How Should We React to an Eis Tzara?

And we will begin with the Rambam in the beginning of Hilchos Ta'anios.

מצות עשה מן התורה לזעוק ולהריע בחצוצרות על כל צרה שתבוא על הציבור שנאמר על הצר הצורר אתכם והרעותם בחצוצרות.

You know, the Sifrei in the beginning of Parshas Va'eschanan talks about how there are different lashon shel tfila. The Sifrei, I think, lists עשרה לשון של תפילה. The Rambam you don't have, I don't know if you have עשרה לשון של תפילה in the Rambam, but in the beginning of Hilchos Tfila, when the Rambam speaks of tfila, it's מצות עשה להתפלל בכל יום. And here, when the Rambam says that what accompanies or what's expressed through what accompanies and what is expressed through the blowing of the chatzotzros, so the Rambam speaks in terms of za'aka. In an es tzara, Rachmana litzlan, so it's not only that there's ribuy tfila, but the entire tzura of tfila is different. And let's say in English, so there are different associations you have, you know, if you say that someone is praying, if you say that someone is crying out, so there's a different, those two expressions communicate, they paint two different pictures. So the tzura, the modality of tfila in an es tzara is one of za'aka.

מצות עשה מן התורה לזעוק ולהריע בחצוצרות על כל צרה שתבוא על הציבור.

Meaning even though the pesukim describe

וכי תבואו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצורר אתכם והרעותם בחצוצרות,

it describes the enemy who's persecuting you, who's looking to, who poses a mortal threat, but the Rambam says it also includes natural threats and Rachmana litzlan the potential for natural disaster.

כלומר כל דבר שייצר לכם כגון בצורת ודבר וארבה וכיוצא בהן זעקו עליהן והריעו.

In Hilchos Teshuva, the Rambam also speaks about teshuva and za'aka.

אף על פי שהתשובה והצעקה יפה לעולם בעשרת הימים שבין ראש השנה ויום הכיפורים היא יפה ביותר. במה דברים אמורים ביחיד אבל בציבור כל זמן שעושים תשובה וצועקים בלב שלם.

Okay, here it's za'aka in Taanis, here it's tza'aka. I don't know if there's a difference to the Rambam between those two. Vedavar zeh, this response that the Torah commands to the tzara... Blowing the chatzotzros, which the Rambam clearly interprets as a form of tefillah,

דבר זה מדרכי התשובה הוא, שבזמן שתבא צרה ויזעקו עליה ויריעו, ידעו הכל שבגלל מעשיהם הרעים הורע להם ככתוב עונותיכם הטו, וזהו שיגרום להם להסיר הצרה מעליהם.

So what does the phrase darkei ha-teshuvah mean? You have it a couple of times in Hilchos Ta'anios and other times in the Rambam. You have it again later in Perek Hey of Hilchos Ta'anios, I think. Yesh sham yamim Hey Alef in Hilchos Ta'anios.

יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענין בהם מפני הצרות שאירעו בהן כדי לעורר הלבבות ולפתוח דרכי התשובה.

When the Rambam describes again the historical ta'anios of Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, of Tisha B'Av, of Tzom Gedalia, Asarah B'Teves, so the Rambam says it's כדי לעורר הלבבות ולפתוח דרכי התשובה. That same phrase of darkei ha-teshuvah, and then the first time it appears was back in Perek Beis of Hilchos Teshuvah, Halacha Daled, מדרכי התשובה להיות השב צועק תמיד לפני השם, again צועק בבכי ובתחנונים ועושה צדקה כפי כחו, etcetera. But what does the phrase mean? So it sounds like here that darkei ha-teshuvah means it's the pathway that leads to teshuvah. And that's I think in context that seems pretty clear kimidumeh, that when the Torah tells us to react by blowing chatzotzros, so then what should register upon us, the impact that that mitzvah should have upon us, is that there's a metaphysical cause and effect. Whatever natural explanation is also true, but there's an ultimate metaphysical cause and effect between the tzarah and aveiros. ודבר זה מדרכי התשובה הוא, meaning it puts the person on the path to teshuvah. How so? שבזמן שתבא צרה ויזעקו עליה ויריעו, let's say ich veis, you have a door and the doorknob falls off. So if you're handy, so you don't scream and you don't blow chatzotzros. The doorknob fell off, so I need to fix the door. I need to fix the doorknob. So the reaction is tailored to what happened. So the doorknob was loose, okay, so I'll take my screwdriver and put the doorknob back in and tighten the screw and I've addressed the underlying cause. So when the Torah tells us to engage in ze'akah in response to tzarah, so

