Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Taanit #9

Review

In post #8 we noted the choice between two lifestyles- דרכים - bread alone vs all that comes from God's mouth. Each of these דרכים involves an objective, a love -אהבה - that demands the dedication of energy to the pursuit. But how does this Mussar explain the use of trumpets?

Dedication to reflection, on the part of an individual, results from the coordination of educational processes at a civilizational level, a commitment involving all strata of society. Shifting the
אהבה of a civilization is a monumental task, one which in a certain sense never ends. Even following the Mussar of the miracles in Egypt, Mt Sinai and the Midbar, the Jewish people still stood in danger of relapsing into a religious slumber. How this occurs is clear from history. Uncomfortable events are mythologized, recast to fit into the needs of bread alone mentalities that cannot and will not adapt to the clear Mussar of events. Over the years the Holocaust is recast to suit the needs of various constituencies. So too the great depression, the confrontation with Hitler etc etc.

How much more so the events of the Torah. All we need to do is to look at a Seder in order to see this slumbering process at work. Is the average Seder today a true rememberance of events designed to shake civilization from its bread alone preoccupation? Not at all. The seder has been coopted, ritualized into a religious fantasy framework. Rather that awakening the bread alone mentality, society has enslaved the seder, making it the instrument of its own ritualized perspective. The very concept of redemption that was so painfully raised by the enslavement in Egypt and the mussar of the Midbar, is thereby safely put to sleep, bound and gagged with a thousand ritual chains.

In the intro to Chelek Rambam shows how the core beliefs of the redemption: Gan Eden, Beracha Ukelalah, Techiyyat hametim and Moshiach are subject to distortion.

It is the dread of this process of distortion that we recall with the trumpets. For Israel to be facing tzara, is to come face to face with the reality that we are falling into a religious stupor. Far from releasing ourselves from the injustice of Egypt with its religious fantasies and cruelty, we are creating a new Egypt of our own making. This creation of the new Egypt is what is depicted by the Navi Rambam chooses for Hilchot taanit- Yirmiyahu #5. The Chapter depicts the strata of society falling out of reflection upon Chochmat Hashem and into a ritualized new Egypt. The common people are depicted as victims of a society led by corrupt political leadership of so called -
גְּדֹלִים - and ultimately false Neviim.
Common people
א שׁוֹטְטוּ בְּחוּצוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַם וּרְאוּ-נָא וּדְעוּ וּבַקְשׁוּ בִרְחוֹבוֹתֶיהָ אִם-תִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ אִם-יֵשׁ עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט מְבַקֵּשׁ אֱמוּנָה וְאֶסְלַח לָהּ:
ב וְאִם חַי-יְהוָֹה יֹאמֵרוּ לָכֵן לַשֶּׁקֶר יִשָּׁבֵעוּ:
ג יְהוָֹה עֵינֶיךָ הֲלוֹא לֶאֱמוּנָה הִכִּיתָה אֹתָם וְלֹא-חָלוּ כִּלִּיתָם מֵאֲנוּ קַחַת מוּסָר חִזְּקוּ פְנֵיהֶם מִסֶּלַע מֵאֲנוּ לָשׁוּב:
ד וַאֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי אַךְ-דַּלִּים הֵם נוֹאֲלוּ כִּי לֹא יָדְעוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהֹוָה מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵיהֶם:

הַגְּדֹלִים
ה אֵלְכָה-לִּי אֶל-הַגְּדֹלִים וַאֲדַבְּרָה אוֹתָם כִּי הֵמָּה יָדְעוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהֹוָה מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אַךְ הֵמָּה יַחְדָּו שָׁבְרוּ עֹל נִתְּקוּ מוֹסֵרוֹת:
ו עַל-כֵּן- הִכָּם אַרְיֵה מִיַּעַר זְאֵב עֲרָבוֹת יְשָׁדְדֵם נָמֵר שֹׁקֵד עַל-עָרֵיהֶם כָּל-הַיּוֹצֵא מֵהֵנָּה יִטָּרֵף כִּי רַבּוּ פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם עָצְמוּ מְשֻׁבוֹתֵיהֶם:
ז אֵי לָזֹאת (אֶסְלַוח ) [אֶסְלַח-לָךְ] בָּנַיִךְ עֲזָבוּנִי וַיִּשָּׁבְעוּ בְּלֹא אֱלֹהִים וָאַשְׂבִּעַ אוֹתָם וַיִּנְאָפוּ וּבֵית זוֹנָה יִתְגֹּדָדוּ:
ח סוּסִים (מְוֻזָּנִים ) [מְיֻזָּנִים] מַשְׁכִּים הָיוּ אִישׁ אֶל-אֵשֶׁת רֵעֵהוּ יִצְהָלוּ:
ט הַעַל-אֵלֶּה לוֹא-אֶפְקֹד נְאֻם-יְהוָֹה וְאִם בְּגוֹי אֲשֶׁר-כָּזֶה לֹא תִתְנַקֵּם נַפְשִׁי:

הַנְּבִיאִים
י עֲלוּ בְשָׁרוֹתֶיהָ וְשַׁחֵתוּ וְכָלָה אַל-תַּעֲשׂוּ הָסִירוּ נְטִישׁוֹתֶיהָ כִּי לוֹא לַיהֹוָה הֵמָּה:
יא כִּי- בָגוֹד בָּגְדוּ בִּי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבֵית יְהוּדָה נְאֻם-יְהֹוָה:
יב כִּחֲשׁוּ בַּיהֹוָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹא-הוּא וְלֹא-תָבוֹא עָלֵינוּ רָעָה וְחֶרֶב וְרָעָב לוֹא נִרְאֶה:
יג וְהַנְּבִיאִים יִהְיוּ לְרוּחַ וְהַדִּבֵּר אֵין בָּהֶם כֹּה יֵעָשֶׂה לָהֶם

ה, יג
והנביאים -
הנביאים שמטעים אותם ואומרים: שלום יהיה לכם יהיו לרוח, כלומר כמוץ לפני רוח.

והדיבר אין בהם -
כיון שהדבר אין בהם, כלומר רוח הקדש, איך ידעו הם כך וכך?!
אלא שהם סומכין בחלומותיהם או בקסמיהם ומבטיחים העם לטוב, כדי שימצאו חן בעיניהם כשמיפין להם מעשיהם ואומרים: לא תבא עליכם רעה ובעונש זה יכלו ויהיו לרוח.

2 comments:

Rabbi Joshua Maroof said...

Can you elaborate on the Holocaust example a bit more?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said...

RJM

I was actually thinking of holocaust deniers in this case. What was once indisputable fact, I fear, is rapidly becoming not so. This too is a mythologizing of history.