THE LOVE OF A TRUE LEADER
Every person has some parts within them that are not
quite sane. Nevertheless not everyone is an imbecile. An imbecile is someone
who sees his madness as a fitting and correct path of life. If a madman would
acknowledge his situation and accept the words of an intelligent person, he
would no longer be in the category of a fool. Even one who lacks intelligence
can act like an intelligent person in all his ways, if he would just accept the
words of the wise man and adhere to his ways.
In the eyes of the Tzaddikim who posses true da’as
(holy intellect), the entire world seems insane. Everything that the world
considers of value has long since been dismissed by the wisest of men. He too
tasted of the delights of creation which man so strongly desires and summed it
all up in one word – nonsense. The eyes of the Tzaddikim perceive the purpose
of each thing, and with such a perspective, all the commotion that surrounds
him is truly considered insane.
Most people are not truly alive at all; their body
lives yet their souls and emotions linger for years between madness and
emptiness. The few who perceive the world from a sober perspective are these
Tzaddikim, and they call out to us from their books, words and teachings:
“Please, listen to us, we can save you so much pain…”
It is the worst of ailments, that the madman does not
recognize his situation; he is wise in his own eyes and isn’t capable of
letting go of his warped perceptions for even a moment. He carefully guards his
distorted ideas like the pupil of his eye and does not realize that this minute
amount of rationalization is the very origin and source of his problems.
It is enough for a person to recognize the difference
between the wise man and the fool, to understand that truly wise people do
exist.
Life is a maze; from within one can only guess and
speculate, it is possible to wander in circles and make the same mistakes
eternally. From above, everything looks entirely different. If one would be
guided by someone from outside, as strange as the path may seem, one would
certainly make it out, much faster than with any guess work.
The Tzaddikim see the world from outside the maze and
it is from there that their advice and counsel comes. It is for this same
reason that their guidance does not necessarily need to match our perception of
reality.
In this week’s Parsha we will read about the story of
Korach. The ancient feud of Korach leaves us without any room for doubt. It is
clear to all of us who the true leader is, the Godly man with whom Hashem
speaks face to face, and the one who instigated the dispute bringing a terrible
tragedy upon the masses. We perceive Korach according to our limited
understanding and he therefore is seen by us to be a personality that is way
off in the distance, somewhere there in the depths of Sefer Bamidbar. It is
hard for us to believe that such a person exists in our world, someone who’s
every action stems from nothing but jealousy, lust and a desire for honor.
Furthermore, we cannot begin to understand how anyone could be so foolish as to
question the stature of Moshe, the great leader of Israel.
However, the true story, so it makes sense, was much
more complex, deep and awesome. Korach was not just a woodchopper who was
thirsty for action. He had a deep philosophy and it was this approach that led
him in a certain direction. Korach was a leader with tremendous understanding
and awesome perceptions. He was a phenomenal ga’on (genius) in both the
revealed and hidden aspects of the Torah, and presumably in Chassidus too. He
had insight into every aspect of Judaism and he also had lofty perceptions
about the path of the rectification of the world. The dispute of Korach with
Moshe revolved around the most hidden concepts and involved the deepest aspects
of Judaism.
Moshe – the Leader of Israel, Aharon – the Kohen
HaGadol, served in the Holy of Holies… and Korach was left among the Levites.
With all his greatness he was nevertheless a Levite, his entire purpose was
only to accompany (le’lavot) the Kohanim and to toil in the Levite tasks. This
was something that Korach could not accept. He possessed a fine tuned sense for
more refined things; he had tasted the sweetness of Holy perceptions and loved
nothing more than being involved in the most exalted of things, to be in the
company of illustrious figures of refined character and lofty perceptions. This
is the company the likes of which he gathered around him. He sought to form a
‘congregation’ of esteemed men of radiance and stature. In Korach’s eyes it was
doubly whether the weak minded and the lesser capable should be seen as people
at all, and certainly it is not they who would bring the world to its
perfection. Korach preferred to cast aside a significant portion of Klal
Yisroel; it’s not so terrible if there would be a few Karachos (bald patches)
in the vineyard, the main thing is that the superior ones should remain.
Moshe Rabbeinu constantly talks about Klal Yisroel,
nothing is more important to him than a Jewish soul. If even one Jew would be
cast aside, be it the worst of sinners, he would prefer to request of Hashem,
as he indeed did: “erase me from Your Book”.
