Part I
"`And behold, a dreadful darkness fell upon him'
(Bereishis 15:12). This darkness symbolizes Greece,
that darkened the eyes of Yisroel with their decrees. They
ordered Yisroel to write on the ox's horn that they have no
part in the Elokim of Yisroel" (Bereishis
Rabbah 44:17).
"When the kingdom of wicked Greece grew strong, they enacted
massive and peculiar shmad decrees on Yisroel to
destroy their religion. They decreed that the Jews must
desecrate the Shabbos, that they may not perform bris
milah, and that each Jew must write on his garment that
he has no part in Hashem the Elokim of Yisroel. He
must carve the same on his ox's horn and afterwards plow with
it. This decree continued about fifty-two years" (Rambam in
Igeres Teiman).
It is amazing that of all these decrees, apparently the least
harmful was carving on an ox's horn a declaration of having
no part in the Elokim of Yisroel. Someone not owning
an ox would naturally be excluded from that decree, and
others owning an ox could sell them. The Midrash
Chanukah (in Osef Beis Hamedrash) indeed writes
that the Jews immediately sold their animals.
Nevertheless Chazal, in the abovementioned Midrash,
conclude that this decree in particular symbolizes the
Greeks' darkening the eyes of Yisroel. What is the reason?
We infer that this decree has profound significance and
encompasses the very substance of the Greeks' decrees. We
learn from what the Maharal of Prague writes briefly about
this matter (in Ner Mitzvah) that the Greeks intended
by their decree to allude to the sin of the Golden Calf
(Cheit Ha'eigel). They aimed to prove that the Jews'
sin of the eigel actually shows that they had no part
in the Elokim of Yisroel.
The Maharal cites the gemora's statement
(Brochos 32b) that HaKodosh Boruch Hu promised
that He would forget the episode of the eigel, as is
written, "These too may be forgotten" (Yeshayohu
49:15).
Furthermore, we must understand why the Greeks decided to
force the Jews to carve their declaration on an ox's horn and
not on the ox's body. The Rambam adds that this decree
included requiring them "afterwards to plow with it." What
does their plowing later on have to do with the decree? Why
was carving on the ox's horn insufficient?
The Difference Between an Ox and a Donkey
The ox (shor) is considered to be a symbol of a high
spiritual level, and its image is carved in the Throne of
Glory (Yechezkel 1:10). The ox is the king of the
beheimos (Chagigah 13b) and it is the primary
korbon: "When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born . . .
and thenceforth it may be accepted for a korbon isheh
for Hashem" (Vayikra 22:27, and Midrash
Rabbah).
The donkey is symbolic of the lowest spiritual level. Its
name — chamor — testifies its being an
entirely material entity — fully chomriyus
(materialism). "You must know that there is no creation
simpler than the donkey, which is entirely physical. A
physical entity — chomer — is a formless
one. Since the donkey is inclined towards the physical
— the chomer — it is the simplest creature
in the Creation . . . It is the simplest animal of all the
beheimos in the world" (Gevuros Hashem, chap.
29).
"The ox (shor), whose name is related to the Hebrew
Ashurenu (I will see him) but not now'
(Bamidbar 24:17), is on a lofty level in the higher
worlds and the celestial brilliance. Tzaddikim are
called shor, as we find by Yosef who was called a
shor. A donkey (chamor) means chomriyus,
which implies the body" (Ma'or VaShemesh on the
posuk, "You shall not plow with a shor and a
chamor together" — Devorim 22:10).
If we consider only superficially, we may not understand why
the ox was chosen as a symbol of higher things than the
donkey. The ox is an extremely crude animal that eats a lot,
and its way of eating is unrefined (it sullies the grass with
its saliva and later eats it, see Metzudas Dovid
— Tehillim 106:20 — on the posuk,
"An ox that eats grass). Its horns frighten its entire
vicinity and the Gemora discusses at great length the
dinim concerning the damages it causes.
