Bostoner Torah Insights: Bostoner‘Chassidus’ in English and Hebrew - Parshas Shmini (HaChodesh) – 27 Adar Bet 5784
Bostoner Torah Insights - Yerushalayim
Bostoner Torah Insights
Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English
Parshas Shmini (HaChodesh) – 27 Adar Bet 5784
Bostoner Rebbe shlit”a – Yerushalayim
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The Pri Tzadik, quoting the Ari z”l, explains that the Friday Night meal corresponds to Yitzchak Avinu, the Shabbos morning meal corresponds to Avraham Avinu and Seudah Shlishis corresponds to Yaakov Avinu. He notes that the order of the Shabbos meals is not in the chronological order of the three Avos. He explains, based on the Zohar, that when Hashem wanted to create the world, he first took the attribute of ‘strict judgment’, which corresponds to the characteristic of Yitzchak Avinu, and created the world. When it was apparent that the world could not continue to exist with ‘strict judgment’, he flooded the world with ‘lovingkindness’, which corresponds to the characteristic of Avraham Avinu. When Hashem saw that the world still needed to be strengthened, he adjusted the nature of the world to the optimal proportion of ‘strict judgment’ and ‘lovingkindness’, which the hybrid character of Yaakov Avinu.
The Pri Tzadik continues that this approach helps explains Rashi’s commentary on the Pasuk, “In the beginning, Elokim created” (Beraishis 1:1). Rashi explains that it does not say ‘In the beginning, HaKadosh Baruch Hu created’, because in the beginning, Hashem’s first thought was to create the world with the attribute of ‘strict judgment’. HaKadosh Baruch Hu realized that the world could not exist in such a state, so he put the attribute of ‘lovingkindness’ before the attribute of ‘strict judgment’, as the Pasuk says, “On the day that Hashem Elokim made the land and the heaven” (Beraishis 2:4).
The Gemara (Shabbos 31b) explains that the world was created so that his creations should ‘fear’ Hashem. Similarly, it states in Pirkei Avos (6;11) that everything that Hashem created in his world was only created to honor Him. The Pri Tzadik explains that this ‘fear of Heaven’ is the attribute of Yitzchak Avinu. We also see this manifested in the words of Yaakov Avinu when he swore to Lavan in the name of ‘Pachad Yitzchak’, ‘the ‘fear’ of Yitzchak’ (Beraishis 31:53)
The Pri Tzadik continues to explain that it was Yitzchak who used the attribute of Tzimtzum, of ‘contraction’, as it does not say explicitly that Yitzchak converted Gayrim the way it says by Avraham, ‘the soul(s) that he made in Charan’ (Beraishis 12:5). Instead, it is hinted to when it says by Yaakov that he ‘dwelled in the land of מגורי ‘Migurei’ his father, which can be understood that he dwelled in the land that his father, Yitzchak Avinu, converted Gayrim. Yitzchak felt that those individuals that his father Avraham brought under the wings of the Shechina only adhered to HaKadosh Baruch Hu until Avraham died and after his passing they went back to their old beliefs and customs. In Pirkei Rebbe Eliezer it says similarly that even those servants of Avraham that were given Bris Milah did not stay connected to Klal Yisroel. This is why Yitzchak did not pursue the conversion of Gayrim to the same extent that his father Avraham did.
The Pri Yitzchak continues that when the world was created with the attribute of Yitzchak there would not be the capability in future generations of Gayrim to join Klal Yisroel. Thus, HaKadosh Baruch Hu joined the attribute of Avraham Avinu so that it would be possible for Gayrim to recognize and become closer to the Creator of the World. This is what is meant by עולם חסד יבנה that the world will be built with the attribute ‘kindness’.
However, this was not enough, and the attribute of Yaakov Avinu, which is the optimal amalgam of ‘strict judgement’ with ‘lovingkindness’, is the foundation for the building of Klal Yisroel and the objective in the creation of the world, as Rashi quotes on the first Pasuk of the Torah, ‘for the sake of Yisroel who are called ראשית did He create the world’. The attribute of Yaakov also contains the possibility of a Mitah Shlayma ‘an unblemished bed’, where all of his children were righteous and became tribes of Yisroel. As stated in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 44a), even if a Jew sins, he is still a Yisroel, for even if one sins, one is still devoted to Hashem to serve him, only the Yetzer Hara is a very strong stumbling block, but in his innermost desires, every Jew wants to serve Hashem faithfully. As the Gemara (Brachos 17a) suggests in the name of Rebbe Alexandri that at the conclusion of one’s Shemoneh Esrei one should say, “Master of the World, it is revealed and known before you that our will is to do your will, but what prevents us from doing so is the ‘leavening agent’ in the ‘dough’ and the servitude to the other nations. May it be His will to save us from their hands and return to do the ordinances of your will with an unblemished heart.
What emerges is that the Friday Night meal, whose objective is to commemorate the six days of Creation, has its Kiddush beginning with the words ‘on the sixth day’, corresponds to Yitzchak Avinu, because of the attribute of justice with which Hashem first thought to create the world. The Shabbos day meal corresponds to Avraham Avinu who added lovingkindness in order to build the world with kindness. We conclude with the attribute of Yaakov Avinu, which continues into the night of the first day of the following week to connect the upcoming week to the sanctity of Shabbos and the Creator.
We may add that this is hinted to in the words of ‘Shema Yisroel’, which correlates to Yaakov Avinu whose name was Yisroel. ‘Hashem Elokeinu’ correlates to the attribute of Yitzchak and ‘Hashem is One’ correlates to Avraham who reintroduced monotheism to the pagan world. May it be His will that we should merit to fulfill the Mitzvos of Shabbos and have a ‘portion without boundaries’, with both meanings intended, with the coming of the Goel Tzedek, speedily in our days.
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