Ari Goldwag - Behaaloscha - Responsibility & Leadership

You're listening to the weekly partial podcast with Ari Goldwag recorded with Hashem's never-ending assistance in 5778 2018. This week's parsha is parshas Balak. I'd like to share with you some ideas or some midrashim that Rav Chaim Friedlander brings. And I'd like to actually give a little bit of a different twist to what he speaks about and focus in on a few very interesting points that that uh are remarkable. Um so Rav Chaim Friedlander he focuses in he hones in on the story of the mis'ainim. The Jewish people they were in the midbar they were in the wilderness and the food that they were eating at the time was the manna, the special food, the special manna which would fall from the heaven and it as Chazal as the sages tell us it had a taste that included all tastes. If a person was righteous he'd be able to taste whatever taste he wished to you know if he would think about a taste he'd be able to taste any taste with the manna. And the uh that so the Jewish people however especially the asafsuf which were the erev rav so they complained there was a complaint that they had that they wanted to have meats. The Torah describes this complaint and because of the fact that they made this complaint Moshe Rabbeinu it's very interesting the Torah tells us that Moshe felt weakened. He felt like he couldn't carry the Jewish people anymore. It was just too much for him. And and the reason that this is remarkable as Rav Chaim Friedlander points out when it came to the chet ha'egel when it came to the sin of the golden calf Moshe Rabbeinu fought on behalf of the Jewish people. He said to God don't destroy them as he wished to. But when it came to this sin when they complained about the fact that they didn't have meat Moshe Rabbeinu lost his power. He wasn't able to fight. The question is why? Also very interesting as we read the story which also needs an explanation is that during this occasion during this so Moshe Rabbeinu was instructed by Hashem, was instructed by God to appoint 70 elders. And they they would help him with the Jewish people, with the complaints of the Jewish people. And the question is, where were the There were 70 elders from before. What happened to them? Why at this point were new elders needed to be appointed? Where were they, the elders that had been helping out before? Where have Where had they gone? So, there's a few very interesting and remarkable points that go on here. And I'd like to share them with you. So, So, first of all, I just want to read it inside. First of all, what happened to the original Zekenim? What happened to the original 70 elders? So, the Medrash tells us a remarkable thing, an unbelievable thing. It says, "As well, Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to gather in these seven 70 new elders. All right, "Tuvallat lonuscho." He says a response to to your complaint, Moshe. "Shamarta lo kol ani anochi lavadi." I said He said, "I can't do it by myself." "Hazekenim harishonim heichan hayu?" Medrash says, "Where were the original 70 elders?" "V'eileh af Mitzrayim yoshvim imom." The They were in Egypt. They had They had been there and they had gone out. "Shenemar lech usaf et ziknei Yisrael." We find that Moshe Rabbeinu was instructed to gather together the elders of of Israel when he went to Pharaoh. "Elah b'eish tav'eiram eisu." Medrash says an amazing thing, that they died, the Zekenim died at this time, during this complaint. They died in fire. "V'ru'uyim hayu l'kach mi Sinai." Really, they should have died a very similar thing to what happened with Nadav and Avihu. They should have died originally at Mount Sinai. Why? "B'eichasut Hashem Elokeinu she nag'u k'ol Yisrael." They saw godliness, but they had light-headedness. "K'ne I share Peter with me and my wife? They they were eating and drinking the verses of the they had an inappropriate behavior at Mount Sinai. They should not have been eating at that time. I shouldn't not want there should be an available so there should be a sadness that people that that great sages were dying. Not of an of you didn't die then, they only died later. And the second of also didn't die then, rather they died at this point. So the prime minister says that at this point was why So we need to understand as he says and I want to give a little bit of a different twist on it, but we we need to understand why is it that the second of died at this point when the Jewish people started to complain about the month. Why you know, not of an of you they did something it makes sense why they died. They they brought a nation Zara a strange fire into the mission to the Tabernacle. So that they they did something wrong. What why at this point did the second of die? As a result of the sin of the Jewish people of their complaint. Okay? And now who interestingly who were the new who were the new appointees to be the Shiva Shiva second