Tethering Tranquility and Turmoil
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
"Vayeshev Yaakov/and Yaakov settled in the land of his father's sojournings..." Thus begins our Parshah. Rashi comments that after having survived twenty years with Lavan and an encounter rife with potential danger with Esau, and even a lonely struggle with an angel/demon, Yaakov just wanted to settle down and live peacefully. But that was not to be, for Yaakov would now be beset with the troubles of the loss of Yosef. Rashi explains that when the righteous desire to live in peace, the Satan declares, "Are the righteous not satisfied with the reward awaiting them in the World to Come? Do they expect to live in peace in this world as well?"
Rabbi Reiss asks why Yaakov is criticized for wanting tranquility. Is it inappropriate to want peace both in this world and the next? Doesn't this world have value in itself? With these questions in mind, Rabbi Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim suggests that this criteria is meant for the very righteous, the great tzadikim like Yaakov Avinu who view this world simply as an entrance foyer to the real "home" of the World to Come. For those of us below that level (virtually all of us), this would indeed not be considered a fault.
What is a tzadik? the Imrei Tal, Rabbi Eliezer Mordechai Weiss, suggests that a tzadik is one who possess the character of yesod/foundation, the fundamentals of the world. In other words, one whose mission is to go out into the world and influence others in service to and knowledge of Hashem. For these individuals, settling down peacefully in one place runs counter to their mission in life. This was the mission of both Yaakov and Yosef, both referred to as tzadik.
The Be'er Yosef brings an historical perspective to Rashi's comment. Both Yitzchak and Yaakov undoubtedly knew the terms of the Brit bein Habetarim/Covenant between the Halves, that Bnei Yisroel would be destined to be strangers in a land not their own and to be oppressed for four hundred years. They also knew that the computation would begin with the birth of Yitzchak rather than with the actual descent to Egypt. However, if Yaakov would now live in tranquility, those years would not be counted as years of oppression, and Bnei Yisroel would need to spend the full 400 (or another of Hashem's adjusted calculations) in Egypt, instead of the 210 years they were actually in Egypt.
If this was the case, why did Yaakov want to live in tranquility? According to Rabbi Uziel Milevsky, Yaakov thought that the years of his intense suffering living under the conditions of Lavan's deception would concentrate the years of suffering to a greater equivalency. But Hashem's computation of time is not our computation of time. Further, Rabbi Milevsky suggests that when Yaakov saw Esau's transformation into what appeared to be a loving brother, Yaakov thought that Moshiach had arrived, and he could now live in peace.
But this desire for tranquility resonates within each of us, and the rebuke must also apply to all of us in some degree. As Rabbi Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim notes, this world was created for mankind to work and the next world to receive reward. [There's no such thing as retirement in Yiddishkeit; our senior citizens become gedolei hador/the great sages of the generation. Rebbetzin Smiles.] Our work is our struggle with our yetzer horo. For Yaakov and Yosef who are called tzadikim, they had already wrestled with the yetzer horo. Their work is to continue doing good.
Our world is a world of constant challenges. We each have our own personalized struggles. Our mission is to grow through these challenges. As the mishneh in Ethics of our Fathers states, "Lfum tza'ara agra/in proportion to the pain is the reward." In other words, the reward is not commensurate with the accomplishment, but rather with the struggle and growth through the process. As Rabbi Nosson Cohen writes in Aderes Kohen, Hashem, in His great love, wants us to earn the rewards of the next world rather that receive them as acts of charity that cause embarrassment.
Every challenge that is presented to us, even the most mundane, offers an opportunity for growth. When someone cuts you off in traffic, or when the children haven't even started their homework or their chores, or traffic is making you late for an important meeting -- each of these and so many other daily frustrations are mini battlegrounds with the yetzer horo. One's reaction or deed done with a struggle is more important than a great accomplishment done with ease. As Rabbi Mordechai Ezrachi says, tranquility is the world of the future because as long as you live, you will face challenges. Therefore, your mission continues as long as you are alive.
In Ohel Moshe, Rabbi Scheinerman brings a wonderful analogy from the Saba of Kelm, an analogy that evokes images of the American frontier. Gold nuggets are hidden among the grains of sand and silt. When prospectors search for gold, they must pan and sift through and discard much sand to uncover the tiny nugget of gold. Similarly, the soul of man, full of positive middos/character traits, is covered by the body of earthly, physical challenges. The "panning process" is to meet those challenges and remove the negative actions and reactions that cover up our inner value and purity.
It is precisely these challenges, writes Rabbi Kluger in My Sole Desire, that helps us find our true, inner, spiritual selves through which we connect to Hashem and to the next world, where we can achieve that ultimate closeness with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
How can we define what is good and what is bad? Rabbi Rosenblatt gives us a simple (but not easy) test: That which brings us closer to Hashem and moves us toward fulfilling our spiritual potential is good; anything which distances us from Hashem and delays our improvement is bad. Greatness are those who meet their adversity and overcome it. The entirety of our world is about the process of purification, adds Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz. The process begins before any act, and continues through the act and the aftermath of the act. [As discussed in a previous shiur, even a positive act can be negated by later dismissing it or regretting it. CKS] Even failure itself is often part of the growth process. As Rebbetzin Smiles so succinctly put it, "Life is a laboratory in self growth."
