NEW — Shavuois Drasha 2023
Rabboisai,
Shtayt in Pasook, “VaYivrah Eloikim Ess HaAdam BeTzalmoi, BeTzelem Eloikim Barah Oisoi” (Beraishis, Perez Aleph, Pasook Chuff Zayin), “And the Reboinoisheloilum created The Human in His image, in the image of Hakadoishbaruchhu he was created” (Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 27).
We love this Pasook! We are greater than the animals and the plants and the rest of the known universe, for we were the sole creature created in the image of the Divine. It makes us feel great. It makes us feel that we can reign supreme over the earth. It testifies to our own grandiosity. And it reminds us - or is sometimes used to communicate a message - that humanity was created for a higher purpose (take, for example, the left wing Israeli human rights organization BeTzelem), and therefore you should write a large check. Oh, how superior we are!
But if we divorce our preconceived sense of superiority… what does it really tell us? What does it really mean that we were “created in the image of the Divine”? How do we even know what the Divine looks like? Do you have a picture hanging in your living room? (Oops. Sorry. That is the only the Rebbe. And he is indeed dead, I am sorry to tell you.) Only Moishe Rabbeinu ever saw the Melech Malchei Hamelachim Panim El Panim, face to face, and even on that detail the Toirah equivocates, as it suggests elsewhere that Moishe only saw the Reboinoisheloilum’s back. (RASHI in fact cites a Medrish that suggests that Moishe Rabbeinu saw the knot at the back of the Reboinoisheloilum’s Tefillin. Look it up, you Menuval.)
We have absolutely no idea what Hakadoishbaruchhu looks like! Except, of course, when we are using some of our “special Besamim”.
So… rather than looking to Shamayim to understand the nature of the Aibishter, we must instead look here on earth, at the Creation that is itself the reflection of the Divine, in order to understand the Original that was the template for all humanity. And what do we see?
For one thing, we can see that the Reboinoisheloilum is a mass murderer. Isn’t it obvious? What other species has caused more non-organic destruction and death? Wars, territorial disputes, power struggles, personal politics, disagreements over how late one can practice in their yard with an AR15 have all been excuses for man to kill his (or her) fellow man.
“Oy, Reb Pinky!” You will undoubtedly reply, “Hakadoishboruchhu is Our Father Who Art In Heaven! Avinu Malkenu, Mechalkel Chaim B’Chessed! How can you say such things?”
Dude… Really? Have you even read the Toirah beyond what you learned in third grade? Are we not told that the Reboinoisheloilum is “Yoitzer Ohr U’Boirei Choishech, Oiseh Shaloim OoBoirei HaRah, Ani AdoiShem Oiseh Kol Eileh” (Yeshayahu, Perek Arba’im V’Chamaish, Pasook Sheva), “Creator of light and creator of darkness, maker of peace and creator of evil, I am the Aibishter the maker of all of these” (Isaiah Chapter 45, Verse 7)?
Sorry. I guess that complicates things for you.
“OK” you reply, “the Toirah must be talking here about grand developments that impact the earth or large populations, but not about individual human beings. When it speaks of BeTzelem Eloikim, the Toirah must of course be speaking about every single individual human being that ever was born and ever will be born, “Zachor OoNekeivah Barah Oisum”, “male and female, (the Divine) created them.”
Perhaps you will continue… “Clearly, we can see Hakadoishboruchhu when we look at our Rosheshiva, or our Rebbe, or our parents, or the kids next door who are so well behaved. They are Erlich and wise and intelligent, and well mannered. They mirror the Reboinoisheloilum through their very nature. Especially if they are male.”
Well… you are absolutely correct. The Aibishter is wise and all knowing. He is polite. He wears dark suits. He wears nice felt hats. Point well taken.
However, my friend, you are thinking like a Litvak — assuming that everything that is important is already known, and that anything that is not already known is therefore not important.
It is very easy to select examples that confirm our biases, but much more difficult to look at the data, accept it as fact — even when inconvenient — and make sense of it, even when it is challenging, even when the data conflicts with our comfortable narratives. It is much easier to dismiss and ignore that which we do not like and do not understand, than to wrestle within and revisit our assumptions. Just ask Vladimir Putin. We are very comfortable in our small worlds, but are afraid to contemplate complexity, the unpredictable, or the Infinite.
There are roughly seven billion human beings on this earth. And if you lift your head outside of your bubble -- a very polite way for suggesting that you take your head out of your Chamor Bor— you can learn even more about Hakadoishboruchhu.
When I look across all of created humanity, I see His reflection manifested across billions and billions of data points. What does this information tell us about the Aibishter?
- The Reboinoisheloilum is a narcissist. If your are reading this then you are probably like me: You believe that HaGaoin Donald Trump Shlita is Melech HaMashiach. He has Made America Great Again, and his success was recognized when he was re-elected to a landslide for his second term. Unfortunately, he was the victim of the Hoax Of The Century and has been wrongfully blamed for the Kiddush HaShem that was January 6, 2021. It was a beautiful day. There was such a nice Kiddush. OK, so a few teenagers got to the Schnapps and made a mess, but it is not like they were encouraged by Reb Donald. Farkhert — He told everyone to go home, and that he loved them! Sure, that was many hours later, but Ain Mukdam Oh Me’Uchar BaToirah when it come to Scripture - or Alternative Facts - we allow a certain degree of flexibility in chronology. But you cannot deny - the ratings were SPECTACULAR!