of who were the new 70 people who would indeed become in their place. The measures continues and says Very interesting. I shouldn't say meaning that the second of very interesting. I shouldn't say that I'm going to come down and I'm going to speak. He uses a language of you read a which is coming down just like it says by Mount Sinai. And I seen I got comes down onto the mountain in order to speak to the Jewish people. So to over here God came down when he appointed the 70 second of the 70 new elders. That this day was called the was beloved to God just like the day that the Torah was given. Okay? So, too, the same thing over here. So, he says that this is the idea of the Torah being lowered down into this world. Idea of the Torah being lowered down to this world. And what's remarkable here, in in considering considering the number 70, it's important to understand what is the number 70. What are the shiv'in Why are there 70 elders? Well, why are there 70 nations? Why are there 70 offspring of Jacob of Yaakov Avinu? It says he came down with 70 offspring. By Yared, he came down, right? What is the idea? The idea is that there's a coil. There There are 70 nations. The Jewish people are the one nation that incorporates or includes all of the 70 nations. The Torah has 70 facets. There are 70 ways of understanding or interpreting the Torah. And there's one Torah, but when it comes down into this world, so there are 70 different ways of understanding the Torah or different directions of looking at the Torah. There's, you know, we we have a two-dimensional We have two eyes. Each one of them sees in two dimensions. When you put the two perspectives together, you get a three-dimensional you you have depth perception. So, too, there are 70 dimensions of the Torah. There's an incredible depth, which we can't see in this world, becomes flattened. Each person can only see one dimension of that. We have to put together all of the perceptions in order to understand the deeper meaning of what's going on. Moshe Rabbeinu is the one who He's the soul that includes all of the Jewish people. He's the soul that includes all of the 70 zekeinim, the 70 elders. And the elders, in turn, include all of the souls of those who they are meant to be the leaders for. So, you have this dual aspect that they're included in Moshe. Moshe includes them. And they, in turn, include all those who are part of the Jewish people. The Jewish people are that one nation that includes all of the 70 nations. Okay? So, that's the general concept of the number 70. And there's there's a certain simcha, joy, when we get a new version of the 70. But what is what is the difference? Very interesting. What is the difference between the 70 zikainim, the 70 elders who died versus the 70 elders who replaced them? So, Rav Chaim Friedlander brings the a very very interesting difference. The 70 elders who lost their lives at this point, these 70 elders, so when Moshe brought them, he he was commanded by Hashem, he was commanded by God to gather together these 70 elders to go into Pharaoh and ask Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go. So, the verse tells us that he gathered them together. They started to go but as Moshe Rabbeinu gets there, the Torah just says that he and Aaron walked into Pharaoh. What happened to the 70 elders? Where did they go? They weren't they weren't brave enough. They didn't have the courage to enter into Pharaoh and to to represent the Jewish people there. What's the difference between those zikainim and the new shiv'im zikainim? Who are the new shiv'im zikainim? The new 70 elders? These new ones were the taskmasters who were in charge of they they had been appointed over the Jewish people and they were meant to to beat the Jewish people and in order that they should work. However, instead of beating the Jewish people, they refused to beat the Jewish people and they instead received blows themselves because they weren't beating the Jewish people. And so, the difference we see very clearly between the previous zikainim, the previous 70 and the new 70, was that the old group was not able to properly stand up for the Jewish people. They were not able to properly represent the Jewish people in front of Pharaoh to to when the toying got when the going got tough, they got going. They didn't They didn't walk in. They were afraid. But, for the new Zakeinim, when the going got tough, these Zakeinim were able to stand up for the Jewish people. That's the difference. Now, the question that we asked before was what was the reason why these Zakeinim passed on from the world at this point? What What was the What was the mistake that they made? So, first mistake we see as we just we just said is that they weren't ready to stand up for the Jewish people. But, there was another mistake that they made, which was that when it came to Har Sinai, when it came to Mount Sinai, they were in