Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 27th of Tishrei

The following is based on Rabbi Shmueli's Hebrew Chizuk video for the 27th of Tishrei, 5787

Introduction and Spiritual Preparations

Good morning to everyone. Today is Thursday, the fifth day in the week of the Holy Sabbath, the 27th of Tishrei, 5787. We are preparing ourselves for Shabbat the Queen. Today is an early Eve of Rosh Chodesh, as Rosh Chodesh falls on Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday. We will hold the Eve of Rosh Chodesh prayers and repentance today starting at 2:00 PM in the afternoon, making complete repentance with Hashem's help.

Here we witness a wonder of wonders: "In the beginning the L-rd created the heavens"—this Sabbath is specifically called Shabbat Bereishit (Sabbath of Beginning). While other Sabbaths are not called Shabbat Noach or Shabbat Lech Lecha (named after the weekly Torah portion).

This Sabbath bears the distinct title of Shabbat Bereishit.

Our Sages explain why: up until now, a person experienced the High Holy Days, engaging in thoughts of repentance, making good resolutions, and striving for noble conduct, each according to their personal spiritual level. On Shabbat Bereishit, it is announced to man that whatever was, was—now a new order begins. It is a fresh start for good resolutions.

A person is asked, just as Hashem asked the first man: "Ayeka?" ("Where are you?"). Up until now, we had Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the Ten Days of Repentance, and Sukkot. Have you already changed back? Look at what you have become in just a few short days. Consider the grand declarations you made on Rosh Hashanah regarding how you would behave and what you would do, only to suddenly become a completely different person. Therefore, one must pay close attention and resolve not to follow the Evil Inclination, but rather to truly pursue the Good Inclination when asked, "Ayeka?"

The Eternal Question of "Ayeka"

It is told that Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the author of the Tanya, was once imprisoned. One of the government ministers came to interrogate him and found the Rebbe deeply immersed in thought and noble reflections while studying Torah.

The minister said to him, "I have heard that you are great in wisdom and proficient in the Torah. Tell me, why is it written in the Torah, 'And Hashem the L-rd called to the man and said to him, Ayeka [Where are you]?' Did He not know where Adam was? Why did He ask Ayeka?"

The Rebbe replied, "Do you believe that the Torah is eternal, existing at every single moment?"

"I believe in that," replied the minister.

"Then listen," said the Rebbe. "At all times, the Holy One, Blessed be He, calls out to every single individual, asking: 'Ayeka? Where are you in this world?' Every person has a set number of years allotted to them to live. Every day and every year, one must do good toward Hashem and toward fellow man. Contemplate: Where are you in your world? How many years have passed, and how many years remain? If you have already lived 50 years, have you improved your deeds? Have you been doing right?"

The minister was deeply impressed by this explanation and praised the Rebbe.

The question of "Ayeka" is directed to each and every person. Heaven asks us: "Where are you in the world? Are you fulfilling the true purpose for which you came into the world, or are you asleep?"

The Sanctity of Shabbat and the Illusion of the World

When Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin was a child, he was told a story about a person lost in the desert who forgot which day was Shabbat. Upon hearing this, the young Rabbi Yisrael wondered how such a thing was possible: "On Shabbat, all the heavens change and the world looks completely different. How can a person not know when it is Shabbat? You can see it—the world is different!" And that is the truth: on Shabbat, there is an elevation of all spiritual realms, making it entirely distinct from weekdays.

Conversely, another story is told of a great sage who was imprisoned for several years. Upon his release, he mistakenly believed that Shabbat fell on Friday. He observed Shabbat on Friday, and his family, not knowing how to correct him without causing distress or causing him to curse, observed it with him. The sage would cry out at the rest of the world, believing everyone else was desecrating the Sabbath.

Finally, a prominent rabbi offered to resolve the matter. On Thursday, he treated the day as Friday, and on Friday evening, he joined the sage for Kabbalat Shabbat and the Sabbath meal. He served special wine into which he had placed a sleeping compound. The sage drank the wine and fell asleep right at the table, sleeping straight through until the real Shabbat evening. When he awoke, they recited Grace After Meals and went to the synagogue, where the sage saw everyone observing Shabbat alongside him, completely unaware of the illusion that had been created to set his calendar right.

Consider the holiness of the Sabbath: "And Hashem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work."

A story is told of a Russian Tsar who would travel in disguise to mingle with his subjects. One day, he sat down with a Jewish Melamed (teacher of young children) and asked him, "How do you earn a living?"

The teacher replied, "I teach young children, and their parents pay me tuition."

The Tsar remarked, "Oh, a sheyne parnasa [a fine livelihood]!"

The teacher then asked the disguised Tsar, "And what do you earn a living from?"

The Tsar replied, "I am the Emperor of Russia. I make my living from the taxes of Moscow and Ukraine, and all the state treasures, banks, and resources belong to me."

The simple teacher was stunned and replied, "Oh, that too is a sheyne parnasa!"

When the Chatam Sofer heard this story, he explained that this reflects how people view Shabbat. People think that working all week provides a livelihood, and that Shabbat is merely a passive day of rest. But as we recite in Lekha Dodi, Shabbat is "the source of blessing." It is the master over all abundance in the world. Shabbat Bereishit, in particular, possesses the abundance of all the Sabbaths of the year. One must recognize that Shabbat has no equal and disconnect from mundane distractions to tap into this true source of blessing.

The Prelude vs. The Reality

On this Holy Sabbath, every person must ask themselves: "Ayeka? Where am I after all the spiritual heights of Tishrei, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot?"

