Valor and Kindness

Eikev

As Am Yisrael are about to enter Eretz Yisrael, Moshe tells them (Devarim 11:10) that Eretz Yisrael is not like Egypt. Egypt is so fertile, that growing food there is effortless! Eretz Yisrael on the other hand is dependent on rainfall and to merit rain we have to have an intimate relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu and constantly pray for rain.

It is like the parable of a king who had a son and begrudged him nothing. As the son grew, he rebelled against his father, who rebuked him, but to no avail. The king summoned one of his closest ministers and told him to make sure that the son would lack for nothing. The minister was surprised and asked the king why he was being so good to the son who had rejected him? The king replied that all the while that his son loved him, he would come to the palace to ask his father for things and the king was pleased to see him. However now that he had sinned against his father, the king wanted to make sure that the son would no longer come to the palace and ask for anything so that the king would not have to see his face at all.

In this shiur I would like to explore a principle from the Zohar HaKadosh (part 2, 154b) called Gvurot Geshamim, loosely translated as the "valor of rain."

The highest form of material wealth is rain. Just to prove how much more valuable rain is than money, we need go back only two weeks to the story of Marta bat Baitus, from the stories of the destruction of the 2^nd Beit HaMikdash (Gittin 56a).

Marta bat Baitus was the richest woman in Yerushalayim. She sent her servant to the market to buy some “solet” (semolina) flour to bake bread. The servant returned to say that there was no more solet and all that was left was white flour. So, Marta sent him back to buy the white flour. When the servant got back to the market, the white flour also was gone. The servant returned to tell her that the white flour was gone, but there was dark flour. She sent him back to buy the dark flour, but when he returned to the market, even the dark flour was gone. The servant yet again returned to tell her that the only flour left was barley flour. Marta sent him back to buy the barley flour, but by the time he got back the barley was also gone. So, Marta said “I will go myself and see what I can find to eat.” So, she took off her sandals and left her house barefoot. As she was walking in the street, she stepped in some cow dung. Because she was so delicate, she died from the disgust of it. As Marta was dying, she took out all her money and threw it in the air in the market exclaiming “What good did all this money do me?”

When there is no food, money is worthless. The only time money has value is when it has purchasing power, if there is no food to eat, people cannot eat coins, they cannot eat $100 bills or Da Vinci paintings. The source of all food is from rain. If there is no rain, there is no plant matter – no grains, no legumes, no fruit, no vegetables. There is also no meat – no grass/fodder for the animals to eat, no animals. If the rain stops, there is no life and all the material wealth in the world is as valueless as sand!

The mechanism of rain, Gvurot Geshamim is an intermingling of two forces, one called gvura (valor) and the second chesed (kindness).

Gvura is associated with the masculine and chesed with the feminine. The male characteristic of gvura is typified by physical strength, ambition, wisdom, etc. The female characteristic of chesed is typified by kindness, gentleness, sensitivity, etc. Gvura also corresponds to the left arm while chesed corresponds to the right arm. Gvura/Chesed are not mutually exclusive – they are symbiotic and complement each other. It is the interaction between these two forces that results in rain.

According to the Zohar the process is first initiated by chesed which is the origin of joy. The "right hand" of chesed then transfers this joy to the "left hand" of gvura. The joy from the right/chesed, mingles with the left/gvura, which is the origin of wisdom/Torah. The wisdom of the left/gvura enhances this joy, which now becomes a mixture of chesed and wisdom. This enhanced joy is then passed back to the right/chesed and awakens the chesed in its joy. It starts with the right, is passed to the left where it is enhanced and then passed back to the right.

This is symbolized by Netillat Yadayim, ritual washing of the hands. The process begins in the right hand. The cup in the right hand is filled with water. The cup with the water is then passed to the left hand, which then pours the water on the right hand. The right hand is the first one to have water poured on it, by the left hand. However, the left hand first received the water from the right hand.

At face value, rain seems to emanate from gvura, a powerful rainstorm with thunder and lightning are reminiscent of gvura. However, that is not how it works. Rain in fact originates from the right, from chesed, the source of joy. Rain is not valor, it is chesed, a great kindness that HaKadosh Baruch Hu does for us. Rain originates from chesed, that is its source. However, for it to materialize it needs to involve the forces of gvura to be able to manifest in a physical form as raindrops.

This is why we daven for rain on Shmini Atzeret, immediately after Sukkot. Both Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret are called the "time of our joy." The source of rain begins with joy. When we serve HaKadosh Baruch Hu with joy, by braving the elements and leaving the security of our homes to dwell in a Sukkah for seven days, we activate the attribute of chesed, which is the raison d’etre of rainfall.

To merit HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s chesed and kindness, the prerequisite is joy! When this chesed is then intermingled with gvura, the wisdom of the Torah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu showers us with blessing and abundance from above.

Eretz Yisrael is not like other countries in the world. We have no Nile to overflow its banks. We have no glaciers to melt and fill the rivers and streams. These phenomena are indigenous to countries with which HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not want a close relationship. In Eretz Yisrael, HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants a close relationship with us, He wants us to frequent the palace and constantly ask Him for sustenance. He wants to see our smiling faces, as often as possible!

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: There were no clothes or shoe stores in the Midbar. Where did Am Yisrael get their clothes from?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: How many prayers did Moshe pray asking HaKadosh Baruch Hu to allow him to enter Eretz Yisrael? 515, the gematria of Va’etchanan.