 |
Photo: Marius Romila |
Parshas Nitzavim: Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz -
"Yeisei V'Lo Achminei," meaning, let Moshiach come but do not let me be alive to see him [Sanhedrin 98b]. Rebbi Yochanan said that he'd give it the privilege of greeting Moshiach in order to avoid living through the terrible days of the Ikvisa D'Mishicha. With the Geula so close at hand why will they be worse than the rest of the Galus?
Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz says that since the Shechina is with us in the Galus we are protected. However, at the end of the Galus, when it is time for us to return to Eretz Yisrael, the Shechina will need to leave the galus and come to Eretz Yisrael to prepare and facilitate our return. During those waning days of the Galus, we will be left on our own without protection and endless tragedies will befall us. Only then will we realize how fortunate we were to have the Shechina with us.
How does Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz know that the Shechina will return to Eretz Yisrael before us? The pasuk [Nitzavim 30:3] says, וְשָׁב וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים. Chazal tell us that the word וְשָׁב, which means, He will return, proves that Hashem is with us in the Galus, or else it should say, "V'Heishiv," He will return us. Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz says that we see from here that first וְשָׁב, Hashem will return to Eretz Yisrael. Only after the groundwork is laid, וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים, will He bring us back from among the nations.
Source: Revach L'Neshama
I love Rav Eibeschutz. I believe that he saw the End of Days more clearly than any other early Acharon until the Vilna Gaon and the Besh"t came to the forefront near the end of his life. And I do not want to speak of his conflict with Rav Emden since there is no real evidence to support any of Rav Emden's contentions. What Rav Eibeschutz did not foresee is that almost half of the world's Jews would be in EY when the Shekhina actually moved here in Tishrei of 5772. Come, you are are just one 12 or 15 hour plane ride away to be here when She shows up. And when She leaves galut this coming Rosh HaShana,..... well let's just say that you will want to be here instead. I think Nir Ben Artzi has this one pegged.
ReplyDelete" And I do not want to speak of his conflict with Rav Emden since there is no real evidence to support any of Rav Emden's contentions."
ReplyDeleteActually, there is some real evidence. Still he could be a tzaddik even if misguided by being a closet Sabbatean kabbalist.
What about Hasgacha Pratit? What about the promises HaShem made to all of us Jews in the Torah? HaShem loves all his Jews not just the Jews who live in Israel who just can't understand that they too are in Diasporah!
ReplyDeleteJust curious Josh, how can one be a Sabbatean and a Tzaddik at the same time?
ReplyDeleteA tzadik is one who wishes to do Hashem's will, and does his best to fulfill it; and does bein adam lachaveiro as well; and is also generally a good-willed, nice person.
ReplyDeleteA talmid chacham is one who studies and masters Torah.
A Sabbatean kabbalist is one who is a kabbalist while believing that Shabtai Tzvi was the mashiach. Well, more than that. It was a corruption of kabbalah in which Shabtai Tzvi was one of the Sefirot (Tiferet, IIRC).
Someone cannot be theologically wrong in one matter while still being a righteous individual who wishes to do Hashem's will, does bein adam lachaveiro, keeps the mitzvos, learns Torah, and is a big talmid chacham?
People err in religious matters all the time. Even if I think that the Gra was right and that chassidus is forbidden panentheism, I could still think that various rebbes, such as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who believed in chassidus, were tzaddikim.
(It is also helpful to take such a dispassionate approach when weighing the evidence.)
Actually a tzadik is a totally righteous person who has totally overcome his yetzer hara, and therefore only does G-d's will.
ReplyDeleteA tzaddik wouldn't err in religious matters, because someone who did that wouldn't be a tzaddik.....
That is a tzaddik gamur, as defined by chassidut.
ReplyDeleteIt is unclear that the tzadik gamur of the gemara is the same. But see Berachot 7a where a צדיק שאינו גמור is discussed.
Yechezkel 3:20 discusses וּבְשׁוּב צַדִּיק מִצִּדְקוֹ וְעָשָׂה עָוֶל, "Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity". How could he do this if he lacks a yetzer hara?
The greater the tzaddik, the greater the yetzer hara... Here are three examples from Kiddushin 81a (though there is to discuss), about the three great tzaddikim, R' Amram, R' Meir, and Rabbi Akiva.
True.
ReplyDeleteTzadik ("Righteous" person; pl. Tzadikim):
A tzadik is someone who has succeeded in fully overcoming the evil inclination of his animal soul (and has converted its potential into good) and who dedicates himself to spiritually elevating his people.
There are in general three levels of the tzadik:
1. A "complete tzadik" (tzadik gamur) who not only vanquishes in full his innate evil inclination, but even transforms it into good (for which reason he is referred to as tzadik v'tov lo," a tzadik who possesses only good).
2. An "incomplete tzadik" (tzadik she'eino gamur) who has not yet completed the task of vanquishing his evil inclination, though he has mineralized it in essence (for which reason he is called a tzadik v'ra lo," a tzadik who [still] possesses [a bit of] evil).
3. A "relative tzadik" (tzadik b'shem hamushal, or tzadik b'din) whose merits exceed his liabilities (see Tanya, chapt. 1).
Source:
Inner.org
thanks. yes, precisely.
ReplyDeleteinner.org offers a dictionary of kabbalah and chassidus. and note that these definitions come from the Baal HaTanya. I also have read the Tanya, first perek.
And misnagdim (such as myself) don't have to subscribe to these definitions, when we employ the term. And such definitions might even be homonyms (rather than identical) to the Talmudic terms.
So, to clarify for other readers, I didn't mean tzaddik in that sense. I mean it in the colloquial sense (at least); someone I can respect and look up to, and perhaps even someone who is a greater righteous person than me, or whoever is reading this comment thread.
I love both Rabbi Yonasan Eibeschutz as well as Rabbi Yakov Emden.
ReplyDeleteThe names of both these
great rabbis was 'bandied' around my Mom and Dad ztz"l kitchen talble.
Let's remember that we, in our generation are just midgets. So how can any one of us even think of 'opening our mouths' about these Giants"!
Is it not akin to discussing the virtues, or otherwise, of say, Hillel and Shammai?(who incidently became 'mechutonim'?) Heaven forbid!
If you take a peek in the "Emden Siddur" you will find the now- famous Perek Shira - the Songs of the Creations! In the days of Rabbi Yaakov Emden would anyone have even dreamed of ever starting his day without first reciting the Song of the Creations?!!!
PS
Indeed,how very infinitismal are we. But then, I can only talk on behalf ofmyself.
[I am reminded about the story of King David and the Frog].
regardless, there is in fact real evidence that Rav Yonasan Eibeshitz was a closet Sabbatean. make of it what you will.
ReplyDeletekol tuv,
josh
Anonymous, i totally agree with you. we should be very careful on how we speak of the great torah scholars and tzaddiks, ONLY Hashem is the Judge . lets not try to wrest the job from Him.
ReplyDeletethe greater the tzaddik the greater his yetzer hara . but only if he fixes it . this is the olam . esaus yetzer was awesome if he fixed he was mashiach . he didnt so the prophet ovadia speaks .
ReplyDelete