Who is the Real Target of Antisemitism?

Shiur sheva, shiur shemona, merav adasa. Practically 850 years ago, there was Gezeiras Shmad in Teiman. The Jews at the time sent a series of questions to the Rambam seeking his guidance, and in response to those questions, the Rambam wrote what we know as Iggeres Teiman. The Rambam tries to give religious, not tries, he does, give religious historical perspective on antisemitism. He says that when we're attacked, when Rachmana litzlan even killed, the war which Sonei Yisrael are waging is not really a war against us, but we're the proxies. It's a war against Hakadosh Baruch Hu. From the time that Hakadosh Baruch Hu selected us as the Am Hanivchar, Rambam doesn't quote it, but presumably the Maamar Chazal that הר סיני משם ירדה שנאה לעולם, that Maamar Chazal is echoing in the Rambam's mind. From the time Hakadosh Baruch Hu selected us as the Am Hanivchar, the Umos Haolam rejected that Bechira of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Retzonam leilachem baShem, ayt the Rambam, velaasos meriva.

ואין לך זמן מאז שניתנה לנו תורה זו עד זמננו זה,

ayt the Rambam. From the time Hakadosh Baruch Hu at Maamad Har Sinai made us the סגולה מכל העמים ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, whenever there's been a Melech עובד עבודה זרה גובר ומכריח ומתנקה ומתגבר ואנס, the intent and the attempt have been lishbot Torasenu. Rambam goes on to say how the Sonei Yisrael, and again as Chazal say,

וינוסו משנאיך אלו שונאי ישראל. משנאיך נשאו ראש על עמך ירימו סוד,

there's an equation between שנאת הקדוש ברוך הוא, Rachmana litzlan, and sinas Yisrael. The Sonei Yisrael have employed two approaches, two tactics. One has been brute physical force to try to undo, Rachmana litzlan, to try to overturn that Bechira, just through brute physical force, to kill us. Then they also, the Rambam says, Amalek, Sisera, Sancherev, Nevuchadnetzar, Titus, Adrianus, vechayozei bahem. The second approach, the second tactic, has been to try to undermine Torah, Rachmana litzlan, destroy Torah through argumentation, through disputation. Something that the Rambam says the Adomim, the Parsim, and the Yevanim engaged in. And then the Rambam says that subsequently in history, Christianity and Islam combined the two approaches. to destroy Torah, to overturn Bechiras Yisroel by combining both approaches, both the sword and the pen. The Navi Yeshayahu, the Rambam says, already prophesied referring to these two types of tactics and fronts in the war against, ultimately it's a war against Hakadosh Boruch Hu, how obviously ultimately it can never prevail, it will never prevail, כל כלי יוצר עליך לא יצלח, any weapon that will be formed against you, that will be directed against you lo yitzlach, cannot succeed, will not succeed, וכל לשון תקום איתך למשפט, and any words spoken, any attempt through disputation and through polemics tarshii, no, you'll prevail, you'll be able to vanquish them. Maybe a word about Bechiras Yisroel. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah quotes from Maseches Tamid how the Shir Shel Yom of each day reflects what happened on that corresponding day during Sheshes Yimei Bereishis. So the Beraisa then explains that the Shir Shel Yom for Yom Sheni we say the Kapitel in Tehillim of גדול השם ומהולל מאוד, Al Shem, what does that correspond to in terms of Sheshes Yimei Bereishis, על שם שחילק מעשיו ומלך עליהם. What happened on the second day of Sheshes Yimei Bereishis, ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע ויבדל. On the second day of Sheshes Yimei Bereishis there was Havdalah. Hakadosh Boruch Hu introduced distinction, differentiation, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Rashi says, v'nisaleh v'yashav bamrom, dugma to גדול השם ומהולל מאוד בעיר אלוקינו הר קודשו. The same way the Kapitel talks about how Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a Bechirah of Yerushalayim, there's a special Hashras Hashechinah in Yerushalayim, so that reflects the idea of the reality of differentiation distinction. To differentiate to distinguish is a prerogative of the Melech. It's an expression of Malchiyos. It's the Melech's prerogative to elevate whom he wants to introduce differentiation and distinction. It's a prerogative of Malchus. In the third Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei on Yamim Noraim we have the series of paragraphs Uvechein. So רב יוחנן בן נורי used to say that he thought that historically this had been רב יוחנן בן נורי's introduction to Malchiyos. The Mishna in Rosh Hashanah of course tells us that there's a Machlokes between רב יוחנן בן נורי and Rabbi Akiva whether Malchiyos is integrated into the third Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei or the fourth Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei. Hagam that we obviously follow Rabbi Akiva and we say the full Malchiyos with the ten Pesukim in the fourth Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, but nevertheless we've retained רב יוחנן בן נורי's introduction to his Malchiyos. So these Uvecheins are רב יוחנן בן נורי's, it's the analog to what Aleinu and val kein nekaveh is within the context of the fourth Bracha for Rabbi Akiva's Malchiyos. So within the Uvechein so we say

