What is the meaning of this mysterious saying?
It does not chas veshalom speak of äååàâ.
R' Shimon bar Yochai and his
son R' Eliezer were hidden in a cave for seven years.
They were hidden
not only from the Roman authorities, but even from their own
brethren. No
one knew of their greatness. No one knew in what they were
involved. For
seven years, without seeing the light of the day, they were engaged
in
writing the Zohar .
The meaning of Zohar is light.
What kind of light?
Spiritual light. Light that will reflect, refract and defract
upon the whole
Jewish people, and indirectly upon the whole world.
Whenever I think of my brother R' Yoshe-Ber z"l, I cannot help but think
of
my father R' Moshe z"l, because my brother R' Yoshe Ber and my
father R'
Moshe had one neshama , one soul, one mind, one heart. When they
were
mechadesh chiddushei Torah , they were mechadesh together.
I do not
know of any parallel in the history of ìàøùé
éìåãâ.
The only other one I can think of is R' Akiva Eiger and
R' Shlomo Eiger.
These two, also, were mechadesh chiddushei Torah
not in monologue
but in dialogue. R' Akiva Eiger constantly mentions
äîìù 'ø éðá, my son
R' Shlomo, in his chiddushim. When R' Shlomo Eiger writes
a dvar Torah
he writes øâéà àáé÷ò
'ø éøåî éáà.
There is one difference. R' Shlomo Eiger and R' Akiva
Eiger had one
neshama , one mind, one heart. However, they were not hidden
in a cave.
.
R' Yoshe Ber and R' Moshe, äëøáì íðåøëæ,
were hidden in a cave.
They hidden from everyone, from their own thousands of talmidim.
R'
Moshe and R' Yoshe Ber were Roshei Yeshiva in Yeshivas Rav Yitzchok
Elchonon from 1929 until 1993, but the two were not
really known. They
were not revealed. They tried to hide, to conceal their
Torah.
People say there is a tradition in Brisk not to publish Torah.
It is true. Why is it?
It is not that it is a tradition in Brisk not to publish Torah.
It is a tradition
grounded in the fact that the Zohar cannot be revealed
the moment it is
reflected. It must go through a threefold process, known
in physics as
reflection, refraction, and defraction.
R' Chaim in Volozhin and his father the Bais Halevi, as well as
his
grandfather R' Itzeleh and R' Chaim Volozhiner had a relatively
simple
task - to reflect the Torah. Their task was to transmit
the Torah given at
Sinai by reflecting it to all the corners of the earth.
Reflection is possible when there is one medium. In Volozhin,
in Brisk
there was one medium through which the rays of light of Torah
were able
to penetrate. There was no neccesity to have recourse
to the process of
refraction.
Refraction means the bending of the rays. When the rays of the
sun have
to change their direction from one medium into another, from
the medium
of pure air into the medium of water, of rain, refraction occurs.
There is a
bending of the rays, but no breaking off of the rays.
ïðòá éúúð éúù÷ úà
This was the covenant between the ò"ùáø
and the human race. Every
covenant is coupled with a symbol. What was the symbol
that expressed
this covenant? It is the rainbow.
When does a rainbow occur?
The sky is overcast with clouds. It begins to rain. It continues
to pour.
Then, all of a sudden, the sun comes out. The sunlight
is not only required
to change its media, but it has to manipulate, to defract into
its numerous
and multifarious components called the spectrum of colors.
We see the äãåáò ìòá
describing the Kohain Gadol -
ïäë äàøî ,ïðòä
êåúá úù÷ä úåîãë
The Kohain Gadol was the spiritual leader of ìàøùé
ììë and indirectly of
all humanity. He was ììôúî
for íéîùâ which is the economy.
He was
ììôúî for spiritual light for
the whole Jewish people. How could he do it?
The Kohain Gadol had to resort to the spectrum of colors and
had to break
off into the numerous and multifarious colors.
In R' Chaim's days, in the Bais HaLevi's days, in the Netziv's days,
in R'
Elya Prushiner's days, in R' Itzeleh Volozhiner's days, in R'
Chaim
Volozhiner's days the way to shed light was relatively simple.
All that there
was to do was to explain the äøåúä
éðéðò.
When R' Moshe came to the United States, he had to penetrate the
äøåúof Brisk into students who were
living in a different medium. They
were living in a medium of Torah and chochmas haolam.
