לקוטי שיחות חלק ט״ו - וירא ג

Parshas Vayeira

1. On the verse^[1] “And he called there in the name of G‑d, the G‑d of the world,” the Gemara^[2] says: “Do not read vayikra (‘he called’) but vayakri (‘he caused to call’). This teaches that Avraham our father caused the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to be called out by the mouth of every passerby. How so? After they had eaten and drunk, they stood up to bless him. He said to them: ‘Did you eat of mine? You ate of that which belongs to the G‑d of the world!’ They would then thank, praise and bless Him Who spoke and the world came into being.”^[3]

The Midrash^[4] adds that from those^[5] who, after eating, did not want to bless “Him Who spoke and the world came into being,” Avraham demanded payment of a large sum for what they had eaten and drunk (explaining that it was worth paying so much, since in the desert no food is to be found, etc.); and hearing that such a large sum was being demanded of them, they gave in and said, “Blessed is the G‑d of the world, of Whose we have eaten.”

On the simple level it emerges that their saying afterwards “Blessed is the G‑d of the world…” was done for lack of choice (so that they would not have to pay),^[6] and not because they agreed in their hearts to bless — and this is puzzling:

It is understandable that with those whom Avraham brought to bless the A-lmighty of their own good will, he thereby accomplished “causing … the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to be called out.” But those whom he forced to bless — what was the benefit of their saying (once — at Avraham’s) “Blessed is the G‑d of the world…”? How can one say that he thereby publicized the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world, when they lacked recognition of the Creator of the world?

Were we speaking of a Jew, the ruling of the Rambam^[7] is well known: even when a person is coerced to perform a mitzvah (or “to distance himself from transgressions”), it is considered “willing” — because “he wants to be part of the Jewish people, and he wants to perform all the mitzvos and to distance himself from transgressions; it is only his inclination that has overpowered him. Therefore, once he has been beaten until his inclination has weakened and he says ‘I am willing,’ he has divorced willingly.” That is, in his essence and in the inner core of his soul a Jew wants to fulfill the mitzvos, and his not wanting is only an external matter; consequently the coercion accomplishes that the external opposition stemming from the inclination is nullified, and his saying “I am willing” comes from the (revealed) will of the Jew.

This is not so, however, with “every passerby.”^[7*]

2. The Yefeh To’ar^[8] says about this that “although it may be that they were lying to him and spoke such words to him under duress, nevertheless Avraham did this only to discharge his obligation toward G‑d; and if they deceived him, the sin rests upon them and not upon him.”

This requires explanation: a) If they “deceived him” and “were lying to him” — what did he accomplish by it? b) And mainly — it is altogether difficult to say that Avraham did it only to discharge his obligation, while in practice it may have been a case of “they deceived him”^[9] — for the Midrash says elsewhere^[10] that because of this conduct (that “every passerby” said “Blessed is the G‑d of the world, of Whose we have eaten”) the A-lmighty said, “I will regard you as though you were My partner in the creation of the world,” and “My name was not known to My creatures, and you made Me known among My creatures.” From this it is understood that he thereby brought about in them a recognition of the Creator of the world (and that is why he is like a partner in the creation of the world)^[11] — and we do not find any distinction made, that this was said only of those upon whom he had an effect without any pressure, etc.^[12]

3. This will be understood by first noting that we find yet another way in which true will is revealed through “beating” and “weakening of the inclination”: the inner will comes out not only in saying “I am willing” — which outwardly and overtly is a coerced statement — but it (the inner will) has a revealed effect upon his external will^[12*] —

as we find^[13] in the episode of the spies: at first they had said, “For he is stronger than us — do not read ‘than us’…,”^[13*] “and the people wept… and they said… let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt”; and through “and Moshe spoke” — striking them with harsh words — “the people mourned greatly,” and they said, “Here we are; we will go up to the place of which G‑d spoke.”

— This also explains the statement of the Mishnah:^[14] “Each and every day a heavenly voice goes forth from Mount Chorev, proclaiming and saying: ‘Woe to the creatures because of the insult to the Torah, for whoever does not occupy himself with Torah is called rebuked…’”

— For at first glance this is puzzling: the purpose of the heavenly voice is to arouse Jews to occupy themselves with Torah; seemingly, then, the proclamation should have spoken (mainly) about the preciousness and the virtues of Torah study, etc. Why does it emphasize only the deficiency of not learning: “Woe to the creatures because of the insult to the Torah…”?

[Especially since the heavenly voice is aimed (also) at the kind of Jews who are called “creatures” (“Woe to the creatures…”) — as the Alter Rebbe^[15] explains it, as referring to “those who are far from the Torah of G‑d and His service, and are therefore called by the name ‘creatures’ alone,” i.e., their only virtue is that they were created by the A-lmighty — so that they too should occupy themselves with Torah. How, then, can it be that the proclamation “Woe to the creatures because of the insult…” (without explaining the preciousness and virtue of Torah study) should be enough to have an effect on such Jews?]

