jewish thought
Leaders That Unite Simon Jacobson
A
s we enter this dark mourning period on the Jewish calendar, we are comforted by the fact that precisely in this time, when the ‘light’ becomes entirely concealed and the ‘teacher’ falls completely silent as he withdraws into the deepest recesses of his mind, the greatest revelation is being born Indeed, the Nine Days begin with Rosh Chodosh Menachem Av (the new moon of the month of Av). Menachem means ‘to comfort.’ We are comforted by G‑d – and we comfort each other – in these difficult times. As the new moon is born we do not immediately see its light. It will take fifteen days for the moon to grow into a full illuminating sphere; but when it does it becomes the greatest holiday of the year (the 15th of Av which the Mishne describes as being a holiday like no other), because light born out of darkness can never be extinguished. In these days Moses has returned to Sinai (for what would be the second period of Moses being on the mountain for 40 days) to beseech G‑d that He forgive the people for their grave sin of the Golden Calf. Down below we do not see and hear; but above true hope is being hatched – hope that would enter our hemisphere on Yom Kippur (at the conclusion of the third period of 40 days). Finally, the final and last Shabbos before Tisha b’Av is called Shabbat Chazon, literally the ‘Shabbos of Vision’ (named after the first word of this week’s haftorah about Isaiah’s prophetic vision). Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev tells us that on this Shabbos everyone is shown ‘from afar’ the third Holy Temple, in order to inspire and motivate us to do our part in preparing ourselves and the world for the great revelation of the Third Temple in the final Redemption. Again, we see how the greatest structure and revelation is being born in the throes of loss and destruction. The big question is: What can we do to facilitate the process? True, these teachings are wonderful philosophies, informing us that the deepest growth is achieved in pain and loss and we should therefore not be demoralized by the darkness. But it’s ‘easier said than done;’ when we find ourselves at
a loss in emotional pain, philosophy simply isn’t enough. A mind cannot speak to a bleeding heart. What can we then do when we have experienced trauma? How can we concretely access the deeper light that lies within the shadows? To help us answer this question we have with us two great leaders, whose yahrzeits we observe and comfort us during these Nine gloomy days: Aaron the High Priest and the holy Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria), whose yahrzeits are respectively on Rosh Chodosh Av and the 5th of Av. Of all luminaries, why are these two yahrzeits in this particular time period? In times of crisis we are in need of the most powerful strengths and most vital tools to endure and grow through our challenging experiences. Aaron the High Priest and the Arizal were distinguished in their ability to unite all the people. When Aaron passed away, the Torah states that the ‘entire nation cried’ and mourned after him – a statement that is reserved for Aaron alone, distinguishing him even from Moses. Rashi explains that Aaron was a pursuer of peace, he fostered love between all the people and as such was beloved and remembered by the entire nation. The Arizal was a unique phenomenon of his own, perhaps unprecedented in history as one who united all factions and
denominations. And this is no small feat. Historically we always find different schools of thought within Judaism. The school of Shammai and the school of Hillel is the classical example. The entire Talmud is essentially a document driven by differing if not opposing views. Diversity in Torah is not seen as a negative, but actually a fundamentally positive force. We are not discussing petty, political and ego-driven disputes, nor are we addressing arguments driven by people’s personal opinions. But even within the framework of Torah discussion, indeed the Torah process itself is built upon dialogue, disagreement, challenges and counter challenges. The fundamental basics are indisputable as is the final ruling on any given matter. However, like musical notes, the essential notes are unwavering, yet music is a result of the infinite combinations of these notes. Torah scholarship in all generations is characterized by the variety of opinions. Teachers and leaders were not always unilaterally embraced right from the outset. Even Moses was not initially accepted by the Jewish people, and even after he was, we still find the insurgent Korach and other dissenters. There were scholars who opposed Maimonides (Rambam), to the extent that some of his books were burned! (Maimonides was not universally accepted
ЭКСОДУС | АВГУСТ - СЕНТЯБРЬ | 2020
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