Behar-Bechukosai, Lag BaOmer - The Belovedness of Yisroel in the Torah of Rashbi - Rabbi Asher Perkash

00:03 Shabbos Parshas Behar-Bechukosai always falls around Lag BaOmer, the day of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s passing and celebration. One thing that stands out especially in Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s teachings, both in the revealed Torah, in the Gemara, and in the inner dimension of Torah, in the Zohar, is his praise of the Jewish people and their greatness. He is one of the Tannaim whose words show how he praises and emphasizes the greatness of the Jewish people. And not only that: he does so especially in times of exile, in the bitter times of the darkness of exile. For Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai himself lived, as we discussed, in the early period of exile, at the beginning of this last exile. And as we discussed, he spent thirteen years in a cave, as the Gemara relates, and keenly felt the darkness of exile. In his teachings we find many statements of our Sages and Midrashim in which he emphasizes the praise of the Jewish people, their greatness, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s love for the Jewish people, precisely in difficult times of exile. As we discuss this subject today, we will also discuss how it is expressed in the weekly parsha, Parshas Behar and Parshas Bechukosai, in the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and of the Zohar, and how it finds expression in serving Hashem in our time. This gives tremendous strength. After all, we are living at a time when we all need strength. Every one of us needs it now, in a period

02:02 of great darkness, concealment, and obscurity: “For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the nations.” As we draw closer to the Geulah, in these times before the Geulah, we all need strength. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s words give us tremendous strength for the days and times in which we find ourselves. There is a well-known saying cited in Chassidus in the name of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, the Munkatcher, and others, who quote the words, “Rabbi Shimon is worthy of being relied upon in a time of need.” What is the Chassidic meaning of “Rabbi Shimon is worthy of being relied upon in a time of need”? When we are under pressure, under the strain of the footsteps of Moshiach, under the pressure of exile weighing on the heart and mind—precisely then, in a time of need, we can rely on Rabbi Shimon. We know that Rabbi Shimon is the one who took it upon himself, as the Gemara says in tractate Sukkah, “I can exempt the entire world from judgment.” He took all the concerns and all the obligations of the Jewish people onto his shoulders. We know that we can lean on great, broad, strong shoulders, and that gives us the greatest strength and the greatest joy in these days. And as always, we will begin with a story, and from there go on to find, in Parshas Behar as well, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s message and the wonderful lesson

03:42 and strength it offers the Jewish people in these days, in difficult days—and we will find this idea in Parshas Bechukosai as well. The story is one the Frierdiker Rebbe told at a farbrengen on the last day of Pesach 5702. The Frierdiker Rebbe related that 5666 was a very difficult year. As is known, there were major pogroms in Russia that year. It began with a gathering of rabbis in 5665. All the leading rabbis in Russia took part, with the Rebbe Rashab at their head. Other very prominent rabbis were there with him, including Rabbi Chaim of Brisk and more of the great rabbis then in Russia. At the time, the government wanted to compel the rabbis to study secular subjects and obtain a special qualification in secular knowledge. This was due to the influence of the maskilim, who wanted to [unclear]. Naturally, the rabbis strongly opposed it. A large meeting was held, but there was tremendous fear. Why? The government had said that if the rabbis did not accept its decision, it would carry out pogroms against Jews in 101 towns, G-d forbid. The rabbis were frightened and could not speak with much clarity, much less

05:19 say a word. That was how the meeting proceeded: there was really no one to speak up, no one to say what needed to be said, until the Rebbe Rashab asked to deliver the closing remarks. As the meeting came to an end, the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom Dovber, stood up and said: “It was not of our own will that we left the Land of Israel, and it will not be of our own will that we return to our holy land. Our Father, our King, sent us into exile and drove us out, and He will bring us back from there. But this we must declare before everyone: only our bodies went into exile; our souls and spirits never went into exile.” He then concluded in forceful terms that [unclear] would under no circumstances happen, and he fainted. Continuing the story, the Rebbe once related at a Yud-Beis Tammuz farbrengen that after this happened, the Rebbe Rashab was arrested. The government immediately placed him under arrest—house arrest, as it is called—and he was forced to remain at home for some time. Later, when Rabbi Chaim of Brisk came to visit him, he saw the Rebbe Rashab crying. He asked him, “Lubavitcher Rebbe, why are you crying? You did everything you could.” The Rebbe Rashab answered him with