ידעו הכל שבגלל מעשיהם הרעים הורע להם ככתוב עונותיכם הטו.

And it's this understanding וזהו שיגרום להם להסיר הצרות מעליהם. Agav there's... Once we sort of understand what the phrase davka teshuvah means, so the Rambam in perek hey is telling us something extraordinary about the Taanios. Again, asarah b'teves, shivah asar b'tammuz, Tisha B'Av and Tzom Gedaliah.

יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענין בהם מפני הצרות שאירעו בהן כדי לעורר הלבבות ולפתוח דרכי התשובה.

So what it says in this Rambam is quite extraordinary when you think about it, rabbosai, is that it's not just that on a yom hata'anis that day should be devoted to doing teshuvah, it's that through the reflection and introspection and focus of the yom hata'anis, a person should embark upon a path of teshuvah that continues beyond the ta'anis. So it's not just sort of, you know, once it's tzeit hakochavim and the luach tells us that the ta'anis is over because the ta'anis is finished in terms of abstinence from food and drink, but if we were really mekayem the ta'anis on the level that it's intended, so then it continues, again, not in the form of abstinence from eating and drinking but in terms of that hopefully a person identified and took the first step on a derech hateshuvah. Halacha gimel. ואם לא יזעקו ולא יריעו. If the reaction to the tzar hatzoros lachem is not one of ze'akah, אלא יאמרו דבר זה ממנהג העולם אירע לנו. No, it can be explained entirely and exclusively in natural terms. There was a failure of intelligence. I don't know if that's true or not true in natural terms, but that's the type of explanation which shouldn't be seen as exclusively true. I remember when I was young, asking my father, zichrono livracha, and about these inyanim and at the time he explained to me as follows. This Rambam and other sources don't in any way deny that there's a natural plane on which there's cause and effect also. Again, what in terms of our current eis tzarah what that is, I don't know. But what the Rambam is telling us is that simultaneously, above that natural, physical level on which there's a cause and effect, there's also metaphysical cause and effect. And those things happen concurrently. And they need to be remedied and there's accountability on that level also, but we should never ever think that that's the exclusive level on which the cause and effect for tzaras hatzibbur exists. There isn't the ultimate level is the metaphysical level. That's what the Rambam is saying, that yedu hakol, that whatever natural, correct natural physical explanation there is, but yedu hakol, that on the metaphysical level the cause and effect is

שבגרם מעשיהם הרעים הוא רעה להן. אבל אם לא יזעקו ולא יריעו אלא יאמרו דבר זה ממנהג העולם אירע לנו וצרה זו נקרה נקרית.

Look, it can be accounted for purely, exclusively, entirely in natural terms. הרי זו דרך אכזריות וגורמת להם להדבק במעשיהם הרעים. What's the translation of achzarius? So we translate cruelty, right? Achzarius means cruelty, and obviously on one level that is certainly a correct translation, but if that's what the word meant entirely here, so then the Rambam l'chora should have written

הרי זו דרך אכזריות שגורמת להם להדבק במעשיהם הרעים ותוסף הצרה צרות אחרות.

