Posted on 08/24/23
One of the great rabbinic figures of pre-war Europe, who endured the tortures of the holocaust, yet survived to return to his hometown in Hungary after liberation, later relocating to Brooklyn, and eventually establishing his chassidus in Kiryat Ata in Israel, Rav Moshe Nosson Nota Lemberger of Makava, makes an interesting and timely observation.
In Ki Seitzei, the portion we read this week merely three weeks prior to Rosh Hashana, we conclude with the command to eradicate our chief enemy, Amalek. We are taught that the throne and name of Hashem are incomplete until this foe and its mission to deny the kingdom of G-d to reign in the world is defeated. With the sole goal of Rosh Hashana, the reaffirmation of G-d's monarchy in the world, restoring His dominion, it is no wonder, the great Rav says, we must confront our archenemy now.
The Torah ascribes our vulnerability to this enemy to our being עיף — tired, and exhausted.
Rashi directs us to this earlier encounter, as reported in Beshalach, when we left Egypt and were victims to their surprise attack, which was preceded by our thirsting for water and contending with Moshe over that lack. This is the 'tiredness' referred to here, thirsting for water. It was due to our impatience and frustration in lacking water, that led to our being exposed to Amalek's forces.
In what way is thirst for hydration related to tiredness?
Why do we tire? Why do some people seem to need more sleep than others? What is the antidote to this weariness?
Every morning many of us recite as part of the Morning Blessings, the blessing of הנותן ליעף כח — Who gives to the weary strength.
This blessing does not appear in the edition of Talmud we possess. It was introduced perhaps by the Geonim, to be recited along with the other blessings. There are some siddurim, the Yemenite version primarily, that omits it.
It seems to have been introduced at a time in Jewish history when, as the Aruch HaShulchan terms it, we became עייפי הזמן — overtired from travail and suffering.
The illustrious Jewish leader, Rav A.Y. Hakohen Kook explains the science of fatigue.
We are all invested with a vigorous and everlasting soul. It is implanted within a physical container which is our physical body. The friction that is created between the body and its physical wants, and the soul with its elevated goals, creates weakness. Despite our failure to enmesh seamlessly our physical needs with our spiritual quests, G-d invests us with renewed vigor each morning. Those whose physical desires are directed purely in the quest of connection to our divine soul will restore their strength more quickly.(עולת ראיה)
Thirst for water symbolizes our mindless reflex to fulfill our 'needs'. Amalek denies this enmeshment principle, as evidenced in their infamous grandfather, Esav, returning from a 'day at the races', engaging in soulless and sinful activities, where he is depicted as עיף — exhausted, worn out from the friction of the opposing forces within him — the lifeforce that seeks the divine and the carnal pull towards indulgent ingratiation.
The Rambam records that a prerequisite for the eradication of Amalek is the appointment of a king from the Davidic dynasty.
King David calls out to G-d, Thirsts for you does my soul, longs for You does my flesh; in a land parched and weary with no water. (תהלים סג ב)
When we integrate our flesh to our souls longing, we can defeat Amalek.
A king is one who embeds his Torah directed strivings into his very physical being.
The Holy Bas Ayin explains that is the meaning of the verse that instructs a king to write a Torah for himself, …והיתה עמו —It shall be with him, וקרא בו —and he shall read from it.
The first reference of והיתה — and it shall be, is appropriately written in the female gender, referring to the Torah which is always feminine, but when describing his reading from it, it utilizes בו — in 'him', rather than בה — in 'her'.
It is the implanting the Torah he reads from within his very nature, in 'him', that the Torah defines as a true king — one whose every action, physical or otherwise thirsts for Hashem!(שופטים)
We blow the Shofar the entire Elul, as the Rambam writes, to wake us up from our slumber. Not simply to get us out of bed to shul, but to shake off our selfish material needs, that tire us endlessly. We must fine tune our attention to that divine spirit that guides us towards the heavens, transforming very our physical essence.
Perhaps just as the Shofar coronates our King, on the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana, so too it summons the kingliness that resides within us.
G-d grants us the strength each day to ward off our 'overtiredness'.
May we awaken from our distractions and hearken to the soul within us that summons us to nobility, that will no doubt shed the fatigue of chasing our tails endlessly!
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן