There is a wonderful Torah in the Kedushas Levi by Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev on this week's Parsha (Torah portion). The first time I saw it several years ago, my head almost exploded.
It's a lengthy piece worth seeing inside, and since I don't want to ruin it by putting it into my own words, I'll only summarize the main idea:
There are two types of Tzaddikim (righteous men): there is the one who goes about his own business, keeping to himself and working on his own issues. He doesn't try and use his influence to convince others to grow and repent. The second type is one who involves himself with his surroundings, getting to know others, striving not only to correct himself but to elevate, encourage, and bring along his community.
The archetypes of these two different paths of righteousness are Noach and Avraham, respectively.
The preferred method is the latter - Avraham's way.
The way represented by Noach is insufficient to the extent that Noach had to be reincarnated as Moshe Rabbeinu - the ultimate leader, constantly busy with his flock - in order to make a Tikkun.
I know that there are several earlier commentaries that express this idea or something similar to it, but take a look at the Kedushas Levi (it's at the bottom of the page)!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment