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The Matter of the Wells Corresponding to the Batei ha-Mikdash, and the Well of “Shiv’ah” Corresponding to the Aron [Part I]

The Wells Allude to the Batei ha-Mikdash

The Ramban writes (Bereishis 26:20) on the narrative of the wells dug by Yitzchak:

“‘And he called the name of the well Esek’ — Scripture relates and elaborates at length on the matter of the wells, yet in the literal narrative there appears to be neither inherent benefit nor great honor for Yitzchak, and both he and his father accomplished them equally” — that is to say, Yitzchak did not innovate new wells, but merely redug those of his father — “Rather, there is a concealed esoteric matter embedded within it, for it comes to foretell future events. For a ‘well of living waters’ (be’er mayim chayim) alludes to the House of G-d which the descendants of Yitzchak would ultimately fashion. Therefore, Scripture mentions a well of living waters, echoing the verse (Yirmiyahu 17:13): ‘The source of living waters, Hashem’—since Hakadosh Baruch Hu is termed the Source of Living Waters, the Beis ha-Mikdash is correspondingly designated a well of living waters.

And he named the first Esek, alluding to the Bayis Rishon, concerning which they contended (hise’asku) with us, waging numerous disputes and wars against us until they destroyed it. The second he called Sitnah, a more severe designation than the first, referring to the Bayis Sheni, which is called by this very term, as it is written (Ezra 4:6): ‘And in the reign of Achashverosh, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation (sitnah) against the inhabitants of Yehudah and Yerushalayim.’ Those who penned this sitnah were the sons of Haman, as Rashi notes (Esther 9:10) citing the Seder Olam: ‘And throughout his days they were an adversary (le-sitnah) unto us until they destroyed it and exiled us into an agonizing exile.’ Rabbeinu Bachya adds to this: ‘You ought to be awakened by the name of this well, for therein resides the Satan, who is the Sar of Eisav that constantly prosecutes against us.’ Inasmuch as the Satan is the celestial prince of Eisav, the nation of Eisav—the kingdom of Edom—are the foot soldiers of the Satan; they are the ones who permeated the entire cosmos with their vanities, embodying the very reality of the Satan in this world. It is termed Sitnah because at the inception of the Second Commonwealth the ten sons of Haman began drafting their sitnah, and at its demise the sons of Edom, the kingdom of Eisav, brought about its destruction—the very Galus under which we languish to this day. Thus, the Bayis Sheni was termed Sitnah.

The Ramban continues: ‘And the third he called Rechovos, which represents the Future Beis ha-Mikdash, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, which will be established without strife or contention, and the Almighty will expand our borders, as it is stated (Devarim 19:8): “And if Hashem your G-d shall enlarge your border as He promised you,” which pertains to the ultimate future...’ The term ‘yarchiv’ is formulated in the future tense; and since the ultimate future is termed ‘expansion’ (harchavah) in the vernacular of Scripture—being the era wherein the Creator of the Universe will grant us expansion—the Bayis Shlishi, the manner through which the future Geulah will become manifest in the world, is called Rechovos.”

We deduce from the words of the Ramban that Esek, Sitnah, and Rechovos correspond directly to the three Batei ha-Mikdash, designated here allegorically as wells, while the Pelishtim represent those who stop them up. Avraham was the initial excavator; once the Pelishtim stopped up what he had dug, Yitzchak redoubled the effort and redug them. Thenceforth, we find no further excavation mentioned in Scripture, for the excavation executed conjointly by Avraham and Yitzchak was sufficient, and these very excavations constitute the metaphysical root of the Mikdashos.

The Essence of “Mayim Chayim” and Why It Specifically Alludes to the Beis ha-Mikdash

The Ramban explains that a be’er mayim chayim alludes to the Beis ha-Mikdash because the Creator is termed the Mekor Mayim Chayim. Yet it remains to be understood why this property of mayim chayim was uniquely designated to symbolize the Beis ha-Mikdash, and what precise potency inheres within water—specifically the eruptive force of the spring that draws forth subterranean waters from the abyss (tehom)—by virtue of which it was distinguished from all inanimate matter in creation to bear the moniker “living waters.”

Rabbeinu Bachya writes regarding the verse, “And every offering of your meal-offering you shall season with salt” (Vayikra 2:13):

“By way of Midrash, there is an explanation grounded in the esoteric path of Kabbalah: A covenant was forged with salt from the Six Days of Creation, wherein the Lower Waters (Mayim ha-Tachtonim) were assured that they would be offered on the Mizbe’ach through salt and through the Nisuch ha-Mayim on Chag ha-Sukkos. So too did Chazal expound in the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 5:3): The lower waters were termed ‘weeping waters’ (mayim bochim). Why were they so called? For when Hakadosh Baruch Hu bifurcated the waters, placing these above and these below, the lower waters began to weep. This is the meaning of the verse (Iyov 28:11), ‘He binds the floods from overflowing (mib’chi neharos).’ Reb Abba stated: In tears were the lower waters sundered from the upper waters; they cried out: ‘Woe unto us that we did not merit to ascend on high to be near our Maker!’ What did they do? They summoned their audacity, cleft the abysses, and sought to ascend until Hakadosh Baruch Hu rebuked them...” (see further in his holy words).

We deduce from his discourse that the primordial separation enacted on the Second Day of Creation between the Upper and Lower Waters engendered within the Lower Waters a yearning to burst forth and ascend with all their might back to the heights. That primordial surge with which they cleft the abysses remained permanently infused within them. Though the Creator stationed them below, He endowed them with that indelible reservoir of vitality by virtue of which they continuously surge upward. This ardent longing to ascend (teshukah la’alos) pulsates within them. Consequently, despite water belonging fundamentally to the realm of the inanimate (domem), having been uniquely vested with this dynamic power of emergence, it earns the title “Mayim Chayim” (living waters).

Thus, the vital animation coursing through water originates entirely from its longing to revert to the elevated station from which it was cast down. This yearning persisted within them, and this alone connects them to true life. By virtue of this deep yearning, the Lower Waters were promised the rite of Nisuch ha-Mayim during the festival of Sukkos, where they themselves constitute the sacrificial offering—a singular avodah executed upon the living waters in their pristine state. Furthermore, they were promised that an indispensable element of every korban would derive from water: “Upon all your offerings you shall offer salt”—no sacrifice may be brought upon the Mizbe’ach without the presence of salt.

The Beis ha-Mikdash as a House of Tefillah, Aligned with the Heavenly Temple

This reality of synthesizing the upper and lower realms—precisely aligned one against the other—finds its ultimate locus in the Beis ha-Mikdash. The Beis ha-Mikdash is the setting of that “ladder set upon the earth whose top reached unto heaven.” There is the nexus where “nashkei shmaya ve-ar’a ahadadei” (Bava Basra 74a)—where heaven and earth kiss one another.

Our earthly sanctuary below is characterized by the verse: “For My House shall be called a house of prayer (beis tefillah) for all peoples” (Yeshayahu 56:7). Its very essence and appellation is a house of tefillah. Furthermore, we encounter the remarkable statement in the Gemara (Berachos 7a):

“R’ Yochanan said in the name of R’ Yose: From where do we derive that Hakadosh Baruch Hu prays? As it is stated: ‘And I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer’—it does not say ‘their prayer,’ but ‘My prayer’ (tfilasi); from here we derive that Hakadosh Baruch Hu prays. What does He pray? Said Rav Zutra bar Tovia in the name of Rav: ‘May it be My will that My mercy suppresses My anger, that My compassion prevails over My strict attributes, that I conduct Myself toward My children with the measure of mercy, and that I enter with them beyond the strict letter of the law.’”

The Gemara proceeds to relate that Reb Yishmael the Kohen Gadol entered the Kodesh ha-Kodashim to offer the ketores, beheld a revelation of the Shechinah, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him: “Yishmael, My son, bless Me.” Reb Yishmael recited this identical prayer. The Beis ha-Mikdash is named beis tefillah and beis tfilasi—as it were, both we and the Ribbono shel Olam beseech regarding the very same objective.