The explanation is: since every Jew has a G‑dly soul (which wants to fulfill all the mitzvos), and moreover, in the inner core of a Jew there are the “precious treasures” (of faith in G‑d and love of G‑d — the root of all 248 positive commandments),^[16] he does not need explanations about the great loftiness of Torah: one need only call forth his inner core so that it comes into revelation, and he will then occupy himself with Torah as a matter of course.

Were he not on the level of “creatures,” it would be possible to reveal his “precious treasures” through “revealing light” (by emphasizing the preciousness of Torah and the like). Since, however, he is on the level of “creatures” — because of his materiality and coarseness the light of the soul cannot shine in his revealed powers — one must remove, break, his materiality that covers over the light of the soul. And this removal is accomplished through the proclamation and the “rebuke” — “Woe to the creatures… for whoever does not occupy himself with Torah is called rebuked…”^[17]

4. However, this manner of breaking through the proclamation of the heavenly voice applies to the kind of Jew who is able to sense that his spiritual lowliness comes from his causing “insult to the Torah” — that even in his present state (in which materiality and coarseness conceal the light of the soul) he senses, and is affected by, a spiritual matter that comes from the soul. It follows that the “rebuke” and the breaking of the materiality is (not entirely a matter of breaking, but) a means of calling forth his inner core from concealment into revelation.^[18]

There is, however, an even lower case: one who is in such a lowly state that no spiritual matter affects him, because due to his coarseness and materiality his inner core and soul are utterly concealed.^[19] And since he is unable to sense (in his present state) his own lowliness, there must therefore be a “rebuke” whose entire content is breaking — the “outcry,” “You are evil and wicked and abominable…”^[20] — and this brings about in him a breaking of his entire being, and he thereby becomes a “vessel” for holiness.

5. An example of the second manner is found in the story in the Gemara:^[21]

“It once happened that R. Elazar the son of R. Shimon came… He chanced upon a man who was exceedingly ugly… He said to him: ‘Empty one, how ugly is that man!’… He said to him: ‘…Go and tell the Craftsman who made me, “How ugly is this vessel that You have made”…’”

The question arises (in the Gemara’s customary phrasing): What did he hold at the outset? Did R. Elazar not know even before (prior to the man’s answering “Go and tell the Craftsman…”) that a person’s body, with its form and appearance, is “the handiwork of the Holy One, blessed be He”?

We must also understand: how is it possible that R. Elazar would say such a thing (“Empty one, how ugly…”)?

The explanation is: by the words “Empty one, how ugly is that man,” R. Elazar meant (mainly) the true “emptiness and ugliness” — in his spiritual being. He recognized that the man was very low in his spiritual state, finding in him no true virtue, spirituality, etc.^[22]

Moreover: even the one “virtue” of those who are called “mere creatures” (as above) was not discernible or felt in that man. R. Elazar saw that in his spiritual state as it was, one could not even return his greeting; nothing at all could be accomplished with him, except through rebuke and nullification: “Empty one, how ugly…,” which breaks his materiality and coarseness.^[23]

And this is why, immediately after this rebuke and breaking, the man said: “Go and tell the Craftsman who made me.” He gained an awareness that there is a “Craftsman who made me,” and a recognition of Him; he became an entity that has knowledge and recognition, that senses “the Craftsman who made me” — he recognized (at least) the virtue that he is a creation of the A-lmighty. And moreover: “the Craftsman who made me” (not simply “creatures”)^[23*] — which also implies a sense of his purpose in creation, like the work of a craftsman, which is done with intention and purpose.^[24]

6. Along these lines one can also explain the Chassidic story about the Rebbe (Rashab), of blessed memory (which took place at the beginning of his leadership):

A Jew came in to the Rebbe for yechidus and asked for the Rebbe’s blessing in a grave matter, for which he needed a great arousal of Divine mercy. But the Rebbe answered him that he could do nothing about it; he could not help him in this.

Upon hearing such an answer, the man left the Rebbe’s room and broke into bitter weeping. As he walked along weeping, he met the Raza (the Rebbe’s brother), and when the Raza asked him why he was weeping, and so intensely, the man told him what had happened and what the Rebbe had answered him.

The Raza went into the room of his brother, the Rebbe (as mentioned, this was at the beginning of his leadership), and said to him: Is this the way? Someone comes to ask for your blessing, and you tell him that you cannot help him, until he weeps bitter tears from great distress!

The Rebbe put on his gartel and sent word that the man should come in to him again — and when he came in, the Rebbe blessed him, and the blessing was fulfilled in actual fact.