Klal Yisroel sin time and again yet Moshe continues to
cry, plead and do everything in his power to effect forgiveness and pardon. How
many payers did Moshe pray for Klal Yisroel! How many words of appeasement! All
this for whom – for sinners, those of ingratitude and speakers of Loshon Ha’ra
(slander).
The Tzaddik, as hard as it is to understand, is often
the one to be accused of possessing the worst of character traits. Especially
Moshe Rabbeinu, who is prepared at every moment to lose everything for the sake
of even the most pitiful soul, is the one whom they suspect of the most heinous
and lowly of deeds. The Tzaddik, who’s entire life is nothing but an atonement
for Klal Yisroel, who’s only aspiration is the ultimate good of every
individual, is often the one whom a person sees as his greatest tormenter. For
some reason a person points an accusing finger at the Tzaddik regarding every
difficulty or distress: “It’s all his fault, he got me into this mess”. The
very places, in which a person is meant to serve and bring joy to his creator,
oftentimes seem to be bald spots, empty and without meaning. And who put me
here – of course, the Tzaddik.
The claim against the Tzaddik is doubled when a person
sees those around him being successful, those who never drew close to the
Tzaddik and never became entangled; they have such wonderful lives of Torah,
Tefillah, and Parnassah. Why is it that specifically with me, things had to be
so upside down? For certain, it’s because I drew close to the Tzaddik.
Now it is no longer so difficult to understand what
caused two hundred and seventy leaders of the Sanhedrin (Great Assembly) to
rise up against the greatest of all Prophets. Korach depicted to them the
reality, exactly as it often seems to us too – “He shaved our heads and made
fools of us”, “they made a joke out of us, it was for naught that we were told
to strengthen and encourage ourselves, nothing will come of it…”
If only we would know how much self-sacrifice went
into each and every lesson, teaching and piece of advice of Rabbeinu. If only
we would be able to conceive of the awesome and fiery love for us that burns in
the heart of the Tzaddik, a love the likes of which has no parallel. The way of
the world is that man sees things through his own eyes and according to that
which is found within him. It is through this crooked lens that we see that
Tzaddik, and Hashem too.
There is no one who is not in need of some salvation.
Everyone yearns to find the proper guidance that can direct him through the
maze of life, lead him on the true path and free him from years of
entanglement. Whilst we are wasting time with doubts and questions there is
someone who is at work with the utmost alacrity, spanning the breadths of
heaven and earth in order to bring each soul to its true place.
The Tzaddikim do not rest for a moment, they have a
love in their hearts of which we could never understand even the smallest
degree. They already prepared the ground and planted with labor, toil and
unimaginable self -sacrifice all the healing remedies that any tortured soul
might ever need. For us too, they prepared what we need. Everything can be
found in the teachings of the Rebbe, there is no situation which he did not
take into consideration.
The Tzaddik accompanies a person everywhere he goes,
even to places where he himself isn’t prepared to believe that the Tzaddik is
with him.
What could a person whom Moshe Rabbeinu accompanies be
lacking? Moshe Rabbeinu who brought the Torah down to us from heaven, stubbornly
persists to implant it even further, to every place where a Jewish soul could
possibly fall. As lofty as the Torah of the Tzaddik is, so it is deep. Because
of this it descends to truly every situation.
The Yetzer Hara has no power against the advice of the
Tzaddik, he can only do one thing – place doubt about the actual existence of
such a Tzaddik.
The Yetzer Hara is prepared to put all sorts of ideas
in our minds, the main thing being to find a flaw in the ways of Moshe,
something that can discredit him completely. He will find any proof he can,
even a foolish one, as long as it raises a doubt. There is no need for more
than this, if it seems to a person that the Tzaddik seeks, for example, to gain
a following or to achieve stature and to be respected, this is enough, he will
no longer be able to receive anything from him, not even emergency treatment.
The Tzaddikim surely have what to offer and if we
follow their guidance we will surely arrive at the required destination. We
only need to make sure that we don’t lose faith in the Tzaddik and his advice.
We must truly understand how much the Tzaddik cares for us with a love that is
dependent on nothing, the love of a true leader.
Let us agree to accept that we have no idea of what’s
going on here, and when we can’t even see one meter ahead, what is there to try
and understand? It is much simpler to joyfully take instructions, even when
they seem strange.
By Rabbi Nissan Dovid Kivak shlit”a.
Website: http://www.gatesofemunah.org