The earthly Beis ha-Mikdash constructed below in our physical realm stands severed from the Celestial Sanctuary (Beis ha-Mikdash shel Ma’alah) stationed above. Its spiritual reality parallels that of the Lower Waters, whose vital animation is drawn entirely from their yearning to recover their pristine, elevated state—the burning desire not to sink or remain discarded in the terrestrial depths, but to surge upward to that primordial source whence they fell. This very dynamic transforms the Beis ha-Mikdash into a Beis Tefillah. Here too, the inanimate (domem) transmutes into a pulsing, living entity.

In point of fact, the physical anatomy of human vitality is mirrored within the Mikdash, containing as it were the physical faculties that bind man to life: the mystical nose that inhales the fragrant aroma and the mouth that consumes the offerings. Indeed, the Mikdash is termed Beis Chayeinu (the House of our Life), and in its devastation we mourn for it as one mourns for a deceased relative, conducting ourselves as an onein whose dead lies before him.

Even amidst its churban, this visceral longing echoes ceaselessly. This was the heavenly voice (bas kol) heard by Reb Yose in the first perek of Berachos (3a):

“Reb Yose taught: Once, I was walking along the path and entered into one of the ruins of Yerushalayim to daven... And Eliyahu ha-Navi said to me: ‘My son, what sound did you hear in this ruin?’ I answered: ‘I heard a bas kol cooing like a dove and proclaiming: Woe to the children on account of whose iniquities I destroyed My house, burned My sanctuary, and exiled them among the nations!’”

This manifests the supreme anguish reverberating from the site of the ruined Mikdash, alongside the unrelenting teshukah to return.

This serves as the underlying premise for why the root of the Batei ha-Mikdash within the principle of Ma’aseh Avos siman la-banim is rooted precisely in the excavation of the wells: the Beis ha-Mikdash is the epicenter wherein resides the tefillah destined to restore us to the celestial heights.

The Pelishtim Who Stopped Up the Wells

We must now clarify the essence of these Pelishtim who systematically stopped up the wells. The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (18b) states:

“Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Reb Yonasan: ‘Ashrei ha-ish asher lo halach ba-atzas resha’im’—this refers to our father Avraham, who walked not in the counsel of the Generation of the Dispersion, who were wicked... ‘u-ve-derech chata’im lo amad’—who did not stand in the path of the sinners of Sodom... ‘u-ve-moshav leitzim lo yashav’—who did not sit in the seat of the scornful, this refers to the people of Peleshes, because they were cynics and jesters (leitzanim), as it is stated (Shoftim 16:25): ‘And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said: Call for Shimshon, that he may make sport for us (vi-sachek lanu).’”

Since the Pelishtim sought cheap amusement (sechok), Chazal reveal that the definitive ethos characterizing this nation is leitzanus (frivolity, cynicism, and mockery).

The root of this trait is embedded within their very appellation: Pelishtim, denizens of Peleshes, which is cognate with mefulash—a completely open, unpartitioned thoroughfare lacking any barrier or boundary. One passes through it unobstructed, as though traversing a vacant void where nothing inhibits passage; everything is accessible and permissible. While every nation and culture maintains at least some modicum of internal boundaries and inhibitions, the Pelishtim recognize no constraints whatsoever.

Regarding the genealogical provenance of the Pelishtim, Scripture states (Bereishis 10:13-14): “And Mitzrayim begot... the Pathrusim and the Casluchim, whence came the Pelishtim.” Rashi elucidates: “They emerged from both of them, for the Patrusim and Casluchim would promiscuously swap wives with one another, and from them emerged the Pelishtim.” It was indeterminate whether a child stemmed from this lineage or that, and to their sensibility, it was entirely inconsequential.

Furthermore, we discover that the quintessential avatar of the Pelishtim is Golyas ha-Pelishti. The Gemara in Sotah (42b) notes that immediately after “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Rus clung to her,” Orpah departed, and on that very night she was promiscuous with one hundred men, from which Golyas was conceived. We encounter here an absolute, unbridled licentiousness—a total absence of boundaries. This is the pedigree of the Pelishtim: a baseline of absolute degradation, where all is rendered profane, accessible, and cheap.

Leitzanus: The Obliteration of All Inherent Value

Let us define this destructive trait termed leitzanus. A person devoid of reverence (kavod) is designated a leitz. He is an individual who disparages all things, upon whom nothing can make an impression, because he is incapable of being moved or inspired by anything. True honor and gravity is termed yakar (precious, weighty), as in “all the wives shall give honor (yekar) to their husbands” (Esther 1:20); its polar antithesis is zilzul—to cheapen everything, rendering it trivial and worthless (zol). To the leitz, nothing that transpires carries weight; everything is insignificant, stripped of sanctity, and unworthy of exertion. Such individuals dismiss all pursuits out of hand; within their worldview, there is nowhere to aspire and nothing to yearn for.

Moreover, the authentic leitz does not merely remain stagnant in his place, lounging and mocking those engaged in constructive action—as formulated in the verse “u-ve-moshav leitzim”—but actively strives to disrupt and sabotage those who labor and build. The Mesillas Yesharim (Chapter 5), explicating the Gemara in Avodah Zarah (18b), explains that the sole dialectic a leitz comprehends is suffering and afflictions (yisurim u-makos). The solitary reality to which he affords solemnity is raw physical pain. Beyond that, everything in existence is reduced to a hollow farce.

A striking illustration of this temperament is manifested in the episode of Avimelech, king of the Pelishtim, when the Almighty appeared to him in a nocturnal dream: “Hashem said to him: Behold, you shall die because of the woman whom you have taken...” Avimelech’s immediate response was: “Lord, will You slay even a righteous nation?” Rashi (Bereishis 20:4) notes:

“‘Will You slay even a righteous nation?’—Even if an individual is righteous, would You slay him? Is this peradventure Your established practice to destroy nations without cause? Thus did You do to the Generation of the Flood and the Generation of the Dispersion; I too assert that You destroyed them for naught, just as You threaten to slay me!”

Chazal interpret the word “goy” in its national connotation: Avimelech audaciously confronts the Master of the Universe, claiming: “You have annihilated entire civilizations without justification, and in my estimation, You liquidated the entire world during the Mabbul for nothing—just as You say to slay me!”

It is virtually inconceivable that a mortal privileged with divine communication in a nocturnal vision—a bona fide tier of prophecy—would respond with such brazen flippancy, casually speaking to the Creator of the Universe, saying: “This is Your pattern of conduct, and this is what You seek to do to me.” This constitutes chutzpah of the highest order. Such an insolent posture can only emanate from the archetype of all cynics—the King of the Pelishtim, whose whole essence is waged against the concept of kavod, seeking to uproot all sanctity and deference from reality.

The Pelishtim’s Opposition to the Ascending Yearning of the Waters

This precisely mirrors the act of the Pelishtim stopping up the wells, a phenomenon persisting to this very day. Their intent is to thwart that subterranean wellspring from surging upward and breaking through the surface. They choke it with dirt: “The Pelishtim stopped them up and filled them with earth.”

The leitz cannot tolerate the sight of an authentic, upward-surging spring; he cannot endure the proposition that there exists an ideal worthy of cleaving abysses for, especially knowing that the waters can only ascend so far on their own. This represents the obstruction of the Pelishtim. Yet in truth, that very teshukah to ascend is the absolute definition of life—it is the very reality of a be’er mayim chayim.

The Additional Well Corresponding to the Aron

Subsequently in the parshah, when Avimelech arrives to forge a covenant with Yitzchak:

“And they rose up early in the morning and swore one to another... And it came to pass the same day, that Yitzchak’s servants came and told him concerning the well which they had dug... And he called it Shiv’ah; therefore the name of the city is Be’er Sheva unto this day” (Bereishis 26:31-33).

Here we encounter an additional well, which the Ramban likewise aligns with the holy sanctuaries, yet his holy words demand rigorous elucidation. The Ramban writes:

“‘And Yitzchak’s servants came and told him concerning the well which they had dug’—this refers to the well mentioned earlier, ‘and there Yitzchak’s servants dug a well,’ for they had begun excavating it, and Avimelech came to him during those days; and on the day of the covenant, as they departed from him, they brought him the tidings that they had found water. And it appears likely to me that this is the selfsame well that Avraham dug, regarding which he set aside seven ewe-lambs for a witness, for the Pelishtim had stopped it up alongside the others, and Yitzchak returned and redug it, calling it by the identical name that his father had assigned to it. Therefore the city is called Be’er Sheva after the well named identically by both father and son, because there both of them swore.