Rambam says that if a person attributes a tzaras hatzibbur purely, entirely, exclusively to natural cause and effect, not recognizing the metaphysical cause and effect, it's achzarius. Why is that achzarius? It's wrong, it's a distortion, it's a misinterpretation. Why is it achzarius? Because it causes them to persist b'ma'aseihem hara'im, which will then rachmana l'tzlan only mean that the tzaros will be compounded and rachmana l'tzlan will intensify. So the Rambam should have said shegoremes, not v'goremes. You hear rabosai? If achzarius here means cruelty, it shouldn't be v', it should be shegoremes. Ella mai, what achzarius, what achzarius means I think initially, primarily, I don't, if you have, go to Hilchos De'os for a minute, rabosai. Go to פרק א הלכה א. Rambam's illustrating different de'os and then after giving several examples, the Rambam says the last line or so of halacha alef, alef alef in de'os,

ועל דרכים אלו שאורח הדעות כגון מחולל ועונן וכילי ושוע ואכזרי ורחמן ורך לב ואמיץ לב וכל כיוצא בהן.

So again, one could certainly walk away with the understanding, and it wouldn't be wrong, you know rachman is compassionate and achzari is cruel. But the source of compassion is that a person is sensitive, right? The source of compassion is that when a person sees an oni, he's sensitive a) to the plight of the oni and b) to the needs of the oni. So the core midah is sensitivity. Okay, now sensitivity in that context then will translate and express itself as As rachmanus, as compassion. And parallel to that, an achzar is a person who's insensitive. He passes the ani and he's insensitive to the plight of the ani, to the needs of the ani. Okay, then mimaila that insensitivity yields cruelty. But that the shoresh of the middah is insensitivity. And what the Rambam is saying here is that the same way a person can be insensitive to sort of not recognizing the plight of the ani and the needs of the ani, a person can be insensitive to historical events as they unfold. And הרי זו דרך אכזריות means that the person is insensitive to what's happening. He thinks what's happening can be explained in terms of geopolitics, can be explained exclusively, entirely in terms of geopolitics. And the Rambam says again the indictment here is that the person is insensitive, he doesn't know what he's seeing. Because it isn't only that. And that's what the Rambam says. So the achzariyus stands on its own without the consequence, without the corollary. It stands on its own because the Rambam is just saying the person is, he's insensitive and he's, and therefore, clueless as to what he's really witnessing. He's not just witnessing geopolitics. Vegoremes, and that middah of insensitivity also has very terrible consequences. The fallout from that middah is terrible. But the shoresh of rachmanus is sensitivity and the shoresh of cruelty is insensitivity. And in that sense you can speak of achzariyus in looking at a historical event which is playing itself out.

אבל לא יזעקו ולא יריעו אלא יאמרו דבר זה ממנהג העולם אירע לנו וצרה זו נקרה נקרית.

It's happenstance. There's nothing providential about it.

הרי זו דרך אכזריות וגורמת להם להדבק במעשיהם הרעים ותוסיף הצרה צרות אחרות. הוא שכתוב בתורה והלכתם עמי בקרי והלכתי עמכם בחמת קרי כלומר כשאביא עליכם צרה כדי שתשובו אם תאמרו שהוא קרי אוסיף לכם חמת אותו קרי.

So the Rambam interprets the pasuk that keri meaning lashon mikreh. Right? Veholachtem imi bekeri is that you'll operate with that perspective of keri, that perspective of happenstance, again happenstance as opposed to providential. The Rambam tells us here that the even when Hakadosh Baruch Hu brings a tzarah on Knesses Yisrael, it's keday shetashuvu.

תשב אנוש עד דכא ותאמר שובו בני אדם. כשאביא עליכם צרה כדי שתשובו.

