In this weeks parsha we read [21/ 1-3] that the Jews were attacked by Amalek [see Rashi 21/1]. The Jews made an oath that if they are victorious in the battle they will sanctify all of the booty for Divine purposes.It then says וישמע השם בקול ישראל - Hashem listened to the voice of the people. There is a subtlety here that most people miss. It doesn't say that Hashem listened לקול ישראל - to the voice of the Jews, but בקול ישראל which has a connotation of a commandment, an order, as we find elsewhere [see Breishes 27/8 ועתה בני שמע בקולי לאשר אני מצוה אותך].
So it is like Hashem was compelled to save the Jews. We find this language nowhere else in all of Tanach. What was the secret of the Jew's power to "compel" Hashem to save them??
The answer - but first a story about the Baal Hayahrtzeit next week...
Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, the previous Rebbe of the Gur chassidic dynasty, told me a story that happened in 1949:
One of the disciples of Rabbi Yisrael Alter of Gur, known as the "Beis Yisroel," was very wealthy and at one point lived in New Zealand due to his business dealings.
"What astounds me is what was on the Rebbe's mind for forty years—a mikvah in faraway New Zealand" Once, on a trip to New York to visit his daughter, he entered an elevator only to be greeted by a Jew who asked where he hailed from. He responded that he had just arrived from New Zealand.
The stranger asked him, "Is there is a mikvah (ritual bath) in New Zealand?" The wealthy man responded, "I am there for business, not a mikvah."
The stranger responded, "If a Jew finds himself somewhere, he must have a positive impact."
The elevator doors opened, both men exited and went their separate ways.
The wealthy man asked his daughter, who was waiting for him nearby, regarding the identity of the man who had rode in the elevator with him. She responded that he was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the son-in-law of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, who would later himself become Rebbe.
Over forty years passed, during which time the businessman had aged significantly. He had long since left New Zealand and he was, again, visiting his daughter in New York. He decided to go to the Lubavitcher Rebbe's Sunday dollar distribution.
When he greeted the Rebbe, the Rebbe asked, "Is there a mikvah already in New Zealand?"
The elderly man was clearly amazed.
"I asked him," the Rebbe of Gur continued, "'Tell me, what you were amazed by?'"
He responded that he was amazed by the Rebbe's memory; after all, forty years had elapsed since their elevator rendezvous!
"And I told him," the Rebbe of Gur concluded, "that was astounds me is what was on the Rebbe's mind for forty years—a mikvah in faraway New Zealand. And how bothered he was that there was none there..."
The Rebbe ztz"l was an man who cared about EVERY Jew, no matter how far spiritually or geographically....
Why did they go to war?? Rashi explains that the Amalekites took ONE NON-JEWISH MAIDSERVANT captive. One. That is all.
So picture the scene. A family in Beverly Hills finds out that one of their maids, Bronte from Haiti [which is actually number one the list
of most popular Haitian names] was taken captive. They have other maids. Everybody has maids. They also have their own children [whom they like more:-)]. Still, the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the United States and Israel get together and they say - We are going to find and duly punish the captors and BRING BRONTE HOME!
All of the Jewish army is mobilized and after a dangerous, strenuous battle - Bronte is found and brought home. Mazel tov!! She and all of her Haitian friends go out for a picnic to celebrate וליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר.
All of Klal yisrael is waging war on behalf of a non-Jewish [according to the Rambam she is not a Jew but not a goy. Somewhere in the middle] maidservant. How do we explain this??
The answer is that the Jewish people felt such tremendous achdus that even the pain of one lowly maidservant [who came over illegally on a boat she rowed over from Haiti] touched their hearts. When Hashem saw this וישמע בקולם He listened to their command and led them to victory.
The power of achdus! In the Zohar Hakadosh it says that Amalek represents the yetzer hara. How does one overcome one's evil inclinations? Most-all of our vices stem from some level of self-absorption. I get angry because someone crossed ME. I sleep late and miss minyan because MY precious body needs it's beauty sleep. I waste time because I am lazy. It is all about me. I receive a phone call and look at the caller i.d. and I don't answer. Why? A person obviously wants to talk to me, so why am I ignoring him/her?? If I knew that the call was to tell me where to pick up the 27 million dollars I just won in Lotto, I would definitely pick up [or at least call back with minutes if the call was received during shmoneh esrei - or shabbos morning mussaf....:-)]. I don't pick up because [sub-consciously] I don't feel that it is in my best personal self interest to pick up. We all have people we answer the phone for and others we habitually ignore. It is all about self-interest. Same goes for the emails we choose to answer and those we choose to ignore.
Why are we so self consumed? Why do we sleep just fine on a sunday night after 22 people came to our door that day asking for money for tragic cases? Why CAN'T we sleep if we have a pressing personal issue?? Because we are in love - mostly with ourselves and those close to us. That, say the Holy Books, is the root of evil. As the pasuk says אנכי עומד בין השם וביניכם - It is the אנכי, the I, the ego, that stands between us and G-d.
When a person feels a sense of unity, there is no more ego. It is not about ME anymore but about US. When we start shmoneh esrei we first mention the merit of our Avos and then make requests for our common needs [in the plural form]. Meaning, first connect back to our common ancestors, then ask for blessings for everyone - not just for REB Yisroel but also for KLAL YISROEL. Hashem listens when we talk not only about ourselves but about everybody. That sense of unity also enables us to overcome our yetzer hara. If life is not about my own personal comfort but about the common good then why would I do anything bad?? Bye-bye yetzer hara!
In the merit of battling on behalf of one lowly maid-servant the Jews overcame the Amalek-Yetzer-Hara that attacked them and Hashem was "compelled" to help.
Recently has been a time of tremendous achdus in Klal Yisroel as we all daven on behalf of the boys. My humble suggestion is that we don't only care about fellow Jews when they are kidnapped by blood-thirsty Arabs but ... just like that. If people would put their egos on the side and work and live with minimal thought of personal benefit but with the good of every other person, I PROMISE - over 90 percent of our problems would disappear. As long as people have the attitude that life is about their own personal advancement and success - we are doomed.
This Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. תמוז is a roshei teivos for זמני תשובה ממשמשין ובאין - The days of teshuva are right around the corner. The more we internalize the notion that we are in this world to use all of the gifts Hashem gave us in order to help others - we ensure a better life for ourselves and the hastening of the geulah במהרה בימינו.
[Based IN PART on a talk given by the Tolna Rebbe Shlita, Seuda shlishit 5772]