And this well alludes to Mishkan Shiloh. The Pelishtim stopped it up when the Aron was captured, yet it was redug, as they returned the Aron with a guilt-offering (doron) unto G-d.”

The Ramban establishes that this well corresponds to Mishkan Shiloh, as Shiloh was laid waste on the fateful day the Pelishtim captured the Aron ha-Kodesh, after which they were coerced into returning it because it wrought devastation among them, causing them to cry: “Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods?” The Aron spoke to them in “Pelishtian”—the sole language cynics comprehend, through afflictions and plagues.

We must analyze: What uniquely distinguished Mishkan Shiloh to merit an explicit allusive representation within Ma’aseh Avos? After all, the Mishkan stood in multiple stations—in Gilgal, Nov, Giv’on, and for forty years in the Midbar—yet none of these warranted a corresponding well, only the Batei ha-Mikdash. Why, then, Shiloh?

Furthermore, the Ramban implies that the well symbolizes Shiloh because it was destroyed when the Pelishtim captured the Aron and was reconstituted when the Aron was returned. Yet historic Shiloh was never rebuilt, and the return of the Aron was to Beis Shemesh and Kiryas Ye’arim, and subsequently to Nov!

The resolution is that the Ramban’s reference to Shiloh pertains to the sanctity of the Aron itself. Shiloh was the singular sanctuary whose churban was synonymous with the capture of the Aron, and its “re-excavation” was marked by the return of the Aron accompanied by the doron (tribute), as the Ramban articulates: “and it was redug, as they returned the Aron with the doron unto G-d.” The Pelishtim returned the Aron accompanied by a golden coffer (argaz) laden with golden treasures, and this phenomenon pertains to the transcendent kedushah of the Aron itself. This constitutes a profound episode bearing great relevance to our avodah.

The Coffer Sent by the Pelishtim: Honor Emanating from Leitzanus Itself

The prevailing ethos in this world remains zilzul and leitzanus. Yet behold: once the Pelishtim were battered by divine plagues, they returned the Aron with lavish gifts—golden vessels placed in a dedicated coffer out of profound reverence for the Aron.

Those very golden vessels accompanied the Aron constantly in the Kodesh ha-Kodashim throughout the duration of the Bayis, and when the Aron was hidden away, they were concealed alongside it, as the Mishnah teaches at the end of Horayos (12a):

“When the Aron was hidden, there was concealed with it the flask of Shemen ha-Mishchah, the jar of the Manna, the staff of Aharon with its almonds and blossoms, and the coffer (argaz) which the Pelishtim sent as a gift to the G-d of Yisrael, as it is stated (Shmuel I 6:8): ‘And put the jewels of gold, which ye return Him for a guilt-offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.’”

A wondrous concept unfolds here: the honor and deference (kavod) wrenched specifically from those very cynics—from people fundamentally devoid of honor—constitutes the ultimate, consummate honor of the Aron! That very argaz embodies the triumph of the Aron’s majesty; hence, it was joined to the Aron itself, resided alongside it in the Holy of Holies, and was concealed together with it for eternity.

The Inner Meaning of the Covenant with the Pelishtim

Now we can fathom the enigmatic covenants forged by Avraham and Yitzchak with Avimelech. On the exact day that Yitzchak concluded the treaty with Avimelech, that unique well corresponding to the Aron was opened: “And they told him: We have found water!” In that hour, the well proclaiming the kedushas ha-Aron sprang forth.

Because the coffer sent by the Pelishtim was destined to be joined eternally to the Aron, there exists at this specific junction an inner pact between Avraham and Avimelech. The covenant between Avraham and Avimelech signifies that specifically through the subjugation of the Pelishtim, through Avimelech, the ultimate glory of the Aron ha-Bris is revealed. The convergence of Avraham and Avimelech parallels the ultimate subsumption of the Pelishtim’s homage into the Aron.

In the ultimate future, when the Aron is revealed, it will eradicate all leitzanus from the cosmos, and simultaneously there shall be revealed that very argaz dispatched by the Pelishtim: “And put it in a coffer by the side thereof.”

We may add to this the conclusion of the verse: “Therefore the name of the city is Be’er Sheva unto this day.” The inner meaning is that by virtue of this singular well, these spiritual forces endure throughout all generations—this is the wellspring through which that which was embedded in the excavations of the Avos continues to flow and illuminate unto this very day.

בטחו בה' עדי עד

“TOTAL FAKE NEWS Politico doesn’t care about faces, integrity, or honest journalism — it’s why I kicked them out of the White House!” the president said in a statement denying that Wiles was on her way out. “Susie Wiles is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff — there is a reason for that. She has been with me since the beginning, is my trusted advisor, and has my COMPLETE confidence.”

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Trump announced Friday that Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, will take over Wiles’ role starting Monday. He said Wiles will move to his political operation but didn’t specify what her new job will be.

“I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform after firing her.

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Mussar Haskel - Trust in Hashem and believe nothing you hear from politicians. 

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Another good example - Vivek The Valiant. He assured the American people that he would win the last presidential race "in a landslide". 

He also assured everyone that he was going to be the next governer of Ohio. 

Ki Tzayid Befiv – The Primal Root of Torah Sheba’al Peh and the Engine of “Lach Kara’i, Lach Tannai”

 

Ki Tzayid Befiv – Rabbi Akiva and the Core of the Oral Tradition

“And Yitzchak loved Esav, for game was in his mouth [ki tzayid befiv]; but Rivkah loved Yaakov.” (Bereishis 25:28)

On this verse, Rashi cites the Chazal:

“And its Midrashic exposition: in the mouth of Esav—that he would ensnare him and deceive him with his words.”

A simple reading suggests something startling: the Torah would seem to indicate that Yitzchak Avinu loved Esav merely because Esav deceived him, entrapping him with disingenuous pieties, and that our forefather was tragically misled.

Yet it is well known from the Arizal that the sages who interpreted tzayid as lying within the mouth of Esav intended an entirely different depth: Yitzchak, as it were, perceived and inhaled from the very mouth of Esav the primordial root of Torah Sheba’al Peh (the Oral Torah).

Rabbi Akiva—the acknowledged pillar and wellspring of the entire Oral Tradition, as the Gemara states (Sanhedrin 86a), “Vechulhu aliba d’Rabbi Akiva” (all foundational tannaitic compilations follow the methodology of Rabbi Akiva)—was a descendant of converts hailing from the lineage of Esav. Esav thus harbored within his potential the root of Rabbi Akiva, which is the very essence of Torah Sheba’al Peh. This sublime spiritual fragrance was precisely what Yitzchak detected emanating from Esav’s mouth; Esav’s mouth carried the latent power of the mouth of Rabbi Akiva.

This demands profound clarification. Did this aroma pierce through all subsequent generations—did every descendant from Esav down to Rabbi Akiva carry this same spiritual scent? Moreover, on an intrinsic level, does being the physical progenitor from whom Rabbi Akiva ultimately emerged confer any inherent spiritual status upon Esav? Halachically, no such lineage exists: once a person converts, he bears no legal lineage to his biological forebears (ger shenisgayer k’koton shenolad dami—a convert is akin to a newborn child). He no longer belongs to them; the convert’s true father is Avraham Avinu, of whom it was said, “Av hamon goyim nesaticha”—the father of all who shelter beneath the wings of the Shechinah.

Nevertheless, the text emphasizes that Yitzchak uncovered this potential uniquely within Esav. This implies that there existed an inherent quality within Esav himself from which—and specifically through which—Rabbi Akiva had to emerge. This requires thorough elucidation.

Why Esav is Designated an “Yisrael Mumar”

As is widely established across the homilies of Chazal, Yaakov Avinu represents pristine purity and unblemished wholeness—“Yaakov ish tam yoshev ohalim”—the quintessential man of the beis midrash, the central pillar of Torah. Esav represents the antithetical force. Yaakov personifies the Yetzer Hatov, whereas Esav personifies the Yetzer Hara, rooted in the very core of their soul-constructs. As Rashi comments on “Vayitrotzetzu habanim bekirbah”, one naturally cleaved toward the halls of study, while the other innately gravitated toward idol worship; his very nature pulled him toward the sinister.