This situation is like a man who waited a long time to get married and finally found a match. He threw a lavish, extraordinary wedding with meals costing 2,000 Shekels each, a full orchestra playing pleasant melodies, and elite catering from the "Eastern Delicatessen." But as soon as the celebration ended, he left his bride behind and went back to his own home.

When the bride wept and people asked him what he was doing, he replied, "What's wrong? The main thing was the wedding!"

They said to him, "You fool! The wedding was only the prelude to building a home! Now comes the main part!"

Similarly, all the holy days of repentance and good deeds we just experienced were only the prelude for the entire year. One cannot simply abandon that elevation and return to old habits. As Hashem says to Israel on Shemini Atzeret, "Your parting is difficult for Me"—do not leave the proper path now that the weekdays have returned.

Deeper Textual Allusions: Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

When Adam was questioned in the Garden of Eden, he replied, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree..." The Ba'al HaTurim notes that Adam offered an excuse by implying that Eve literally beat him with the wood (etz) of the tree until he ate. The Chafetz Chaim points out that the verse says "she gave me from the tree" rather than "from the fruit of the tree." Normally, if a man is worthy, his wife is a helpmate to him; if he is not worthy, she opposes him.

When Eve was questioned, she said, "The serpent deceived me [Hishiani], and I ate." In the writings of the Ben Ish Chai, it is explained that Hishiani hints at a spiritual blemish inflicted upon two Divine Names: Adnut (Aleph-Dalet-Nun-Yud) and Sh-addai (Shin-Dalet-Yud). By removing the letter Dalet from both Names, what remains from Adnut is Ani ("I/me"), and the remaining letters rearrange to form Hishiani (or Shai Ani, "a gift to me").

King Solomon hinted at repairing this when he said, "Happy is the person who listens to me, to watch at my doors [Daltotai] day by day." The word Daltotai hints at two Dalets, signifying that through engagement in Torah, one restores the two Dalets to the Divine Names. Furthermore, the numerical value (gematria) of Nachash (serpent, 358) is equal to that of Mashiach (Messiah, 358), symbolizing that the rectification of the serpent brings the Messianic redemption.

Yonatan ben Uzziel explains that when the serpent was original stripped of its hands and feet, its cries reverberated from one end of the world to the other. Hashem instructed Moses' staff to turn into a serpent as a sign to Pharaoh: just as the cry of the serpent echoed across the world, so too would the cries of Pharaoh and the Egyptians be heard worldwide when they troubled the nation of Israel.

Daily Dependence and Spiritual Warfare

In Tractate Yoma, Rabbi Yose teaches that Hashem's measures are unlike those of flesh and blood. If a human being is angered by an enemy, he seeks to destroy his livelihood. Yet, even after the serpent sinned and was cursed with "dust shall you eat," Hashem ensured its sustenance would be available everywhere—on roofs or on the ground.

Rabbi Bunim of Peshischa asked: What kind of curse is it if the serpent's food is readily available everywhere? He explained with a parable: A king had a son who acted corruptly. The king said to him, "Your brothers enter my presence, eat with me, and rejoice with me. But because of your actions, take this credit card and buy whatever you want at any restaurant—just do not come see me." The true curse of the serpent was complete disconnection from Hashem.

In contrast, Hashem did not give human beings their sustenance all at once for an entire year. Instead, He provides for us day by day because He desires our prayers and connection. When the Israelites were in the desert, the Manna fell daily, fresh every morning, with empty refrigerators overnight. This constant daily reliance kept the people attached to the Divine.

The Midrash Tanchuma relates a story of a man walking in a field with a jug of milk. He met a thirsty serpent who promised to show him great wealth beneath a stone if he gave it the milk. The man agreed, drank the milk, and led the man to the treasure. However, when the man brought the serpent home, it wrapped itself around his neck to kill him.

The man argued, "This was not our agreement!" and they went to the court of King Shlomo (Solomon). King Shlomo ordered the serpent off the man's neck, stating that in court both parties stand equal.

The serpent justified his intentions quoting the verse "and you shall strike at his heel," King Shlomo reminded the man (in the court case) of the second half of the verse: "He shall crush your head". Hearing this, the man immediately leaped upon the serpent and crushed its head.

This Midrash teaches us how the Evil Inclination works. It joins forces with the primordial serpent to entice a person in a different way every single day, trying to prevent them from serving Hashem.

The Trap of Material Distractions

A parable is told of two warring nations whose king sought a way to end the fighting.

It was agreed the other kingdom would send someone into the royal treasury for an hour or two and take whatever wealth he desired.

A clever individual provided the winning strategy, and the king prepared to grant him access to the treasury. However, the king's advisors devised a plan to prevent him from taking the wealth: they filled the pathway to the treasury with the man's favorite things—exquisite music, orchestras, and his favorite dish, Ghormeh Sabzi from Isfahan.

Enticed by the sensory delights and music, the man spent all his time eating and enjoying the entertainment. When his time expired, he was ushered out of the palace completely empty-handed. Only then did he realize his folly, crying out, "What have I done? I could have been a millionaire and bought all these dishes and songs a thousand times over!"

This is precisely how the Evil Inclination tricks a person in this world. After 120 years, a person realizes how they were distracted by trivialities, pleasant melodies, cinema, and foolish pursuits, missing out on eternal spiritual wealth. Anyone with true wisdom leaves these distractions behind to serve Hashem, immersing themselves seriously in Torah study and the daily page (Daf Yomi).

As the Sages taught what Hashem tells us: "I created the Evil Inclination, and I created the Torah as its antidote". One must remain fully immersed in the holy Torah.