[This shmuess was delivered in 5743.]
Part II
The first part explained how clear it is and how much
testimony there was to the truth of the events around
yetzias Mitzrayim. The entire generation that went out
was, in effect, a witness to what is written in the Torah.
This shmuess strongly reflects the elemental emunah that
Maran HaRav Shach stressed continually stressed in so many of
his talks.
*
The Rambam (Hilchos Avodas Kochavim, Chap. 1) explains
at length the chain of events that led up to worldwide idol
worship. At its onset, in the times of Enosh, many people
mistakenly thought that since Hashem had created the sun,
moon, and stars to serve Him, it was proper to extol and
honor them. They should be honored just as every king wants
those who serve him to be honored. People began building
temples for the heavenly hosts and brought sacrifices to
them. Later false prophets began lying and claiming that a
star had spoken to them and said "Worship me!" until
eventually Hashem was forgotten by the masses. Only
individuals such as Chanoch, Mesushelach, Noach, Shem and
Ever, knew of Hashem's presence, until Avrohom Ovinu —
the pillar of the world — was born. After Avrohom was
weaned he began thinking day and night, contemplating
everything around him, studying the exact and miraculous ways
of the heavens and earth, until he realized that the world
cannot be without a ruler, that the palace must have a
master. This is the substance of what the Rambam says.
This must be explained. Actually it is possible for a palace
not to have a current owner. Although a palace must be made
by someone, after it is finished the owner can abandon it and
then there will be no one taking care of it. Avrohom Ovinu,
however, understood that this palace, that is, the
world, cannot exist unless it has a permanent master. If
there is no master for this palace, if there is no Creator of
the World who always renews His creation ex nihilo
(yeish mei'ayin, creation from complete nothingness),
there is, chas vesholom, no Creation. This is
explained by the Rambam (Yesodei HaTorah 1:1):
"Everything that exists in the heavens and the earth and all
that is between them exists only because of the truth of His
existence. If it He did not exist, then nothing else would
exist."
The one-time, original creation ex nihilo by
HaKodosh Boruch Hu does not necessitate that the next
moment the Creation will also exist. Each moment the creation
is renewed through Hashem's goodness. The fact that the sun
follows its orbit on one day does not necessitate its doing
so on the next. Ma'aseh bereishis renews itself every
moment through the Creator's constantly reiterated
command.
This is the creation's mode of existence, the way that it has
been nurtured for thousands of years, in a balanced and
permanent order. It is not because it was once created during
the Six Days of the Creation that it continues to exit, but
only because it is actually being created now — now,
too, it is an ex nihilo creation!
We learn this lesson from the splitting of the Yam Suf. At
that time the creation's order was changed and the ocean
became dry land. This is proof that the existence of the
ocean is renewed each moment ex nihilo. When the will
of the Creator is to stop the ocean from existing as an ocean
and to turn it to dry land, it immediately becomes dry
land.
If we want to see this truth we can prove it with what we see
with our own eyes. We hold a fruit in our hand, a fruit that
grew from this tree here. Does the tree actually have the
power to grow such a fruit? What compels the tree's fruits to
have their unique shape and nature, unless there is a Ruler
over the "palace" who at every moment commands the tree: grow
such a fruit.
A person speaks, and because of his intelligence he
understands what others speak. What necessitates his
understanding? Does the part of the body called the "brain"
have the power to give a person understanding? The brain is
nothing but a lump of tissue. There is surely a sublime
spiritual power constantly giving it the ability to
understand.
"Know therefore this day, and consider in your heart, that
Hashem is the Elokim in heaven above and upon the
earth beneath; there is no other" (Devorim 4:39).
"There is no other" means that "the palace must have a
master." The owner must every moment renew the creation ex
nihilo. If He does not renew it, the entire universe
reverts to null and void. There must be an master of the
palace, since if He, chas vesholom, did not exist
— nothing else would exist, since the existence of the
entire creation is dependent exclusively upon His power and
will.
Avrohom Ovinu therefore renounced his generation's mistaken
philosophy. If HaKodosh Boruch Hu created the sun and
then after being created the sun did not need Hashem's power
and constant supervision to exist and fulfill its function,
then it would be logical to honor the sun, since the sun is
serving us by itself and we enjoy its light. Since, however,
this is not true, and the sun constantly needs the Creator's
will to renew its heavenly path, the pleasure that we derive
from the sun's light is actually not from the sun but from He
who is constantly renewing it — Who guides its path and
causes the sun always to shine.