ובכן יתקדש שמך השם אלוקינו על ישראל עמך ועל ירושלים עירך ועל ציון משכן כבודך

because Malchiyos expresses itself, it's a prerogative of Malchiyos, Malchiyos expresses itself and manifests itself through Bechirah. Hakadosh Boruch Hu exercised his prerogative in Bechiras Yisroel and that's what the Rambam says instigated from the day of Maamad Har Sinai instigated the Sinas Yisroel. It's interesting also in terms of Bechirah and has as an expression of malchiyos, differentiation, distinction in the first bracha of Birkas Krias Shema we say at night. So what's the whole bracha about? אשר בדברו מעריב ערבים. Then Hakadosh Baruch Hu distinguishes between day and night. בחכמה פותח שערים ובתבונה משנה עתים ומחליף את הזמנים Hakadosh Baruch Hu distinguishes between day and night. Now some of the chasima is supposed to recap what the substance of the bracha was about. What's our sumuch lachasima? These are the words, the way we have the bracha is אל חי וקיים תמיד ימלוך עלינו לעולם ועד. How does that tie in to what the whole bracha has been about? So the answer is that the whole bracha has been about malchiyos. It's an expression, it's a manifestation, it's a prerogative of malchiyos, havdala, to introduce distinction, differentiation. It is prerogative of malchiyos. So the same way Ribono shel Olam we see and we experience that manifestation of your malchiyos in the מעריב יום ומביא לילה, so too we should see it fully in אל חי וקיים תמיד ימלוך עלינו לעולם ועד. The Netziv offers a complementary perspective on this perennial reality of sinas Yisrael, anti-Semitism. He comments on the passage in the Haggadah, the Netziv has this in two places, he has it more veharchava in an essay, I think it was included in the handout, She’eir Yisrael, but I think he also has it more compactly in his peirush on the Haggadah. So Netziv comments on the paragraph in the Haggadah: והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו. It's a little cryptic what the antecedent vehi is. Vehi is a pronoun, what the antecedent of vehi is.

והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו שלא אחד בלבד עמד עלינו לכלותינו אלא שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו והקדוש ברוך הוא מצילנו מידם.

Says Netziv, let's just read and let the words register. No chiddushim, no, one doesn't even need penetrating insight into the words, just to let the words register. שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו. We may or may not be aware of it. Sometimes sinas Yisrael is open and unchecked and unleashed, rachmana litzlan. But at other times, it's not that there isn't sinas Yisrael, there's a latent sinas Yisrael. There's a sinas Yisrael which is kvusha, which is hidden, which may not be above surface, but is beneath the surface. The resha’im, just to cite the most recent examples, such as those in Jersey City and those in Monsey, they're always around. שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו, it's just that bechasdei haMakom often we're unaware of the fact that והקדוש ברוך הוא מצילנו מידם, that it's suppressed, that it's kept in check, that it's subterranean rather than active on the surface. What's the vehi she’amda? So says the Netziv, the vehi she’amda is that that reality of perennial anti-Semitism, really, is something as excruciatingly painful and tragic as it is, it's something that also sustains us because it enforces that separation of am levadad yishkon which is supposed to exist. And the Netziv says, not to the exclusion of appropriate security measures, not to the exclusion of appropriate political hishtadlus, but the Netziv says that ultimately Spiritually, we're really in the driver's seat. The sinas Yisroel, that, that sort of visceral, visceral hatred is, is always present. Again, if, if we don't see it, and until recently we didn't really see it, it's lurking and it's latent, and it's in response to us, whether or not it's going to mushroom rachmana litzlan, whether what's latent is going to become open and and active.

