רצון השם הוא הרצוי

This is a short thought about how HaShem's will should be the sole arbiter of what is virtuous—even when we think we may have "religious" rationalizations to the contrary

Devarim 32:48 with divrei Chazal (also brought in Rashi)

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה – בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת נֶאֱמַר "בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה" נֶאֱמַר בְּנֹחַ "בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּא נֹחַ" לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ דּוֹרוֹ אוֹמְרִים מִכָּךְ וְכָךְ אִם אָנוּ מַרְגִּישִׁין בּוֹ אֵין אָנו מַנִּיחִין אוֹתוֹ, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא אָנוּ נוֹטְלִין כַּשִּׁילִין וְקַרְדֻּמּוֹת וּמְבַקְּעִין הַתֵּבָה, אָמַר הַמָּקוֹם, הֲרֵינִי מַכְנִיסוֹ לַתֵּבָה בַּחֲצִי הַיּוֹם, וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ כֹּחַ לִמְחוֹת יָבוֹא וְיִמְחֶה. מָה רָאָה לוֹמַר בְּמִצְרַיִם "בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה" לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ מִצְרַיִם אוֹמְרִים מִכָּךְ וְכָךְ אִם אָנוּ מַרְגִּישִׁין בָּהֶן אֵין אָנוּ מַנִּיחִין אוֹתָן, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא אָנוּ נוֹטְלִים סְּיָפוֹת וַחֲרָבוֹת וְאָנוּ הוֹרְגִין אוֹתָן, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הֲרֵינִי מוֹצִיאָן בַּחֲצִי הַיּוֹם וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ כֹּחַ לִמְחוֹת יָבוֹא וְיִמְחֶה. וּמָה רָאָה לוֹמַר בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כָּאן לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹמְרִים מִכָּךְ וְכָךְ אִם אָנוּ מַרְגִּישִׁין בּוֹ אֵין אָנוּ מַנִּיחִין אוֹתוֹ, אָדָם שֶׁהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְקָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, וְהוֹרִיד לָנוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְהֵגִיז לָנוּ אֶת הַשְּׂלָו, וְהוֹרִיד לָנוּ אֶת הַמָּן, וְעָשָׂה לָנוּ נִסִּים וּגְבוּרוֹת, אֵין אָנוּ מַנִּיחִין אוֹתוֹ, אָמַר הַמָּקוֹם הֲרֵינִי מַכְנִיסוֹ בַּחֲצִי הַיּוֹם לַמְּעָרָה וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ כֹּחַ לִמְחוֹת יָבוֹא וְיִמְחֶה, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר "וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה".

The first two cases are blatantly against God—stopping Noach and the Israelites from boarding the Teivah and leaving Egypt respectively, however, preventing Moshe's death seems to be noble (at least the part about his bringing us down the Torah) and ostensibly shouldn't be grouped with the others?

The teaching seems to be that regardless of our own motivation for any particular action or inaction, ultimately it needs to be measured against God's will (insofar as it is revealed/expressed)—if it is aligned with it then it is meritorious, and if it is not then we need to step back and recalibrate—regardless of how right it may feel.

Preventing Moshe's death is on par with preventing the Exodus and Noach from entering the ark as all are against HaShem's wishes—our personal rationalizations notwithstanding.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2023 at 10:17 AM

    Very Interesting. It matches something I just read where Chazal say that we have to serve Hashem with both our inclinations - good and bad ( shenei yitzeracha).
    We can serve with the bad by subduing it to the Will of Hashem but how do we serve with the good inclination that wants to do the right thing unrelated to Hashem's command. The answer is in cases with a persons moral compass doesn't align with what Hashem is asking.
    Like by the akeida

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NahumSeptember 24, 2023 at 10:20 AM

      Appreciate the insightful comment, thanks for stopping by.

      Delete

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