In this context, we can understand these challenges not as punishments, but as building blocks toward growing into the person we am meant to be, writes Rabbi Mintzberg in Ben Melech. We are continually changing, and therefore the challenges themselves must also change. Even when a challenge seems the same as the one we faced yesterday, we will approach it differently each time. If we feel despair, that we cannot extricate ourselves from the rut we are in, that too is part of the challenge. The Netivot Shalom encourages us, those moments when you feel you can no longer move forward, but you push yourself to symbolically put one foot before the other, those are the most precious moments to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
When dealing with challenges both big and small, one must keep in mind two things, continues Rabbi Mintzberg. First, even when it is difficult, I still serve Hashem and push through, and second, accept the challenge with love, knowing that Hashem gives us exactly what we need. When you can keep these thoughts in mind, you diminish the pain and you do not argue with God. You accept the challenge with love and do the hard work necessary to meet and overcome the challenge,
Yaakov wanted to rest peacefully, but life itself is a challenge, and life itself is a temporary condition. Rabbi Sorotskin presents a wonderful analogy to help us in coping with the challenges of life. Imagine you must stay at a hotel for a short period of time en route to a more permanent destination. Even if the conditions of the hotel are not optimal, you face the conditions with equanimity, knowing it is only temporary. If we can view our mortal life as a temporary state, we will be capable of facing our challenges more easily, knowing they are transitory. As Insights on the Medrash explains, with that perspective, we can tolerate the hardships as mere stings of a flea that will soon pass in comparison to the intensity of unending joy we will experience in the World to Come, having endured and overcome these challenges.
However, there is also a completely different perspective on this Rashi. The Modzitzer Rav and Rabbi Scheinerman, citing Rav Hutner zt"l, argue that there was an error in the transcription of this Rashi. They insist that it is not a question Satan asks, but rather, as the Midrash states a loving statement from Hashem, "It is not enough that tranquility is prepared for them in the World to come; they are permitted to seek tranquility in this world as well." In other words, one should enjoy this world, but one must remain cognizant that all one has and enjoys is a gift from the Ribbono shel Olam., and, while one may enjoy the physical pleasures, that must not be one's goal. One's focus must be on spiritual pursuits. As Rebbetzin Heller suggests, remember that every person must believe that the world was created specifically for him, that the beautiful sunset, the delicate flower were artwork Hashem created for him to enjoy, and the delicious, flavorful food was all a manifestation of God's love for him. At the conclusion of creation, Hashem declares that it was all "very good." Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt"l teaches that indeed we are meant to enjoy the world, but we must acknowledge and exalt its Creator. As you anticipate the taste of the juicy fruit, take a moment to appreciate its beauty, its aroma, make the brachah, bite in and savor the flavor. Our worldview lies in sharp contrast to the instant gratification the secular world seeks. Our world wants to make physical pleasure a source of connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
We can understand the connection between the physical world and the spiritual world by going back to the progenitors of all mankind the second time around, through the sons of Noah, Shem, Cham and Yafet. These three represent the three aspects of man, writes Rabbi Leff in Festivals of Light. Shem, translates as Name, signifying the essence of a thing. For Man, this is his spiritual core. Yaphet translates to beauty, the external framework, the physical form through which man lives. Cham means heat, signifying the passions and life force. Beauty and aesthetics should grow, but should be used within the framework and tent of the spiritual Shem, while the passions must be subjugated to the body and the soul, to build and not destroy.
When beauty becomes totally independent, refusing to "live in the tents of Shem," when it elevates the external beauty and wisdom as the main purpose of existence, it becomes Greek culture, willing to sacrifice everything in the name of the pagan god of beauty. The very name of יון/Greece shows the emptiness of the culture—three lines, totally disconnected, continues Rabbi Leff. Only the spiritual can connect it all.
Bobover Rebbe in Kedushas Zion interprets the medrash a little differently. When the Satan asks Hashem what would seem to be a rhetorical question, "Isn't it enough that he will have the joys of olam habo that he also seeks tranquility in this world?" Hashem replies by twisting the Satan's intent, "You're right; it's not enough. He should seek tranquility in this world as well to be able to serve Hashem better."
How does the Bobover Rebbe reconcile his interpretation of Rashi with the fact Yaakov indeed was beset with the grief over Yosef? The Rebbe explains that Yaakov was destined to descend to Egypt in chains, but because of his desire for tranquility, Hashem arranged for Yaakov Avinu to descend to Egypt with honor, in wagons sent by Yosef, his viceroy son, and his reward in the World to Come would not be diminished.
Hashem created the world and then put Man in it. When we tether the turmoil life presents to the tranquility of deep faith in Hashem, we can achieve tranquility both in this world and in the World to Come.