07:05 a parable that went roughly like this: There is a great difference between an employee and the owner of a business. How do we see the difference? The employee arrives in the morning and leaves in the evening. He knows he will receive his wages, and how the business is doing does not concern him; he knows that at the end of the month he will get his money and be able to live on it. But it is not like that for the owner. The income, the expenses, the concern that the business actually runs properly—the Rebbe Rashab explained that if someone is only looking to see what he himself must do, it does not concern him whether the matter actually gets accomplished. “I did it. I did what I could, and I am satisfied.” But an owner cares that things succeed, and if the matter is not accomplished, he is [unclear] by it. And this is a story the Rebbe [unclear] told us about what the Rebbe Rashab said: We must know that although we are in exile, only our bodies are in exile; our souls never went into exile. We will hear those words again later,

08:24 those very words that the Frierdiker Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, repeated years later when he was released from imprisonment. The tremendous self-sacrifice he displayed in those years was actual self-sacrifice: he was arrested, and they wanted, G-d forbid, to take his life, as is known. Then, on Gimmel Tammuz, when the Rebbe was formally released from prison and sent into exile, which was supposed to last three years—in fact, it lasted only a few days—he stood on the train on his way into exile, surrounded by police officers and others who were there, people who stood on precisely the opposite side: members of the Yevsektsiya, members of the GPU, and all those who had persecuted him. Standing there, he repeated those exact words. He said the words spoken before that act of self-sacrifice, and repeated them at that moment. In the weekly parsha, Parshas Behar, in the second half of the parsha, there are several verses: “If your brother becomes impoverished.” They speak of a Jew who becomes poor and sells himself as a servant, and the Torah sets out many laws, mitzvos, and details concerning someone who sells himself, when a person has sold himself as a...

09:56 But there is a very rich interpretation by the holy Or Hachayim, explaining a large part of the parsha and the entire sequence of verses there. The holy Or Hachayim explains that they speak of Jews during exile. “If your brother becomes impoverished”—“your brother” refers to Jews, and “becomes impoverished” means becoming poor in mitzvos. The words also speak of Hakadosh Boruch Hu: this is the pain of the Shechinah over the fact that Jews are not doing what they ought to do. From this comes the sale, the exile, in which Hashem sold us to the nations of the world. And later in the verses, “his redeemer shall come”—“his redeemer” refers to a tzaddik, to the tzaddikim in every generation. They are the ones who speak to Jews and awaken their faith in the Geulah, awaken their confidence in the Geulah, and strengthen them to stand firm in their Judaism. This is how the entire sequence of verses continues: Jews must know that even when a Jew is in exile, he [unclear]; he does not remain there. For only the body is in exile, but a Jew’s soul never went into exile. And indeed, the verses are explained this way even with regard to what happened to Beis Chayeinu.

11:21 The holy Ohr HaChaim explains that these words refer to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, the house of our life. The Beis Hamikdash, which was destroyed because of our sins, is described by the Midrash as follows: “He poured out His wrath on wood and stones.” The entire destruction of the Beis Hamikdash was specifically to protect Jews. Hakadosh Boruch Hu poured out His wrath on wood and stones so that Jews could remain whole and stand strong. Because of this, Jews have endured through every era, even the hardest times of exile. There is a beautiful explanation the Rebbe gave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s words, which Rashi quotes in the parsha, concerning the verse “and his children with him.” When the servant is sold, the verse says: “He shall leave you, he and his children with him.” Rashi asks, quoting Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: “If he was sold, who sold his children?” What are his children doing here? That is Rashi’s question: when the verse says “and his children,” if he was sold, what are the children doing here—“and his children with him”? Rashi answers: This teaches that the master is obligated to provide food for his children. That is Rashi in our parsha. And when Rabbi Shimon’s words here are understood in light of the interpretation that—

13:02 all the verses that follow speak about the Jewish people in exile—what is the meaning of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s words? The Rebbe explained this in connection with Lag BaOmer. He said that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, as we discussed earlier, speaks at length in praise of the Jewish people. He often speaks about how, even when a Jew is in exile, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is always with him. This is the well-known teaching of our Sages; the Gemara in Megillah, page 29, says: “Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: Come and see how beloved the Jewish people are before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, for wherever they were exiled, the Shechinah went with them.” Jews are beloved to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Wherever Jews go into exile, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, goes into exile with them. In the Babylonian exile—the Shechinah was with them. He cites several verses there. When Jews are in exile, Hakadosh Boruch Hu goes into exile with them, in every exile they experience. And he adds: When they leave exile, the Shechinah will leave together with them. He cites the verse, “Hashem your G-d will return with your captives.” “With your captives” means that Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, in His own glory, leaves together with every Jew—