On the other hand, a donkey is modest and strong. Its needs
are minimal, and the benefit derived from it is enormous. It
carries heavy loads without complaints and is grateful to its
owner (see Rashi, Bereishis 49:14 on the posuk,
"Yissochor is a strong-boned donkey" and the Radak on
Yeshayohu 1:3).
*
"Rovo said: Iyov attempted to free the whole world from
responsibility for their acts. He said `Ruler of the World!
You created an ox — its hooves are cloven. You created
a donkey — its hoofs are solid. You created
tzaddikim, you created reshoim. Who can prevent
You from doing what You wish?' " (Bovo Basra 16a).
The ox did not earn its status of kashrus through the
merit of its efforts to advance its avodas Hashem or
through its exemplary character traits. Likewise the donkey
is not tomei for eating because of any unethical
character traits.
It is a Divine decree that one animal would be created with
signs of tohoroh while the other would have signs of
tumah. Similarly, we find tzaddikim in whom it
appears that the yetzer tov is naturally implanted,
while we find reshoim who were apparently created with
an overwhelming yetzer hora. If such is the case, then
those who sin are compelled to do so because of their innate
nature and should not be punished. Likewise, tzaddikim
who were born with an inclination towards good do not merit
reward for their good deeds. The conclusion: there is no free
choice! This was Iyov's way of freeing the world from
responsibility for its deeds.
This distinction, or to be more precise this lack of
distinction, between an ox and a donkey is likely to lead us
to another, even sharper, conclusion: there is no difference
between tumah and taharoh; there are no higher
spiritual levels and no lower ones. There are indeed
differences between one physical entity and another, but
these differences are measured by what can be seen, measured,
and discerned — and only by these means!
The Cheit Ha'eigel Disproves the Level of the Shor and of
Yisroel
Greek wisdom is purely natural science. "May Elokim
beautify Yefes" (Bereishis 9:27). The children of
Yefes received a Divine gift: wisdom to understand the
natural world.
The ancient Greeks set the foundations for all the exact
sciences and paved the way for research into the Creation's
secrets. The world was created with the attribute of
Elokim, which is the attribute of strict judgment.
Nature lacks any element of free choice. Everything is
compelled to behave according to the rules that HaKodosh
Boruch Hu implanted in it with His wisdom. By more deeply
examining the Creation we reveal more and more of its laws
and its miraculous organization. This attests to the
existence of a Master over the world, through whose strength
and guidance the entire world's wonderful arrangement was
laid down. "In the beginning Elokim created" —
"with wisdom He created" (Targum Yonoson on
Bereishis 1:1).
Greek scholars observed the Creation's marvelous organization
and concluded that the entire world is "compelled." There is
nothing in the Creation dependent upon a free will.
Everything, including man, is compelled to act in the way it
acts.
These "wise" men announced that there is no difference
between a shor and a chamor. Besides the
physical differences that can be proven, no other difference
is possible. There is no judgment in the world and no
Judge.
Man is compelled to act as he does and is no better than an
animal that cannot change its nature and inclinations. Nature
(teva in Hebrew, which is the gematria of
Elokim) created reshoim and tzaddikim.
It is possible only to train or perhaps also educate man
somewhat, but no change in his essence is possible. It is a
"natural law" that a wise person will remain wise, an idiot
an idiot. A quick- tempered person will continue quick-
tempered, and a lustful person will carry on his way. (See
the "Eight Chapters" of the Rambam, chap. 6, where he cites
the philosophers' ideology. I explained the essence of Greek
wisdom in an article called "Greek and Torah Wisdom," printed
in Digleinu, Kislev, 5753).
Greek Wisdom is an "external" wisdom including only the
understanding of what can be seen in the external world. Even
when scientists reveal magnificent laws of nature, hitherto
hidden, this, according to them, is not a deep analysis of
the world's secrets. It is merely revealing what exists. It
makes known what until now, because of our lack of
discernment, was unknown to us.
The true "inner" wisdom is the Divine power in the Creation,
a power that is hidden from and higher than our powers of
perception. It is not accessible to them.
End of Part I (of 4)
The author is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Radin in
Netanya.
