The Ant is saying, "Go
to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise." (Proverbs 6:6)
Elisha the son of Avuyah
would say: One who learns Torah in his childhood, what is this comparable
to? To ink inscribed on fresh paper. One who learns Torah in his old age, what
is this comparable to? To ink inscribed on erased paper.
Chochmah (wisdom)
Weeks 50 to 52 represent the holiday of Shavuot, in
which we are given an even higher level of the intellectual sefirot than
the level originally given to us on Passover. These three weeks are also
connected with the “Passover” weeks of the coming year, representing the
intellectual sefirot granted prior to the Counting of the Omer.
The intellectual sefirot are chochmah (wisdom), binah (understanding)
and da'at/keter (knowledge/crown). This first week is connected to
the sefirah of chochmah.
On week fifty, which contains the Chassidic holiday of Chai
Elul, in Perek Shirah it is the ant’s turn to sing. It tells those
that are lazy to study its ways and gain wisdom. (Proverbs 6:6) Chai Elul is
the birthday of the Ba’al Shem Tov as well as that of the Alter Rebbe. The
Ba'al Shem Tov was the founder of the Chassidic movement, and the one who
revealed deep secrets of the Torah that enabled every Jew to serve Hashem on
a higher level. The Alter Rebbe, who considered himself the spiritual grandson
of the Ba'al Shem Tov, was the founder of Chabad Chassidism. The name Chabad is
an acronym for the three intellectual sefirot, chochmah, binah and da'at,
often translated as wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. The main goal of
Chabad Chassidism is to bring light and Chassidic warmth to the intellect, the
coldest part of the human being. As mentioned in week twelve, Chassidism lights
a certain fire inside the person, a kind of wake up call for us to serve Hashem more
appropriately and be more diligent, like the ant.
[1]
The number fifty represents the festival of Shavuot as
well as the Jubilee year. Fifty, like the number eight, symbolizes something
extraordinary, beyond nature and beyond human comprehension. The ant is an
example of an animal that does not appear to conform to logical parameters. Its
force appears to be above comprehension, since it is able to carry loads that
are dozens of times its own weight. The ant sings of how we can acquire wisdom, chochmah,
by following its own example and behavior. To the extent that we are connected
to Hashem, we are also capable of doing things that at first glance appear
to be impossible, because G-d’s power is completely beyond nature. When we
connect to the immense teshuvah that results from the teachings of
the Ba’al Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe, as well as the many great miracles that
took place during their lives, the power and energy we receive on Chai
Elul itself is also something that exceeds our comprehension.
In Pirkei Avot, Elisha the son of Avuyah states that
those who learn Torah when young are compared to ink written on new paper,
while those that learn it in their old age resemble ink written on paper that
has been erased. (IV: 20) This first interaction with the Torah, both by a
child and by an older person is linked to sefirah of chochmah. Chochmah represents
the first contact with the wisdom, that feeling we have when an idea first
lights up in our minds.
The Talmud refers to Elisha the son of Avuyah as Acher,
"The Other," because he was excommunicated by the rabbis of the time.
His actions and behavior were incredibly disrespectful and evil in G-d’s eyes,
to the point that a heavenly voice declared that everyone should do teshuvah,
except for Elisha the son of Avuyah.
[2] It is not
mere coincidence that Acher falls exactly in the week of Chai
Elul. The Chassidic way is always to try to find the good side of people and
situations, and to bring closer even those furthest away and help them do teshuvah.
This was previously explained in week 12 as well, the week of the 19th of Kislev,
the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism, in which the raven sings. The Rebbe
of Lubavitch, based on an interpretation of the Arizal, explains that G-d
would have accepted even Acher’s repentance.
[3]
Furthermore, the teaching of Elisha the son of Avuyah, which
appears to be negative, can also be taken in an extremely positive way. The
word used for old, zaken, also means wise, and stands for “zeh shekanah
chochmah,” one who has acquired wisdom.