At first glance we need to understand: why did the Rebbe at first refuse to help the man, and in such a sharp manner that it broke him? (For even if one were to imagine that the Rebbe truly could not help him, he could still have encouraged him and heartened him with words of strength and trust — in the spirit of our Sages’ saying,^[25] “Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not refrain from praying for mercy.”)

7. The explanation of this (by way of possibility) is along the lines of the above:^[26]

The man who asked for the Rebbe’s blessing was at that time, because of his spiritual standing and state, not fit to receive so great a blessing as the situation demanded — he was not a vessel for it. And this is the explanation of the Rebbe’s telling him that he could not help him.

But through hearing these words of the Rebbe, which brought about in the man a brokenness over his bitter situation, so that he poured out his broken heart before the A-lmighty — through this itself he became like a new entity, and consequently also a vessel for the blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He.^[27]

8. The manner of rebuke and reprimand whose aim is [not to arouse and reveal in the other the light of the soul — for in his present state he is no vessel for the light of holiness — but] to deal with breaking his materiality and coarseness, applies in a comparable way also to a non-Jew.

The difference is only this: a Jew, whatever state he may be in, has a soul, a G‑dly soul,^[28] by virtue of which “even at the time of sin” he “wants to be part of the Jewish people and wants to perform all the mitzvos…” — therefore the breaking is only in his externality, for in his inner core he is good even before the breaking; consequently the purpose of breaking the materiality is to cause the inner core, which is already present in him, to be revealed.

With a non-Jew, however, who has no G‑dly soul, the breaking can accomplish in him only a capability to attain the level of spirituality to which a non-Jew has a connection.^[29]

9. This also explains why Avraham our father applied such pressure to the passersby who ate at his place, so that they would say “Blessed is the G‑d of the world, of Whose we have eaten”:

Even a Noachide (and especially after the Flood^[30]) has the capability^[31] to recognize that there is a Master of this palace; and therefore Avraham occupied himself with publicizing G‑dliness “by the mouth of every passerby,” by giving them to understand matters of G‑dliness through many explanations.^[32]

When he saw, however, that with some of them all these explanations did not take hold, because they had a powerful materiality (more than an ordinary Noachide — along the lines of the difference between Cham and Shem and Yefes) —

then, in order to break this additional materiality and coarseness, he brought them into a state of pressure, “distress”^[33] (a tight spot), and thereby brought about that (Avraham’s earlier explanations^[34] settled in them to a certain extent,^[35] and as a result) they recognized and said, “Blessed is the G‑d of the world, of Whose we have eaten.”

10. The lesson from this is simple:

“The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children” — one must conduct oneself like Avraham our father and occupy oneself with publicizing G‑dliness in the world, and indeed in the way Avraham did it (for the manner of Avraham’s conduct too (and that of the Patriarchs in general) is a sign for the children): one should not be content with drawing close the Jews who are already in one’s own home; one must go out into the “street” and there accomplish things with Jews who are “passersby” — and with “every passerby.” And the effort must be made in every possible way — even when for this purpose one has to give them, the “passersby,” food and drink;^[36] and moreover — even when the way to have an effect upon them is through pressure (in the way of the Torah, of course, whose “ways are ways of pleasantness…”).

And if someone comes and argues: What have you accomplished by this? The one you persuade to say a blessing, to recite the Shema, to pray — does it without will, without heart; and that one puts on tefillin this once just to be “rid” of the pressure — and what will be tomorrow, who knows, and so on —

one tells him the above story in the Torah (a word meaning “instruction”), and all the more so, a fortiori: If in the days of Avraham, when it concerned Noachides and was before the giving of the Torah, this conduct accomplished “you made Me known among My creatures,” how much more so after the giving of the Torah, and concerning a Jew who “wants to be part of the Jewish people and wants to perform all the mitzvos…” — his performance of the mitzvos is in accordance with the Jew’s own will. And moreover, it is fitting that the pressure and coercion should accomplish that this becomes his revealed will, until “one mitzvah brings another”^[37] and he will fulfill all the mitzvos, and in a complete manner.

And this work of publicizing the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world in the manner of “you made Me known among My creatures” will hasten, measure for measure, the fulfillment of the promise^[38] “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G‑d…,” through “a king arising from the House of David… who will compel all Israel to walk in it and to strengthen its breaches”^[39] (of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah), in the true and complete Redemption through our righteous Moshiach.

(From a talk of Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar, 5730)

Key Lesson

Avraham did not wait for people to come to G‑d of their own accord; he went out to every passerby, and when explanations did not take hold, he applied pressure until they acknowledged the Creator. We too must not be content with influencing those already close to us, but must reach every Jew in the “street,” in every way the Torah permits. Even a mitzvah done at first under pressure is not hollow: a Jew’s inner self truly wants it, and one mitzvah brings another until it becomes his own revealed will.