10 Heshvan 5787 | י חשון ה'תשפ"ז
Many thanks to Rabbi Joey Haber for the d'var Torah below (see the original HERE). I have been meaning to post this since I received it during the week of Parashat Bereshith. I have made a very few editorial changes to reflect my lateness, for which I apologize.
And no, I do not know R' Haber personally.
***We read toward the end of Parashat Bereshith that Hashem saw the evil of mankind and decided to destroy the world. The second week, in Parashat Noach, we read of the flood that Hashem brought upon the earth, sparing only Noach and his family. After the flood, Hashem made a promise that He would never flood the earth again.
When we read these pesukim carefully, we notice something surprising.
Here in Parashat Bereshith, the Torah says, וירא ה' כי רבה רעת האדם בארץ, וכל יצר מחשבות לבו רק רע כל היום – Hashem saw all the evil that the people were committing, and He saw the evil in their heart, their natural tendency to sin*(6:5). The evil nature of people led Hashem to decide to destroy them.
After the flood, however, we find just the opposite. Hashem announced that He would never again destroy the earth כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעריו – because of the people's yetzer ha'ra (evil inclination), because of their evil instincts.
How could the yetzer ha'ra be both the reason to destroy mankind, and the reason not to destroy mankind?
The answer is quite simple – and exceedingly important.
In short: we just have to try.
Before the flood, the people did not even try to restrain their sinful instincts. They followed their negative tendencies without any attempt to exercise discipline and act the right way.
After the flood, however, Noach offered a sacrifice to Hashem – symbolizing the people's commitment to say "no" to their evil tendencies, to sacrifice the things they desire for the sake of fulfilling Hashem's will. When we do this, Hashem looks kindly upon us. Even when we're imperfect, and even when we're far from perfect, He treats us with compassion, because He understands our struggles and our challenges, and He sees that we're trying.
What matters most is that we're trying, that we're making a sincere effort to restrain our negative instincts and do the right thing.
This is so important for every one of us to realize. If a person is struggling, if he has some good days and some bad days, if he has a bad habit that he can't seem to kick, if he tries to do the right thing but doesn't always succeed – then this means he is human. It means he is living the way he is supposed to live.
We are not meant to be perfect. We are meant to strive to be better. We are meant to work hard and to make a real effort to improve.
If we're trying, then we are on the road to greatness. And we are the kind of people that Hashem wants in His world.
***
*[מחשבות לבו רק רע כל היום literally, thoughts of its heart (referring to their society) only evil all day long - comment by HDG]
***
My husband has been printing Rav Haber's articles for years, and we read them at our Shabbat table. However, this one stands out as bringing clarity to a very big misunderstanding of what human beings, particularly Jews, are supposed to aim for with regard to our personality and behavior:
It's not perfection, but the striving that counts. The digging away at our faults.
The problem at the very beginning of mankind was that people back then didn't care to think about how to be good and to treat the world, and each other, the way HQB"H wanted.
Now, our problem is that, it seems, new upcoming leadership and the elites behind the world's governments want to drag us back to that dark place. May it never be!
The above d'var Torah is what I call an "evergreen" post, probably professional jargon that I left a long time ago. It's good whenever you receive it, no matter what time of year, no matter what stage of life or health you happen to be in when you do.
Happy 5787! May we merit to see Geulah Shlemah this year, in all its glory!
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More about R' Joey Haber: Beit Yosef of Deal, NJ | Rabbi Joey Haber: an Appreciation | Torah Anytime
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