, but the creation of the Jewish people. Masa of always not only seem angle bowling. The Hadish of the Ramban is Masa of his yet zero le bony. And this is a thought that a man shares with us throughout the entirety of Hamish Berashis. And the most powerful paragraph is in this week's parasha. When the Ramban says everything about of Rama of you know is about us. And there's a moment of a bastard of cool. When a cold is below who tells of Rama of you know come hit a leg by Aris. The Gamora says could they shut the hay no echo the college. If an able nerve. When a cold is below who tells of Rama of you know take a walk. Take a walk his head of the board is. Tour the land. When a cold is below who walks the walk he gives the core of all all coming generations to conquer Aris is all. You're sure been known. Our story of this generation it is all the core of of Rama of you know when a cold is below who says come is how they come on. And in this week's parasha we learn about the 10 challenges and tests that a cold is below who tested of Rama. And that's a mission in office better care a sore in this year in this nice NASA of Rama of you know. The amount of the core alarm. So the first one is lay color. And then it's >> [clears throat] >> or cause them and then it's war and then it's famine. And then it's physical pain. 90 99 year old person circumcises himself. And the climax, the dramatic climax is Akedah Yitzchak. Why was Avraham Avinu put to test 10 times? And these 10 tests are the entire spectrum of the human condition. The entire spectrum of human emotions. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu tests Avraham, and each of the 10 is unique, and each of the 10 is different than all the others. So, the very first one is Lech Lecha. Uh one of the fathers of modern psychology, and I prefer not to mention goyisha names when I speak in a yeshiva kedosha. One of the fathers of modern psychology, his fundamental axiom in psychology was man is a social being. And that is actually what the holy Amora Rabbah says. Do you remember the story of Choni HaMa'agel in Maseches Ta'anis? He went to sleep for 70 years. Well, the have a a similar story. Mhm. Should I mention or not? Rip Van Winkle went to sleep for 70 years, and he gets up, and he knows no one, and no one knows him. And that's the story Chazal tell about Choni HaMa'agel. And the kids laugh at him, and he's frustrated. And Rabbah says, Im Misusa, Ichavrusa. Either give me friends or give me death. We need friends. We are social beings, and it is a fundamental need of the human condition. And a man, usually people uh are loyal to their country. And sometimes too loyal. Millions of people marched to their death in crazy wars just for their nation, nationality. But a person feels even more connection to his immediate social circle. And that is his moledet. The society in which he was born, the friends in which he was raised, those that grew up together with him. But the most powerful connection is to family. So Kodesh Baruch Hu tells Avraham Avinu, "Lech lecha me'artzecha." Leave your country. U'mimoledetecha. Your birthplace. U'mibeis avicha and go. And Avraham says, "Where am I going?" And Hakodesh Baruch Hu says, "It doesn't matter. Go. Leave." And so he does. So one test added to the other, and each one is unique, and each one is different than all the previous ones. Why? To give us, the Jewish people throughout the generations, the power and the koach of mesirus nefesh. And every test that Avraham Avinu passed gave us the koach and the strength and the resolve and the ability to respond to our challenges throughout the generations. Zera Avraham Ohav Avi. And my time is limited. But we could go through all these nisyonos. So galus, that's Lech Lecha galus. And wandering Jew, the very first wandering Jew was Avraham Avinu. He leaves his home, he leaves his family, he leaves everything behind, and he goes, and he's not even aware what's the destination? Where am I going? And then the Nissan end of Mesiras Nefesh, and then Siyum of Mitzvas Milah. There's an amazing Medrash at the end of this Parsha about Avraham Avinu's circumcision. Levi, the great Amora, says, Avraham Avinu never circumcised himself. He was born whole. He was born perfect. He had no Orlah when he was born. And then Abba bar Kahana responds to what Levi says, and he says, "Shakrano, no, Kazbano. You're a liar." Avraham Avinu might as well have been It's Tayer be Milaso. What made Rab Abba bar Kahana so furious? You disagree? There are two Midrashim in the Yerushalmi, which I quoted in my Sefer, [snorts] in which we find another interaction between Levi and Rab Abba bar Kahana. And in those other sources, Levi said whatever he said in the Torah, only Rab Abba bar Kahana put his Shok on his Rosh. Rab Abba bar Kahana was so moved by Levi's Torah that he kissed his forehead. So, what happened? What got him so angry? And my feeling is that Abba bar Kahana says, "How can you say that Avraham Avinu never circumcised himself? Chazal say the Pasuk Ki Orech Kol Hayom Zeh mayoimze mitzvos milah. And throughout the ages, the Jewish people were moisair nefesh on mitzvos milah. And if Avraham Avinu wasn't moisair nefesh, how do we Where do we get this koach? So, let me share a story with you which I heard from Kli Sheini, a person that heard the story from a moyel. 