This pleasure is thus given to us by the Creator alone. Why
should we honor the sun? Does it give us this pleasure?
This can be compared to a father who gave his son money to
hand over to someone else. Would we say that the son gave his
own money to that person? Surely the father is the one who
gave the money. Similarly the whole Creation, by its
continuing to exist is, as it were, admitting that there is a
Ruler of the Palace, a ruler Who not only created it at the
beginning ex nihilo, but also makes it exist every
moment.
*
These principles are taught in a particularly clear way in
the parshos of yetzias Mitzrayim. In them it is
lucidly revealed to all that the Creator is alone the baal
habayis of the world. He constantly causes the world to
exist. He supervises all the world's "nature" and has the
power to change His command whenever He wishes.
This theme is explained at length by HaRav Chaim of Volozhin
in his Nefesh HaChaim (beginning of chap. 3). Chazal
write that HaKodosh Boruch Hu is called Mekomo shel
olom (the place of the world). R' Chaim explains that the
concept mokom mentioned here differs from the usual
definition of mokom, meaning a physical place.
Take, for instance, a vessel put on top of a table. In such a
case the vessel has its own reality and the table only holds
it so that it does not fall and break. The existence of the
universe is not like that. HaKodosh Boruch Hu is not a
mokom for the Creation so that it will not fall and be
destroyed. Rather, the very existence of all the worlds, in
every moment, is only through Hashem. The Word of Hashem
renews every day the maaseh bereishis. Through His
utterance the heavens are constantly being created. If,
chas vesholom, Hashem were to remove the Dvar
Hashem for just one moment and withdraw His will from
generating the Creation, the world would immediately turn to
nothing.
R' Chaim goes on (3:3) to explain that this theme is
expressed in the posuk, "Know therefore this day, and
consider in your heart, that Hashem is the Elokim in
heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is no other,"
and also in the posuk, "To you it was shown in order
to know that Hashem is the Elokim. There is none beside Him"
(Devorim 4:35). These pesukim are readily
understood literally: there is nothing at all besides Hashem,
in any particular point in all the worlds, both higher and
lower. Only the essence of His unity fills the whole world.
Anything created, even though it is tangible to our senses,
is nevertheless not really independent. Relative to Hashem,
it is as if nonexistent, as if before being created.
A person who lives with such a thought of "there is none
besides Him" understands that evil is nonexistent. Since
everything is worthless besides Hashem and "there is none
besides Him," only the Creator of the World fills and
encompasses the universe. Just as a person's right hand would
not cause damage to his left hand, it is impossible for a
person to be harmed. This point is told us by the
posuk, "evil shall not dwell with you"
(Tehillim 5:5). Evil cannot exist at all, since it is
not an entity. Besides Hashem nothing exists, and His unity
envelopes the whole creation.
Sometimes things will happen to a person which seem to him
evil. Nonetheless, all these do not, chas vesholom,
harm a person, but were designed for the aim that the Supreme
Intelligence wanted. We do not always understand it. Our duty
as created creatures is to believe that this is so.
We must therefore "make a brocho on the bad just as on
the good" (Brochos 54a). We find this in Dovid
Hamelech, who said, "Of kindness and justice do I sing"
(Tehillim 101:1) — whether when the Creator is
doing kindness to me, or when He brings upon me Heavenly
Justice — in both cases I will always sing to Him.
Now we can understand better the posuk, "In all their
affliction He was afflicted" (Yeshayohu 63:9). Since
"there is none besides Him," when Yisroel are enveloped with
suffering the Shechinah suffers with them too —
"He was afflicted." R' Meir (Sanhedrin 46a) remarked,
"When a person has sorrows the Shechinah says, "My
head is heavy, my arms are heavy" (see Rashi).
However, to reach a true and clear recognition of these
matters we must contemplate with real depth and not
superficially. Only then can we grasp and see truly the
degree of "there is none besides Him."
Hashem rules over everything: He is the Creator, the ruler of
the world, and He makes the entire universe exist. He gives
power and being to the whole Creation. He gives power to all
of the creatures to function. He gives a person power to
understand and can remove that power from a person. He and
only He: none exists besides Him.
End of Part II