If Yitzchak loved Esav “ki tzayid befiv,” we must reconsider the dynamic. While Esav possessed an inborn attraction toward idolatry, this was an innate predisposition which he was fully capable of overcoming. In Yitzchak’s estimation, he had indeed triumphed over it.

The Gemara in Kiddushin (18a) designates Esav an “Yisrael mumar” (an apostate Israelite). This title is astonishing. “Yisrael” is the exclusive name of Yaakov, bestowed by Esav’s guardian angel upon his defeat: “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael, for you have striven with the divine and with men and have prevailed.” That victory earned the name Yisrael. How, then, does Esav have any share in this name? How can the Gemara term him an Yisrael mumar when he was never Yisrael to begin with—a designation uniquely reserved for Yaakov?

The depth here is that Esav originally mastered his Yetzer Hara and thereby attained the level of “Yisrael.” He conquered his primal drive. Only later, when “vayigdelu hane’arim” (the boys matured), did the split occur: “Esav became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field, while Yaakov was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents.” Esav pivoted in one direction and Yaakov in another. Until that turning point, however, Esav had subdued his negative inclinations.

Just as Yaakov overcame the angelic minister of Esav, Esav had previously conquered his own dominant nature. For that achievement, he earned the title of Yisrael; his subsequent fall made him an apostate to that acquired stature. At that early stage, he was fully worthy of the name Yisrael: he, too, had striven with the divine—his own celestial minister—and prevailed.

The nature he possessed in his mother’s womb—the aggressive instinct pulling outward—was precisely the arena of Esav’s spiritual service. In that arena, he originally laboured valiantly, and Yitzchak recognized it. Yitzchak did not see his future apostasy; he saw his realized capacity as an “Yisrael.” He perceived that very same inner resilience of “sarisa im elokim ve’im anashim vatuchal,” the heroic struggle Yaakov would later replicate. Esav had weathered that identical battle using that selfsame raw power.

When the lads matured, they diverged. But lechatchilah, they grew together. Growing together meant that Yaakov preserved his pure nature with unwavering strength, shielded by his native disposition, while Esav actively broke and elevated his volatile nature, until they stood as genuine twin brothers in achievement. Only subsequently did they part ways. Once Esav defected, he became the archetype and universal bearer of the flag of the Yetzer Hara.

All Inner Motivation Derives from “Lach Kara’i, Lach Tannai”

The Gemara in Pesachim (68b) relates:

“Every thirty days, Rav Sheshes would review his learning. He would lean against the doorframe and exclaim: ‘Rejoice, my soul! Rejoice, my soul! For you have I read Scripture, for you have I studied Mishnah!’”

Rashi clarifies: “‘Lach kara’i, lach tannai’—for your sake and for your benefit have I reviewed and recited.” He addressed his own being, asserting that his monumental toil was executed for his own self-fulfillment.

The Gemara immediately challenges this: Did Rav Sheshes learn solely for himself? “Is that so? Did not Rabbi Elazar state: Were it not for the Torah, heaven and earth could not endure, as it says, ‘If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have established the statutes of heaven and earth’?” If Torah sustains the cosmos, how could Rav Sheshes exult in learning merely for himself?

The Gemara answers: “Me’ikara, ki avid inish, ada’ata denafshei ka avid”—at the outset, whenever a person acts, he acts for his own sake. The initial catalyst, the primary awakening that drives a human being to move and accomplish, is invariably self-directed. No matter how lofty an undertaking may be, cosmic abstractions do not inherently galvanize the human psyche. What stirs the soul into action is ada’ata denafshei—acting with oneself in mind. A person may perform earth-shattering deeds, but the primary ignition remains within his own sense of self.

The Culture of Sodom: Middas Hadin as an Autonomous End

When the angels visited Avraham, one was dispatched to announce the birth of Yitzchak and the second to overturn Sodom. Their joint arrival was no coincidence; angels do not require an escort, and their simultaneous mission points to a single conceptual continuum.

The foundational thesis of Sodom’s ideology was this: if a human being receives what he has not earned, if he partakes of unearned bread, it degrades the tzuras ha’adam (the authentic form of humanity). Society atrophies and degenerates when sustained by arbitrary benevolence. From their perspective, to give to an able-bodied man who could otherwise earn his keep is an assault on his human dignity; compassion of this sort was viewed as the murder of the human form.

This perspective latches onto a profound truth: man was indeed created to earn his bread. Human existence is purposely designed so that everything one receives is acquired by merit (bizchut), not by unearned charity (b’chesed). Were man intended to be an entirely passive recipient, it would almost stand as a critique against the Creator, Who could easily have showered unconditional abundance upon creation. Genuine goodness dictates that man must truly earn his reward, rather than receive the bread of shame (nahama d’chisufa). Sodom elevated this truth to an uncompromising absolute: no mercy, no charity. Anyone practicing benevolence was branded an enemy of the human form.

Middas Hadin Exists Solely to Realize True Chesed

We are taught that initially, Hashem contemplated creating the world through Middas Hadin (the attribute of Strict Justice), so that every entity would receive strictly what it legitimately warranted. Recognizing that the world could not endure upon raw justice alone, He partnered it with Middas Harachamim (Mercy). The inner meaning is that the Creator truly desires that man merit his existence through justice, but solely in order that the ultimate benevolence bestowed upon him should be complete, noble, and free of shame.

Din is not the ultimate purpose; pristine chesed is. The entire objective is to bestow absolute goodness. If you wish to genuinely help a fellow man, you provide him an honorable livelihood whereby he may earn his sustenance; that constitutes lasting benevolence. But if you continually hand him doles, exempting him from effort, your apparent kindness ultimately harms him. The demand for man to earn his existence is not an autonomous demand for harsh judgment; it is the prerequisite for the benevolence to be untainted and whole.

Middas Hadin possesses no independent justification for existence. It does not exist to celebrate judgment, but to facilitate perfect, uncompromised chesed. As the verse records: “These are the generations of Yitzchak son of Avraham: Avraham begot Yitzchak.” In the lexicon of Chazal, the attribute of Chesed (Avraham) gave birth to the attribute of Din (Yitzchak). Din is not a freestanding source; the Creator brought forth Din solely as the vessel through which ultimate Chesed reaches fruition.

The Binding of Yitzchak: Chesed Encompassing Din

Avraham Avinu embodies Chesed (“Chesed l’Avraham”); he radiated goodness to the entire cosmos. Yitzchak embodies Din, the principle that each receives strictly what is due, without unearned overflow.

The early commentators query why the Akeidah is defined specifically by the term akeidah—binding—as taught in Maseches Tamid regarding the daily offering: “They did not bind the lamb limb to limb [kafos], but bound it by its legs [akod], like the binding of Yitzchak son of Avraham.” Why is this supreme trial named after the act of binding?

Our masters explain that the binding is the crux of the matter. Avraham binding Yitzchak symbolizes the attribute of Chesed tethering, structuring, and containing Middas Hadin. Avraham actively bounds the perimeter of Din, ensuring that justice never exceeds the boundaries that execute the deeper purposes of Chesed. Din cannot run rampant as an autonomous force; it must remain harnessed, guided, and governed by Chesed.

The Destruction of Sodom is the Birth of Yitzchak

The angel sent to destroy Sodom traveled alongside the angel sent to announce Yitzchak's birth. The annihilation of Sodom and the birth of Yitzchak are two sides of the same coin. The overthrow of Sodom signaled the eradication of Middas Hadin as an autonomous, self-justifying ideology. The advent of Yitzchak established Middas Hadin in its true, rectified posture: not as an absolute end that demands unyielding retribution, but as the rigorous framework through which alone complete chesed can be realized.

The Essence of the Yetzer Hara: Operating for Self-Interest

The Yetzer Hara enters man at the very moment of birth, whereas the Yetzer Hatov arrives only when one attains maturity and intellectual awareness. The baseline of human existence is the Yetzer Hara. Its fundamental mechanic is the instinct toward personal gratification: “Do this for your own pleasure, for your own delight.” Every demand made by the Yetzer Hara is rooted in pure self-interest.

