Rav Hutner on Bereshit | Rabbi Baruch Taub

Welcome back. We're a new new year. Hope everybody had a wonderful yam. And um I realize there's a problem here without the sore sheets. And um if there was ever a part that needed the sore sheets, it's today. But we'll uh we'll do everything out loud as we try to do. And if there's a question, you can stop me in the middle. So um I want to talk about Adam creation of man overview of um which is the essence of the creation of the world right the world is created as Rashi says in the parha the world was created uh for the for Torah for the development of our ethical principle into the world. And um and Adam is the is the focal point because everybody, you know, the Gomorrah says that man is made up of there there are 200 365 um positive mitzvah and 248 negative mitzvah, right? And um or actually it's the other way around. So the 248 parts of the body, limbs of the body and 365 senus that make up the human the human body. Uh that's Adam. That's Adam, right? So that's Torah Adamu. So let's talk about Adam and get a handle. I have a number of contradictions that we have here that we're going to try to flesh out. Um first of all there's a Gmorra that says like this for two and a half years we're having a for two and a half years one side said no shalom better that a person should not be created than he should be created better Adam should not have come into the world better we should not have come into halal But the other side said the other side said better than he should have been created. After two and a half years they decided now this is a classic case where Bama and Bhil right who are our classic fighters in Hala agree. They both agreed It's better that a person should not have been created. Right? So, but now that he's created, what should he do? He should examine his his past deeds, his past misdeeds, and do something about it. Some say look at his future deeds, how where he's going, where he's heading. Right? Do the do the best you can. Right? So, that's that's a very strange statement, right? And we have to understand it. We have to we bristle to hear that better. We shouldn't have been created. Now here's the other side of the coin from the para elim. Man is created in the image of God. Right? Male and female. And then you this is on the sixth day. Right? Now every day almost every day of the creation God said to it was right what he did right here on the sixth day it says the creation now this is talking about man on the sixth day is very good that he was created and And we know this is man by the way. And only in this day does it say ma. Now look at the word ma which you can't look at you know on the sheet but ma take the letters of ma is mud is right. So so how do we understand this this contradiction? Okay now [clears throat] it it's it's going to relate to another problem another gamorra. The Gomorrah says, "Barathihara, Barati Torah tablin. I created the horror, but I created Torah as the antidote to the horror." That's also a strange comment. Maybe God planned to create a world which eventually the physical world will become the spiritual world of Torah, right? And also you I challenge you with the horror. What do you mean? I created the horror but I created the Torah. Right? So in a certain sense that smacks of better we shouldn't be created because the first creation is theor right what do I need to deal with this for right but then again I gave you the Torah as a so that's a kind of so there's there's something going on here okay so let's go this is from rahutner and uh if you have the sheet this is on number four on the sheet um and we're going to give an example the classic example that he has is the aada Yeah, right. >> Ravit hutner. >> Okay, >> got it. You know, >> no problem. So, Rav Hutner in his pit. Uh, for those of you who are not familiar with Rav Hutner, right, he was um the Roshiva of Yeshiva Raben in Berlin in New York. And at the age of 70 when I guess many people retire, he came to Israel and built another yeshiva called Pakitzk which is the name of hisum. His history is fascinating. We've mentioned it in the past. Um he was in Kevron. He was one of the talidium of the altar from Slabodka. All of the great Russia Shivas in America Kaminski Raurin Raaran Kartu they all were were talum and he but he became very close in Israel with the two Rabonum and Yushim Ysef sonfeld of the Ada and Ravk. He was extremely close with Ravk Cook to the extent that Ravkuk had offered him to become the Russia was a young man he in of the new yeshiva of the central yeshiva of Jerusalem that he was going to build. That's yeshiva of America Zarav right but he didn't do that and okay the rest is history. So now it says by the bring him up as a corbin. Now this is mentioned twice in the story. At the beginning and after he is stopped from doing the so bring him up for anishi at the end after he was stopped says I'll tell you what my problem is at yesterday. You told me is going to be my son. I'm going to be, you know, a great nation. Then you tell me, "No, no, no. Take him up as a sacrifice, right? After 100 years, your only son, right?" No, no, no. I didn't tell you to them. I said, "Take him up. Take him up. Put him up there." Right? And Rashi says, "Take him down." Right? Now what's going on right? Next number five. We have to understand something. You can ask a simple question. Is it is it is it conceivable that a novi should not know what the is telling him. Gives him a nua. Nv is clarity. Right? The highest form of clarity for a human being. Right? Every knows what the is telling him. How is it possible that Abrau did not understand that was not the just put him up there? You know, we'll see what's going to happen, right? Number six, first of all, let me explain something. He says all the without exception the shot of that command to was to be a corbin on the not just to make him a corbin to be to the level of being a corbin and taking him off. The test of the was a prophetic commandment with clarity. This the later stop don't do anything to him comes to contradict the first commandment. Right? So, we've got a problem here. What what is the aada all about, right? You know, why why you