The Secret of True Zealotry: The Power of Synagogues to Reveal the Treasure Within Every Jew

Lesson No. 227 | Cassette 227, Kislev 5760 - Awakening Gathering in Tzfat, at the "Anan B'Chavivusa Talya" Synagogue (may it be built and established)

Looking at others correctly requires removing the dust from our eyes and seeing the hidden treasures within every Jew, just as Avraham Avinu (our Patriarch) saw in the Cave of Machpelah and Yaakov Avinu saw in the people of Shechem. True zealotry for Hashem in our generation is not about harming others, but rather having mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) to build synagogues and study halls that bring the Jewish people closer to their Father in Heaven.

Efron the Hittite was certain that he was deceiving Avraham Avinu. He sold him the most despised and remote plot of land he owned, a place of darkness and gloom in his eyes, and was convinced that he was tripping him up and leading him into a trap. But Avraham knew the absolute truth, that all the wealth in the world could not compare to this place, because:

"Adam and Chava were found there."

If Efron had known what treasures were hidden there, he would not have sold the cave for all the money in the world.

Removing the Dust from the Eyes

From here we learn a great foundational principle regarding shidduchim (marriage matches) and shalom bayis (marital harmony). In a shidduch, sometimes each side thinks they are "tricking" the other side and hiding their flaws. But the truth is the exact opposite, just like with Avraham and Efron: Within every man and every woman, there are infinite treasures.

Rebbe Nachman says (Likutey Moharan, Torah 8, Part II) that one must remove the dust from their eyes. When a person only sees flaws—a wife in her husband or a husband in his wife—then there is a fire of conflict in the home. But if a person merits to see the inner essence, they discover what immense treasures exist within every son, every daughter, and every Jewish soul.

Every Jewish soul blazes and burns for Hashem. Every soul of a Jew wants to do teshuvah (repentance), to merit purity, holiness, and the ultimate truth. Were it not for the incitement of the media and the invalid opinions that the nation is force-fed, everyone would have returned in teshuvah long ago, because the inner essence of the soul blazes for Hashem.

The Missed Opportunity of the People of Shechem

This broad vision of searching for the good and the desire to bring others back in teshuvah stood at the foundation of Yaakov Avinu's leadership in Shechem. The verse states:

"And Yaakov arrived intact at the city of Shechem."

Rebbe Nachman explains (Likutey Moharan, Torah 27) that Yaakov arrived with a tremendous illumination of the face. A mass teshuvah movement awakened in the city—everyone started keeping Shabbos, and Yaakov established the Shabbos boundaries (techumin) for them. Furthermore, as explained in Torah 23, Yaakov minted coins for them in order to extract them from the lust for money, which is equivalent to seventy forms of idolatry. Everyone threw away their idolatry and wanted to start serving Hashem.

There was a tremendous awakening there, until Shechem the son of Chamor ruined everything and placed the sons of Yaakov in a difficult test. Shimon and Levi acted with zealotry and struck down the people of the city, but Yaakov was angry with them and cursed their anger:

"Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel... You have troubled me, to make me odious among the inhabitants of the land."

Why was Yaakov so angry? The Ramban explains that the people of Shechem were already poised to do true teshuvah. Yaakov saw the broader picture, the universal Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's Name) that could have been created. He said to his sons: Leave aside the personal reckoning and private zealotry because of the sin of one man. The people of Shechem as a whole did not sin, and they were very close to teshuvah. Because the zealotry of Shimon and Levi was not entirely for the sake of Heaven, flaws emerged from them in future generations—from Shimon came the sin of Zimri in Parashas Balak, and from Levi came the dispute of Korach.

True Zealotry for Hashem in Our Generation

Moharnat (Reb Noson of Breslov) explains that in our days, true zealotry for Hashem is to establish synagogues and study halls. We do not have the permission or the ability to harm others for the sake of Heaven as Pinchas did. When a person burns with zealotry for Hashem and yearns to bring the Jewish people back in teshuvah, the way to do this is to build another study hall and another synagogue.

When there are synagogues on every corner, more people will come to learn, more people will hear Torah classes, and within a year or two, everyone will want to do teshuvah. Therefore, all of our work now is to engage in building with holiness, to establish places that will stand until the coming of Mashiach and even afterward.

Even a person who has no money of his own, but he collects funds, has mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), and accepts upon himself humiliation and the spilling of his blood for this goal—his righteousness endures forever. This is a very great thing. When a new synagogue is built in holiness, this building becomes the glory of the entire Jewish people, and in its merit, everyone will return in teshuvah and we will merit to welcome our righteous Mashiach within it, speedily in our days, Amen.

Part 2 of 2 — Lesson No. 227

→ Previous part

All parts: Part 1 | Part 2 (current)