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Harav Hagaon Elimelech Reznick Shlita

A Matter of Evaluation

Parashas Toldos

Hagaon Harav Elimelech Reznick

The passuk says in the parashah regarding the sale of the bechorah:

וְיַעֲקֹב נָתַן לְעֵשָׂו לֶחֶם וּנְזִיד עֲדָשִׁים וַיֹּאכַל וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלַךְ וַיִּבֶז עֵשָׂו אֶת הַבְּכֹרָה.

The gemara in Bava Basra derives from this passuk that on that day Eisav transgressed five aveiros: adultery, murder, denying Hashem’s existence, denying techiyas hameisim, and disgracing the bechorah.

In Mishnas Rav Aharon, Rav Aharon Kotler – whose yahrtzeit is next week, on 2 Kislev – points out something interesting. Of these five severe sins, if you would ask us which is the least significant aveirah, we would say it’s disgracing the bechorah. Yet the passuk alludes to the four seemingly more severe aveiros merely through a remez, while mentioning only one aveirah explicitly– that of וַיִּבֶז עֵשָׂו אֶת הַבְּכֹרָה. How can it be that the lightest aveirah is the only one the Torah specifies?

Rav Aharon answers with an incredible insight. Disgracing the bechorah was actually the worst of the five sins, because it was the shoresh of all the other sins. Eisav’s entire wickedness is an outgrowth of his bizayon of the bechorah, of the whole concept of avodas Hashem and all matters of ruchniyus.

Eisav grew up in the homes of the Avos. His grandfather was Avraham, his father was Yitzchak, and his brother was Yaakov. How can it be that the Avos weren’t mashpia on Eisav? How did an Eisav come out of such a home? It’s because he didn’t have a chashivus for avodas Hashem and for matters of ruchniyus. Yaakov, in contrast, was אִישׁ תָּם ישֵׁב אֹהָלִים. The only business deals we find Yaakov involved in are the purchase of the bechorah from Eisav in this week’s parashah, and later his purchase of a portion Me’aras Hamachpeilah with the gold and silver that he earned in Chutz Laaretz. That was Yaakov’s “business”: buying mitzvos, buying ruchniyus.

(Parenthetically, the Chasam Sofer writes that there was amazing Hashgachah Pratis involved in Yaakov’s purchase of the bechorah. Yaakov didn’t work; he didn’t have a parnassah. He sat and learned. How, then, could Hakadosh Baruch Hu arrange for him to buy the bechorah from Eisav? Had he asked Eisav if he could buy it, Eisav would have charged him billions of dollars. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu arranged that the sale of the bechorah happened on the day that Avraham died. The halachah is that when one makes a seudas havraah for mourners, the food has to be owned by others. Yaakov didn’t have a penny to his name, but ownership of the נזיד עדשים was transferred to him so that it should be his. That was the first stroke of Hashgachah. The second was that on that day, Eisav came in from the field famished, practically dying of hunger, and he was willing to give up anything for a bit of food. Hashem orchestrated that Yaakov had the resources to buy the bechorah on the very day that Eisav was willing to sell it.)

Getting back to Rav Aharon’s insight that the shoresh of Eisav’s aveiros was his contempt of the bechorah, Rav Aharon learns from here that the measure of a person is his values: Is he machshiv Torah and mitzvos, or is he machshiv other things? A person’s values are his mahus – they’re who he is.

How Much Is the Mitzvah Worth to You?

Furthermore, the Haflaah says in his hakdamah to Maseches Kesubos that the s’char a person receives for a mitzvah is proportional to how much he values that mitzvah. The Haflaah cites a story from the gemara in Chullin: Someone slaughtered an animal, and another person ran and did kisui hadam, in effect “stealing” the mitzvah. Beis din fined the “thief” 10 zehuvim. Asks the Haflaah, on what basis did beis din decide that the mitzvah was worth 10 zehuvim? After all, the mishnah in Avos says specifically that we don’t know the value of mitzvos, and we should therefore be carefully with every mitzvah, whether “major” or “minor”: הֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְּבַחֲמוּרָה, שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל מִצְוֹת.

The Haflaah answers that had the person who lost the mitzvah argued that the mitzvah was worth more than 10 zehuvim, beis din would have increased the penalty. Since he

was willing to accept that amount, that’s how much the mitzvah was worth. The value of a mitzvah is measured by how much it’s worth to you.

There seems to be a contradiction in the mishnah itself, because immediately after telling us that we don’t know the s’char of the mitzvos, the mishnah instructs us to calculate the s’char of a mitzvah against its loss: וֶהֱוֵי מְחַשֵּׁב הֶפְסֵד מִצְוָה כְּנֶגֶד שְׂכָרָהּ, ושְׂכַר עֲבֵרָה כְּנֶגֶד הֶפְסֵדָהּ. If we don’t know the s’char of mitzvos, how can we calculate it?

