The Amazing 72 Days of Chesed (Kindness) by Rabbi Aryeh Nivin
Today is the 25th day of the month of Adar and we now stand at the gateway to the new month called Nisan and the special preparatory Shabbos called Parshas Hachodesh. What is the special message and meaning of this day and this new month?
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai said that “If all the sages of Israel were in one scale of a balance and Eliezer ben Hyrkanus in the other, he would outweigh them all” (Avos 2:12). Since Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai was comparing Eliezer ben Hyrkanus to his other main disciples, four very important and wise sages, this is high praise, indeed. Yet the Mishnah continues with another evaluation: “If all the sages of Israel, together with Eliezer ben Hyrkanus, were on one scale of the balance, Elazar ben Arach would outweigh them.” We can understand, then, what a tremendous scholar and lofty individual Elazar ben Arach was, and we would expect to find him quoted on every page of the Gemara. However, there are only a few passing references to him. Why? What happened to him?
Elazar ben Arach’s wife was located at a pleasant hot spring called Emmaus. After the death of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai, Elazar ben Arach went to be with his wife, and, at her suggestion, waited for his colleagues to join him there. However, they didn’t follow him, so he remained there without them (Kohelles Rabba).
After a few years he left Emmaus for a visit elsewhere, where he was called to the Torah for an aliyah. The parshah then being read was the parshah that we read this coming Shabbos, Parshas Hachodesh, and Elazar ben Arach was called up to read maftir. In those days, there was no ba’al koreh; each person read his own Torah portion. When he got to the words “Hachodesh hazeh lachem”—“This month shall be to you,” he mistakenly read them as “Hacheresh hayah libam”—“Their hearts were deaf.”
How could the great Elazar ben Arach have made such a mistake? In his isolation, he had fallen; he had forgotten almost everything he learned, even how to read fluently. The rabbis prayed for mercy on his behalf, and eventually he regained some of his wisdom. The Gemara delves into the lessons that may be learned from this situation (Shabbos 147b), such as the importance of staying with your chaburah. But there’s another, hidden message in the words uttered by Elazar ben Arach.
Rav Elyashiv’s, zt”l, grandfather, a mekubal, was known as the Leshem. He explains that the time period from the 25th day of Adar until the 6th day of Sivan (Shavous) is allegorically 72 days. The gematria of chesed is 72, and these 72 days comprise a season of great chesed. Right around the time when we say “Hachodesh hazeh lachem,” we begin a period of renewal, or hischadshus (related to hachodesh, the new month). This time is called “an upper awakening”—a time when Hashem brings about growth and teshuvah from above.
This is the season in which Hashem took the Jewish people out of Egypt. He did not do so because of their great merit; in fact, on a scale of 0 to 50, they had fallen to the 49.9999999th level of tumah, of impurity. Since they held onto that tiny bit of goodness, of Jewishness, they were deserving of redemption. Hashem carried them on eagles’ wings; He did most of the work. Because no matter where a Jew has been or how far he falls, as long as he makes the tiniest effort, shows the smallest inclination to move forward, Hashem will bring him straight to Har Sinai, to Shavuos, to Kabbalas Hatorah.
"My sons,” says Hashem, “open for Me an opening of teshuvah the size of an eye of a needle, and I will open for you openings big enough for wagons and carriages to pass through” (Shir Hashirim Rabba 5).
No matter how far we’ve fallen, we need not be discouraged. Even if, like Elazar ben Arach, our hearts have grown deaf, this a time of “upper awakening.” This is a time of “Hachodesh hazeh lachem.” It’s a time of renewal—hischadshus. It is a time of Divine grace, of Divine chesed, of Divine goodness. It’s a time when small efforts yield great results. All we need to do is point ourselves in the right direction and open up a pinhole of avodah. He will carry us on eagles’ wings straight to Him. |
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