a place They were in a spiritual place. They saw God. Vayechazu es Elokim. They saw godliness. They saw an an incredible revelation of godliness. But, what did they do? Vayechalu vayishtu. So, now, what's clear, and this is already some thoughts that I was having as I contemplated these ideas, what's clear is that the the mistake that they made paralleled the mistake of the Jewish people. How so? How does that work? It's important to understand that whoever's on top, if if the Jewish people, for example, we are the nation which encompasses is the coil which includes all the 70 nations. When we do something wrong, so it has a ripple effect in the nations of the world. When we do something right, when we're following God's Torah, when we're following uh the path of spirituality, so then it has a ripple effect on the nations as well. And you can see this on a physical level, just simply, you know, the country of Israel, you know, the uh much of the technology which comes out of Israel is used throughout the world. Waze, for example, is Jewish technology, Israeli technology. But, that's just a a a simple uh physical example on the on the physical plane how the things that the Jewish people does, those that are that those things that we do, affect and ripple out into all of the nations of the world. But, this is true on a spiritual level, as well. The things that we do, depending on our commitment to God, our commitment to godliness, to spirituality, has a ripple effect on the world. And, if we are not committed, if we lack that commitment, it also ripples out. This is also true when it comes to the Zikainim, the elders, who they were in charge and leaders over the Jewish people. So, when they had a chissaron, when they had a lack, when there was something wrong with their service of God, it there was a ripple effect on the Jewish people. And, it manifested on those who were beneath them, so to speak, on the spiritual totem pole. And, that was the necessity here for there for them to be replaced. So, let's let's look at this. Let's see what the mistake was of the elders. They were in a place of spirituality. You know, when Moshe Rabbeinu was on Har Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, it says that he didn't eat and he didn't drink. Because, why? Because, when you're in a place of spirituality, when you're in the realm of the malachim, when you're in the realm of the the angels, so, you have to, you know, let go of the physicality. We do that every single year on Yom Kippur. We don't eat, we don't drink. All of the inuyim, the chamisha inuyim, the five ways that we afflict ourselves, represent the fact that on Yom Kippur, we are on a higher spiritual level. Because of the fact that we're on a higher spiritual level, we don't eat, we don't drink. It's not just because it's not like Tisha B'Av when we don't eat and drink because we are sad, we have a veilous, we have we're we're in mourning over the destruction of the Temple. Yom Kippur is a day when we are on a higher spiritual level, so we don't eat and we don't drink. The Zikainim were they had they entered into this lofty realm. They entered into the place of the Shechinah. They entered into to the place of the divine presence. Vayechzulu Elokim, they saw godliness. They saw spirituality. It was openly manifest to them. And, they made a mistake. They ate and they drank where it was inappropriate. They brought the spirituality down in an inappropriate way. Of Of we know that Yiddishkeit, the Judaism us we're obligated to infuse our eating and drinking with spirituality. We on Shabbos, how do we how do we celebrate Shabbos? Every 7 days we have a a ton of eating, ton of drinking. How do we celebrate a wedding? With eating and drinking. Suit us mitzvah. But, that's appropriate when it's appropriate. The problem is the Zekenim had was that they were not meant to eat and they were not meant to drink. There's a time and a place. They made that mistake. They did eat and they did drink when they were on the mountain, when they were experiencing that spirituality. It was like Yom Kippur. They should not have been eating and they should not have been drinking. So, when they were in that awesome place, in that high spiritual place, they brought it down in an inappropriate way. In a parallel way, the complaints of the Jewish people. What was the complaint of the Jewish people? They said, "We remember the avatiach, the kishum. We remember what it was like in Egypt. We remember that taste, that delicious taste of the watermelons and the gourds that we used to eat when we were in Egypt." So so the Meforshim discuss and Rav Chaim Friedlander brings down, "Well, what do you mean? The the manna had any taste you wanted it to taste." But, no, it didn't have this taste. Why? Kodesh Baruchu, God made it that it wouldn't The manna could not have that taste. Why? Because eating gourds and eating watermelon was