Regarding Balak, (we will get back to Pinchas in a moment,) the Gemara AZ 4a-b:
So Bilaam knew that one moment in the day when Hashem is "zo'eim," and he intended to curse us at that moment, by quickly saying "kaleim."
The Gemara continues
It was a great neis that Hashem did not do what He does every other day. Hashem was not zo'eim as long as Bilaam posed a threat.
What is that moment of anger, of danger?
I heard the first part of what follows in the name of the Arizal.
(The person that said it prefaced it by saying that it is famous, and very bavust. I never heard it, and so far, I haven't found anyone that knew it, so it must be one of those "famous" vorts that nobody but the speaker ever heard.)
Because the רבש"ע recreates the world every day, as Chazal say that Hashem is מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית, the re-creation involves the same initial process as the first creation did.
Rashi on the first passuk in Breishis says
To protect Klal Yisrael, the רבש"ע eliminated that moment from the daily re-creation.
The AriZal says that this moment of Din is perceived by all spiritual beings, including our Neshamos. It is like a noise that fills the universe and resonates in every soul. It is that moment of Din that strengthens our Yiras Shamayim.
With this in mind, said the person I'm quoting, we can answer many questions that bother us.
How can it be that after two hundred and ten years of absolute chastity in Mitzrayim, of not mixing with the Egyptians, (with one minor exception which may have been a case of an anusa,) suddenly, after Yetzias Mitzrayim and Mattan Torah and forty years of following the Anan and the Amud Eish and eating lechem abirim, some Jews started not only chasing shiksas, but making utter fools of themselves with Peor while they chased them.
The answer is that Hashem had suspended that moment of din. As a result, our yiras shamayim was attenuated, and we found ourselves unprotected from the power of a yetzer hara that only two years ago would have been unthinkable, and they succumbed to the seduction of the Bnos Moav.
ת"ר אל זועם בכל יום. וכמה זעמו? רגע. וכמה רגע? אחת מחמש ריבוא ושלשת אלפים ושמונה מאות וארבעים ושמנה בשעה זו היא רגע. ואין כל בריה יכולה לכוין אותה רגע, חוץ מבלעם הרשע, דכתיב ביה (במדבר כד, טז) ויודע דעת עליון.
אפשר דעת בהמתו לא הוה ידע דעת עליון מי הוה ידע? ...... אלא... שהיה יודע לכוין אותה שעה שהקב"ה כועס בה.
So Bilaam knew that one moment in the day when Hashem is "zo'eim," and he intended to curse us at that moment, by quickly saying "kaleim."
The Gemara continues
והיינו דקאמר להו נביא (מיכה ו, ה) עמי זכר נא מה יעץ בלק מלך מואב ומה ענה אותו בלעם בן בעור מן השטים ועד הגלגל למען דעת צדקות ה' א"ר אלעזר אמר להן הקב"ה לישראל עמי ראו כמה צדקות עשיתי עמכם שלא כעסתי עליכם כל אותן הימים שאם כעסתי עליכם לא נשתייר מעובדי כוכבים משונאיהם של ישראל שריד ופליט והיינו דקאמר ליה בלעם לבלק (במדבר כג, ח) מה אקב לא קבה אל ומה אזעם לא זעם ה'וכמה זעמו רגע וכמה רגע אמר אמימר ואיתימא רבינא רגע כמימריה ומנלן דרגע הוה ריתחיה דכתיב (תהלים ל, ו) כי רגע באפו חיים ברצונו ואיבעית אימא מהכא (ישעיהו כו, כ) חבי כמעט רגע עד יעבור זעם
What is that moment of anger, of danger?
I heard the first part of what follows in the name of the Arizal.
(The person that said it prefaced it by saying that it is famous, and very bavust. I never heard it, and so far, I haven't found anyone that knew it, so it must be one of those "famous" vorts that nobody but the speaker ever heard.)
Because the רבש"ע recreates the world every day, as Chazal say that Hashem is מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית, the re-creation involves the same initial process as the first creation did.
Rashi on the first passuk in Breishis says
"בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים" – ולא אמר "בָּרָא ה'". שבתחילה עלה במחשבה לברואתו במידת הדין; ראה שאין העולם מתקיים, הקדים מידת רחמים ושיתפה למידת הדין. היינו דכתיב (להלן ב ד): "בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם".
Since the initial briyah was intended to be with Middas HaDin, the re-creation involves a split second of din, followed by the admixture of Rachamim. That moment of דין is the moment of זעם. To protect Klal Yisrael, the רבש"ע eliminated that moment from the daily re-creation.
