PARSHAT R’EH. by Yehuda HaKohen “Then it shall be that the place where HaShem, your G-D, will choose to rest His name – there shall you bring everything that I command you: your olah offerings and your (peace offering) sacrifices, your tithes and what is raised of your hand, and the choicest of your vow offerings that you will vow to HaShem.” (DEVARIM 12:11)
Rashi explains this verse to mean that a person should bring korbanot to HaShem only from the best of what he possesses. Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto elaborates on this point in Mesillat Yesharim (chapter 19) by bringing the example of Cain and Abel. He explains that “Abel offered of the first-born of his sheep and of their fats, and Cain offered of the worst of the fruits of the earth, as we are told by our sages of blessed memory (Bereishit Rabbah 22:5). What was the outcome? (BEREISHIT 4:4-5), `And G-D gave heed to Abel and his gift, but to Cain and his gift He gave no heed.’ And (MALACHI 1:14), `Cursed is the deceiver who has in his flock a male, but pledges and sacrifices an abomination to G-D… for I am a great King.'”
Abel understood himself and everything he owned to have originated from HaShem. By offering the best of what he had to give, Abel declared that he personally possessed nothing as all in fact belongs to G-D. Cain, by contrast, was only prepared to offer his leftovers, indicating that he had no obligations to anyone and only gave to HaShem as an act of generosity. Thus his name Cain – from kaniti (I have acquired) – implied that everything he owned belonged solely to him. It was in this manner that Cain essentially treated HaShem as a beggar.
The above distinction between Cain and Abel clarifies the major difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile. In the State of Israel today, Jews from diverse backgrounds are prepared to leave their families and all they possess in order to take responsibility for the future of the Jewish people. They go up for military service with the clear awareness that they may never return and are prepared to give all of themselves for their nation because there is an understanding – although not always conscious – that Israel is one and that every Hebrew is responsible for the security and wellbeing of every other. This willingness to take responsibility for the nation’s future is the highest and most sincere expression of Ahavat Yisrael (love of Israel).
The exile mentality, by contrast, is not one that focuses on giving everything to HaShem but rather on only offering one’s leftovers as an expression of generosity. These crumbs could be charitable contributions to worthwhile causes, attendance at parades and political demonstrations or even travel to Israel on solidarity missions. While all of these actions could potentially be both significant and beneficial to the Jewish state, they are generally performed out of kindness rather than from a genuine sense of national obligation. The true difference between Cain and Abel is essentially the difference between one who contributes money to the Zionist struggle from afar and one who offers himself or his children to that struggle.
From the time the Roman Empire conquered the Land of Israel, destroyed our national framework, uprooted the Jewish people from our soil and exiled us from our land, Israel had been wandering the globe as a national ghost through history. Wherever Diaspora communities were established, the exiled Jews never regarded themselves as being “home” but rather as strangers in a foreign land incessantly yearning for a return to Jerusalem. Although broken and scattered throughout the world, the Jews refused to forget their native homeland or their bond of solidarity with their brothers throughout the Diaspora.
All this changed with the Age of Enlightenment. Following the legal emancipation of ethnic Jews in several European countries, Jewish intellectual leaders became eager to assimilate into the cultures of their host nations. The Maskilim (leaders of the Haskalah – Jewish Enlightenment) essentially traded their ancient national identities in exchange for civil rights in the lands of their dispersion and effectively severed the intellect from the emotion in order to forget Jerusalem and convince themselves that they were not really part of a scattered Jewish nation but were actually Europeans who happened to possess a “Jewish religion” only relevant to their private lives.
Separated from the mind, the heart became numb and developed into what Scripture calls a “Heart of Stone” (YEHEZKEL 36:26) – a heart unable to feel the pain of exile and unable to recognize dangers looming on the horizon.
The essence of the Heart of Stone is to leave the Jew in an illusion – a complete lack of clarity that causes him to believe that he can compromise his identity. Whether assimilated, traditional or religious, a Jew might delude himself into identifying as a German, Russian, Persian or American. And when a Jew attempts to deny his fundamental essence, he reveals an inner shame that in turn often subconsciously incites gentile hostility.
The redemption is a process of clarification. Jews begin to once again realize who we are and who our brothers are. We cease trying to integrate into foreign nations and instead reconnect with our people and native homeland. The heart becomes a “Heart of Flesh” and begins to genuinely experience a sensation of brotherhood with the entire Hebrew Nation. The essence of Ahavat Yisrael is the willingness to take responsibility for Israel’s future. It is being prepared to give everything – even one’s life – without fear. Fear originates from the mistaken exilic perception of our selves as individuals detached from the greater collective. Such a self-centered perspective breeds irresponsibility, as is characterized by Cain’s dubious question of “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – a statement that often leads a person to give only his extras and treat HaShem a beggar.
The Shabbat mincha prayer describes Israel as “one nation in the land.” The Jewish people must return to our collective inner self and to the land of our life’s blood. Only on our native soil can we unite as the Nation of Israel and give everything we have to the rebirth of our people. In order to advance the redemption process forward, each Jew must begin to assume responsibility by looking into his soul and questioning what he should be giving.
With Love of Israel,