70 years of Bolshevism and Communism before the Iron Curtain was torn asunder. And it was a grievous crime to circumcise your child under the Communists. And there were mesirus nefesh moyelim that traveled from town to town, from city to city, and they were mal and they circumcised yaldei Yisrael yiddishe kinderlach. And most of them were Lubavitcher Hasidim. And there was this moyel that visited every Jewish town, and usually he arrived once in two or three months. And he had a list of addresses of babies that were born. And the moyel told the story to Preini, and Preini told the story to me. He arrived in our home, and he immediately felt [clears throat] tremendous tension. It was like electricity in the air. He didn't know why. The moment he finished the milah, even before he could bandage the child, the mother, which seemed to me seemed to be totally insane, grabbed the child out of his hands and started kissing him in a frantic, deranged fashion. And after a few moments, she apologized, and she said, "When my baby was born, I had a huge argument with my husband. He didn't want to circumcise our child. We're not observant. Very few people were observant in Russia 70 years ago. And my husband said, "Why? Why Why get into danger? Why risk my safety to circumcise? We're not observant." And the mother said, "My child will have a Bris Kodesh by hook or by crook. It's what my father did, what my grandfather did, what we did for all the ages." And she swore not to kiss her baby until he will be circumcised. And this lady said, "My child is 2 and 1/2 months old. I've been nursing him day and night. Not once did I kiss him because I swore because otherwise I wasn't confident that I'll go through with this." So, the moment he was circumcised, she could no longer control her emotions. She snatched the baby and she kissed him insanely for 2 and 1/2 months. Where does that Mesiras Nefesh come from to push it into simple Jews? If Avraham Avinu wasn't a mal. I think I read many decades ago. Was it in the diary of the Kovno Ghetto? I I'm I'm I'm going to ask somebody to check this out for me maybe in an other diary. I was always very keenly interested in the Holocaust period because I'm a son of survivors and my great Rebbe the Klausenberger Rebbe was the ultimate survivor. So, I read somewhere that under the Nazis, you know, people gathered some in some basement for Milah Seben and someone rushed in that the Nazi policeman are patrolling the town looking for and everybody tried to hide things. And the mother started screaming, "Don't circumcise my baby, because if we are going to die, I want my child to die as a Jew." You know, in their mind, as a Jew means circumcised. Where does this mesiras nefesh come from? So, R. Akiva is furious about what Levi says. You say, "Avraham Avinu knowledge more?" No. Mal atzmoi venitzta'er b'me'iroso. That is the emphasis. Mal atzmoi venitzta'er b'me'iroso. Yes, he suffered. A 99-year-old person that goes through any surgery suffers. And he suffered for us. All the challenges [clears throat] that Avos were for us. And Chazal say, Ma'aseh Avos siman l'vanim. Ma'aseh Avos l'ma'aseh v'sotai. And ma'aseh Avoteinu is primarily mesiras nefesh. Avraham Avinu was challenged 10 times, and he passed each test. And Yitzchak, the ultimate challenge was as much Yitzchak's as Avraham's. And I wrote Minchas Shai, "Who had the greater challenge, Avraham or Yitzchak?" I think it's a machlokes in the Gemara. But in a way, Yitzchak's challenge was far greater than Avraham's. Avraham had revelation. He heard from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. In his mind, there was no room to question anything. This is what Hakadosh Baruch Hu asked me to do. We still couldn't understand the huge mesiras message. How could a father [clears throat] slaughter his own son, his own beloved son? And he had so many questions that drove him mad. I dove into this child. You promised me this child. He asked no questions. But Yitzchak's challenge was far greater. He had no revelation. His father tells him, "This is what Hakadosh Baruchu wants." And not once does he ask, "Abba, are you sure? Doesn't make sense. Doesn't make sense. It would be so natural that Yitzchak tells his father, "You know, please tell Hakadosh Baruchu to talk to me as well. I mean, why did he only talk to you? I am the one that's going to pay a greater price. I'm the one that's going to die and be slaughtered. Could you ask Hakadosh Baruchu to talk to me as well? Yitzchak at least would ask Avraham, "Tell me exactly what you heard. You know, share with me. What exactly did Hakadosh Baruchu say? Maybe he meant something else." No. Yitzchak hears what he hears, and okay. It is what it is. And if this is what Hakadosh Baruchu tells you, we're on the same page. So, in a way, Yitzchak's sacrifice was greater than Avraham's. And it all culminates