The AriZal says that this moment of Din is perceived by all spiritual beings, including our Neshamos. It is like a noise that fills the universe and resonates in every soul. It is that moment of Din that strengthens our Yiras Shamayim.
With this in mind, said the person I'm quoting, we can answer many questions that bother us.
How can it be that after two hundred and ten years of absolute chastity in Mitzrayim, of not mixing with the Egyptians, (with one minor exception which may have been a case of an anusa,) suddenly, after Yetzias Mitzrayim and Mattan Torah and forty years of following the Anan and the Amud Eish and eating lechem abirim, some Jews started not only chasing shiksas, but making utter fools of themselves with Peor while they chased them.
The answer is that Hashem had suspended that moment of din. As a result, our yiras shamayim was attenuated, and we found ourselves unprotected from the power of a yetzer hara that only two years ago would have been unthinkable, and they succumbed to the seduction of the Bnos Moav.
In my Questions on Parshas Balak this is how I put it:
After two hundred years of absolute tzniyus and chastity, the men suddenly started running after shiksas. The only explanation is that there was the sudden elimination of straight middas hadin caused a drop in yiras shamayim. That is why Pinchas is described as בקנאו את קנאתי, the Kinah Hashem would normally have had.
Bilaam’s plan from day one was either Hashem would have that moment of anger and he would exploit it with a curse; or if Hashem would avoid that moment, then Klal Yisrael would be more likely to sin, and he sent in the Bnos Moav.
I wonder if Bnos Moav was his main plan from the first moment. He knew that the RBSO was less likely to interfere with bechira, so all he had to do was weaken their yiras shamayim.
And Shloma sent in a comment with this from Rav Schorr:
Rav Schorr explains the following idea. He says that in order to serve HKB"H properly you need a mixture of Ahavas Hashem and Yir'as Hashem. There has to be a certain amount of Yir'a, of fear Kavayochel of HKB"H. The fact that HKB"H Kavayochel gets angry every day means that there are moments where HKB"H makes a statement to the world that there needs to be Yir'as Shamayim. That HKB"H sits on a Kis'ai Din. That there are moments of anger that are necessary in order to provide Yir'as Shamayim in the world. So we say Hashem gets angry every day, there is no emotion of anger involved, it is a concept that there needs to be Yir'as Shamayim in the world. For those days that HKB"H did not get angry there was a lack of Yir'as Shamayim.
What does בקנאו את קנאתי mean? It seems that the proper formulation would simply be בקנאו לאלוקיו. Pinchas was a kana'i, certainly, but what is the meaning of קנאתי, My kin'ah? The answer is that the yiras shamayim that Hashem had regularly infused into the briah was missing, and it was Pinchas' act that reinstated the darga of Yiras Shamayim that had been lost. Hashem's Kinah needed replacement, and Pinchas was the one to replace it.
The word chilisi sounds familiar. It is a form of the word "Kaleim" that Bilaam intended to use. The reason Hashem had not been Zo'eim was "ולא כיליתי", in order to prevent Bilaam from exploiting that moment to say "כלם"
The word chilisi sounds familiar. It is a form of the word "Kaleim" that Bilaam intended to use. The reason Hashem had not been Zo'eim was "ולא כיליתי", in order to prevent Bilaam from exploiting that moment to say "כלם"
Maybe this is also merumaz in the lashon "heishiv es chamasi" with heishiv being translated as "returned" i.e. he restored the system of cheima/din/yirah.
ReplyDelete100%. I think that person takkeh added that as well.
DeleteIt’s a beautiful vort, and can be expanded so much: that’s why Pinchos lives forever, because by restoring the necessary balance of the briah, he, in effect, was doing the opposite of the chet Odom horishon, and acting in a way which did not require his personal briah to be renewed through death and resurrection; that’s why he became the Malach haBris, since the act of Bris Milah is also an affirmation of Yirah; that’s why he became a Kohen, since he demonstrated the ability to act in a manner of Din while maintaining a personal middah of Chessed......
ReplyDeleteתן לחכם ויחכם עוד
ReplyDeleteMayrahdik!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm still waiting for someone to say"yeah, it's a bavusteh vort...."
DeleteBut it definitely should be. That's what's so surprising. An excellent vort like this should have spread immediately.