The Haflaah explains that of course we don’t know the s’char of a mitzvah; when the mishnah tells us to calculate the s’char, it means: how much are you willing to give up for this mitzvah?

For instance, how much would it take for you to miss a learning seder? If you can save 50 shekel, or even $200, by missing seder, would you do it? If so, then that’s how much the seder is worth to you. On the other hand, if you have an opportunity to earn money, or have a great time, and you’re willing to pass on it for the sake of your learning, the s’char of your limud haTorah automatically goes up.

The same is true with davening. If a person is willing to leave davening early, or come to davening late, to take care of something trivial, then that’s how much his davening is worth, and that’s how much the tefillah will be accomplish for him. The value of the mitzvah is proportionate to how much we’re machshiv it.

When “Day of Death” Doesn’t Work

On the passuk: הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ לָמוּת וְלָמָּה זֶּה לִי בְּכֹרָה, the Lev Eliyahu asks an interesting question. The gemara states:

לעולם ירגיז אדם יצר טוב על יצר הרע, שנאמר רגזו ואל תחטאו. אם נצחו מוטב, ואם לאו, יעסוק בתורה, שנאמר אמרו בלבבכם. אם נצחו מוטב, ואם לאו, יקרא קריאת שמע, שנאמר על משכבכם. אם נצחו מוטב, ואם לאו, יזכור לו יום המיתה שנאמר ודומו סלה.

The gemara gives several strategies for conquering the yetzer hara, last of which is reminding oneself of the day he will die. Thinking about yom hamisah reminds a person that he won’t live forever, that the taavos and temptations of Olam Hazeh are not worth anything, and that he has to chap arein in this world so that he can earn Olam Haba.

This strategy is apparently foolproof, for no others follow it in the gemara. Its effectiveness notwithstanding, it is a last resort, because thought of yom hamisah can lead a person to depression. Therefore, a person should first try other methods of conquering the yetzer hara, resorting to this extreme method only if all else fails.

Why, asks Rav Elya, didn’t Eisav’s mention of yom hamisah – הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ לָמוּת – prevent him from selling the bechorah for some food? Isn’t remembering yom hamisah the most foolproof way of conquering the yetzer hara?

Rav Elya answers that the effect of remembering yom hamisah doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it has to be preceded by a haarachah for Torah and mitzvos. If a person has his values straight, then when the yetzer hara tries to confuse him by giving him a nisayon to abandon Torah and mitzvos, he can remind himself of yom hamisah and thereby propel himself to remain true to his values. But for someone like Eisav, who was machshiv eating and drinking and had no respect for the bechorah, the thought of yom hamisah accomplished just the opposite – it propelled him to rededicate himself to the physical indulgence that he valued.

With this in mind, we can understand the words we say on Shabbos, in the tefillah of הכל יודוך:

אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לְךָ. וְאֵין זוּלָתֶךָ. אֶפֶס בִּלְתֶּךָ וּמִי דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ. אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לְךָ ה’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְאֵין זוּלָתְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. אֶפֶס בִּלְתְּךָ גּוֹאֲלֵנוּ לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ. וְאֵין דּוֹמֶה לְּךָ מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ לִתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים.

When we talk about Olam Hazeh, we say: אֵין עֲרוֹךְ לְךָ ה’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, rather than saying אֵין זוּלָתְךָ or אֵין דּוֹמֶה לְּךָ, because in Olam Hazeh there are other things besides ruchniyus; there’s a lot of gashmiyus. Olam Hazeh is a world of ערך, value – we have to be maarich Torah, tefillah, ruchniyus, avodas Hashem, and downplay the value of everything else that we see here in this world. In Olam Haba, we’re not going to have to sayאֵין עֲרוֹךְ לְךָ , because there is nothing else. But here in Olam Hazeh, our avodah is to strengthen our value of ruchniyus.

Chizzuk in Times of Hester

It’s hard for me to speak about what happened this week. This Tuesday was a very difficult day for Klal Yisrael, for bnei Torah all over the world, especially in Eretz Yisrael. Four Yidden were brutally murdered by Arabs in their tallis and tefillin in middle of Shemoneh Esrei. Any time a Yid is killed it’s a tragedy, but this time it really hit home. There’s no doubt that these four Yidden who were killed were korbanos for the tzibbur. I knew each one of them personally – they were tzaddikim, baalei chessed, masmidim, lomdei Torah, ohavei Torah one after the other. They are korbanos to be mechaper on the tzibbur, on the sins of the generation.

