Ours won! Ours
won!
Pinchas Leiser
During the Sukkot festival, we are commanded to take the
Four Species. It would seem that the
minimalist halakhah requires us merely to take up the etrog, lulav,
myrtle and willow branches and recite the appropriate blessing. However, already in the Mishnah (Sukkah 3:9)
we find mention of the practice of shaking them. The Gemara (Sukka 37b) explains the manner in
which they should be waved, citing, inter alia, the words of R. Hama bar
Ukba:
In the West [i.e., the Land of
Israel] they learned thusly: R. Hama bar Ukba said in the name of R. Yossi son
of R. Hanina: [One shakes it] back and forth – in order to stop foul winds,
up and down – in order to stop foul dew.
In the “studies”
section of his commentary, R. Adin Steinsaltz brings an idea in the name of the
Jerusalem Talmud: Why is it shaken? In order to shake the power of the accuser.
That is to say: we
shake the Four Species in order to overcome certain forces of nature and other
forces that could hurt us.
The struggle between
those evil forces which might harm us and the possibility of overcoming them is
also described in the following midrashic tale:
Abba Yosi of Tzitor would always sit and study by a certain spring. A spirit that was found there revealed itself
before him and told him: Do you not know that I sit in your company these many
years and have never done you evil, great or small? Your wives also come here each morning and
evening to draw water and they are unharmed, but now you should know that there
is an evil spirit [here] which harms people.
Abba Yossi asked the spirit: What shall we do?
The spirit told him: Go warn the townspeople and tell them: Anyone who
has a hoe or a rake should come here tomorrow “when the day grows,” they should
look at the surface of the water and when they see a whirl in it they should
strike it with an iron tool and say: Ours won! Ours won! They
should not leave until they see a drop of blood on the surface of the
water. So did Abba Yossi. (Vayikra Rabba 24:3)
Can the concepts
appearing in this midrash involving evil spirits and the possibility of gaining
victory over evil spirits in the manner described in the story speak to modern
people? Can we connect them to the
custom of shaking the Four Species and find in them significance for Jews of
our generation?
Modern people are
also sometimes threatened by various and sundry threats. Sometimes the physical
survival of the individual and the security of the public, the community or the
nation face a real threat.
It seems that there
exist many strategies for judging the balance of power, gathering needed
intelligence, and choosing the most effective means for the neutralization and
achievement of “victory” over real threats.
For instance, a strategic assessment can consider the chances of beating
the enemy in battle, the cost to be paid for victory, and first and foremost it
must define the meaning of “victory” in the particular case, i.e., to determine
what is to be gained by battle and what are the chances of its achievement.
Similarly, it may
happen that when all options are considered, intelligence and strategic
assessment will lead to the conclusion that military action has no advantage
over other means (negotiations, mediation, and international pressure) for the
removal or mitigation of the threat.
It should be
supposed and hoped for that if the events of the recent war are investigated
seriously by an independent body, we will know to what extent those in charge
assessed the threat accurately, clearly defined the goals of realistic
“victory,” considered all available options, and chose the best and most effective
course of action to achieve their defined goals. In light of the calls for the establishment
of a state commission of inquiry, it may be assumed that much of the public
feels that the conduct of the war was flawed.
Beyond the real and present danger, one sometimes feels threatened by a
demonic force which floods him with potentially paralyzing fear. In contrast to the actual threat, here the
source of the danger is undefined, making it impossible to develop a rational
strategy for vanquishing the threat based on the assessment of information.
In the midrash
quoted above, Abba Yossi of Tzitor asks the “good
spirit” what should be done in order to overcome the “bad spirit” that might
hurt the townspeople. The good spirit
suggests something that sounds like a magical rite. However, the story can bear a different
reading.
Abba Yossi of Tzitor
sat by the spring and studied. It is not
surprising that he was connected to the “good spirit.” A person who studies is in touch with the positive
and constructive parts of his soul; through study and observation of the spring
he can find the way to overcome his destructive elements, his “evil
spirits.” The “weapons” needed for doing
battle against the evil spirit are not really instruments of war; it seems that
the cry “Our’s won!” is what decided the outcome of the struggle. Here we have an inner conflict with the
forces of evil that can overcome a person or a society. Such evil elements can be beaten by
emphasizing the good, by cultivating faith in the ability of the good to gain
victory over evil, and by struggling for that faith.
I think that Agnon’s
story “From Foe to Friend” suggests an interesting way to conduct this
struggle.
In the beginning of
the story, the author finds himself in a desperate conflict with a wind [ruah
– which also means spirit]. He tries
various means to deal with it, but “I saw that I cannot conduct a discussion
with someone stronger than me, so I left.” Thus, the story continues with an endless and
Sisyphean struggle against the wind that has been designated as his enemy. Finally
I took some strong boards and beams and large stones and plaster and
cement, and I hired good workers and oversaw them day and night. My wisdom endured, and I deepened the
foundations. The house was built.
When the house was standing, the wind came and knocked on the shutters.
I asked: “Who is knocking on my window?”
It calmed and said: “A neighbor.”
I said to it: “What does one neighbor ask another on such a stormy night?”
He laughed and said: “A neighbor comes to congratulate his neighbor on
his new house.”
I said to him: “Is it his custom to enter through windows like a
thief? Come, knock on my door.”
The wind said: “I am your neighbor.”
I said: “You are my neighbor, come inside.”
He said: “But the door is locked.”
I said to him: “The door is locked; it seems I locked it.”
The wind answered, saying: “Open up.”
I said: “I am afraid of the cold, wait until the sun comes out and I
shall open it for you…”
I took a hoe and tilled the earth…not many days passed before the
seedlings I had planted became trees with branches. I made a bench for myself and sat in their
shade.
One night the wind came and hurled itself against the trees.
The trees hurled themselves against the wind.
The wind became dispirited, he turned and left.
From then on, he brings a nice fragrance from the mountains and from the
valleys… and I love him with a complete love. It is even possible that he loves
me as well.
This story contains an echo of the definition of the valiant
in Avot De’Rabbi Natan (chapter 23):
Who is the most valiant among
the valiant? He who makes his enemy love him.
I think that while shaking the Four Species this year, we
should reflect upon the deeper meaning of the difficult internal battle which
can help us overcome the evil spirit of hatred, bigotry, and aggressiveness
which can gain control of us. We should
change “a foe into a friend” and then we shall be able to announce
whole-heartedly and with great conviction: “Our’s has won” – our original faith
and values have won.
Pinchas Leiser, the editor
of Shabbat Shalom, is a psychologist
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