The Expansion of the Human “I”

When the Gemara notes, “Me’ikara ki avid inish, ada’ata denafshei ka avid,” it articulates an inescapable psychological reality: the primal spark of any human initiative is invariably personal need. Man simply does not stir to act without an inward pull. However, as man matures and deepens his wisdom, his perception of "self" widens dramatically.

When an infant says “I,” he recognizes only his isolated physical boundaries. As an adult matures, his “I” expands. He embraces his family within that “I.” As he climbs higher, his “I” expands to include his community, his nation, all of humanity, and ultimately the totality of creation. When Avraham Avinu said “I,” his identity was coextensive with the entire cosmos. Since the Creator generated all of existence, Avraham’s personal desire became the revelation of the Divine will throughout all reality. This is the ultimate, expansive “I.”

By contrast, the primal, uncultivated “I” is pure Din. The Rishonim observe that the etymological root of Din is Dai (sufficiency, boundary)—restricting reality to its bare, unyielding borders. Left unrefined, a person perceives himself as a closed entity, isolated from the rest of the world. Great wisdom and internal elevation are required to stretch the heart until one's selfhood embraces the collective existence—until one feels oneself as an organic part of the vast cosmic order, the heavens and the earth.

Middas Hadin naturally constricts, compressing things to their bare minimum. It is this restrictive, unrectified posture that gives rise to the raw Yetzer Hara: the stubborn insistence that the individual is a self-contained island, acting purely for his own narrow ends.

Every Beginning is Self-Directed

Because every initial action is ignited by self-interest, Chazal established the halachah: “A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvos, even if not for its own sake [shelo lishmah], for from shelo lishmah he will arrive at lishmah.”

Shelo lishmah means: I act to satisfy my personal self. That is the necessary point of departure. Were you to demand of a novice that he exert himself solely because his learning sustains the cosmos, he would not budge. The cosmic imperative does not fire the primal imagination. Thus Rav Sheshes exulted: “Rejoice, my soul! For your sake have I read, for your sake have I reviewed!”

How does shelo lishmah transform into lishmah if they run on seemingly contradictory tracks? A life of self-absorption cannot naturally terminate in selflessness. The transition occurs because the definition of “self” evolves. One begins to realize that one's ultimate self-interest is inextricably bound up with sustaining the entire world. The foundational engine remains ada’ata denafshei, but the “self” has been elevated to encompass the will of the Creator.

Joy Derives Exclusively from the Expansion of the “I”

When Rav Sheshes proclaimed “Chada’i nafshi,” his soul rejoiced because it had acquired something vital for its own flourishing. True joy (simchah) is nothing other than the inward experience of the expansion of the "I." (As noted elsewhere, a wider, generous handbreadth is termed in Halachah a tefach sochek—a laughing, expansive span). A person rejoices under the chuppah or at the birth of a child because his being has expanded beyond its former perimeter.

The Gemara asks: Did Rav Sheshes study merely for himself, when his Torah sustains heaven and earth? The Gemara resolves this by stating that initially, one acts for oneself. Yet Rav Sheshes made this declaration at the height of his spiritual stature, not as a beginner!

The Gemara reveals here an enduring truth: man always acts for his own self; it is simply that the self expands without limit. The ultimate motive force remains the imperative to actualize one’s will. For Rav Sheshes, his own will had become identical with the preservation of heaven and earth and the fulfillment of the Divine purpose. He did not preserve the cosmos through cold self-abnegation; he sustained it because doing so had become the ultimate expression of his own sanctified being.

Fulfilling “Ve’ahavta” Through the Fusion of Both Inclinations

On the verse, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” (bechol levavecha), Chazal comment (Berachos 54a): “With both of your inclinations—with the Yetzer Hatov and with the Yetzer Hara.” How can two contradictory forces sit at the same table and collaborate on a single unified action?

The resolution is that the Yetzer Hatov must educate and direct the raw energy of the Yetzer Hara. It co-opts the Yetzer Hara’s primal drive: “Indeed, you desire fulfillment for yourself; let me show you how vast that self truly is.” Just as a small child wants a sweet entirely for himself, but an older child finds deeper satisfaction when sharing it, a mature soul finds its greatest gratification in the flourishing of the whole. The initial drive remains: “For you have I read, for you have I reviewed.” The engine is personal vitality, but that vitality now encompasses all of existence.

Esav as the Firstborn: The Primacy of the Primal Drive

Because every act begins with ada’ata denafshei, Esav was born first. The firstborn represents the me’ikara—the primary awakening, which always originates from the raw, instinctual drive.

The lifelong task is to cultivate that primal force, expanding its boundaries until its ada’ata denafshei encompasses heaven and earth. When Rav Sheshes exclaims “Chada’i nafshi,” that joy is the sensation of personal expansion. To serve Hashem “with both your inclinations” means that the foundational drive for self-actualization is educated by the Yetzer Hatov to realize that one's true self is one with the Divine will.

The Yetzer Hara Imparts Flavor to Reality

What is the function of flavor? In the physical realm, delicious food provides a heightened sensation of vitality. A sated person requires delicate flavors to stimulate an appetite, but to a starving man, coarse bread and plain water taste sweeter than honey. Water has no innate taste, yet to the parched throat, it is life itself. Flavor is the subjective perception of vital expansion.

Chazal recount that Esav would probe Yitzchak: “How does one tithe salt and straw?” What was the meaning behind this bizarre query?

Esav asked from the depths of his own essence. The force that imparts zest, appetite, and vigor to existence is precisely the Yetzer Hara—either in its raw state or sublimated under the guidance of the Yetzer Hatov. True flavor is the sensation of life being enriched. Esav argued to Yitzchak: “All the food you eat is inherently bland; it is I who supply the zest to existence. You tithe ordinary produce, but do you tithe me?”

To ask how to tithe salt is to ask how to elevate the very ingredient that redeems food from being tafel (insipid, tasteless). The Hebrew word tafel is borrowed to describe spiritual matters: ideas and practices that lack internal vitality feel cold, insipid, and repellant to the soul. A human being cannot fully bind himself to spiritual concepts unless they provide a palpable taste of life.

Straw and Salt: The Positive and Negative Dimensions of the Drive

Esav’s questions regarding straw and salt correspond to the two essential functions for which the Yetzer Hara was fashioned:

1. Straw (The Root of Lo Sa’aseh): Straw protects the grain from spoiling. The Yetzer Hara instills the vigilance necessary to protect oneself: “Beware, an adversary lies in wait to trip you!” This vigilance is the root of caution and restraint (hishamer), which forms the basis of all prohibitive commandments (lo sa’aseh).

2. Salt (The Root of Aseh): Salt imparts flavor. The Yetzer Hara supplies the subjective gusto, personal incentive, and appetite that drive positive action (aseh).

Esav sought to tithe both straw and salt—the dual powers of preservation and flavor. The duplicity in his mouth lay in the fact that he was already an apostate: he had decoupled these faculties from their holy purpose. Instead of employing his drive to preserve and enhance the mitzvos, he redirected them entirely inward, toward unrectified, insular self-indulgence.

Flavor as the Dynamic Engine of Torah Sheba’al Peh

What propels a person to endure the relentless toil demanded by Torah Sheba’al Peh? The ultimate driver is the incomparable flavor—the sheer intellectual and spiritual ecstasy—of true comprehension.

The Oral Torah requires exhaustive diligence and rigorous analysis. Yet the simchah and inner serenity experienced when a complex sugya is truly illuminated have no earthly parallel. To the toiling scholar, that clarity is sweeter than honey (“Chada’i nafshi, lach kara’i lach tannai”). This flavor deepens progressively: the initial comprehension offers an immediate taste, but as one plumbs the inner conceptual foundations, the soul experiences an immense expansion of existence and consciousness. A scholar accustomed to this sublime taste would not exchange it for all the pleasures of the world.