אלא יש לנו להתבונן על זאת מצדנו. אין לנו לחקור ומה טעם שהגיע לזה מצדם.

Question is not: why is there antisemitism in the year 2020? There's always antisemitism. The question is: why is it not suppressed? Why is it open? Why are we being affected by it? אלא יש לנו להתבונן על זאת מצדנו. It's something that should trigger a cheshbon hanefesh.

על מה הגענו אנחנו לכך בהשגחת השם שלא תהיה גם עתה השנאה מכוסה כמו בשאר דורות.

Why is it that previously in earlier generations, again, the sinnoh was, was suppressed, and now it's, it's no longer suppressed, now it's oppressing us? ובשאר מקומות בדור הזה גם כן. Netziv tells us that in a religious context, on the spiritual level, again, not to the exclusion of political hishtadlus, of security measures, but ultimately the most critical element of the response is a cheshbon hanefesh that it's supposed to provoke for us, a cheshbon hanefesh biklal, but clearly, clearly the Netziv indicates a cheshbon hanefesh bifrat in terms of assimilation. When we make that cheshbon hanefesh in terms of assimilation, it's a cheshbon hanefesh which needs to be made individually as well as collectively. So we need to be aware that there are two forms of assimilation. Assimilation comes in, in, in two ways, in two forms. This practical assimilation, when rachmana litzlan a Jew acts the way he shouldn't act, but instead copies foreign, alien practices and, and absorbs foreign and alien influences. So that's practical assimilation. But there's also ideational or axiological assimilation. Could be that on the surface everything the person is doing conforms more or less to what it says in shulchan aruch, but in terms of the person's values, in terms of the person's hashkofos, in terms of the person's beliefs, in terms of the person's convictions, that there's been pernicious assimilationist influence. In making a cheshbon hanefesh, so we have to make a cheshbon hanefesh on both levels: not only to look for practical assimilation, but also to see if rachmana litzlan there are any indications of, of ideological, axiological, ideational assimilation. I think that the, some quote from Rav Yisrael Salanter, I'm not sure that that I'm gonna reproduce it accurately, so don't requote it in, in his name based on this. One might wonder, so am I sort of preaching to the choir? To talk about assimilation, so one doesn't need to talk about assimilation in a beis medrash. One, one needs to, to go far away from the beis medrash to talk about assimilation. So I think they say from Rav Yisrael Salanter something along the following lines, Rav Yisrael Salanter said... said that when a Yeshiva bochur in Lita, maybe he said, is mevatel a seder, a Jew in Paris is mechallel Shabbos. The heart of Klal Yisroel are the Bnei Torah. As the heart goes, as the heart pumps blood, so goes the entire body. I think from Rav Aaron Kotler they say that what's being me'akev Moshiach from coming is not all the secular Jews, because almost all of them, Hashem yerachem, tinokos shenishbu. They don't know any better. But we can know better and and and should know better. The Netziv's just shining the spotlight on that line in the Hagada of בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו provides occasion perhaps to to share mehirhurei libi. I often have the impression and and I hope I'm mistaken that Jews today and that we today lack the appropriate historical consciousness. What what does that mean? What does it mean to have appropriate historical consciousness? So Rav zichrono livracha has in a few places the following remarkable profound fundamental insight. There are many mitzvos zechira in the Torah.

זכור את היום הזה שיצאתם ממצרים. זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק.