In light of the Kol Rom I mention in the comment below to Shloma, ( the Kol Rom in Pinchos that says there's a special schar for doing things that otherwise the RBSO would do, like feeding aniyim. Pinchas got his tremendous schar because he did what the RBSO would otherwise have done. He says this is true by Millah too) it's particularly interesting the Pinchas became the Malach HaBris - because here he did what Hashem would otherwise do, so he had a special shaychus to bris millah.
DeleteRabbi Reisman said over a similar point in a lighter way
ReplyDelete"Rav Gedalya Schorr in the Ohr Gedalyahu on Parshas Balak (last week's Parsha) (page 150), says an extraordinary Pshat in this Rashi as follows. As you know, the Yesod of Parshas Bilam is that (קל זועם בכל יום) that HKB"H has Kavayochel a moment of anger every single day and Bilam's talent was to be Mechavein, to figure out the moment and curse his enemies at the time that HKB"H got angry. During the days that Bilam attempted to curse Klal Yisrael, HKB"H was not Zoyeim, at that time he did not become angry, and Mimeila there was no place for the curse.
Rav Schorr explains what does it mean that HKB"H gets angry every day. Like you have a schedule when you get angry? What does it mean? Nobody has a schedule when they get angry.
Rav Schorr explains the following idea. He says that in order to serve HKB"H properly you need a mixture of Ahavas Hashem and Yir'as Hashem. There has to be a certain amount of Yir'a, of fear Kavayochel of HKB"H. The fact that HKB"H Kavayochel gets angry every day means that there are moments where HKB"H makes a statement to the world that there needs to be Yir'as Shamayim. That HKB"H sits on a Kis'ai Din. That there are moments of anger that are necessary in order to provide Yir'as Shamayim in the world. So we say Hashem gets angry every day, there is no emotion of anger involved, it is a concept that there needs to be Yir'as Shamayim in the world. For those days that HKB"H did not get angry there was a lack of Yir'as Shamayim.
Zagt Rav Schorr, that is how it came to be that Klal Yisrael sinned at the Aveira of Baal Peor, on a Lo Sasei. This is because at that moment there was no anger in the world and Mimeila Klal Yisrael came to sin.
When Klal Yisrael sinned, it was because there was no anger in the world. (בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת-קִנְאָתִי). Came along Pinchas and he understood (בקצפו את הקצף שהיה לי לקצוף), the anger that HKB"H normally would have had and that would have prevented Klal Yisrael from doing this type of an Aveira. Pinchas took that anger and took it out on Zimri Ben Salu and by bringing the Middah of the anger back into the world, it brought Yir'a back into the world and that is why it was a Kapparah on Klal Yisrael.
Once the Middah of anger came back, the exhibition of Yir'as Shamayim came back, Mimeila the fear was there and Klal Yisrael was Poresh from the Aveira. So the idea of (בקצפו את הקצף שהיה לי לקצוף) is the idea that there needs to be the concept, the fear, the idea that Kavayochel HKB"H becoming angry in order for there to be proper Yir'as Shamayim in the world."
Very good!
DeleteCoincidentally, my son, R Mordechai, showed me the Kol Rom in Pinchos that says there's a special schar for doing things that otherwise the RBSO would do, like feeding aniyim. Pinchas got his tremendous schar because he did what the RBSO would otherwise have done. He says this is true by Millah too. Same idea here.
Please explain. seems like a contradiction.
ReplyDelete"To protect Klal Yisrael, the רבש"ע eliminated that moment from the daily re-creation.
The AriZal says that this moment of Din is perceived by all spiritual beings, including our Neshamos. It is that moment of Din that strengthens our Yiras Shamayim."
if RBSO eliminated it, that is it still perceived .... ?
[or did you mean that the רבש"ע eliminated that moment only once at the time of bilaam?]
Yes! This only happened as long as Bilaam was a threat.
Deletethe first part is apparently not from the ari z"l. according to talmid[im], he[they] think rav mottel zilber shlita said it, although he himself did not confirm nor dissaprove.
ReplyDeletethe second part , - the bnei yissaschar in igra d'kalla says, they sinned because that yirah was missing then.
Thank you. I certainly did not see any of this inside not did I hear it from someone who saw it inside. I would be very happy to see who said any part of this and where. I will check the IdK bl"n.
DeleteI heard this Arizal from Rav Moshe Shapiro z"l (though he may not have mentioned him by name).
ReplyDeleteI also don't remember him discussing an impact on our yiras shamaim. But he did say that the regah of din is "from" the original intent to create the world with din.
ReplyDeleteBut he did say that the regah of din is "from" the original intent to create the world with din.
ReplyDelete