I mean the Rambam could have... abort that process you should - no, but that's the - that's the telos of the tzara. That's why Hakadosh Baruch Hu brings the tzara in the first - in the first place. כשאביא עליכם צרה כדי שתשובו. Because because with the am hanivchar, so there is a special hashgacha. And certainly nothing happens to us nationally, nothing happens to us collectively, and what's going on now obviously is national, is collective, which isn't providential. Again, not le'afukei the natural level, not le'afukei making hishtadlus on the natural level. le'afukei that one shouldn't think that the exclusive focus both in terms of understanding and response is on the natural level. No, but the natural level is also true and also exists. We're supposed to respond on that level as well. Maybe one other - one other Rambam. Maybe whenever the Rambam, even before we read it, just to give a word of hakdama, it's not literally relevant, it's not literally relevant to anyone in this room, but there's a certain to use it as a springboard, which, which perhaps, perhaps is relevant. It's obviously not literally relevant to anyone. הרמב"ם פרק ג' הלכות תשובה halacha yud-aleph if you have it rabosai. Gimmel yud-aleph in Hilchos Teshuva. So the Rambam Perek Gimmel, as you recall, lists in halacha vav אלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא. And one of those is those who are porsh midarkei tzibbur. So the Rambam says, the Rambam then he gives, he gives, he lists them in halacha vav and then he explains the terms that he used. What does it mean to be a kofer batorah? What does it mean to be a min? What does it mean to be apikores? So now what does it mean to be a poresh midarkei hatzibbur? הפורש מדרכי צבור אף על פי שלא עבר עבירות. Look, it's not that he doesn't eat treif, he's not mechallel Shabbos, אלא נבדל מעדת ישראל. But he doesn't integrate himself within the klal, he doesn't identify with the klal. You know, he's separate.

אלא נבדל מעדת ישראל ואינו עושה מצות בכללן ולא נכנס בצרתן ולא מתענה בתעניתן אלא הולך בדרכו כאחד מגויי הארץ.

In terms of his identification with the Jewish people, in that sense he's no different than echad migoyei ha'aretz,

וכאילו אינו מהן רחמנא לצלן אין לו חלק לעולם הבא.