When the Arizal reveals that Yitzchak detected tzayid befiv—the root of Torah Sheba’al Peh—in Esav's query regarding salt and straw, he teaches us that Yitzchak heard the underlying heartbeat of “Chada’i nafshi, lach kara’i lach tannai.” He heard the very drive for vital, robust engagement from which alone the Oral Tradition draws its vitality.

Chedvasa Desh’meisa: Unlocked Exclusively Through the Fire of the Primal Drive

In the Midrash HaNe'elam on Parashas Toldos (Zohar I, 137b–138a), Rabbi Yitzchak bar Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Yehuda discuss the nature of the Yetzer Hara:

“Rabbi Yitzchak said: Could our colleagues, the sages of the Mishnah, have prayed that the Yetzer Hara be entirely excised from the world, save for the requirement of procreation? Rabbi Yehuda replied: By your life! The Yetzer Hara is as vital to the world as rain to the earth! For were it not for the Yetzer Hara, there would be no joy in learning—‘chedvasa desh’mytsa’!”

The Men of the Great Assembly successfully eradicated the Yetzer Hara for idolatry (avodah zarah), which stripped idolatry of its seductive flavor. In earlier generations, idolatry held such visceral allure that even righteous kings were drawn to it, as related in Sanhedrin (102b), where the spirit of King Menashe appeared to Rav Ashi in a dream and told him: “Had you lived in my generation, you would have tucked the hem of your robes into your belt and sprinted to worship idols.” Today, idolatry has no intrinsic taste; it exists only as an act of spite or rebellion.

While the raw lust for immorality will likewise be refined in the future, the drive itself will not be destroyed. It is as vital as rain. Without that fiery inner engine, chedvasa desh’meisa—the joy, drive, and delight of Torah study—cannot exist.

This phrase, “chedvasa desh’mytsa,” precisely mirrors the Gemara’s “Chada’i nafshi, lach kara’i lach tannai.” The joy of learning is born when Torah is engaged not as a detached exercise, but as the ultimate nourishment of one’s own life.

The Vilna Gaon notes repeatedly that two things were taken from man’s primary essence and set outside of him, compelling him to seek them out and reunite with them: his wife (taken from his side, prompting him to seek his lost half), and the Torah (taught to him in his mother's womb and forgotten at birth). A man without his wife is incomplete; a man without Torah is stripped of his essential self. The intense attachment between man and woman mirrors the attachment between man and Torah. If you extinguish the capacity for passion, you inevitably extinguish the deep taste for Torah. “Were it not for the Yetzer Hara, there would be no chedvasa desh’meisa.”

Bechol Levavecha: Integrating the Primal Fire into Life

This is the plain meaning of the twice-daily declaration: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart... with both of your inclinations.” As the Sifrei asks: How does one love Hashem with both drives? The verse continues: “And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart.” The heart is the center of vitality (“Above all that you guard, guard your heart, for from it are the sources of life”). Placing the words upon the heart means integrating them directly into the core of your living self.

Love of Hashem must enlist both inclinations; without the foundational ada’ata denafshei, the connection remains sterile. It is brought to life through vechizuk ha-Torah—“veshinantam lebanecha vedibarta bam”—incorporating the Torah into the warp and woof of one's personal existence.

Yitzchak Avinu understood with profound clarity that there is no enduring vitality without the Yetzer Hara, which was born of his own attribute of Din. In Yitzchak’s home, the embodiment of that raw energy emerged first—the firstborn representing the indispensable initial stage. Yaakov, the Yetzer Hatov, arrived to expand that personal drive until it encompassed the cosmos.

Yitzchak himself began from Din—the minimal, contracted point of the "I"—and elevated it to the ultimate "I." He lived as an olah temimah, a living offering completely merged with the Divine will. Yet that absolute devotion began with the raw capacity of ada’ata denafshei.

Those sensitive to numerical hints will notice that the gematria of Tzayid (צי"ד = 104) is precisely half that of Yitzchak (יצח"ק = 208). Tzayid befiv represents the first half of Yitzchak’s complete spiritual constitution. Yitzchak perfected the whole, whereas Esav stalled at the initial, unrefined stage. These two halves are the two inclinations. Esav embodies the primal inception—the secret of the firstborn—which must subsequently be wedded to the Yetzer Hatov so that the self expands to embrace all reality. Tzayid is one side (tzad echad).

Herein lies a foundational principle: every vibrant taste and vitality that the Yetzer Hara purports to offer in the external world exists in its purest, most potent form within the Torah itself. The chedvasa desh’mytsa of the Zohar contains all the fire and delight that wanderers search for outside, multiplied a thousandfold.

It is worthy of profound contemplation, and may we merit to touch even a fraction of this sublime light.

הגרחי"ג זצ"ל

 א.

מן הנושאים שתפסו מקום קבוע ונכבד בדרשותיו ובשיחותיו של ראש ישיבת כרם ביבנה, היה מדרגתם של האבות ועבודת ה' המיוחדת שנהג בה כל אחד מהם.

עניין זה יש לו שרשים עמוקים בהגות, ביותר זו הפנימית, והוא הואר מזוויות שונות. אף דבריו של מו"ר בנושא זה עברו אי אלו תמורות במרוצת השנים - והרי אף זה מן המאפיינים באישיותו; האפשרות לעסוק באותם נושאים משך שנים, להיזדקק לאותם מקורות ולגלות פנים חדשות, אף שעיקר השלד נשאר על עמדו.

בתקופת הראשית הזכורה לי, היו דבריו נסמכים על רעיונות שנשמעו בבית מדרשו של הרב דסלר זצ"ל והועלו על הכתב בספר שיחותיו מכתב מאליהו (חלק ב עמ' 165-164). הר"א דסלר מעלה רעיון נועז, לפיו, הממשיכים של דרך האבות היו ישמעאל ועשו, שכן מידה המתפתחת ללא גבול - סופה עיוות. כך נתגלגלה מידת חסד של אברהם אצל ישמעאל להיות לחסד שבטומאה, לזנות. ומידת גבורתו של יצחק הפכה אצל בנו בן מינו, עשו, לתכונה שלילית של גאווה והגיעה עד רציחה. אכן יעקב, שמיזג חסד וגבורה, היתה מיטתו שלמה ולא נמצאה פסולת בבניו.

על דרך זה ניתן לנו להמשיך ולומר, כשיש אב ואפשר לומר אף רב ראש ישיבה, המאופיין במידה בולטת מאוד שהיא היא עבודתו, כי אז יש סכנה רבה לחיקוי אותה מידה, ומי שנוטל אותה כמות שהיא ואינו עמל בה לנפותה ולהתאימה לעצמו, עלול להגיע לעיוות ולסטייה, כדרך שאכן ארע אצל ישמעאל ואצל עשו.

אולם אב ורב שאין בהם תכונה בולטת הזועקת בייחודה, אלא היא מין מזיגה והרכבה של תכונות אחדות, אלה אינם מעוררים לחיקוי כמות שהם ואין על כן סכנה שמא תולדות שהם מעבירים יצאו מעוותים. במידה לא מעטה ניתן לומר על הרב חיים יעקב גולדוויכט, ויכול לומר זאת מי שהיה מקורב אליו משך שנים, שהוא לא נתאפיין במידה אחת שהטביעה חותמה במוחלט, אלא היתה בו מזיגה והרכבה של תכונות ומאפיינים. גם מקורות יניקתו היו מורכבים וממוזגים. מחד, היתה בו מורשת חסידית מבית אביו והוא חש קשר לחסידות וחצרותיה בכלל, ולחסידות בויאן בפרט. לימים לבשה הזיקה גם יניקה הגותית ממעיינות השפת אמת והשם משמואל ואף מכתביו של ר' צדוק. מאידך, הוא שאב ממסורות הלימוד הירושלמי המקובלת בחדרים ובישיבת עץ חיים, שלימים נמסכת אצלו במסורת הלימוד הליטאית כפי שנהגה בישיבת סלבודקה בב"ב והשפעת בריסק ששפעה עליו מקירבתו של הגרי"ז מבריסק בנו בכורו של ר' חיים וכל זה מלווה ברעיונות ובדרך של בעלי המוסר, שבסלבודקה היתה להם השפעה רבה באמצעותו של ר' אייזק שר. ואל כל אלה נצטרפה השפעתו האישית והלימודית של החזו"א, שהיא כה שונה מזו של ראשי ישיבות ליטא.

