Hello Everyone,
In yesterday’s class we completed the series of stories about the meeting of the three converts with Hillel and Shammai. The third convert approached Shammai and asked to be converted on the condition that he be made High Priest. Shammai dismissed the convert out of hand but Hillel accepted him, taught him and the convert accepted the Torah whole-heartedly.
The Gemarah says that the convert blessed Hillel:
בא לפני הלל אמר לו ענוותן הלל ינוחו לך ברכות על ראשך שהקרבתני תחת כנפי השכינה
Rav Kook explains the meaning behind this apparently nice but not very profound blessing.
The blessing opens by addressing Hillel’s character (ענוותן) and his intellect (ראשך). Hillel was remarkably patient and this was due to his humility. But combined with his humility he had an equally remarkable ability to see the potential for good in every situation. This ability to see what others fail to see is the result of a great mind. Hillel had a great heart and a great mind.
The convert thanked Hillel for bringing him beneath כנפי השכינה. Existing beneath the wings of the Shechinah implies that the threat to the convert would come from above. What did the convert mean by that?
Rav Kook says that there are two types of spiritual dangers. There is the danger of physical temptations. These temptations appeals to our baser natures. They can be said to attack from beneath us. The second type of danger is intellectual. We can be lured away from the Torah by heretical ideologies. The convert to Judaism demonstrates that he or she is willing to search for new ideas that can provide meaning and spiritual richness to life. The person who is receptive to new ideas can never be sure that despite having adopted the Torah she won’t be attracted later on to a different religion. The danger of abandoning the Torah is an intellectual one, it would attract the mind. This is the danger that comes from above. That is why the convert thanked Hillel for sheltering him beneath כנפי השכינה which protects him from the threats to his soul.
We then saw another Gemarah:
תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף כג עמוד ב
אמר רב הונא הרגיל בנר הויין ליה בנים תלמידי חכמים הזהיר במזוזה זוכה לדירה נאה הזהיר בציצית זוכה לטלית נאה הזהיר בקידוש היום זוכה וממלא גרבי יין
At first glance this Gemarah seems to be discussing the reward for mitzvoth along the lines of מידה כנגד מידה. Rav Kook sees something more here.
Humans have a natural and legitimate desire for basic pleasures of life; דירה נאה וטלית נאה. The problem is that some people make the mistake of thinking that leading a life devoted the values of the Torah is necessarily a life devoted to asceticism. They mistakenly think that they must make an either/or decision. They can either seek to live a life that they can enjoy or they must accept the yoke of the Torah with a life of never-ending grimness.
Rav Kook says that these people are mistaken and that our Gemarah teaches that this view of Judaism is incorrect. The purpose of a Torah-centered life is to perform the mitzvoth. That much is obvious. Home, clothing and even wine are used to perform Hashem’s will. However the Torah does not demand that observant Jews erase their appreciation of comforts. Our Gemarah shows that when a person uses what she or he is given by Hashem the right way, she or he will be given new opportunities to perform the mitzvoth in a fashion that will address the basic human need for comfort. The Torah teaches us how to enjoy life without yielding to excess.
Asceticism is not a Jewish ideal.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the shiur. Stuart Fischman