14:34 from exile. Here Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai gives expression to how beloved the Jewish people are before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to His great love for them. And because they are so beloved, even when the Jewish people are in exile—when, seemingly, the very idea of exile is “because of our sins we were exiled from our land,” that the Jewish people are in exile because of sins and transgressions—nevertheless, “the Jewish people are beloved before Hakadosh Boruch Hu” to such an extent that when they are in exile, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, feels “in all their suffering, He suffers.” He is with them in that exile. And when He is with them in exile, He is, so to speak, with them in prison, in the exile where they find themselves. So Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai comes and asks: After everything Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says about the Jewish people being in exile and the Shechinah being with them, he asks, “If he was sold, were his children sold?” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is all-powerful. Hakadosh Boruch Hu “was sold”: Out of His love, He wanted to share in the suffering of the Jewish people, and therefore the Shechinah is in exile. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is in exile, and that is “he was sold.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is all-powerful, and He can place Himself in a state of exile. Nevertheless, even when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is—

16:04 in exile, He is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He remains in full force, and “I, Hashem, have not changed”; no change takes place in Him. But “his children”—how can you take a Jewish child, “his children,” the Jewish people, and place them in such a situation, in such danger in exile, where they are among the nations of the world and the nations can rule over them, G-d forbid? “Were his children sold?” To this he says [unclear]. In other words, a Jew is not really in exile. In essence, as we said earlier, a Jew’s soul never went into exile. The soul is together with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Just as with Hakadosh Boruch Hu—even when we say that He is here in exile, everyone knows that even in exile He is Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and “I, Hashem, have not changed”; He remains in full force and exile has no effect on Him—so too a Jew who is connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “his children,” is also [unclear]. A Jew’s soul is not essentially in exile. What, then, is affected? There is the sustenance of the body. The body’s sustenance is a Jew’s material life: the body, his livelihood. Hakadosh Boruch Hu arranged that, in exile, a Jew’s material needs must come through the influence of the ruling powers of the nations of the world. It has to pass through [unclear], G-d forbid; the flow of sustenance passes—

17:33 through the countries where Jews live. In exile, the flow of sustenance—seemingly, that flow, one’s livelihood—passes through the ruling power of the country where Jews lived and where they live. The livelihood is provided through that country’s ruling power; it has to pass through it. On this Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says [unclear]. Even when we are in exile, and even if outwardly it seems that sustenance and livelihood come through the kingdom, the government, the country, we must know that this is only how things appear outwardly. [unclear]. Hakadosh Boruch Hu protects the Jewish people—“one sheep among seventy wolves, and it is kept safe”—and He sees to it that Jews have ample livelihood and material necessities. And as the Rebbe Maharash said, livelihood must come not through [unclear], but as “manna from heaven.” It does not operate at all according to the calculations the world makes, the nations make, or worldly thinking dictates. This is livelihood that Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself [unclear]. These, then, are the words of comfort; this is how beloved the Jewish people are, as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai explains here. It is not only that “the Jewish people are beloved” and that “wherever the Jewish people were exiled, the Shechinah went with them,” as the Gemara in Megillah says. He explains that we must know something more: that Jews, in essence, are—

19:00 in a way. And just as Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, even when He is in exile, is above exile, so too a Jew in exile is above exile, because the soul never went into exile. What is more, even regarding the body and its sustenance, ultimately Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself [unclear]. He sees to it that a Jew has a livelihood in every respect and can live comfortably. Here we find another lesson, at the end of Parshas Bechukosai. Parshas Bechukosai, the parsha before us, contains blessings and also, G-d forbid, curses. At the end of the curses in Parshas Bechukosai comes the verse: “Yet even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them.” When Jews are in exile, with all the troubles the verses enumerate in Parshas Bechukosai, with all the undesirable things and the darkness of exile, we must know that “I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu never rejects Jews, G-d forbid. He never wishes, G-d forbid, “to destroy them.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu also promises the Jewish people: “I will not break My covenant with them.” The covenant between the Jewish people and Hakadosh Boruch Hu is eternal. Yet here there is [unclear], and the utter devastation of exile, “when they are in the land of their enemies.” What the Gemara says, that He poured out His wrath on wood and stones, removes [unclear]. But a Jew’s soul, his very being—