מי שהוא כך סופג וקולט ורואה עצמו כל העת כמודרך, כבר אי אפשר לו להעמיד מודל, בחינת: כזה וראה וקדש.

הרי הוא בחינת רבי יוחנן בן זכאי, עליו נאמר במסכת אבות פ"ב שקיבל תורה גם מהלל וגם משמאי ואשר על כן יכול להיות רבם של תלמידים שונים ומגוונים ולהנחות אותם שילכו לגלות בעצמם מהי הדרך הישרה שיבור לו האדם (עוד היתה בו ברח"י גולדוויכט בבואה מריב"ז. ריב"ז נתייסר כל ימיו בשאלה הנוקבת אם נכונה היתה הכרעתו לבקש את יבנה וחכמיה ולנטוש את ירושלים. משהו מאותה הסתפקות אפשר היתה ברח"י אם לגבי הכרעתו האישית לפנות לכיוון יבנה ולגדל שמה חכמים על פני המסלול הישן הבטוח היציב).

אדם מורכב שנחל השפעות רבות והטמיע והפנים בתוכו תכונות ודרכי הבנה שונות ומגוונות, כבר אי אפשר שיהיה בעל כאריזמה כזו המגרה להערצה מחקה. ותלמידיו אפשר להם להיות שואבים ומקבלים מבלי מבלי לחשוש יתר על המידה מפני אובדן עצמאות. שכן אין הם פוזלים בכל לראות כיצד נוהג ופועל האיש הנערץ עליהם.

אכן בחורים בישיבה שביקשו מושא להערצה או מודל לחיקוי, לא התמידו וכעבור חודשים אחדים כבר היו בדרכים לישיבות או לישיבה אחרת.

ב.

אחת התכונות שצריכות לאפיין את היונק ממעיינות רבים כל כך היא הפתיחות. אכן מן הבחינה הזאת היה מו"ר תלמיד חכם מובהק, וההדגשה על תלמיד. תלמיד הנכון לשמוע והפתוח לקלוט והסקרן להתבונן. מבעד לחזות שנראתה לעיתים למתבונן רחוק קשוחה ונחרצת, הסתתרה דמות בעלת נכונות לבחון ולעיתים לא מעטות גם לשנות ולהשתנות. אין צריך לומר השפעות של גדולים (תופעה מעניינת היא משיכתו להגותו של הרב הוטנר, משיכה שאירעה כשהוא כבר ראש ישיבה ותיק), אלא גם של תלמידים צעירים. השפעות ואף תמורות שבאו מדיאלוג מתמיד עם בחורים צעירים מבקשי תורה: הוא שואל והם מבקשים להשיב; הם דורשים והוא נדרש. וכך בד בבד עם עיצובם שלהם, נעצבה לנגד עיניהם המשתאות דמות ייחודית של ראש ישיבה. אפשר לי לומר בוודאות שלא הרי ראש הישיבה בעת שהתחלתי את לימודי באלול תש"כ כראש הישיבה בעת שעזבתי בכסלו תשכ"ט.

כמעט וניתן לומר כי ראש הישיבה העמיד תלמידים הרבה; ותלמידים הרבה העמידו ראש ישיבה אחד.

ג.

תכונה זאת, או נאמר כישור זה, לקלוט לבחון ולהתחדש, דומה שהיא שאפיינה את דרך לימודו. שיעור של רח"י לא היה עיון משווה בראשונים או דיון בסברות ובפסקי האחרונים ודאי שלא נשאה אופי של ערך אנציקלופדי. לא שחסרו מעין סממנים אלו בשיעור, אלא שכל אלו - פרשנות הראשונים והסברי האחרונים - כאילו לא באו אלא לרפד את הדרך אל עיקרו של השיעור והוא: החידוש. אי אפשר לשיעור בלא שיהיה בו חידוש, החידוש הוא רוחו ונשמתו של השיעור. כל השאר מקורות ודרכים ופרשנות אינם אלא איברי הגוף - המוטלים בערבוביה עד שתבוא הרוח החיה מפיו של ראש הישיבה והיא סברת או יסוד החידוש ויעמידו האיברים ויציבו אותם בגוף חי ונושם.

תחילת השיעור - קטע בסוגיא; המשכו - שאלות שונות סביבו; ותוכו - הסברה המעמדת.

יותר משהיה בשיעור חומר, תוכן מטריאלי, היה בהם רוח מעמדת, ודרך ניתוח ושיטת הסתכלות. ואף גם זאת: סופו של דבר היה השיעור בנוי לתלפיות והיה בו גם יופי אסטטי רוחני. חשוב היה לא רק מה ייאמר אלא כיצד, ואיך יישמעו הדברים. הדברים צריכים להיות בנויים בצורה מצודדת ומושכת לא רק מבחינת התוכן אלא גם מבחינת הצורה ויש גם יופי באמת כשהכל עולה בחוברת.

ניתן להמליץ עליו שהיה הוא חדשן בלתי נלאה. במילונו של חדשן בלתי נלאה אין מצויים ביטויים כמו 'לא יעלה על הדעת', שכן הכל עולה על הדעת בהשקפה ראשונה, אפילו הסברה המוזרה ביותר, כמעט והייתי אומר הפראית מבחינת הדמיון, עולה על הדעת, ובדיקה תתקיים כדי לברר את ברה של תורה מתוך אין סוף סברות אפשריות. גם הביטוי 'אין מנוס' לא מצוי במילונו של החדשן, כי לעולם יש דרך להיחלץ מסתירות ושאלות אמיתיות או מדומות. והמוח יוצר בקדחתנות עוד סברה ועוד יסוד.

ד.

אמרנו בלימוד היה הוא כמעין המתגבר, חדשן מאין כמוהו, אולם הוא היה רחוק מאוד מלראות עצמו כחדשן הן במילי דעלמא הן במילי דשמיא.

על רבי אליעזר הגדול נאמר שמעולם לא אמר דבר שלא שמע מרבותיו (סוכה כח ע"א). משמע לא חידש מימיו. אף כי כשהשמיע דברים היו אלו דברים שבאוזני שומעיהם נשמעו חדשים, ככאלו שלא שמעתן אוזן מעולם, עכ"פ לעדות עצמו הוא לא חידש בתורה, מעיין יצירתו הופנה לאפיקים של תפילה ונאמר עליו שבכל יום חידש תפילה חדשה (ירושלמי ברכות פ"ד).

על מו"ר ניתן כמעט לומר ההיפך. בתורה היה מעיין המתגבר ומחדש אבל חס לו מלחדש משהו בתפילה. במסגרות ותכנים של עבודת ה' ואף במסגרות ותכנים של מוסדות וממסדים השתדל מאוד שלא לחדש בהם דבר. ומה מאוד היה רוצה להתמיד ולהמשיך בדרך שכבר נסללה מדורות. וירא היה מפני האחריות של חידוש דרך בחינת 'וירא יעקב', אולם בעל כרחו ניצב הוא בצמתי דרכים ונדרש היה לחדש שלא בטובתו. וכך בכורח נסיבות שנכפו עליו נתמסדה בכרם ביבנה דרך ההסדר, ונסלל - ושוב שלא לגמרי בטובתו - המסלול הפדגוגי שליד הישיבה. ואלו כמו גם הדרך המיוחדת של לימוד הלכה בכולל הפכו להיות כמין דגם אב שהוליד ישיבות הסדר דומות.