not good for the women who were nursing. It was not good. It would cause the babies to have gas or whatever it was. It wasn't The manna couldn't have that taste. When the Jewish people complained that the it didn't have the taste that they wanted, they wanted meat. What they were really saying is, "We want the manna, which is this this spiritual bread, which can have any taste. It has a taste It's all-inclusive. We want it to come down the way we want it to come down. We want it We want want able to access that spiritual bread in a physical way the way we want. That was the same mistake almost the same exact mistake as the Zekenim. So, when they complained about this issue, what they were really doing is they were manifesting the mistake that the that the Gedolei HaDor and the Shirum Zekenim had made on Mount Sinai. The same mistake. But on a lower level, on their level, on the level of those who were beneath the Shirum Zekenim. What they did was that it there's a resonance that happens when let let's say you know if if you know a person has children, so the children behave based on the way that they see their parents behave. So, if the children are doing a certain thing wrong, it's a reflection on the parents. Right? So, if a child does a certain negative act, so it it it brings up a a a tinah, a complaint against the parents. That's natural, that's how it is. And in the same way here, the Shirum Zekenim were the spiritual parents of the Jewish people. So, when they complained, it brought up a complaint on their spiritual parents, the Shirum Zekenim. And the result was that the Shirum Zekenim were called to task for the mistake that they had made at Mount Sinai, which manifested now as a mistake that the Jewish people themselves made. But it required a new set of Shirum Zekenim. Moshe Rabbeinu says, "I don't have any more of the the support system that I need. I don't have these people underneath me who can help me to to properly channel the spiritual power that's coming from you, Hashem, from you, God, down through me into the Shirum Zekenim and then into the entire Jewish people. We need a new set. Who are the people who had the responsibility, who recognized that those beneath them are are are part of them?" The Shirum Zekenim from before didn't recognize the effects that they had. They didn't have the the the sense of responsibility to walk into Pharaoh, to sacrifice on behalf of their constituents, on behalf of the Jewish people. but there was a different set of people of 70 people who did have that that courage to stand up and and take a beating themselves on behalf of the Jewish people. They recognized their responsibility to those beneath them and therefore because they had that ability and they had stood up for the Jewish people in the past, they were now going to be appointed to be the Shiv'im Zekeinim, the new Shiv'im Zekeinim, would experience the Nevuah, the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu would come onto them, come through them and and it would then spread onto the entire Jewish people and aid them in serving God appropriately, in in recognizing the power of the spirituality that was being given to them and not to complain about the fact that the manna didn't taste exactly the way they wanted it. Well, we want meat. These complaints were a result of something spiritual higher up on the ladder that now was lost and replaced by a much more powerful uh spirituality of the new Shiv'im Zekeinim who had the courage and had the responsibility, the sense of responsibility on behalf of the Jewish people. And now therefore could properly represent the Jewish people in in uh in in God's in bringing down the the Shefa, God's uh influx into the world and into the Jewish people. So now I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me. I think that that what we see here is a powerful lesson for each and every one of us because we all have a certain level of responsibility whether we're a parent or whether we're in a situation socially where we affect others. Each and every one of us is like the Shiv'im Zekeinim and either we can stand up and recognize with courage the responsibility that we have or we can neglect those who are beneath us and not be that proper example per se, heaven forbid. So I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me. Hashem should help us to recognize all of our responsibilities, recognize the the effect that we have on all of those around us, whether it's our offspring, our children, or whether it's those in our vicinity, our friends. Hashem should help us to recognize who we are and the effect that we have on others. Hashem should help us to be like the second set of shiv'im zekeinim, like the second set of the elders who were able to have that prophecy, were able to stand up and with courage on behalf of their brethren. Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful Shabbos.