know there's an Isoy here, right? I mean, the great non-Jewish theologian Kirkagar very famous comment in talking about the said, you know, if I was of Ramavu, I would commit suicide. Here he is, right? And right, my world is over. My world is over. Better not to be created. Better not to be created, right? What do I need this for? Right? And then in the end, and he did it and then in the end you have, you know, stop. Right? So what's going on? Okay. Let me let me go into this a little bit. He says and I mentioned this in another place he's quoting where there's something very very central and this seeming this contradiction in the whole in the whole is is essentially a mic a a microchip of a vot hashem of how we live as Torah Jews he's quoting now the Gomorrah The rabbis say better a person shouldn't be created people bristle there we were feared when he hears this right what's going on here the Torah says after creation of man right what's going on he says this this contradiction this contradiction is not a contradiction There are going to be two there are two levels in the development of Adam and two two levels in the in the 120 years that we have on this in this world. We start off with it maybe it's better not to have been created but if we do the right thing it becomes better that we were created. Now here's what he means. When the essence of man is free will, right? So when when free will is confronted with a voda, with service to Hashem, with doing the with being a Jew, right, with Jewish living, let's say, right? He's confronted with he's a fear. There's a fear of doing the wrong thing. What? But he the problem is this creates a contradiction. There's now a contradiction. When you're afraid of sin, you have you have. So if you're afraid of it, you're not going to make a mistake. You're not going to do the wrong thing. In all fear of sin that we have is hidden is hidden is to destroy. Now let me put this in different words. Okay. The in his introduction to says the following. We all know that free will is the essence of of man. The uniqueness of man, the uniqueness of we are free, right? Says the higher level and the of the higher level of bak is to be beyond to be above. What does that mean? Just [clears throat] I like to give the example. Let's say a person is becoming a balchuva. So he's driving his car and he decides he's not going to eat TRA anymore and the car he had a red light and he turns to the left and he sees McDonald's and he starts to break out into a sweat, right? Should I get the cheeseburger? Should I not get the cheeseburger? Right. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know that light turns green and he goes on pushes the the fl floorboard and he's out of there. Right. The next week doesn't even look to the left. Right. Let me ask you a question. After a long y that we've been through rashim kipper sukisra is anyone said on tomorrow it's Friday gonna say anybody gonna say you know what I need a break I'm not going to keep shalas this shabas right the opposite >> right just the opposite right because we are beyond right everything that I do that I accomplish with my shamaya and it's not easy everything I overcome on my level this baluva on his level was kash We on our everybody has on their level their their battle with the right in the in the para with two it's in the Torah this week's para two one is one is right so every time [clears throat] we make the right decision we are beyond it's like a football game American football you you advance the the the ball from the line of scrimmage and the line of scrimmage keeps changing you don't have to deal right now you might fumble Right? But said generally speaking, you don't have to deal with what's behind you. Right? You're above. We are above. Right? So that's an amazing concept. You can also be below. Parro was below. But the ask hardened his heart. So you can say zello fair. What do you want from par? No. No. No. Cave le parro is that parro did it himself. He kept making the wrong decisions. every time he made the wrong decision, he that's what he became. No more no more good. He couldn't make the good decisions. He was happy about it, right? Until, you know, he realized he couldn't swim. But so here we have a a fascinating concept when Bakira meets uh sin, right, with Yurus Shmayim. There's a battle going on here. And the the strange thing is you destroy sin. There's no more sin anymore. Right? So what what are we talking about here? Let's put that in different words now. So there's no vote anymore, right? I'm I'm free and clear. There's a whole contradiction here. Once I go through that battle of fighting with the and I've won, it's the end of the battle, right? I'm I'm above, right? Hashem, the the desire to be an Hashem, a servant of Hashem. includes within it means I'm going to use my free choice right therefore there has to be sin that answers our question why sin was created first and Torah was given as the as the the medication right so the you have to confront you have to confront the sinu body says that that tremendous drive for fear of Hashem and love of Hashem removes the there's no more anymore. You're above the essence of the creation of man is his free will meaning to be beyond it. The connection, the connectedness we have with that free will starts off negative. What do you see what's going on here people? That we begin every situation is with noah shalom. What do I need this for? What do I need this for? Right? There's a fight. There's a battle going on. But if you fight the battle and you win the battle, it's because you're now beyond. There's two stages in in life for 120 years. We have those stages. We all know it. When I get up in the do I go to minion this morning, do I not go to minion? Whatever whatever the the battle is, that happened to have been my battle this morning, right? Will I get the early minion or not? So, so that's what's going on here. This is an amazing concept here, right? The tome does not appear until you go through that process of not better. You should not have been created than you were created. First you have to go through that. What do I need this for? The challenge I have. But if I get through that