in the story of Yaakov Avinu. Because Yaakov Avinu was in trouble with Lavan and Yosef. Yaakov Avinu's entire life is one long ongoing challenge and struggle with Esau. He flees Esau and he has to deal with Laban. And in his elderly years, he loses Yosef. And then the brothers come along and they demand Benjamin. And not for one moment did they falter. So, when Chazal say, Chayev Adam l'ima maseh avoseinu maseh avos say. Maseh avos say are great, but the most fundamental thing about the story of the avos is total devotion and total dedication and mesirus nefesh for Hakadosh Baruch. Rashi writes, and there's an interesting comment. When the Mishna perek maseches avos say Sodam nisyanos nisnasah Avraham Avinu ve'amad bakulam. Velo hirher acharei midosav shel Hakadosh Baruch. And it's interesting, how does Rashi know this this is in addition? The Mishna says, Amad bakulam. He passed the test. But Rashi adds on, Velo hirher acharei midosav shel Hakadosh Baruch. It is um not only that he did what he was told to do, he fulfilled what Hakadosh Baruch demanded. He didn't question Hakadosh Baruch. Many years ago, in a private conversation, it wasn't said in public. Private conversation I had with my greater Rebbe, with the Klausenburger Rebbe. And he was the ultimate survivor. In the Holocaust, he lost his wife and all his 11 children. He had 11 children. And not one of them was spared. His oldest son, his name was Lipa. And he was a ilui. He was the apple of his father's eye. And his father, the Klausenburger Rebbe, was so proud of him. He was about to get engaged before the Nazis stormed into Hungary. And I heard this father, not from my Rebbe, but from a godol be soul who was supposed to be his machuten, the father-in-law of Lipa. Reb Hershel Meislish was the rav in Waitzen before the war. He survived the war and established a kehilla in Chicago. And he was a godol be soul and I had a relationship with him. And I was amazed to hear this story. He says they were about to close a shidduch. The daughter of the Waitzener Dayan, Reb Hershel Meislish, to get engaged to the son of the Klausenburger Rebbe, Lipa. And then the Rebbe said, "You know, everything is so tense. It's not a time for simchas. Let's wait till it's over." And they really thought it's going to be over soon. So they decided to do the tenoyim, to do the vort, when things will calm down. A week later, the Nazis stormed into Hungary. And by the time it was over, a million Hungarian Jews went up in smoke. And one of those million was Lipa. The husband. And the Beis Yisrael [clears throat] of Eisenstadt survived, and his daughter survived. And he heard the Klausenburger Rebbe was in Făgăraș. And he rushed to Făgăraș. And he came into the Klausenburger Rebbe. And the first question the Rebbe asked him, I apologize for becoming emotional. And the Rebbe asked him, "Did your daughter survive?" And he said, "Yes." "What about Lipa?" And he said, "No." He survived the war. And he died from typhus 2 weeks later. And they broke out crying. The Rebbe said, "Who knows? Maybe if we would do the shidduch a year and a half ago, maybe in the combined schutz of both of them, Lipa would have survived." So, who knows? But I heard from the Klausenburger Rebbe in the private conversation, "Not for one moment was I meharer acharei midos of Shelah Kodesh Baruch Hu." And uh I remember, when I heard those words, I really was trembling. And every time I tell the story, I feel the same. So, this is a person like Eof. Eof did sacrifice 11 kids. And he said not for one moment that I question God's ways. And that was the greatness of Abraham Avinu. Rashi writes So, this is not so Abraham Avinu passed the test passed the test. But at the [clears throat] end of the day, he went home with Yitzchak. Because he didn't. So, obviously this great Sadiq could say Moshe I give you my say to my say I will die. And that is the main the main and the central my say I will die. And how could one reach so high? It is because they reached so low. And my say you see the burning. And yes, they gave us the strength to pass all the tests the destiny has for us. All the tests that are going to be all who planned [clears throat] out for all these all throughout the ages. >> [snorts] >> So, let us hope that we could say Moshe I give you my say to my say I will say at least according to the interpretation of the original Sadiq, we should be able to touch to touch their their and to be inspired by their greatness. So, as we start to learn Maseches Avos in Parshas Lech Lecha, and for 3 months we will be busy with Maseches Avos, we should be zocheh to be able to say "Maaseh Avos siman l'vanim." Maaseh Avotai. And when we follow in their footsteps, kol haholech b'darkei Avos, as I'll say, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will remember for us chus Avos and chasdei Avos and bris Avos, and we should be zocheh biglal Avos to shia bonim v'sadiq g'ulah l'vnei v'neihem b'meheira v'yameinu, amen. >> Thank you for listening to this awesome [music] Ohr production. To find out more and to partner in our mission, please [music] visit ohr.edu.