פרשת לך לך
This week’s Parsha focuses primarily on the astonishing life of Avraham Avinu, and the various trials and tribulations which he successfully passed during his lifetime. There is a fascinating Midrash which states that Avraham was the giant of all giants, and he was even transcended Adam Harishon and therefore deserved to be created before Adam. The Midrash explains that indeed, the only reason Adam lived prior to Avraham was so that in case Adam were to sin, Avraham would come and atone for that sin.
The famous Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva, R’ Aryeh Finkel asks a rather obvious question on this Midrash. In what way could have Avraham atoned for Adam’s sin? What was unique about Avraham’s life that would have corresponded directly with Adam’s mistake? R’ Aryeh explains beautifully that the primary positive trait which Avraham possessed was his pure and simple faith in Hashem. In fact the verse in Tehillim which this Midrash starts out with is “Lucky are those who follow the path with simple faith”. Similarly, when Hashem commanded Avraham in the Mitzvah of circumcision, the verse says, “Walk in front of me, and be pure (Tamim).” We find many other places in Chazal which indicate that this was Avraham’s raison d’être. What does “temimus” mean? In English, it is difficult to translate this word, perhaps because it is a concept which is foreign to Western culture. All translations seem to have a negative inflection in the English language. Possibly the closest word is naiveté or simple minded, but this is far from correct. “Temimus”, as can be inferred from this Midrash, is arguably the loftiest trait in our religion. It means to serve Hashem with no questions or considerations. To have no ulterior motives or philosophies. It means to do what Hashem said in its purest and simplest form without considering the implications or consequences this service may have.
With this understanding, we can easily resolve the difficulty we raised. Adam Harishon was probably the smartest man ever to live, as he was created directly by Hashem. Chazal teach us that Adam had numerous very compelling arguments to justify his decision to ingest the forbidden fruit. For example, The Ramban points out that Adam knew that he could serve Hashem better if he had free choice. Before Adam ate from the tree of knowledge, he had no real sense of right and wrong, and was therefore similar to a drone. He reasoned that once he ate from the tree, and endowed himself with an ability to choose evil, his service would be that much more meaningful. His arguments were so convincing, in fact, that the angels themselves couldn’t figure out exactly where he went off. But the simple fact is, with all the good intentions, Hashem said “no”, and he should have listened. Avraham Avinu possessed this trait that Adam seemed to be slightly lacking in. When Hashem told Avraham to go slaughter his son, this directive made no logical sense. Hashem had already explicitly promised Avraham that his progeny would come from Yitzchak, and that they would be as numerous as the stars. Yet Avraham complied fully with Hashem’s instructions, choosing not to exercise his own (formidable) acumen in his decision, instead favoring a path which relied solely on Hashem’s judgment. We too, would do well to emulate Avraham’s example and foster a sense of complete and simple trust in the words of the Torah and the wise people of each generation in order to follow Hashem’s will with complete faith.
I would like to share with you a short biography of a man who lived in Bnei Brak, and who most people haven’t really heard of. His name was Rav Moshe Mendel. R’ Moshe was a quiet, unassuming man, never trying to draw any attention to himself or his actions. As a young boy, he was already completely devout in his prayer and his studies, and wherever he went, he was always scrupulous about every aspect of Halacha and clinging to Hashem, regardless of any ridicule or mockery he would incur. He would regularly walk through the streets, completely immersed in his studies, as the Shulchan Aruch instructs, paying no mind to the potential disdain he may have incurred. One day, there was a boy on his block who had joined the “enlightenment”, and who felt so enlightened, that he could not stand to see R’ Moshe so involved with his “backward” ways and his naiveté in believing in the primitive laws of yesteryear. So this boy decided he was going to teach R’ Moshe a lesson. He went into his house, and came out with a sack of rotting tomatoes, which he began to lob on to R’ Moshe in rapid fire succession. As the tomato puree was raining down on him, R’ Moshe merely stood there, with a pleasant look on his face, and waited calmly for the Gazpacho barrage to finish, firmly believing the entire time that this was a direct decree from Hashem, and was therefore not subject to change or interpretation. He didn’t even bother asking the boy what he had done to deserve this delectable feast. At a certain point, this lovely boy got completely frustrated that his ambush was an utter failure, and turned around with a defeated look and went back into his house, mortified by the fiasco that had just ensued. R’ Moshe calmly removed the debris of tomato paste from his body and clothes, and continued on in the piece he was studying. Later on in his life, when he was around 40, R’ Moshe contracted a rare disease, and was confined to his home for nearly 50 years! During this time, the people that were closest to him testified that never once, in all fifty year, did they hear a sigh or a word of complaint about his situation. He merely accepted it as a given, and went on with his life, trying to do the best he could with the circumstances he was presented with. One year, on Parsha Noach, he was speaking in the Kollel that had been built directly in his house to facilitate his learning, and he mentioned that we find that the Chumash extols Noach, firstly for being a “Tdaddik”, and only afterward for being a “Tamim”, implying that Temimus is in fact greater that righteousness. He explained that when Hashem first commanded Noach to build the Ark, it took a great deal of righteousness to heed that commandment. But after the first year, when the world saw that no flood was forthcoming, they began to mock him. For the next hundred and nineteen years, they continued to scoff at Noach’s warnings, claiming that he was a fraud. Noach never once ceased his work, and continued to trust in Hashem with a purity of spirit that was nothing short of heroic. This is why Temimus is placed ahead of Tzidkus on the spiritual hierarchy. It requires greater strength of character, and Noach possessed that strength. Perhaps R’ Moshe didn’t realize it, but he was describing himself to the t. Toward the end of his life, R’ Moshe became well known, quite against his will. People used to come from far and wide to receive a coveted blessing from R’ Moshe Mendel, which were known to have miraculous and almost instantaneous results. R’ Shach, the renowned Rosh Yeshiva of the Ponevich Yeshiva, believed that R’ Moshe was the leader of the generation in piety, and indeed, whenever he needed something, he himself would come to R’ Moshe’s house for a blessing and a direct shot of pure faith in Hashem.
Let us end with the Gemorah in Nedarim (32). “R’ Oshia said, anyone who makes himself ‘Tamim’, time will smile upon him”. The R”N explains that this means he will become a great leader. R’ Moshe’s life was true testimony to the voracity of this Gemorah. Anyone who walks with Hashem in ‘Temimus,’ Hashem will certainly lift him up and carry him, and raise him higher and higher, giving him every blessing for success in spirituality and physicality on this earth.
May we all merit to always trust in Hashem with complete, pure, and simple faith!