מעניינים בהקשר לזה דברים שאמר לגבי מנהיגות חדשה. ראה בחוברת "ארבעה פרקים באגדה" עמ' מ"ה, דברים שהשמיע לגבי מנהיגותו של יהושע: "אע"פ שאמרנו כי מנהיגה של שיטה אחרת אינו יכול שיהא דומה בתכונותיו ובדעותיו למנהיגה של שיטה אחרת הרי שמנהיג אשר עליו מוטל התפקיד להעביר את צאן מרעיתו מאורח חיים אחד למשנהו, חייב הוא להיות ידוע ומכיר בפנימיות וסגולת שתי השיטות: היוצאת והנכנסת. ולא זו בלבד, אלא מאחר שהחלפת השיטה אינה אלא החלפת צורה ותנאים וחלילה לה מלהשפיע על עצם התכלית והיעוד המוטל על העם, חייב הוא המנהיג של השיטה החדשה שיהא יודע ומושרש בעומק השיטה המוחלפת, כדי שבחילוף ההנהגות לא יסטה העם מעיקר העיקרים - תוכנו ותעודתו של העם ומשום כך נבחר יהושע להיות מנהיג העם שהרי הוא זה שהיה מושרש בשיטת משה רבו והתבטל כלפי באופן מוחלט". (מסתבר שהמבקש לעמוד על משנתו ימצא פרקים ממנה חבויים במסכת הגותית דרושית על מועדים וזמנים בספרי 'אסופת מערכות' אשר לו. שכן את עצמו ואת דרכו הוא לא ביטא בהרצאות אידיאולוגיות, אלא בדרוש ובדרש).

מחד מו"ר הרי הוא כיהושע, אבל מלווה בהרבה חרדה ממש (ועניין החרדה היה אחד המוטיבים היותר שכיחים בשיחותיו) ומכאן הצורך לבקש אסמכתאות ואילנות גבוהים להיתלות בהם. הרי שוב כמין ניגוד: פתיחות מכסימלית לצד שמרנות מופלגת, ששון אלי חידושים ואתגרים ויראה מפני שינויים ותמורות, הרצון להפליג ולחשוף עוד ועוד, אף תוך כדי דילוגים וקפיצות, ומאידך בקשה מתמדת של עוגן ויציבות.

ה.

משהו על לימודו שלו.

יש אדם האוכל כדי להשביע את רעבונו, יש האוכל דרך שיגרה שכך מורגל הוא לאכול, פעמים שלוש ביום, ויש האוכל מפני שהוא נהנה מן האוכל. מו"ר היה גורס את לימודו כאדם האוכל בנהנתנות. ממש ניתן לחוש שכל כזית שאכל בלימודו היה בפיו כדבש למתוק.

דומה היה שהנה מתקיים בו "ואהבת את ה' אלקיך בכל לבבך" - בשני יצריך. גם הנפש המתאוה גם היא היתה כמו שותפה בעבודת הלימוד. היה זה בחינת לימוד תורה ייצרי והמשפטים והסברות נגרסו בפה כאילו היו מעדנים.

אולי מכאן גם לבלעדיות של התורה, לדידו היתה תורה כשלעצמה בלי וו מחברת. לא תורה ודרך ארץ לא תורה ועבודה לא תורה וציונות ולא תורה והתיישבות. ואף מכאן לבטיו הגדולים סביב הנוספות שביקשו להוסיף לישיבה, אם שירות צבאי ואם הכשרה פדגוגית.

ו.

ואי אפשר לדבר על מו"ר מבלי לעסוק בעניין של מסירות נפש. אף זה מן המוטיבים השכיחים במשנתו.

דומה שאין מסירות נפש גדולה יותר מזו שמסר הרב גולדוויכט עם הליכתו לייסד ישיבה. הרי זה ממש בחינת לך לך מארצך ממולדתך ומבית אביו. לא לבד נטשת המערכת החברתית (והוא היה מטבעו איש חברה ואיש רעים להתרועע שממש נזקק לחברה) אלא גם כל המולדת הרוחנית. כהיום הזה כבר נתקצרו מרחקים וניתן לתקשר מיידית מכל מקום לכל מקום. בשנת תשי"ד בעת שנקרא לעמוד בראש הישיבה, הרי זה קרוב היה להיות כהליכה אל המדבר החברתי-רוחני. ממש ארץ לא זרועה. גם מבחינה חברתית קיומית היתה זו גזירת בידוד קשה, אבל קשה הימנה היתה גזירת הבידוד מבחינת האקלים הרוחני. להיות נעתק לעולם אחר שמבחינתו ומבחינת תפיסת עולמו היה מדבר ממש ללא מליצות, ומן הבחינה האישית משפחתית דומה שאין קרבן גדול מזה. בעיני חבריו ורבותיו היה זה מעשה שלא ייעשה וכמה דלתות נטרקו בפניו. דומה שהגרי"ז שהתנגד להליכתו אז, נעל את דלתותיו בפניו.

אכן משענת אחת היתה לו והוא החזו"א זצ"ל, שהוא שהמליץ עליו בפני אנשי המרכז העולמי שביקשו עצה מפיו: מי מתאים לייסד הישיבה, והוא שעודד אותו לילך.

אבל אויה, כי בה בשנה ודומה שבו בחודש בו הלך הרב גולדוויכט אל המדבר, בו בחודש הלך החזו"א לבית עולמו, ומשענת זאת שביקש הרב גולדוויכט להישען עליה כבר לא היתה והיה רח"י מיותם מרבו ומנוטל מרבותיו האחרים.

ויוותר יעקב לבדו.

וכך לבד נדרש הוא עתה לשרך את דרכו החדשה, דרך לא סלולה בארץ לא זרועה ואין לו לא עמוד ענן לילך אחריו ולא עמוד אש להאיר לו לילה לפניו לילות הרבה.

ולפניו חבורת צעירים בשנות העשרה שידיעותיהם בתורה ולמדנותם קרובה להיות מינימלית אבל חזונם מרקיע שחקים והם כסבורים לדעת מהי הדרך הנכונה ולתקן את עצמם ואת חברתם ואת העולם כולו וכמובן גם את רבם.

ז.

יש אומרים כי חייו וביותר אחריתם - טרגדיה. מסתבר שיש בהם הרבה מן הטרגדיה. ובכלל אם על כל אדם נאמר שאין הוא מת וחצי תאוותו בידו, הרי אצל אדם שתאוותו - תורה ולימודה, והיא רחבה כים ואין לה חקר - ודאי שקטיעת חיים בכל שלב שהוא יש בה מיסוד הטרגדיה.

אולם מצינו כי כך גורלם של אישים גדולים מאותם העומדים על האובניים של יצירות גדולות, שאחרית חייהם מהולה ביותר מקורטוב של מפח נפש, שלא לומר אכזבה. גם אצל משה רבנו מוסר התורה העומד בראש הר נבו וליבו יוצא אל הארץ הנכספת והוא עומד ביומו האחרון ויהושע תלמידו יושב ודורש במקומו וליבו של משה אומר: מאה מיתות ולא קנאה אחת (דב"ר סוף וילך). כך אצל מייסד המלכות העומד בהר המוריה ולבו יוצא אל המקדש הנכסף, וימיו האחרונים רצופי מכאובי ירושה ומלחמות חצר.

אבל מפעלים שייסדו ועליהם מסרו את נפשם: תורה ומלוכה ארץ ומקדש, אלו ניבנים על גבי יסודות שיצקו הם והם להם לאות ולשם עולם לא ייכרת. 

לא חת

כשרבי משה היה בגיל צעיר בישיבת פוניבז' מרן הגאון רבי אהרן קוטלר זצוק"ל בא כאורח למסור שיעור בישיבה והיה בסערה ובחריפות כדרכו. רבי משה התפעל שמרן הגאון רבי שמואל רוזובסקי זצוק"ל שהיה צעיר ממנו עמד והתווכח ורבי אהרן שפך עליו אש וגפרית והוא לא התפעל והמשיך בשלו. "דע לך" אמר רבי משה לבנו "אם אתה יודע מה אתה רוצה שום דבר לא יפחיד אותך. הוא לא נבהל משום דבר. הכוח הזה היה אצלו בצורה לא רגילה כל התורה שלימד בהתחלה זה היה פלא גדול סוג הדיבורים עליהם דיבר והוא עמד כצור איתן לא חשש מהציבור ומ'מה יאמרו' כי ידע מה שהוא רוצה היה לו ברור מה הוא רוצה בעיקר בגלל שלא חת מפני איש". 

מאי אהנו לן רבנן - רח"ל!!!

One of the saddest phenomena of our contemporary situation in Israel is how many people - even shomrei mitzvos - fiercely assert מאי אהנו לן רבנן, thus classifying them as what is says about such people in Maseches Sanhedrin...