Parshat Shemot - Nesivos Shalom
I sometimes study short pieces of Nesivos Shalom. This week I attempted a longer piece. Here is the start of it. This is my translation/adaptation of the ideas he presents in his first essay about Sefer Shemot.
Exile and redemption hold a major place in the Torah and in the Jewish People's reality. it starts at the Brit Bein HaBetarim - The Covenant Between The Pieces. During the first moments of G-d's establishing that the Jewish People will be chosen, G-d tells Avraham that they will be strangers in a strangle land. Before this moment a darkness falls upon Avraham and tradition has it that in the darkness all of the future (4 major) exiles that Avraham's children would go through were revealed to him.
But isn't exile a punishment? So how is it announced before the Jewish People exist to have done anything wrong? And could the positive purpose of the first exile of Egypt be, given that they entered holy, and left on a low level? And why doesn't Avraham pray for his children to not have to go through this exile? After all, he prayed for the wicked people of Sedom to not be destroyed, why didn't he pray for the annulment of this decree against his children? And why do we spend so many years in exile, more than in Israel? What's the broader meaning of exile?
The Magid of Koznitz writes in explanation of the Maharal: The Gemorah says that G-d cries two big tears into the sea when he remembers his children in exile, even before the destruction of The Temple. All was foreseen at the time of creation. Even when all was in a jumble (tohu vavohu) at the start, the time of Mashiach was created.
Within the nature of the world there is another way- meaning that via the Jewish People keeping the Torah the naturally established schedule of things can be changed. All was set at the start of time, yet things can be changed via people's choices. For example the mistake of the first man changed the way things were at first meant to be.
From these words we can learn that exile is set to come, based on the assumption that people will sin, but it can change if people don't sin. But we need to understand still, why exile needs to be a thing set so early on, when G-d first tells Avraham we will be a chosen nation. We believe G-d loves us above all others and chose us. So why exile, why this suffering for so long?
The real answer to exile, is that we don't understand anything G-d created. And yet, we can repeat what others taught- that G-d created the world because it's the nature of the good to give goodness. The highest height and, greatest pleasure we can have, is to connect to the light of G-d in a a lofty spiritual way. We Jews are such a minority in the world, and we suffer so much. We must not mistakenly think that we were chosen in some kind of a physical way. We are a small people chosen to fulfill the purpose of creation, to have G-d dwell on earth, which we create for Him. We were chosen for this spiritual purpose.
The Jewish People are to creation what the soul is to the body. The soul has no physical place in the body and yet it gives life to the body. We are a small part of creation, barely taking up space, but all exists because of us. Our job is to bring light to the world, as a part of G-d, to create for Him a dwelling place on earth. We are the reason why G-d created the world, even though we are such a minority on earth, as the soul is overshadowed by the body...
The Magid of Koznitz writes in explanation of the Maharal: The Gemorah says that G-d cries two big tears into the sea when he remembers his children in exile, even before the destruction of The Temple. All was foreseen at the time of creation. Even when all was in a jumble (tohu vavohu) at the start, the time of Mashiach was created.
Within the nature of the world there is another way- meaning that via the Jewish People keeping the Torah the naturally established schedule of things can be changed. All was set at the start of time, yet things can be changed via people's choices. For example the mistake of the first man changed the way things were at first meant to be.
From these words we can learn that exile is set to come, based on the assumption that people will sin, but it can change if people don't sin. But we need to understand still, why exile needs to be a thing set so early on, when G-d first tells Avraham we will be a chosen nation. We believe G-d loves us above all others and chose us. So why exile, why this suffering for so long?
The real answer to exile, is that we don't understand anything G-d created. And yet, we can repeat what others taught- that G-d created the world because it's the nature of the good to give goodness. The highest height and, greatest pleasure we can have, is to connect to the light of G-d in a a lofty spiritual way. We Jews are such a minority in the world, and we suffer so much. We must not mistakenly think that we were chosen in some kind of a physical way. We are a small people chosen to fulfill the purpose of creation, to have G-d dwell on earth, which we create for Him. We were chosen for this spiritual purpose.
The Jewish People are to creation what the soul is to the body. The soul has no physical place in the body and yet it gives life to the body. We are a small part of creation, barely taking up space, but all exists because of us. Our job is to bring light to the world, as a part of G-d, to create for Him a dwelling place on earth. We are the reason why G-d created the world, even though we are such a minority on earth, as the soul is overshadowed by the body...
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 9:42 PM
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