So again, this is not remotely relevant. But the extreme that the Rambam's describing here in halacha yud-aleph just tells us how important the inyan of nichnas betzarasan is. And obviously it's, there's many madrigos to it. And the reality is, I think, maybe I'm just unfairly projecting my own inadequacies. But there is a nisayon, which again, if I'm not projecting, it's a human weakness, but maybe I'm projecting. When we walk out into the streets, so we don't have any sirens, and we don't hear any explosions. There's no almost palpable tension in the air. And kimidumani that it's a natural human weakness that it's easy to get distracted and not have the, the degree of awareness that that we're capable of. Again, obviously awareness is not all or nothing. So again, I'm not talking about this halacha being literally relevant. I don't think that's even remotely the case. But it does highlight just how important it is. What's the best way not to sort of be lulled into that hesech hadaas? And again, kimidumani that it's a very natural, understandable susceptibility. And I suspect each person knows the answer to that for himself. I'm not sure if there's a uniform prescription. Maybe it's something that we, each of us, figures out for himself in terms of what works, you know, not to be distracted. And it doesn't even mean that a person, you know, abandons everything, you know, whatever his routine was prior to Shemini Atzeres. But it does mean that... Even when we're doing things that are routine, we shouldn't be doing them routinely. Again, it doesn't necessarily mean that we're not doing anything that we did previously and maybe we're doing everything we did previously but we shouldn't be doing that routinely. We need to try as much as possible, and it's an avodah, and again, everyone ba'asher hu sham in terms of what the best tactic is, everyone ba'asher hu sham in terms of knowing what his capacity is, and the person is not looking to overload, a person is not looking to go beyond his capacity, but each of us ba'asher hu sham should be looking to remain connected despite the fact that we're not exposed to the elements of danger that the chayalim and the civilian population in Eretz Yisrael are. It's been 50 years since anything like this happened to Klal Yisrael. Nothing like this has happened in 50 years. 50 years ago was like this. And hopefully it will remain that way. I think the numbers presently are less than they ended up being 50 years ago. Halevai that they'll remain that way. But in some ways, there were no babies massacred in the Yom Kippur War. A lot of 18 and 19 and 20 year old chayalim died al kiddush Hashem, but there weren't babies, which is not to understate the dimension of that tragedy. So I think we all need to sort of explore what works for us in terms of remaining aware and connected, and everyone knows what his capacity is, and no one should be looking to exceed that capacity. There's also no kiyum in just wringing one's hands. Meaning the point is just dehainu. The Rav tells a story in Ish HaHalacha, tells the following story about his maternal grandfather, Rav Elye Pruziner, that he had a daughter. This was before they discovered antibiotics. And before they discovered antibiotics, anything what today, b'chasdei Hashem, is a routine infection and you call the doctor and he writes a prescription and within 24 hours you feel better and you're going about your daily schedule. So in an So an infection could and was often Sakanas Nefashos because they had no they had no pushback. So he had a daughter and this this is the Rav's aunt, his his mother's sister. And and she was she was a kallah, engaged to be married. And and she got an infection and within a couple of days she was a gossess and and was on her deathbed. So the Rav describes in Ish HaHalacha that the the doctor came in and told Reb Velvel Pruzher that he thought that Yetzias Neshamah was not that far off. So Reb Velvel Pruzher asked, well did does he think it will happen in the next five minutes? So the doctor said no, it's not that imminent. So the Rav describes that Reb Velvel Pruzher took off his Tefillin d'Rashi, he used to put on Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam also. His daughter was comatose at this point, so she wouldn't have been aware at what point he came into the room, so it wasn't that he could be of assistance or solace to her because she she wasn't aware of who would be in the room and not in the room. There is an inyan if at all possible that a person shouldn't be alone Beshas Yetzias Neshamah. That's what it says in sefarim that if it's possible that someone should be there that the neshamah reacts to that that someone is present Beshas Yetzias Neshamah. But until that moment it didn't make a difference to her because she she wasn't she wasn't aware. So Reb Velvel Pruzher asked, well would it be in the next five minutes? And the doctor said no. So the Rav describes how the the tremendous self-discipline, how Reb Velvel Pruzher took off Tefillin d'Rashi, quickly put on Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam because he knew that after Yetzias Neshamah he'd be an onen and and wouldn't be able to at that point put on the Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam. So the the yesod is that sometimes we incorrectly, inappropriately think that how can I do A when something else is happening? So if my not doing A is helpful and contributes something, so then that's a correct reaction. But if my not doing A doesn't accomplish anything and A is something meaningful that I do and something productive, but just neglecting it because how can I do it when this is happening? So Reb Velvel Pruzher's not putting on Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam wouldn't have done anything for his daughter. Had she been conscious, avadeh it would have done something for her, so he wouldn't have put on Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam, he would have run in the room to to be with her. But it wouldn't have done anything for her. So we're talking about A, there should be an awareness, but again not an awareness that should translate in, you know, I just have to sit and feel bad. The point is not that that should translate negatively. It's A, that there should be an awareness that that the eis tzarah should, we should be a part of the eis tzarah, and B, that when there is ways to meaningfully, positively express that, that it should be expressed. Teshuvah, Tefillah. So there should be an awareness, when he put on Tefillin d'Rabbeinu Tam he certainly had that awareness, he wasn't detached, he wasn't disconnected, he had that awareness. But the awareness is not supposed to just negate, it's not just supposed to say, no no you can't, you have to be paralyzed. No, it's A, be aware because we're supposed to be connected because it's our tzarah, and B, then whatever whatever positive ways and meaningful and important ways there are to channel that, to channel it, but it's not it's not a veto on 'I'm not going to eat lunch'. Okay, so if if there'll be gozer a taanis, okay, that's a different story. But I'm not going to eat lunch, and as a result of that what's it going to do? So I'll have a headache this afternoon and I won't function well this afternoon, so what does that that do something? That doesn't do anything, doesn't do anything. I don't know as that I should be indulging my my favorite dessert. I don't know that it's a time to indulge and and and and be having a good time. It obviously isn't. But but it's not it's not supposed to translate and express itself negatively because what does that do? There should be an awareness because the awareness is part of נושא בעול עם חברו and then it should translate as appropriately as appropriately it should translate positively into I need to find time to figure out what I ani hakatan contribute to the teshuvas haklal and and maybe I need to slow down my davening so so that I try to do my share in terms of the the the tza'akah b'leiv shalem. I was told I didn't hear this first-hand so so please verify it. I was told that Rav Schachter is encouraging people to go to the rally today at five o'clock. I think it's outside the UN. So it should translate positively. But it's not it's not a veto on on doing on doing things as as illustrated by that story with the Rebbe of Pushna. Okay, we'll stop.