Part II
In the first part, HaRav Samsonowitz noted that it was the
yearning of the Jewish people to resemble heavenly creations
that brought them their arrangement in the Camp in the desert
under flags (degolim). On Mount Sinai the Ministering
Angels held flaming "flags" of fire when accompanying Hashem
as He descended upon the mountain. The Israelites saw these
flags and were overcome with the desire to emulate them. To
acquire a virtue or a new spiritual level, one must first
long for it. After a person demonstrates that he desires it,
Heaven will relate favorably to his request and help him
attain it. We see that longing is made an explicit
requirement for fully fulfilling many mitzvos. We must long
for our deeds to reach those of our Ovos. The heavenly
fragrance of the ketoress aroused a deep longing to
serve G-d. The Rambam says that as part of our preparation
for Shabbos we must long for it to come, as if awaiting a
distinguished guest. Sefiras HaOmer is an exercise in longing
for Matan Torah. The Ramchal says that an essential component
of prayer is to be "bestirred to want to be close to Him and
to seek His favor." This feeling is not an extra virtue, but
a condition upon which a prayer's success is contingent. If
we do not bestir ourselves, shefa will not be
channeled down upon us.
And He Ran After Eliahu
Our traditions indicate three kinds of relationship to those
who teach us Torah. The Shulchan Oruch has clear-cut
halachic parameters concerning who is considered one's main
teacher (rav muvhak), and who is considered one who
has taught him only part of what he knows. However, there is
a third category that we will call "rebbe" for lack of a
better term. This is the individual who a person feels is his
main mentor. He turns to him for resolution of his doubts. He
accepts his decisions, he deeply admires him, and he longs to
be in his presence.
How can a person be certain who is his rebbe? This question
concerns every one of us. I asked this question of the
gaon Rav Yitzchok Hutner zt"l, and he answered
me that this matter is explained in Melochim I 19:19-
21: "Eliyahu passed by where Elisha the son of Shophot was
plowing, and he cast his mantle upon him. And [Elisha] left
the oxen and ran after Eliyahu, and said: `Please let me kiss
my father and my mother good-by, and then I will follow you.'
And he said to him, `Go with them; what do you want from me?'
... But he arose, and went after Eliyahu, and served him.
"
Elisha had never met Eliyahu before the moment his mantle
touched him. But the effect of those few moments on him was
electrifying. Elisha immediately left the plowshare and gave
up all his worldly assets and livelihood to serve his new
rebbe, Eliyahu.
Elisha's longing for Eliyahu is expressed in the verse, "Draw
me after you and we shall run" (Shir Hashirim 1:4). A
true disciple feels a longing for his rebbe, whether he is
his rebbe's presence or not. The proof, explained Rav Hutner,
is how a person feels when he is without his rebbe for a
period of time. If he has a strong longing to see him, then
it is clear that he is his rebbe.
What Children a Person Should Long For
In explaining the parameters of the mitzva, "Know Him in all
your ways" (Mishlei 3;6), the Rambam explains
(Hilchos Dei'os 3:3): "It is not proper to wish for
sons who will engage in a livelihood and provide their own
needs. Rather, he should wish for . . . a son who will be a
wise man and great Torah scholar."
What's wrong with wanting to have children in fulfillment of
the mitzva to be fruitful, and hoping that one's children be
Torah-observant Jews who keep the laws of the Shulchan
Oruch and set aside time for Torah study? Can every child
be a wise man and a great Torah scholar?
The Rambam teaches us, however, that if we are already asking
G-d for His blessing, we should ask Him to give us not less
than the best (as we explained in the discourse, "Living
Lechatchiloh", Kriya beKirya, Vol. II, p. 178). We
should request our true preferences and our ultimate desire.
The Rambam tells us that we should long for the very best,
for a son who will be a great Torah scholar.
Odom — "I Made Him Similar to the Divine"
Rav Chaim Volozhiner mentions (Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar
Beis, Chapter 5, "Delo Keshitat") that all the
names of the organs in a human body are borrowed from upper
forces and worlds, for all creations on earth are just
illustrations of reality as it exists in the heavens. For
instance, the physical hand which a person has in This World
corresponds to his soul's "hand" in heaven. Our goal while on
earth is to make our body and soul as spiritual as our
corresponding divine soul in heaven.
