The Secret of the Crown of the King of Kings: The Power of Ahavas Yisrael
Lesson No. 191 | Thursday, Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim, 6 Iyar 5759
A fascinating article about the deep connection between refraining from lashon hara (evil speech), studying the entire Torah, and Ahavas Yisrael (loving a fellow Jew). Through a wondrous story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, it is explained how every Jew is a diamond in the crown of Hashem, and how true love prevents us from harming others.
When the convert came to Hillel the Elder and asked to learn the entire Torah while standing on one foot, the question arises: What does "the Torah on one foot" mean? After all, there are 613 mitzvot, there is the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), and just learning a single tractate of Talmud takes a long time. How long can someone stand on one foot? A simple person can barely stand for five minutes.
Hillel told him:
"That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow."
There is one mitzvah that even the nations of the world understand to some extent—"Love your fellow as yourself." Do not murder, do not steal, do not insult. But Hillel adds: "The rest is commentary; go and learn it"—this is the entire Torah. Why? Because in order to reach a state where one truly does not speak lashon hara and does not insult another, one must learn the entire Torah.
The Danger of Imagined Permissibility
If a person does not study all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, he will never be able to reach a state where he does not harm others. A person might study the book Shmiras HaLashon (Guarding the Tongue) by the Chofetz Chaim, yet still find loopholes for himself. There are five clauses where, under certain conditions, it is permissible to speak lashon hara. A person might speak lashon hara twenty-four hours a day, completely convinced that he is fulfilling a mitzvah based on those five clauses!
Who obligated you? Who told you that this is your mitzvah? A person is in danger if he does not study the entire Torah, because he might think he is absolutely right when, in fact, he is completely wrong. The great Torah leaders of Israel, such as the Chazon Ish zt"l and the Steipler zt"l, warned about this extensively. Rabbi Shlomke of Zvhil zt"l quotes the Chazon Ish as saying that speaking against Jews is more severe than eating on Yom Kippur, because by doing so, a person abandons the entire Jewish nation.
Rabbi Nosson of Breslov rules in an explicit halacha (Laws of Minchah Prayer, Halacha 6) that it is forbidden to speak against any leader in Israel who educates others to do good. We must fulfill the verse:
"Go forth in the footsteps of the flock"
To follow all the great Torah leaders, to believe in all of them, and to love all of them.
The Defender of Israel and the Stolen Spoon
Tzaddikim would sometimes speak about other tzaddikim, but solely to sweeten judgments from upon them and to lengthen their days. There is a well-known story cited in the book Butzina DiNehora about Rabbi Baruch of Medzhybizh, who announced at the Friday night Shabbos seudah (festive meal): "Whoever speaks lashon hara about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev—I guarantee him a place in the World to Come!"
A certain merchant who was there immediately jumped up and wanted to speak, but the Chassidim silenced him. At the second Shabbos meal, Rabbi Baruch again announced the same guarantee, and again the Chassidim stopped the merchant. At the third meal (Seudah Shlishis), when the Rebbe announced it once more, the merchant could no longer restrain himself. He jumped up and said: "Rebbe, I have fresh lashon hara from Friday! I passed through Berditchev and saw Rabbi Levi Yitzchak praying with a fiery enthusiasm. But when he reached the Yotzer Ohr prayer, at the words 'His ministering angels stand at the heights of the universe,' he suddenly leaped from the Holy Ark all the way to the doorway where I was standing, and started shouting at me: 'What will the angel Michael say? What will the angel Gabriel say?' Then he went back to praying. I never did anything to him; why did he jump on me in the middle of prayer?"
Rabbi Baruch of Medzhybizh answered him: "I will explain to you what happened, and it is good that you told me this—now you will merit the World to Come. When Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev prays, he sees the entire world. He advocates and finds merit for every single Jew. When he reached the words 'His ministering angels stand at the heights of the universe,' he saw the entire Heavenly Court and all the prosecuting angels.
"At that very moment, the angels Michael and Gabriel came and told him what you had done. On Thursday night, you were at an inn and you stole a silver spoon. After all, you are a wealthy Jew; you do not lack bread, nor do you lack a dowry for your children, so why did you steal? Rabbi Levi Yitzchak did not know what to answer the angels who were prosecuting you. Therefore, he jumped over to you and asked you: 'What will I answer the angel Michael? What will I answer the angel Gabriel? Why did you steal the spoon?' Now, go return the spoon, and you are guaranteed a place in the World to Come."
Crowning Hashem Anew Every Day
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains (Likutey Moharan, Torah 17) that we must crown Hashem anew every single day. How do we do this? By finding another good point in a fellow Jew, and another virtue in a fellow Jew. Every Jew is a diamond in the crown of Hashem. When we degrade a Jew, we degrade the King's crown. By clinging to Torah scholars and God-fearing Jews, we fulfill the positive commandment of "and to Him you shall cleave."
How can a person truly remain silent when he is degraded, or refrain from speaking evil about others? The answer is love. A story is told of a Chassid who met with a Misnaged (opponent of Chassidus) and explained to him the difference in their approaches to guarding the tongue: It is comparable to two people, each of whom owns a dog. One puts a muzzle on the dog so it will not bite. But the moment the muzzle comes off, the dog will bite. The second person, however, trains the dog to be good and not to bark at others.
This is the path of Chassidus. It is not satisfied merely with the "barrier" of the prohibition against lashon hara (evil speech), but rather teaches us to love every Jew with heart and soul. When you truly love a person, you are simply incapable of speaking ill of them. Our true spiritual work is to begin loving every Jew, to see their good qualities, and to love them with all our heart and soul.
Part 3 of 4 — Lesson No. 191