To remember means that I lived through a certain experience and I remember. I remember the experiences of of my childhood and then I remember the experiences of my of my young adulthood vechulu. I lived those experiences, I experienced them, I'm in a position to remember them. What do you mean remember the day you left Mitzrayim? Shouldn't the Torah have said be aware of it? Be cognizant, know that your ancestors left Mitzrayim? How do you remember what you didn't live through? How do you is is remember is that really the verb that that captures what the mitzvah is? So says the Rav and this is so fundamental, there's supposed to be a merging of the collective national consciousness with one's own personal consciousness. What does that mean? Maybe a little bit of a משל למה הדבר דומה. Let's say you go over to a Holocaust survivor and and you ask him what does he have documentation, can he refute the the claims of the reshoim of the Holocaust deniers? So maybe he'll roll up maybe he'll roll up his sleeve or maybe even without rolling up his sleeve he'll just say what do you mean proof? I don't need to prove anything. I don't need to refute anything. I was there. I lived through it. Now imagine that this Holocaust survivor has children. And these children remember throughout their childhood waking up to their father's having nightmares. And and they remember the father's instinctively recoiling from anything German. Ad k'dei kach, what happened? They absorbed. They weren't there, the father was there. But the experience is something that seeps into their own consciousness as well. And they know with that same immediacy and absolute certainty that the Holocaust happened the same way as though it were their personal experience because that's what they got, there's been a merging here of the parent's consciousness with the child's consciousness. That's what's supposed to happen collectively. זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים. The Torah says remember, not be aware, not read in the history books, remember, remember, asher y'tzatem that you left Mitzrayim. To be a Jew means to be rooted in Jewish history and committed to Jewish destiny. The recent outbreak of these evil and horrific expressions of anti-Semitism should rightfully concern us, they should worry us, they should trouble us, but they shouldn't shock us. If we're shocked, it's an indication that there's something missing in that historical consciousness. Because any Jew with a historical consciousness where there's been that merging of the historical consciousness with his personal consciousness has experienced and knows that בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו. I remember many years ago in a drasha the Rav z'tzal said that he had been asked, people ask, could it happen here? Here meaning in the United States of America. Could the Holocaust could a Holocaust happen here? And I remember how emphatically he said, of course it can happen here. It could happen anywhere. The 21st century is no different. The United States of America is no different. In Spain was the Golden Age until it was the Inquisition and they were burning us. And in Germany, the most cultured society where Jews were patriotic and Jews were welcomed into the elite circles of intelligentsia, everything was wonderful until until there was a Holocaust. That's what the Rav said. Could it happen here? And he answered emphatically, of course it could happen here. If one has the appropriate historical consciousness, one should be rightfully worried, concerned, troubled, but not shocked. Now just not to be misunderstood, I don't know where things are headed in this country in in terms of anti-Semitism and that wasn't intended by way of any prediction and halevai that we'll look back on this as a sad and painful and tragic chapter and turn the page and resume the reality that has characterized things until now that Rav Moshe described in Igros Moshe as America as a malchus shel chesed for us. I'm not making any predictions, I don't have any crystal ball. But a person has to know that it could happen. A person has to know that bechol dor vador, that's the reality, that בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו. The Netziv's perspective that flare-ups in antisemitism should induce a heshbon hanefesh on our part, perhaps also gives us a framework into which to integrate a development that the Rav zichrono livracha describes in a drasha that the Rav Shechter reprints in Divrei Harav. The Rav describes and analyzes that there's a second form of antisemitism that the Rambam didn't speak of. Rambam didn't speak of it because it didn't exist in his day. The antisemitism of which the Rambam spoke was an antisemitism which was a religious-based antisemitism. But in modern times, that religious-based antisemitism still exists. I think the reshaim in Jersey City thought that they were the am hanivchar. I think that's what was reported. Religious-based antisemitism still exists, but there's also an equally pernicious and equally vicious and equally vitriolic secular antisemitism. Hitler yimmach shemo killed mizeh umizeh also. It wasn't religious based. It's a constant in the Jewish experience. Again, at times it's a stronger force and more open and more overt, at other times it ebbs and declines. But it's a constant and even as rachmana litzlan increasing numbers of Jews post-haskalah became secular, so there arose in response to that secular antisemitism as well. On a natural level, antisemitism is never our fault. The antisemites, if possible, look for a pretext. If they can't find one, they'll manufacture one, as in the whole history, for instance, of blood libels. And sometimes they don't even look for that fig leaf and they indulge their rishus