This week marks a new beginning of the study of the Torah, as we once again start the Torah with the reading of the portion of Bereishit.
The mystical matters in this Torah portion abound, and commentaries compare our study of the esoteric topics to the “blind stumbling in the dark.” However, prior to any individual details noted in the Torah here, it is very meaningful to note the words of the Gemara in Avoda Zarah 25A: The Talmud comments there that we find references to a text known as Sefer Hayashar (lit. the Book of the Upright). Throughout Tanach (see for example Yehoshua 10:13), and offers that the term “Sefer Hayashar” actually refers to the book of Bereishit, which contains the stories and happenings of the most upright of individuals - our ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, as well as their wives and families.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (the “Netziv”), in his introduction to Sefer Bereishit (see Haamev Davar, introduction to Sefer Bereishit), elaborates on this idea, and notes that in Parshat Ha’azinu, in reference to Hashem, the possuk states (Devarim 32:4): “...The Almighty’s works are flawless, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness without injustice; righteous and upright (Yashar) is He…”
The Torah here is describing, according to Midrashic tradition, the consequences that Hashem will impose after the destruction of the Second Temple, which will take place because the Jews did not treat each other with “uprightness.’’ The Netziv comments, that, in fact, the Jews during the time of the Second Temple were very learned; their scholarship and Torah study was of wondrous diligence. However, they did not act with the characteristic of “yashar,” “uprightness,” towards each other - what has been termed elsewhere in the Gemara as “Sina’at Chinam-baseless hatred. The result was that each fellow who noticed another individual’s different path of serving G-d would accuse them of being a heretic and non-believer. This accusation would even be viewed in the eyes of the accuser as “Lesheim Shamayim” -- for the sake of Heaven, and yet, Netziv equates this with murder!
The lack of willingness to allow for other streams of thought and styles in serving Hashem reflects the complete antithesis of what it means to be a nation that is “yashar,’’ and any service of Hashem that does not reflect this value can very easily be twisted and molded into a perspective that embodies this rotten core; hence, the destruction of the Second Temple, of which we are still waiting its rebuilding.
Netziv emphasizes, that rather than acting as a “yashar” nation, the possuk in Ha’azinu references the Jews of that time - around the destruction of the Second Temple - as being “warped and twisted” (Devarim ad. Loc.). The reason why Sefer Bereishit is termed “Sefer Ha’yashar,” writes Netziv, is because the Avot (our forefathers) were the most extreme examples of what it means to treat fellow humans with the characteristic of “Yashar.” Consider the fact that Avraham was willing to, and did in fact, go all out, to try and save the evil people of Sodom through tefillah and prayer to Hashem. Such an endeavor can only be motivated by pure love for Hashem and His creations.
On the heels of the release of the last 20 living hostages from the grips of Hamas - what can be considered a true miracle - let us strive to remember the lesson of the above quoted Netziv. There are many visions across the Jewish world as to what is the most ideal way to serve Hashem within halakhic Judaism; it is the author’s opinion that we would be better served appreciating the value of what each approach brings to the table, rather than the constant rush to label other perspectives as “different” (in the negative sense) or worse yet, “heretical.”
Our intentions may appear to be, externally, for the sake of Heaven, but as Netziv writes, the true result of such labeling can actually be equivalent to murder. This lesson can be applied by each individual according to their own situation; in the merit of viewing each other favorably, and with respect rather than negativity, may we merit to foster the unity that will result in the true redemption speedily in our days.
Dedicated in memory of all those who have perished and sacrificed for Am Yisrael.