STORY OF CHANNAH: 1. And Hannah
prayed and said: "My heart has rejoiced through the Lord; My horn has been
raised by the Lord. My mouth is opened wide against my enemies, For I have
rejoiced in Your salvation.
QUALITY OF THOSE THAT STUDY TORAH FOR ITS OWN SAKE: and forgiving of
insults
PROVERBS: Chapter 29
TZADIKKIM: Rav Aharon
HaGadol of Karlin (19th Nissan) and Rebbe Yitzchak Vorki (22nd of Nissan)
Week 29 is the week Passover. The
verse from the story of Channah for this week marks the beginning of her song. She
exalts the Hashem and speaks of His salvation, and how she now rejoices over
her enemies. Passover is also a time of great rejoicing, thanking Him for His
salvation in the face of our enemies.
The Pirkei
Avot adjective of this week is that Torah makes him “forgiving of
insults.” This seems like a particularly difficult adjective to compare with
the words of Channah above. Channah makes a point of mentioning how she was
victorious over her enemies and, as if to add insult to injury, Rashi specifically comments that Channah
meant none other than her husband’s other wife, Peninah, who had insulted her
constantly for not having children. We also learn that Peninah also paid a
heavy price for her insults, eventually losing all her children (may no one
ever know of such sorrow). How then can one reconcile these two apparently
contradicting trends?
One answer is simply to
say that the fact that Channah does not mention Peninah by name shows that she
was not bitter, and she had in fact forgiven the insults of her competitor.
This seems like a difficult answer because, after all, Channah still calls
Peninah her enemy, even after Shmuel is born.
Perhaps a deeper answer
lies within Pirkei Avot itself. The Hebrew
word for “insult” used is Elbonoh.
The word is used again in the next section of Pirkei Avot, and appears to be the only similarity linking the two
sections (other than the general importance of Torah study, which is a theme of
the entire chapter). The latter statement reads as follows: “Said Rabbi Joshua
the son of Levi: Every day, an echo resounds from Mount Horeb (Sinai)
proclaiming and saying: "Woe is to the creatures for their insult (Elbonah) to the Torah."
It is the obligation of a
sage to protect the honor of the Torah and of those who study it, and while he
may forgive the insults to him or herself, he or she cannot forgive the insults
to the Torah and to Hashem.
Rabbi Levi states in Bava Bathra 16a that Peninah’s intentions were pure, and that she
simply wished to make Channah pray more fiercely. Nonetheless, to constantly insult
such a righteous woman as Channah, wife of one of the leaders of the
generation, went beyond personal animosity. It was an affront to the Torah
itself.
We see a similar concept
in our redemption from Egypt. The punishments the Egyptians received were not
simply a quid pro quo for their
actions against the Jews. Pharaoh’s lack of knowledge (and acknowledgement) of
Hashem was an affront to the Torah (even though the Torah had not yet been
given). Similarly, the Jews are told to avenge Midian, not out of a sense of
vengefulness, but because the actions of the Midianites (using their own
daughters to entice the Jews) was an affront to Torah itself.
Chapter 28 of the Book of Proverbs contains many of the above
themes. Many of its verses speak of forgiving insult and calming tension:
8. Scornful men inflame a city, but the wise turn away wrath.
9. When a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he is
angry or he laughs, he will have no contentment.
10. Murderous men hate the innocent, but the upright seek his
soul.
11. A fool lets out all his wind, but afterwards a wise man
will quiet it.
Nevertheless, the verses of this chapter also speak of the
great punishments that befall those that insult the Torah:
15. A rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left free
brings shame to his mother.
16. When the wicked attain greatness, transgression
increases, and the righteous will see their downfall.
17. Chastise your son and he will give you rest, and he will
grant pleasures to your soul.
18. Without vision the people become unrestrained, but he who
keeps the Torah is fortunate.
This week includes the yahrzeits
of two well known early founders of the Chassidic movement: Rabbi Aharon
the Great of Karlin (19th of Nissan)
and Rabbi Yitzchak Kalish of Vorka (22nd of Nissan). Both were known for their profound love for their fellow Jews.
Rabbi Aharon of Karlin was a close disciple of the Maggid of
Mezritch. Karlin was such a large and prominent Chassidic group in Lithuania
that at one point Chassidim in general were referred to as “Karliners.” “He is
remembered for the ecstatic and unrestrained fervor of his prayer, for his
solicitude for the needy, and for the moral teachings embodied in his Azharos (‘Warnings’).”
(Ascent)
“Rabbi Yitzchak Kalish [1779 died 22 Nissan 1848] was the
founder of the Vorki dynasty in Poland. Previously, through travel with his
teacher, R. David of Lelov, he became a disciple of R. Yaakov Yitzchak (the
"Seer") of Lublin and of R. Simchah Bunem of Pshischah. Some of his
teachings and stories involving him appear in Ohel Yitzchak and Hutzak Chein.
His son R. Yaakov David founded the Amshinov dynasty, while his son R. Menachem
Mendel continued the Vorki dynasty.” (Ascent)
Other yahrzeits this
week include Rabbi Yitzchak Twerski (First Rebbe of Skver, 17th of Nissan), Rabbi Meir Abuchatzeira (the “Baba
Meir,” son of the Baba Sali, 17th of Nissan), and Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (the “Rav,” 18th
of Nissan).