It was not easy for my father R' Moshe to explain concepts of
úåøèù and
concepts of äçðä êøåö
äøé÷ò. My father used to tell me, when
I give a
shiur on áåø and ä÷æç
it is so simple. I do not have to explain it ten times.
But when I give a shiur on äçðä êøåö
äøé÷ò or on úåøèù,
íéãò
ïéã úéáá íúåãò
äø÷çð éîë äùòð
øèùä ìò íéîåúçä,
that an ordinary
piece of paper testifies everything, as the gemara in úåáåúë
explains, I
have to explain it several times. I have to prepare how to explain
it,
because the students in Yeshivas Rav Yitzchok Elchonon were raised
in a
different medium; they cannot grasp concepts of úåøèù
, of êøåö äøé÷ò.
äçðä They can grasp áåø,
ä÷æç and à÷éôñ
÷ôñ. This is a very simple
technique. Every judge can understand it, but not the concept
of úåøèù.
This was a most difficult challenge, but he fulfilled this function
of
defraction, of breaking off the rays of the Torah into its numerous
component colors gloriously and successfully.
ïäë äàøî ,ïðòä êåúá úù÷ä úåîãë
åì àåä íéðå÷æ ïá éë åéðá ìëî óñåé úà áäà ìàøùéå
What is the meaning of íéðå÷æ ïá?
One explanation is that he was born in the old age of Yaakov Avinu.
The other pshat is íéëç ïá
äéäù - he was a very wise son, in the sense of
äîëç äð÷ù éî
àìà ï÷æ ïéà .
Yosef HaTzaddik was ìá÷î the whole Torah
that Yaakov received and learned in the Bais Medrash of Shem
veEiver.
íéñô úðúë åì äùòå
In order to symbolize Yaakov's preference for Yosef, he made for him
a
striped and colorful shirt.
åéçà ìëî íäéáà áäà åúà éë åéçà åàøéå
His brothers saw that Yaakov Avinu, their father, loved Yosef more than
any one of them.
åúà åàðùéå
- In all the English translations, it is translated - and they hated
him. This is a very inaccurate translation. Even
disliked is a very
inaccurate translation. In my opinion, it means
that they resented him,
not that they hated him, íåìùå
ñç. They did not dislike him, íåìùå
ñç,
but they resented him because they loved him and they wanted
Yosef to
be one of them. But they felt that he was superior to them.
It was not
because they did not have that potential. They had the
same potential as
Yosef, but Yosef worked constantly to galvanize his potential.
They did not
and they were jealous.
Jealously is not grounded in hatred. Sometimes it is conducive
to hatred.
Jealousy is grounded in not being ready to do what the other
person does.
One does his utmost in order to galvanize his potential, and
the others do
not.
íìùì åøáã åìëé
àìå - They resented him so much, they could
not even
talk peacefully to him.
åéçàì ãâéå
- He did not tell his father Yaakov this dream. He only told his
father his second dream.
Yosef dreamt two dreams. The first dream was -
äðäå äáöð íâå
éúîìà äî÷ äðäå
äãùä êåúá íéîìà
íéîìàî åðçðà
äðäå
éúîìàì ïéåçúùúå
íëéúîìà äðéáñú
. His older brothers were standing in
the field and binding sheaves. Yosef was also binding his
sheaves.
Suddenly, their sheaves started to encircle and walk around the
sheaf of
Yosef. They then bowed down to Yosef's sheaf.
This was one dream.
The second dream was the more glorious dream, the more spiritual
dream:
éì íéåçúùî
íéáëåë øùò ãçàå
çøéäå ùîùä
äðäå
Yaakov and Leah and the brothers of Yosef were all bowing
down to óñåé
÷éãöä.
This was a very strange dream. He told this dream to his father
Yaakov
and Yaakov rebuked him.
But..
øáãä úà øîù
åéáàå Yaakov was convinced that
this was not an ordinary
dream of åøáãé àåù
úåîåìç, but that this was a prophetic
dream that was
destined to be fulfilled.
Yaakov Avinu was also a dreamer.
íéìò íé÷ìà
éëàìî äðäå äîéîùä
òéâî åùàøå äöøà
áöî íìñ äðäå
íìçéå
åá íéãøéå
A ladder set up on earth, on concrete ground, and its top reached up
to
heaven.
