Part I
The Chazon Ish's Rule
The Chazon Ish was once asked this question: May religious
Jews in Givat Olga (near Chadera) jointly open a kindergarten
with less religious residents, since they didn't have enough
children to open their own kindergarten? The other residents
refused to appoint a Bais Yaakov kindergarten teacher and
insisted on getting a teacher certified by the State.
The Chazon Ish ruled that they could join the others on
condition that the kindergarten walls be decorated with
pictures of the Chofetz Chaim and other leading Torah sages,
and that no other pictures be allowed.
He explained his decision by saying that viewing the sages'
faces daily would leave a powerful impression on the
children's pure souls and guarantee a firm spiritual
foundation. To the disappointment of the religious Jews, the
less religious residents were deterred by even this minimal
condition and rejected all cooperation. That put an end to
the initiative. (Pe'er Hador, Vol. 4, pg. 149)
This story about the Chazon Ish teaches us that providing
children with role models to emulate and yearn to be like is
an important fundamental in education.
What is the point of hanging pictures on the wall? So we can
point to them and say that these are the people that we take
pride in. These are the people that we hope our children will
be like.
The aim of this discourse is to explain how yearning and
longing is a precursor of any achievement.
"There Is No Artist Like Our G-d"
Towards the end of our prayers, we recite Pitum Haketoress
which discusses the ingredients used in the incense
burned in the Sanctuary. This prayer is preceded by the
pesukim, "Kaveh el Hashem" which includes the verse
(Shmuel I 2:2) "There is no Rock like our G-d." Let us
dwell a moment on the connection between this verse and
Pitum Haketoress.
Our sages in Brochos 10a explain on the phrase, "There
is no Rock [tzur] like our G-d": This should be
understood as meaning that there is no artist [tzayar]
like our G-d. Notice how different G-d is from man. A person
cannot infuse his drawing with a soul or life or inner
organs. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is different. He can
make one drawing inside another and infuse it with a soul and
life and inner organs. As Channah said in her prayer
(Ibid.) "There is none as holy as G-d, there is none
but Him. There is no Rock like our G-d."
Our Creator is called the Supreme Artist, an artist without
peer. He "drew" a world full of creations and then imbued
them with life and a soul. All earthly creations are physical
parallels of spiritual creations above, as it says, "He
created them in the image of G-d." (Bereishis 1:27)
The Israelites' longing to resemble heavenly creations is
expanded upon in the Torah section (at the beginning of
Bamidbar) where the Israelites asked for flags to
identify and mark the tribes' individual camps.
The Torah tells us (Bamidbar 2:2): "Each man was next
to his flag's emblems," and Rashi explains: "Each flag had an
emblem with its own specific color . . . and each one's color
corresponded to its jewel in the Choshen HaMishpot so
that each one knew which flag was his."
Rashi explains that the word osos (emblems) derives
from the word os (sign or mark). However, Rabbeinu
Bechaye writes that it is possible that the word osos
derives from the word avas, as in the verse "all that
your soul desires (avas nafshecho)" (Devorim
12:20), meaning that each Israelite longed for his tribe to
have a flag.
Our sages explain (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2:13 on the
posuk Shir Hashirim 2:4) that at the Revelation on
Mount Sinai, the Ministering Angels held aloft flaming
"flags" of fire in a variety of colors and hues while
accompanying Hashem as He descended upon the mountain. The
Israelites saw these flags and were overcome with the desire
to emulate them.
The flags which distinguished the Israelites' camp in the
desert were therefore due to their fervent longing to appear
similar to the camp of ministering angels at the Revelation
on Mount Sinai. "Were it not that you longed to emulate them,
you wouldn't have received these flags." (Ibid.)
We learn from this a great principle in life. To acquire a
virtue or 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.
Why Longing Is a Prerequisite to Achievement
What does longing for something accomplish? Semanticists
explain that the Hebrew word ga'aguim (longings) come
from the word noga (to touch, reach). A person
connects himself to an object or a spiritual level when he
longs for it. Conversely, if he doesn't long for it this
shows that he is detached, unconnected — and therefore
will not attain it.
Tana Devei Eliahu Rabboh 25:2 advises us: Each person
must ask himself, "When will my deeds reach those of my
Ovos, Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov?"
