Musar על שבת 62:22

We must always remember that nothing evil descends upon Israel from the Celestial Regions, since Israel remains at all times in the category of בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, "you are children of the Lord your G–d" (Deut. 14,1). Even when G–d is angry at Israel, such as when He allows the destruction of the Temple and Israel's dispersion among the nations of the earth, this is only for Israel's good. Just as the discipline a father administers to his son is due to his love for him, so the Lord disciplines us, and it is all for our own good. Such discipline aims to refine us who are His first born among all the nations. He aims to cleanse us of the stains of sins and iniquity, and thereby cause us to return to Him in penitence, so that ultimately we will be totally pure, without any blemish. We will explain this when we discuss the portions that are usually read in public during the period between the 17th day of Tammuz and the 9th day of Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the Holy Temple. When that objective will have been reached, the prophecy contained in Psalms 30,2: "I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up and not let my enemies rejoice over me, "will be fulfilled. The word דליתנו can mean one of two things. It could be explained as coming from the root דל, "poor," or it could be an expression denoting "elevation." Poverty and troubles may be the causes that bring us a surfeit of light, over and beyond the light we enjoyed prior to our having been plunged into darkness (through exile, etc.). This great light emanates from the very darkness into which G–d has plunged us, so that thereby great enlightenment may emerge, a process similar to blood which eventually is converted into milk that is pure white. In a similar fashion, G–d turned the curse (of Bileam) into a blessing. The curse was not replaced by a blessing, but eventually became a blessing. Thus the destruction of the Temple is actually the beginning of its restoration. It was the catalyst that alone would lead to the condition of תם עונך בת ציון, "Your iniquity is expiated, Fair Zion; He will exile you no longer" (Lamentations 4,22). At that time, the great Temple, the everlasting one will be built. Because חורבן is the commencement of rebuilding, we conduct ourselves with dignity just as we did when the Temple was still standing; destruction is the true cause of an enduring Temple, i.e. the true ישוב. Halachah recognizes this phenomenon. We are culpable for certain kinds of destructive activities on the Sabbath despite the rule of כל המקלקלים פטורים, "all who ruin something on the Sabbath are not culpable" (Shabbat 106). The exceptions are destructive activities which are a necessary precondition to constructive activities, such as the tearing down of a structure in order to enable a new structure to rise in its place (compare Shabbat 31b). Our prophets have assured us that the fast-days we observe nowadays on the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av respectively will become great holidays on the reconstruction of the Temple (Zecharyah 8,19).

The fact that Isaac's features reflected those of his father Abraham is pointed out by Rashi on Genesis 25,19. Rebeccah's features were like those of Sarah, as the Zohar points out on Genesis 24,67: ויביאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו, "Isaac brought her (Rebeccah) into the tent of his mother Sarah." Rabbi Yossi questioned why the Torah did not say לאהל שרה אמו. He explains that the letter ה at the beginning of a word indicates that this was a special tent, the one that contained the Presence of the שכינה. As long as Sarah had been alive, G–d's Presence had never departed from that tent; Sarah had kept a light burning from one Sabbath Eve to the next. This light went out when Sarah died. Now that Rebeccah entered, it began burning again. The reason that the verse mentions Sarah by name, [after all we all know that Isaac's mother was Sarah! Ed.] is to tell us that Rebeccah was like Sarah in all respects. Rabbi Yehudah adds that just as Isaac's features resembled those of his father so much that he was frequently mistaken for Abraham, so Rebeccah's features resembled those of Sarah to such an amazing degree that this had to be emphasized. The Torah points out that Isaac was comforted so as to show us that this was because he had found such a perfect replacement for his mother. The Torah deliberately avoids saying that Isaac was consoled over Sarah's death, but mentions only אחרי אמו, to show that he found continuity. Thus far the Zohar.

It is written in the Torah, "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God?" (Deut. 10:12). And it is writen, "You must revere the Lord your God" (ibid., 10:20). And it is written, "And the fear of the Lord which is His treasure" (Is. 33:6). And they said (Shabbath 31b, and see Berakoth 33b), "The Holy One has nought in His world save for the awe of Heaven," as it is written, "And unto man he said, "Behold (hen), the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom" (Job 28:28). (The fear of the Lord is unique in God's affections — Rashi, (ad. loc.) The Hebrew word hen can be interpreted to mean "one" for in Greek they pronounce the word "one" as "hen."

Behold scripture says: "Hen fear of G-d - this is wisdom" (Job 28:28). Our Sages of blessed memory commented (Shab 31b), "'Hen' [hints to] 'one', for in Greek 'one' is designated as 'Hen'". Behold, that fear of G-d is considered wisdom - and this alone is [true] wisdom. And certainly that which does not require investigation cannot be called "wisdom".

Though Pharaoh had intended the opposite, and even Moses had remonstrated with G–d (Exodus 5,22-23), he was taught that this was an occasion when in order to build anew, one must first tear down the old. The very addition of affliction resulted in accelerated redemption.

In Leviticus, where G–d exhorts us to become holy, such an achievement is in our power because it is the result of our actions, the result of free choice given to man. Rabbi Shimon says: "Did you think כמוני that you could be like Me?" Here Rabbi Shimon does not think that the thought of becoming equal to G–d is so strange; this is why he does not add the word אתמהא. Man might have compared his own freedom of choice to G–d's freedom of choice; in that respect he might have considered himself as on a par with G–d, who has no one who interferes with His freedom to carry out His designs. After all our Rabbis have assured us that הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים, "Everything is within the domain of Heaven except the fear of Heaven" (Berachot 33b). We are told in Shabbat 31b, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, that "the only thing G–d has in His world is the fear of Heaven." Rabbi Yochanan bases himself on Deuteronomy 10,12: "And now, what does the Lord G–d ask of you? Only to fear the Lord your G–d, to walk in His ways." We also have a verse in Job 28, 28: ויאמר לאדם הן יראת ה' חכמה, וסור מרע בינה. He said to man,: "Fear of the Lord is wisdom; to shun evil is understanding." The word הן in Greek means "one."