without any pretext. Antisemitism on a natural level is never our fault. And nevertheless, not because, again, with all this in mind, nevertheless Chazal say that we're not supposed to act inappropriately and provoke a goy. When Esther wants, I think it's katvuni ledorot, when Esther wants that the yom tov of Purim should be established, so Chazal initially resist and say קנאה את מעוררת עלינו בין האומות. And then Esther says no, Esther responds that no, כבר כתובני על דברי הימים למלכי פרס ומדי. No, they've already recorded this, they've already perpetuated this anyway. I think the Mishnah Berurah in one place writes about how Jews shouldn't live ostentatiously in terms of flaunting their wealth. A Jew shouldn't provoke kinah. Not that the antisemites need a pretext, not that it's our fault, but אף על פי כן a Jew is not supposed to act inappropriately in a way to provoke. Another thing that we need to keep in mind is that the reality of bechol dor vador The reality of such contemporaries notwithstanding, that's not supposed to affect or, Rachmana Litzlan, compromise our yashrus. A Jew has to operate and and live by the exacting standards of of yashrus. My great uncle, Rav Soloveitchik, zecher tzadik livracha, used to tell the story. His father, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, was widely respected for his integrity, not just by the local Jewish population, but by the local gentile population as well. So much so that once there was a dispute between a Jew and a non-Jew and the non-Jew very willingly agreed that they should go to to Rav Moshe to adjudicate that dispute. So, as as happens in a din torah, so both sides presented their their case, their arguments. Then at one point, the Jew leans forward and he whispers into Rav Moshe's ear, מאך מיט אים א פשרה. Rebbe, מאך מיט אים א פשרה. Rebbe, make a pshore with him, make a compromise with him. So Rav Moshe understood right away that the Jew had cheated the non-Jew and that's why he was saying, you know, מאך מיט אים א פשרה, so whatever, either way, I'm going to walk away with with profit, either way, it's going to be a windfall because he cheated. That's what so he whispers into Rav Moshe's ear, מאך מיט אים א פשרה. At which point Rav Moshe jumped up and bimlo kol qomoso screams at the top of his of his lungs and tells the Jew, right now pay him every single penny that you owe him. The postscript, which is not really a postscript to the story, is that it was this gentile in whose favor Rav Moshe ruled in the din torah that then tipped Rav Moshe off that he had to he had to escape, that the communist police were going to come to arrest him. The reality of בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו doesn't affect our yashrus, it doesn't affect our ethical code, it doesn't affect הוי מקדים בשלום כל אדם and and the afillu nochi shebashuk. Another another element to be aware of: as as powerful and real as the reality of בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו is, as undeniable as it is that there are many such people, we're not supposed to overgeneralize. Not all gentiles act the same and there are some who are decent and there are some who, without necessarily getting into how the term should be used very, very narrowly and specifically and rigorously, there are certainly some who are chasidai umos ha'olam. Another story from from the Rav, zecher tzadik livracha: it was Bein Hametzarim and there was a little little boy, I think he was around three years old at the time, and he was repeating what he had been taught. He said that on Tisha B'Av the goyim broke the Beis Hamikdash. That that was the lashon. On Tisha B'Av the goyim broke the Beis Hamikdash. At which point the Rav said, not to the little boy... Said we're supposed to teach the children that the bad Goyim broke the Beis HaMikdash. So those shenei kesuvim of course it could happen here alongside this other story of the bad Goyim broke the Beis HaMikdash. Both kesuvim are true regardless of the preponderance of one over the other. But there should be a recognition, there should be a recognition the same way that there should be a recognition that even in the Second World War there were Chassidei Umos HaOlam who risked and sacrificed their lives. That's not what most of them were doing. Most of them were very enthusiastically helping the Germans yemach shemo, but there were Chassidei Umos HaOlam. One final word I'll say. We've tried a little bit through the lens provided by Kav MehaMesorah to gain some perspective on the perennial reality of anti-Semitism. But even if we were unable to gain any perspective, we didn't have the Rambam's perspective in Iggeres Teiman that really they're waging war against Hakadosh Baruch Hu and we're only the proxies, we didn't have the Netziv's והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו. What if we were just confronted with the reality that to be a Jew, to live like a Jew, to be oved Hashem, to learn Torah and be mekayem mitzvos we're going to individually and collectively have to endure anti-Semitism. What if we didn't have any perspective but just that stark reality? What would our reaction be? אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו ומה נעים גורלנו to the zechus to be a Jew, for the zechus to live like a Jew, for the zechus to be osek baTorah u'mitzvos, for the zechus of being on the track that Olam HaBa is tofel for tzaddikim as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Issurei Biah and אין צדיקים אלא ישראל. For that zechus

אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו ומה נעים גורלנו ומה יפה ירושתנו.

I'll say, I want to first of all thank Rabbi Turetsky for inspiring us and enlightening us. I encourage everyone here to listen as well. It'll be up on YUTorah tonight. Alright.