challenge and I come out a winner, I am tough. Oh, that's to see what's going on here, right? Let's continue it. When you know, I'll give you a a classic example of this. By the way, the goal of scholarship in Torah is um to be able to shil, right? Somebody wants to become a RV. He wants to become a he has a tremendous desire to pus to a shila. You have to puscan a shila that people come to ask questions. That's our life is about Torah. Is it assur is it mutar? Is it is it not a question whatsoever? By the way, which by the way is probably the most dangerous thing that a rabbi should ever say to someone that asks a question. I once had this experience very early on in my in my uh former life as a ro, right? That somebody asked me a shila and I said, "Oh, that's not a shila." But what did I mean by that? Not to worry about it, right? You got to be very careful what you say. She was insulted. You mean I didn't I didn't ask a question. It's not a good question. Right? I meant right it's it's okay it's all right there's no there's no problem right one has to be very careful but here's my points [clears throat] have to be answered right however I'm going tell you a story when uh yitzuk blazer raid petber chief rabbi of St Petersburg eventually began to represent was one of the three major students of raviroll salant rais saler the founder of the mus movement 19th century right rais So this this Peterburg was a gone tremendous sadic or whatever and the people from St. Petersburg came to ask him to become their roof. Now I think he was [clears throat] living in Villain at the time. His wife ran a store and he sat in the back learning. They came in, they went to speak to him. They went to speak to him and u the uh somebody's coming to drop something off. I'm sorry. Um he said to them, "We want you to become our robe." He said, "I can't become your robe." He said, "Why not?" "I'm afraid to Pascin." You know what they said? You're hired. We don't want somebody like the stock broker picks up his phones, buy six, sell nine. Right. No, no. Right. I'm afraid to Posin. Right. That's the steer. He became that POS, but he has the fear of Noah. lam shalom never what do I need this for what do I need to be a rabbi for right which rabbis wives say for years right what do I need this for right and uh but eventually then but but is that you the world has to function based on that's so the steerer really is not a steer it's two dimensions of life it's two levels of life right just an example right so now Everybody now understands. So now listen to this. This is such a truism. This duality duality of aotem the duality that we have to live with right that we have to fight is an an essentially part of the words of the Torah itself. The Torah brings both of these meanings in one word. Now listen, only when a person is on the level that I I'm I don't need this, right? I'm going to sacrifice my son. I got to take him up there. I'll do what I'm told. That's the first in the Torah. Helu means take your son up, right? And make give him as a corbin, right? That's what it means on that level of never better. I shouldn't have been created. That's where Abraham was at that moment, right? That was his test at that point that he was he made it it was made clear to him that a person is better off being dead than alive. That's what was telling him. This who was supposed to be the progeny for whatever we are are today. Better that he's dead than alive, right? So that's I want you to bring him up as a sacrifice. The absence of life is better than life itself. Therefore, when at the time that was at that point of you know what do I need this for? I have to follow what the wants me to do. That's my task and I'll do it. But obviously, right? So meant you're going to sacrifice him as a corbin. That's what told that's what he told him, right? And he accepted it, right? But when you get now to the end of the story, all of a sudden there's a the now was only originally this was the goal but no this was the route to get to right you're going to listen to and the end the end is it's of course he's not going to die of course he's not going to die I want to See how close you are to me how much you trust in me accord says even if it's sound if it's smacks of better not to live now here what happened in the word in the second time is mentioned in the para of the means right the first one is put take him off just put him up there but take him off below the shakish Now I want to add my own two cents, right? There are other words that the Torah could have used for samoto could have said on the misbeha. It's a it's a it's a difficult climb, but it's potentially a beautiful aliyah of tommo. It's a it's a challenging, grueling aliyah of climbing the mountain going up. But in the end, it's aliyah. It's an aliyah. It's an elev. It's elevating. It creates a better person, a great person. In this sense, it it was the the cre the the icing on the cake for right. shall be grown. see your clear example that you see it in the words of the Torah change something that was clearly what he had to do which only became a way not a right not really the final the final thing right Right. It goes with the translation of the words changes its meaning. There's a double there's a duality. There's a dialectic in the in mo in this journey that a has to has to have in in the journey that each and every one of us has to have. I'll give you another example, right? Um, and it's fresh from Yum Kipper, the ha of Yona, right? Yona was sent and he's told by the he's going to make a mahape. What's a maha? He's going to destroy stone. In the end, there was a maha, but it was a maha. He turned stone over to chuva. It was a spiritual mahape. So it was that that's that Yona had the same challenge of Ramino had right it's going to have to destroy them but really his goal was to make them not to that they should not create that ninve should be destroyed but to that they should become become baluva right so there you have it you see why you really I appreciate you I feel that you were here with me with this But you really it's not fair that you didn't have the sheets. So this is a wonderful makov from Rautner. And that's it for today. Okay.