פרשת שלח ושמירת העיניים
This week’s Parsha deals with the wonderful and unique commandment of Tzitzis. The Gemorah teaches us that this particular Mitzvah is so special that its value is equal to all the other 612 commandments combined. One of the interesting lessons that we can learn from this extraordinary Mitzvah is the importance of the gift of sight, and to what extent what we look at can affect our entire spiritual growth. The verse commands us to look at our Tzitzis, and by doing so, to remember all of the commandments in the Torah. The Gemorah in Menachos explains that this verse is testifying that merely gazing at our Tzitzis has the ability to remind us of all 612 Mitzvos and aid us in keeping them properly. Rashi adds that by looking at the blue Techeles which was then located in the Tzitzis strings, one was reminded of the Holy Throne in the Heavens, and ultimately who sits on that Throne. Furthermore, the Torah tells us that by glancing at our Tzitzis, we will be successful in not following our hearts and sinning. Rashi comments that every sin begins with the eyes. The eyes must first take in the data which is in front of a person, only then can the heart desire that sin, and ultimately the body carries out the will of the heart. But a person can counteract this negative sequence of events by interrupting them with a quick glance at his Tzitzis. All of these points show us to what extent gazing at something can affect our inner being.
The responsa of the Gaonim brings an incident with the students of Rav who each accepted something upon themselves at their Rebbi’s funeral, that their Rebbi himself had been careful about. R’ Sheshes, accepted upon himself to never look outside of his four Amos, something which Rav had taken upon himself many years earlier. However, when he saw that he couldn’t successfully carry out his vow, he prayed to Hashem to take away his vision, and so it was that R’ Sheshes became blind. From these series of interactions between Rav, and his student R’ Sheshes, it is evident how dangerous they felt viewing something inappropriate can be to one’s spiritual growth, and what measures one should take to prevent such an encounter with one’s eyes. Perhaps this is why the great leaders of the Jewish people have always been so careful about what they look at. The Babba Sali testified about himself that his miraculous ability to gaze piercingly into all those who came to seek his advice, and know everything that was happening inside their soul, could only be attributed to his extreme caution to never look at anything which lacked holiness. In fact, Chazal warn us to only look at righteous people, and never at wicked ones, because by only looking at those holy people, we somehow inculcate their holiness into our being, and it affects us on a deep level. The Steipler Gaon would advise his students to never abuse their gift of sight on anything unholy, even to read a newspaper which contains heresy, and he would tell them that if they did such a seemingly minor act, it could have a detrimental affect on them even ten years down the road.
We mentioned previously the Gemorah in Menachos which says that there is a process in which the Tzitzis will remind a person of Hashem. The Gemorah says that the blue color in the fringes will remind a person of the sea, and the sea will remind a person of the sky, and the sky will get a person to consider the throne of glory, and Rashi comments that a person will in turn consider who sits on that throne. This Gemorah seems very strange. It seems like such a far fetched process. How is a person expected to contemplate on all those steps when he is presented with a very real temptation by his worst foe – the evil inclination? Surely the Torah could have devised a more realistic defense! R’ Chaim Friedlander suggests that it is all about where his head his. He gives an example of a woman who was married to a man who she was deeply in love with, and that man passes away. Everywhere she looks, she will be reminded of her dear husband. Very often, such a woman will feel compelled to move, because she can’t bear to continue being constantly reminded of her pain. Each and every item in their joint domicile carries with it the memory of her spouse. Such is true about our relationship with the Master of the world. If our belief in Him is on the level that it should be, everywhere we look we are reminded of Him, because each item on this earth was created by Him, and could not continue to exist without Him. This principle is referred to by David in Psalms with the verse, “שויתי ה’ לנגדי תמיד” – “I see Hashem in front of me constantly”. This type of attitude is incumbent upon every Jew to foster in order to properly observe the Torah.
The Sabba from Kelm used to explain that a person’s belief in God must literally be like his sense of sight. Meaning a person is obligated to be as sure of Hashem’s existence as he is about something he sees right in front of his face. In the verse in Shemos (19), Hashem tells the Jewish people, “You saw what I did in Egypt”. Rashi explains that each Jew must see in front of them the miracles that were performed in Egypt. Meaning, he shouldn’t believe them as if he heard them from somebody reliable, but rather must believe them as if he himself saw them. How does a person arrive at such a powerful level of belief in the Creator? The only way to do this is to properly fulfill the above quoted verse in Tehilim. We must see Hashem in everything that occurs in the world. The only way to transform one’s belief into the type which is similar to the sense of sight, is to literally see Hashem’s hand in every event, and every creature on this earth. This requires constant effort, and if a person is lax in his daily progress in working on his belief, and inculcating into his consciousness the fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt, and gave us the Torah, and that our ancestors actually saw this happen, he will inevitably regress in his belief. I would just like to conclude with a short biography of R’ Chazkal Levenstein. R’ Chazkal said about himself that he literally saw the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Sea, and the Torah being given at Sinai on a constant basis in front of his eyes, and there was never a time in his life that he wasn’t keenly aware of these events. Furthermore, he saw Hashem in every aspect of the creation and nature and this consciousness helped him to achieve all of the spiritual goals that he had set for himself.
May we all merit to see only good things, and to see Hashem in all that we do!