[4] The word
used for erased machuk, is spelled the same as mechok, which means
from a chok, a law of the Torah that is beyond human comprehension. With
these two concepts in mind, the second part of the teaching of Elisha the son
of Avuyah can be understood in the following sense: a sage who studies the
Torah resembles the ink written on paper absorbed as a law that is beyond human
comprehension. A true sage accepts all of the Torah, even the parts that are
more comprehensible to the human mind, as if it were all a chok, something
beyond understanding. This in fact was exactly the initial mistake that Acher made
that led him astray. He was somewhat arrogant and thought that he could
understand everything with his intellect. When faced with a particular
situation that went beyond his logical grasp, he became a heretic. The Ba’al
Shem Tov always extolled the beauty of the faith of simple Jews who lacked
great understanding. These Jews accepted the Torah as if it were all a chok.
Moreover, the Alter Rebbe teaches that the word chok is
also connected to the word chakuk, meaning carved or etched. When a person
begins to study Torah, he or she connects to the Torah, but both the person and
the Torah are still separate entities, such as the ink and the paper. However,
once a human being matures and studies like a sage, the person and the Torah
become a single entity - the Torah is carved in the heart of the person, and
there is no way to erase it any longer. This concept can also be found in the
Talmud, in the tractate of Shvuot, which states that when a person begins
to study the Torah it is called the Torah of Hashem. After studying, that
Torah is now called Toratoh (his Torah), since the Torah is now an
intrinsic part of that person.
Acher’s lesson is also connected to the ant. As much as the
ant has the wonderful qualities noted above, it is also capable of having a not
very positive characteristic: feelings of arrogance and superiority. We see
that in its own song, it calls others lazy while praising its own qualities. In
many ways, arrogance is even considered worse than sin. About someone arrogant,
G-d says that "He and I cannot live together." This is something very
serious, and something Chassidism also came to fix. There is a well known
saying by one of the most extraordinary of all Chabad chassidim, Reb
Hillel Paritcher. He said that before he became a chassid, he considered
himself a tzadik. However, once he began to study the Tanya (the
main writing of the Alter Rebbe), he thought to himself: " Halevai [I
hope I can become] a beinoni (an intermediate Jew)!" The Alter
Rebbe himself emphasized the importance of humility in a ma'amar (Chassidic
discourse) he recited soon after his release from prison on the 19th of Kislev.
In this ma’amar, entitled Katonti (I became small), the Alter
Rebbe explains that we must realize that any accomplishment we achieve is due
to the grace shown to us by G-d. Acknowledging this Divine assistance should
make us even more grateful, small, and humble. Every time we get closer to G-d
we must feel even smaller in relation to Him. This correct response to
blessings we receive is exemplified by Jacob after he fled from Laban.
At the end of the first chapter of the Tanya, the Alter
Rebbe explains that impurity, kelipah, is linked to the four natural elements:
fire, water, air and earth. The Alter Rebbe explains that fire is connected to
anger and arrogance (the ant). Water represents the desire for physical
pleasure (the snake). Air is connected to indifference and sarcasm (the
scorpion). Earth represents sadness and laziness (the snail). During the first
four weeks connected to the month of Elul, we do teshuvah for
our sins related to each one of these elements and animals.
[5]
In the Talmudic tractate of Chullin, Rabbi Akiva states
the following:
How manifold are Thy works, O Lord! Thou hast creatures that
live in the sea and Thou hast creatures that live upon the dry land; if those
of the sea were to come up upon the dry land they would straightway die, and if
those of the dry land were to go down into the sea they would straightway die.
Thou hast creatures that live in fire and Thou hast creatures that live in the
air; if those of the fire were to come up into the air they would straightway
die, and if those of the air were to go down into the fire they would
straightway die. How manifold are Thy works, O Lord![6]
Rabbi Akiva’s statement is connected to the four natural
elements mentioned above. In fact, he seems to be teaching how to deal with
these different types of kelipah: take them out of their natural habitat.
As mentioned above, this week is connected to Shavuot and
to the sefirah of chochmah. This week would also represent the
“eighth week,” of Shavuot and “Shivah Yemei Miluim” of the cycle
of malchut.
The great "gift" of self-improvement that we can
receive from the ant is that there are no limits to our closeness to Hashem,
and that like the ant we can serve as an example for people who wish to attain
higher levels in their Judaism.
[1] Hayom Yom, 17th of Av,
p. 79a
[2] Talmud Yerushalmi, Chagigah 77B
[5] See also the
writings regarding the month of Elul of Rabbi Chaim Yosef David
Azulay, the Chidah.