Rav Shmuel Auerbach said in his hesped on Rav Moshe Twersky zt”l that אין קרבן בלא תשובה – a korban is not mechaper without teshuvah. That obligates us to do teshuvah.

The Chasam Sofer says that Avraham Avinu said to the Eibishter: חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע. What does the word “chalilah” mean? Rashi says it’s from the word chullin. When a tzaddik dies, he’s mechaper, he becomes a korban, and that’s his kedushah. Avraham said to Hashem: If You are going to kill the tzaddikim with the reshaim, then the tzaddikim will not bring about any kapparah for the reshaim, because the reshaim are being punished. In that sense, the death of the tzaddikim is chullin. Either kill only the reshaim, Avraham was saying, or only the tzaddikim, so they should be a kapparah. We see from here that the death of tzaddikim is a kapparah for the tzibbur – but in order to earn that kapparah, we need to do teshuvah.

Rav Aryeh Finkel said that of course, Hashem’s ways are hidden, and הִסְתַּרְתָּ פָנֶיךָ הָיִיתִי נִבְהָל, when there’s a hester, it brings behalah. Kal v’chomer when there’s such aהסתר בתוך הסתר, in middle of a beis midrash, in middle of Shemoneh Esrei. It’s hard to absorb such a tragedy. We don’t know the cheshbonos of the Eibishter, but there’s one thing that’s clear: the Eibishter is sending us a message of hisorerus. We can read the papers from today till tomorrow and see all the news, all the commentary about this being part of a greater conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. But if we come out of this tragedy with that message, we missed the boat. Rabbosai, none of the papers are going to have the message.

On the words: וְלָמָּה זֶּה לִי בְּכֹרָה, the gemara explains that the word זֶה refers to Hashem, as in זֶה קֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ; with these words, Eisav was denying Hashem’s existence. The word זֶה implies something that is visible and obvious, something you can point to with a finger, such as the menorah that Hashem showed Moshe, or the manifestation of Hashem at Krias Yam Suf, when even a maidservant was able to point and say זֶה קֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ.

Elsewhere in Mishnas Rav Aharon, Rav Aharon asks, why is the word זֶה used to refer to Eisav’s being כופר בעיקר? What was Eisav pointing to?

Had Eisav wanted to recognize Hashem, Hashem’s presence would have been plainly obvious to him. After all, he lived in Yitzchak’s house. But he didn’t want to see it; he wasn’t machshiv it.

There are times when a message is there, for those who think about it and contemplate. It’s זֶה. But a person can be confused and go away with other messages – about what the Israelis should be doing, how to successfully fight the Arabs, what the causes of the conflict are and are not.

Certainly, the Eibishter is sending us a message; we need the gedolim to explain why. Rav Aharon Leib said it’s a time to strengthen ourselves in tefillah and Torah and gemilus chassadim, and Rav Aryeh Finkel said in his shmuess that if it happened in a shul, we should strengthen ourselves specifically in kedushas beis haknesses and beis hamidrash. We can add that not only should we conduct ourselves in a way that befits kedushas beis haknesses, but we should also strengthen our chashivus for tefillah.

If Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent tragedy into the beis haknesses, אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל, then that’s the place where we need chizuk, to be machshiv it. A person can come to davening ten minutes late and leave davening 20 minutes early because he’s in a rush – he might be in shul for Shacharis for only 15 minutes. If we were machshiv it, it would change our whole davening, our whole attitude to talking during davening, our whole attitude to our limud haTorah. Not to have bittul Torah during our sedarim, but to be machshiv it that it should be kodesh kodashim.

Torah and tefillah are מגני ומצלי – they shield and protect – but, as Rav Chatzkel said, in order for something to afford protection, you have to be machshiv it. He brought proof from Dovid Hamelech, who could not be warmed by clothing at the end of his life since he had shown disrespect to clothing on one occasion. Something you don’t value doesn’t protect you. The same is true with Torah and tefillah – they protect us to the extent that we are machshiv them.

Even within the terrible hester there’s unbelievable Hashgachah  Pratis – in both directions. One of the Yidden who was killed never davened in that minyan; he had a minyan kavua at netz in a different shul in a different part of the neighborhood. On Tuesday he wanted to ask the rav a shailah, so he decided to go to the 6:30 minyan. Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent him there. Another avreich in yeshiva who davens in that shul every day woke up late on Tuesday. He didn’t know why he woke up late. Of course, there was a Hashgachah who and where and how. We don’t know the cheshbonos, but we do know that the gemara says that when children are taken from us, when tzaddikim are taken from us, it’s due to the sins of the generation.

We should all be zocheh to strengthen our chashivus for learning, for davening; the chashivus of beis midrash and beis knesses; and we should be zocheh to share simchos and besuros tovos.

Gut Shabbos.

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