The Secret of Sweetening the Judgments: The Power of Rashbi to Draw Down Loving-kindness to the World
Lesson No. 528 | Motzaei Shabbat Parashat Emor, Eve of 18 Iyar 5767 - Lag BaOmer
The Torah was given from the mouth of Gevurah (Severity), and without Chasadim (loving-kindness), the world is liable to burn from an abundance of judgments, as happened after the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was the only tzaddik who knew how to draw down the lights of Chasadim and sweeten all the judgments, thereby granting existence to the entire world.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is in the aspect of Mordechai the tzaddik, the secret of "flowing myrrh" (mor over), which passes through all the Sefirot and draws its light down to all generations. Rashbi merited to draw down the lights of Chasadim, and through this, the world gained existence. Until Rashbi, the world had no existence; after the terrible destruction of the Holy Temple and the burning of Jerusalem, the Ten Martyrs and all the students of Rabbi Akiva had to depart from the world.
The Secret of the World's Existence After the Destruction
No tzaddik knew how to draw down Chasadim to the world until Rashbi arrived. Without these Chasadim, the world would have burned from an abundance of Gevurot (severities). For even when a person learns Torah, the Torah itself was spoken from the mouth of Gevurah. This is the reason that when the Children of Israel came to the Giving of the Torah and received it, immediately afterward they made the Golden Calf – because everything was still in the aspect of Gevurot. They did not yet have Chasadim and they did not know how to elevate them.
Regarding this, the Gemara in Tractate Avodah Zarah says about Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion that he did not know how to awaken the Chasadim, and therefore he was burned by the overwhelming light of the Torah. Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion met Rabbi Elazar ben Parta, who was not as great a Torah scholar as him. Rabbi Elazar was accused of five severe charges, including robbery, theft, and freeing slaves. At that time, freeing slaves was considered a rebellion against the state, as the slaves outnumbered the citizens, and there was a fear that if they were freed, they would take over the world. Therefore, they accused Rabbi Elazar of subversion against the state.
Torah Without Chasadim
Rabbi Elazar ben Parta asked Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion: "How is it possible that you are so great in Torah and are not accused of anything, whereas I am accused of so many things, and yet you say that I will be saved?". Rabbi Chanina answered him: "Yes, you will be saved, because you engaged in acts of loving-kindness (gemilut chasadim)".
The Gemara asks: Did Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion not perform acts of loving-kindness? After all, the Halacha establishes that one does not give money to a charity fund unless a person like Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion is appointed over it! Furthermore, one time his Purim money got mixed up with charity money, and he gave all of his personal money to charity.
What is True Loving-kindness?
The answer is that a one-time act is not enough. To engage day and night in charity, day and night in acts of loving-kindness, to establish yeshivas, to bring people close and bring them back in teshuvah (repentance) – this is called increasing the Chasadim. And Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion did not engage in this to the same extent.
Therefore, Rabbi Chanina said to Rabbi Elazar: "You will emerge innocent from all the accusations. Hashem will strike the judges with blindness, since you engaged greatly in acts of loving-kindness." The Gemara expounds on the verse:
"Now for long seasons Israel was without the true God" (II Chronicles 15:3)
And it explains that if a person engages only in Torah alone, without Chasadim, he is called "without the true God," because the Torah and Chasadim descended to the world together.
The Sweetening of Judgments by Rabbi Shimon
Only Rashbi knew how to draw down the Chasadim to the world and how to sweeten all the judgments. When we come to Rashbi, all the judgments are sweetened from the world. There will no longer be any judgment upon anyone – not individually, not materially, not collectively, and not spiritually. And through the sweetening of all the judgments, the Holy Temple will be built speedily in our days, Amen, Netzach, Selah, Va'ed.
Part 2 of 2 — Lesson No. 528
All parts: Part 1 | Part 2 (current)