- Hakadoishboruchhu is a pathological liar. Why do you think that so many of His former aides and coalition partners are in the opposition and refuse to negotiate with Him. Hey, you can believe anything you want, especially when it is something that you like to hear. But it is only a matter of time until He lies to you as well, again and again and again, and then you too will sit in the opposition, embarrassed and humiliated, with your constituency disappointed at your own weakness. So believe in all that you want to believe, refuse to compromise, and make believe that the feelings and opinions of others do not matter. But bear in mind: Fifty percent of something is infinitely more than one hundred percent of nothing. Mamleches Yisroel learned the hard way. So did Mamleches Yehuda. The Chashmonaim in Yehuda did spectacularly, until the Aibishter decided to make concessions to the Romans. Klal Yisrael had it great in Bavel, and lived ideal lives in Spain. We did well in Poland and Ukraine, and spectacularly in Germany, until the Reboinoisheloilum decided to abrogate His promises and destroyed and uprooted our ancestors. They all learned the hard way, as did Lieberman, Saar, Bennett, Begin, Meridor and countless others. Hakadoishboruchhu gave us the tools to fend for ourselves, not to be perpetual professional victims and not to be Somchin Al Haness. You’ll see.
- The Aibishter is a homosexual. “What, what, what?!?!” you ask, as you get ready to stop reading this Drasha. Think about it: The Reboinoisheloilum created the world in His image. While figures vary, the percentage of human beings who are homosexual - male and female - is estimated to be between five and ten percent of the population, with some homosexuals estimating the percentage to be closer to twenty percent, and some Iranian Mullahs, Skver, and Bais Medrish Gavoiha estimating the percentage to be closer to zero. So either the Melech Malchei HaMelachim willed homosexuals into existence, hardwired into the DNA of humanity as an inseparable part of His world, or the Divine created the human race with a ten percent error rate, in which case He should lose His job and His retirement benefits.
- Hakadoishboruchhu likes to eat Chazer. And Shrimp. And He absolutely LOVES Shiksas. And who can blame Him? There are literally billions of people on the earth who eat pork and shrimp, and almost every heterosexual male on earth is interested in Shiksas. Consequently these must be very strong characteristics of the Aibishter.
- And so on…
When we look at the world with open eyes and see the human population as it truly is, we see a broad and varied set of people and character traits. Some of them we love and relate to, and others we distance ourselves from. However, as they are all reflections of the Divine they must expand our own perceptions of the Reboinoisheloilum and His world, as well as our role in it.
“Yoitzer Ohr U’Boirei Choishech, Oiseh Shaloim OoBoirei HaRah, Ani AdoiShem Oiseh Kol Eileh”.
I am reminded of a famous Medrish brought down in Shmois Rabbah. We are told by the Toirah that Klal Yisrael camped around Har Sinai, and that when the Reboinoisheloilum spoke, all of Klal Yisrael heard Him recite the Aseres HaDibrois, the Ten Commandments, each to his own abilities. If the individual did not understand Hebrew, he heard Hakadoshboruchhu in his native language. If the individual was smart, he heard the verses of the Toirah, as well as the Toirah She’Baal Peh associated with the Pesukim. If the individual was a Bainoni, he heard the Pesukim themselves. If he was a moron, he heard George Santos, and actually believe him.
Asks Rav Acha, what if the individual was deaf?
According to Rav Chisda the deaf person “saw” the Ten Commandments, though not the Cecile B. DeMille version.
However, according to Rav Netura, a person who could not hear could not appreciate the unique majesty of the Divine encounter, and he was expelled from the community.
Asks Rav Yosi, “Why should a deaf person or person without ears be penalized for his physical variant? Was he not created in Hakadoshboruchhu’s image as well?”
Rav Netura replies, “Why are you Hocking me a Chinuk about someone with a Moom? Next thing you are going to want to suggest is that women heard the Aibishter at Har Sinai as well, and they, too, are Chayuv for keeping all of the Mitzvois, equal to the men!”
“You are engaging in legalistic casuistry” responds Rav Yosi. “Women were at Sinai and heard the Aseres HaDibrois, just like the men. They are simply not Chayuv for keeping all of the Mitzvois because they lack a Makoim HaMilah, and also bleed for a week out of every month and refuse to die."
“But” he continued, “we do not penalize deaf people for being deaf any more than we penalize a Bainoni for being a Bainoni, a right handed person for being right handed, or a legless person for not being able to walk. The Reboinoisheloilum created every single person in His image, in His wisdom that we cannot possibly comprehend, and we accept the world as His willed creation. We simply look at these human beings, created Betzelem Eloikim, as holy reflections of the Divine, and we look at their physical and psychological variants as incremental revenue opportunities. There is a lot of cash in healthcare services!”
And so, if humanity is created in the image of the Divine, and is itself fundamentally variable, then those variants are not “Moomin”- flaws - but are part of the Divine design.
For that reason all of Klal Yisroel is believed to have been present at Sinai, men and women, sighted and blind, hearing and deaf, right handed and left handed, walking and legless, straight and gay. Unless of course you are Yeshiva University, in which case you believe that the only people who were present at Har Sinai were Roishei Yeshivois, milquetoast Talmidim who cannot think for themselves, major donors, and local Latino women from Washington Heights, since the Roishei Yeshivois — created in the image of the Reboinoisheloilum — absolutely LOVE Shiksas too.
Ah Gutten Yuntif You Menuval.
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Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein
Rosheshiva
Yeshivas Chipass Emmess
http://rabbi-pinky.blogspot.com/