20:29 Of a Jew is something eternal. If, G-d forbid, he did not exist before and will not exist afterward, then where is “not to break My covenant with them,” and where is “to destroy them”? There is a passage in the Zohar on Parshas Bechukosai. The Zohar says, “A son honors his father.” It tells of Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon. Several of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s students, among the Tannaim, gathered after his passing, after Lag BaOmer, and discussed Torah. Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, shared a Torah teaching on the verse, “Yet even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them to destroy them.” He explains: Why is the word written without a vav? It should have been written with a vav, meaning “to destroy them.” Why does it say, “I will not reject them or abhor them”? “Abhor them” is written with an alef, [unclear]. And it does not say “to kill them,” nor “to destroy them.” What does “I will not reject them or abhor them for their bride” mean, with “their bride” written without a vav? Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, gives a parable of a king who wanted to marry a bride. He reads the word as “their bride,” without a vav. The bride is in a tanners’ market. She is in a filthy place with a foul smell. As is known, the Gemara says that a tannery smells bad, and there are also laws in halachah concerning a tannery. It is where animal hides are taken and processed. As is known, processing animal hides produces a very bad smell. It is very hard to be there, in a tanners’ market. The Zohar relates that the king wanted to marry the bride who was in the tanners’ market, but he did not want to go in there—not even to set foot in that place. He did not want to enter it. But when the bride is there, then

22:24 the place becomes a place filled with all the fragrances and all the crowns in the world. It is the best place in the world for him. Why? Because the bride is there. Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, says: This is what the verse means by “Yet even when they are in the land of their enemies.” “The land of their enemies” is the tanners’ market. The world, the physical world—especially during the exile, in its deep, doubled darkness, with all the filth that circulates in the world—is a tanners’ market. So when he comes to the word written without a vav, he explains: Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the groom, and the Jews are the bride. And when Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with the Jews, and the Jews are there, what is that place to Hakadosh Boruch Hu? It is a place filled with all the fragrances and all the crowns, and the sweetest scent rises from it, because Jews are there. The bride of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is there. The Zohar says that when he finished, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s students said to Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon: With this Torah teaching, you have honored your father more than before. They said that this is what “A son honors his father” means. During his lifetime, one honors one’s father, as halachah states, by seating him at the table and giving him food and drink. But after his passing, you honor him through the Torah teaching you share. And more than that, you add to your father’s honor. The Rebbe spoke about this on Lag BaOmer: What does “add” mean? What does it mean that he adds to his father’s honor? The Rebbe says, continuing what we discussed earlier: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says, “Beloved are the Jewish people, for wherever they were exiled, the Shechinah went with them.” This is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai reveals: Hakadosh Boruch Hu goes with the Jews into exile. Wherever Jews are, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with them. But Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai [unclear] with them in exile.

24:23 That is Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s teaching: [unclear] is together with us. But people can be together, even [unclear]. With Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, [unclear], and of him it is said [unclear]. Well, that is a stretch. What is a “tanners’ market”? A filthy place. And the Rebbe says that precisely there we see the love and affection Hakadosh Boruch Hu has for Jews. On the contrary, it is precisely there, when a Jew goes through difficult things, even in material matters, that the work of transforming darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness takes place. That is a Jew’s work in this world. And in the “tanners’ market,” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with the Jew. And all these things are there [unclear]. This is also the inner meaning of Lag BaOmer, of Parshas Behar-Bechukosai, which we are now reading, and its connection to Jews. This is the merit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon: to look at the world and reveal how Jews [unclear]. Sometimes you see a Jew in such a “tanners’ market.” A Jew whom, when you look at him outwardly, [unclear]—and of course one can look—but it is a “tanners’ market.” [unclear]. As the Rebbe says: “The Shechinah is with him.” “The Shechinah is with him.” And precisely this brings out and reveals the great beauty that Jews truly possess. Every single one [unclear]. The true preciousness of the Jewish people. [unclear] of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the importance of Jews to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Jews are a treasure, a thing of beauty, as in the verse, “You shall be My cherished land.” Every Jew is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s cherished land.

26:10 Every Jew belongs to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Baal Shem Tov says that every Jew is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s cherished land. Great treasures are found within Jews. Moshiach will reveal this, and we look at Jews through the Baal Shem Tov’s glasses. Then Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai comes. He reveals it and brings it from concealment into the open. May we merit this. May we soon, in our days, reach what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: that when they [unclear], the Shechinah is with them. The Rebbe says [unclear] every single Jew, “You will be gathered one by one.” He takes us out of exile and brings us to the true and complete Geulah. Then we will merit to receive the Torah and the inner dimension of Torah, the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. “Through this book of the Zohar, they will leave exile with mercy.” A true departure from exile through studying and spreading the inner dimension of Torah—and may all of this happen with mercy.