Rav Simcha Bunim of Pershischa asked (Siach Sarfei
Kodesh, p. 8): Which fool believes that his deeds will
ever come close to those of our holy Ovos? He explains
that the word yagi'a (usually translated "reach") must
instead be explained as "longing." If we would only long that
our deeds be like the lofty deeds of our Ovos, then
our deeds truly would become more like theirs.
The Power of Smell
Longing may be aroused in different ways.
Longing can be aroused through smell. Have you ever passed by
a bakery and smelled the delectable fragrance of fresh bread?
Did you feel a longing to taste fresh bread?
One case where the sense of smell was used to arouse longing
for G-d was the ketoress (incense) which was burnt in
the Beis Hamikdosh. The Israelites could not see it
because they were not allowed inside the Heichal.
Nevertheless, they were able to smell the heavenly
fragrance and that aroused a deep longing to serve G-d. Smell
is one way to create closeness when physical access is
unavailable.
Longing can also be aroused through seeing, as was the case
with the flags we mentioned above. The truth is that it was
extremely audacious on the Israelites' part to desire flags
like those held by G-d's awesome ministering angels. Who is
man that he should be deserving of anything, as King David
declares: "What is man, that You remember him; the son of
man, that You should be mindful of him?" (Tehillim
8:5)
But since His puny creatures longed intensely to have flags
similar to the ones they saw at the Revelation on Mount
Sinai, G-d responded to their longing, fulfilled their
request and gave them flags. Although what they were granted
was only a pale comparison of what exists in heaven, it was
still a genuine replication!
Longing for Shabbos Kodesh
Longing is an essential component of any effort to achieve
kedushoh.
We honor Shabbos by washing and putting on special garments.
The Rambam tells us that if we have not done one other thing,
we have not properly honored Shabbos. What is it? Let us hear
the Rambam's own words (Hilchos Shabbos 30:2):
"What is honoring Shabbos? Our sages tells us that a person
is commanded to wash his face, hands and feet in warm water
before Shabbos in order to honor Shabbos. He wraps himself in
his tallis and sits solemnly, waiting to welcome the
Shabbos as if he is about to welcome a king."
The external preparations are easy, but "awaiting Shabbos" is
not so simple. What is required is not an action but an
entirely different mindset. (It was said about the Brisker
Rov that he would actually go out and sit on the porch of his
house, serenely waiting for Shabbos to come, as if awaiting a
distinguished guest.)
Longing for the Torah
Sefiras HaOmer does not appear to be a difficult mitzvah.
Every night we count how many days have passed since Pesach.
However, this mitzvah has an aspect which is not easy to
fulfill. The Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah #306) explains
the reason for this mitzvah: "And since the main thing for
Israel is that they were redeemed from the hard labor and
achieved greatness, we are commanded to count from the day
following the first day of Pesach until the day the Torah was
given to demonstrate our great longing for this glorious day,
which is our hearts' desire. It is like a servant who longs
for his freedom and keeps counting to when this longed- for
day will arrive and he will go free. Counting the days shows
how much a person longs for that time (as Moreh Nevuchim
3:43 states).
How important the Revelation of the Torah is to a person can
be measured by how much he awaits it. Every Jew is expected
to count the days until the Revelation on Mt. Sinai as a sign
that he impatiently longs for it.
Bestirring Oneself to Seek G-d
Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal) in Derech Hashem
(4, 5, 1) explains the essence of prayer and its
conditions:
"Prayer is an imperative to one who possesses knowledge of G-
d's existence. Since all creatures receive their bounty from
the blessed G-d, they should be bestirred to want to be close
to Him and to seek His favor."
Ramchal mentions three things which are an inseparable part
of prayer: bestirring oneself, drawing close to G-d, and
petitioning Him.
Ramchal's words contain an astonishingly novel idea. He
includes bestirring oneself towards petitioning G-d as an
essential component of prayer.
If a man woke in the morning, prepared himself to pray, felt
close to G-d, stood before Him and even requested his needs -
- if he did all this without first bestirring himself to feel
G-d's presence — then he has only prayed perfunctorily
and his prayer is missing an essential component — even
if he has fulfilled his obligation to pray according to the
letter of law.
Why is it so important to bestir oneself? Bestirring oneself
means that one feels truly fortunate and excited to stand
before one's Creator and that one longs for this moment.
This feeling is not an extra virtue, but a condition upon
which a prayer's success is contingent. As Ramchal continues:
"According to how much they bestir themselves, to that degree
will they be granted abundance. And if they don't bestir
themselves, abundance will not be channeled down to them."
End of Part I