Yaakov Avinu dreamt one dream containing the two components of íéîù
and of õøà. Everyone with whom Yaakov
Avinu mingled was convinced of
the heritage of Avraham and Yitzchak. One dream of a
äöøà áöî íìñ
äîéîùä òéâî
åùàøå was enough.
Yosef dreamt of the day that he would go to Egypt and become prime
minister of pagan Egypt. If he were to talk to the
heathens of a äîéîùä òéâî
åùàøå äöøà áöî
íìñ they would consider him
crazy. They had no concept of äîéîù.
They had only a concept of äöøà .
Yosef had to analyze his father Yaakov's dream into two dreams.
Reb Chaim himself was criticized by many Gedolim who recognized that
Reb Chaim's Torah is the äøåú ìù
äúîà . They criticized him by calling
him "der kemiker", the chemist. Reb Chaim also discovered
there are two
halochos, two dinim. They felt there was always only one.
They resented
him.
The brothers of Yosef also resented Yosef because he dreamt two
dreams. But in the days of Yosef, in the pagan world, in
Egypt, when
everything, even the birds absorbed pagan values, Yosef had to
dream two
dreams.
It is not a secret and I am not criticizing any Roshei Yeshiva,
but it is
known that the Roshei Yeshiva in America alienated themselves
from Reb
Yoshe Ber.
Why? What did Reb Yoshe Ber do? He gave shiurim in Halacha five
hours as no other Rosh Yeshiva ever did. Not only that,
but he also gave
lectures in philosophy, in Chovos Halevovos, in Kuzari,
in Moreh
Nevuchim.
That they could not do. They could not do it because they did not know
how
to break the rays of the Torah into its various spectrum colors.
So they
resented him, to the extent that chiddushei Torah that
they heard, liked
and enjoyed, realizing that these chiddushim shed light on
certain úåéâåñ in
Shas, were published in the name of Reb Chaim, not even
in the name of
my father R' Moshe ì"æ.
I am not criticizing them. If I would have been one of them, I
probably
would have behaved the same way. åîå÷îì
òéâúù ãò êøáç
úà ïéãú ìà
.
óñåé úøåô ïá - Yosef is a fruitful bough.
ïéò éìò úøåô ïá - a fruiful bough whose branches hang over the well.
íéöç éìòá åäîèùéå
- the archers. Who were the archers? Not the
Egyptians, but his own brothers, to whom he was so close, were
the
archers who, sincerely, íéîù íùì,
shot arrows against Yosef. The
archers fiercely attacked him and shot at him and reached him,
but his bow
abowed in strength did not fail..
úçú úöáø íåäú
úëøá ìòî íéîù
úëøá êëøáéå
éã-ù úàå êøæòéå
êéáà ì-àî
íçøå íéãù
úëøá
Yosef was endowed with all the genes he inherited from his father Yaakov
and the genes he inherited from his mother Rochel. Together
with the milk
Yosef as a child sucked from Rochel, he also sucked concepts
of
kedusha, concepts of chesed .
The brothers of Yosef resented this.
So it was with my brother Reb Yoshe Ber. The ò"ùáø
blessed him with all
the genes of his father R' Moshe, and his grandfather R' Chaim,
his great
ancestors, the Bais HaLevi, the Netziv, R' Chaim Volozhiner.
He was
blessed with all the genes of my mother, äëøáì
äðåøëæ, of Reb Elya
Prushiner, and that is why he was zocheh to become the
ìë ùàø
äçôùîä.
R' Itzeleh Volozhiner explained that ì"æç do not
say that it was to the credit
of the äðåäë éçøô.
It was indeed to their discredit. That was the biggest
blunder that the äðåäë éçøô
had made. If they had not thrown the keys into
the fire, then in a short time, with the required effort, they
would have been
able to rebuild the Bais HaMikdash.
Do not repeat that blunder.
I tell now all the bnei Torah, not only those assembled here, but bnei
Torah
all over the United States, and Canada and in ìàøùé
õøà, don't repeat
that mistake. Do not throw away the keys of the èòî
ùã÷î úéá of the
teachings of my brother R' Yoshe Ber. Do not throw the keys into
the fire.
Keep the keys and rebuild the gates of this èòî
ùã÷î úéá.
Let us hope that we shall be privileged to see the day of the ultimate
ïéðá
ùã÷îä úéá
.
íéðô ìë ìòî äòîã 'ä 'ã äçîå
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