Ruach Chaim (1:1) on Ovos (also authored by Rav Chaim
Volozhiner) explains why Avrohom's name was called twice in
one verse, "Avrohom, Avrohom" (Bereishis 22:11 —
and similar verses on Yaakov and Moshe Rabbeinu). He says
that this was because he had achieved such holiness that the
lower part of his soul which existed on earth was identical
to its sublime upper soul in heaven. In fact, every person's
mission on earth is to have his earthly soul converge as
closely as possible with his heavenly soul. That is why we
are placed in This World.
There is a difference in how the verses write Moshe's,
Yaakov's, and Avrohom's names twice. Whereas Yaakov and
Avrohom have a makaf appearing before the repetition
of their names, Moshe's two names are written without any
dividing cantillation mark. This was because Moshe Rabbeinu
uniquely achieved the level where his lower and upper soul
were virtually the same, as opposed to Avrohom and Yaakov who
still had a slight difference between the two.
"The Soul Will Not Be Satisfied"
Mesillas Yeshorim (Chapter 1) proves that a person's
purpose of existence cannot be for This World but for the
World to Come. One of the proofs that he gives: "Furthermore,
if man had been created solely for the sake of this world, he
would have had no need of such a precious and exalted soul
which elevates him above the angels themselves, and which
derives no satisfaction whatsoever from all earthly
pleasures. Our Sages of blessed memory teach us in the
Midrash (Koheles Rabboh), ` "And also the soul will
not be filled" (Koheles 6:7). What is this analogous
to? To a city dweller who married a princess. If he brought
her all the possessions in the world, it would mean nothing
to her because she is the daughter of a king. So is it with
the soul. If it were to be given all the delights of This
World they are worth nothing to it, because it is from the
upper world.' "
All worldly pleasures do not satisfy the yearning soul
because it longs to reach its home where pleasures are
spiritual and not corporal.
What a person longs for shows whether his body or soul rules
over him. If his body is in control, then his soul is
confined in a materialistic prison, pining for genuine
spiritual pleasure and suffering continual frustration!
A Person's Longings Give Him Away
Bilaam merited to perceive the great spiritual level of a
Jew. He praised the Jewish people's ultimate end in these
immortal words (Bamidbar 23:10) "Let my soul die the
death of the righteous and let my end be like theirs!" Even
though Bilaam keenly perceived the Jews' great spiritual
level and their magnificent spiritual future, he preferred to
defer the long-awaited utopia when the world will come to its
rectification (Ibid. 24:17): "I see it but not now; I
anticipate it, but not soon." This wicked man was totally
immersed in earthly vanities and didn't want to give up his
depraved pleasures. Although he acknowledged the majesty of
the end of days, Bilaam disdained it due to his immersion in
coarse physicality.
In contrast, Moshe Rabbeinu said (Devorim 30:11-14):
"For this mitzvah which I command you today (the Ramban says
he was referring to the mitzvah of repentance) is not too
awesome. It is not far away . . . for the matter is very
close to you, in your mouth and in your heart; it is
doable."
Moshe Rabbeinu felt as if the wave of repentance that would
occur in the period before the Redemption was transpiring
right before his eyes. While yet during his lifetime, long
before it took place, he longed for it and felt it occurring
in front of him.
Everyone who sincerely longs for a certain thing, feels it is
attainable and not far off. (Hebrew semanticists say that the
word "kesef" — money, is derived from the same
root as longing (kissufim). Money enables a person to
acquire the object that he desires. Kissufim, longing,
is likewise the force that enables a person to attain things
that would ordinarily remain out of reach. (Heard from my
rebbe, HaRav Yonoson David)
Summary
We explained at length what is longing, why it is important
and what benefit it accrues. Longing lifts a person up to
spiritual worlds that would otherwise remain unattainable.
That's why we should anticipate Shabbos and should long to
have children who are Torah scholars and gedolim. We
should run enthusiastically to the beis midrash to
learn Torah, just as we enthusiastically received the Torah
on Mt. Sinai. We should feel longing for a rebbe, and seek to
spend time with him and serve him with all our heart.
A person longs for the source he was hewn from. A person is
called "Odom," from the term "adameh le'Elyon"
— "I want to be similar to the One Above," because
his soul, which is from heaven, finds no satisfaction in
earthly pleasures.
