6. Shoftim Mind over Matter Isn’t Just a Slogan Controlling and Directing Our Feelings with Laser Precision

Dedicated in loving memory of Mr. Sami Rohr, ,ר’ שמואל ב”ר יהושע אליהו ז”ל marking his yahrtzeit, 17 Av.

May the merit of the study worldwide accompany his soul in the world of everlasting life and be a source of blessings to his family with much health, happiness, nachat, and success. [ 92 ]

PARSHA OVERVIEW Shoftim

Moses instructs the Shoftim also includes people of Israel to appoint the prohibitions against judges and law enforce- idolatry and sorcery, laws ment officers in every city. governing the appointment “Justice, justice shall you and behavior of a king, and pursue,” he commands guidelines for the creation them, and they must admin- of “cities of refuge” for the ister it without corruption inadvertent murderer. Also or favoritism. Crimes must set forth are many of the be meticulously investigat- rules of war: the exemption ed and evidence thorough- from battle for one who has ly examined—a minimum just built a home, planted of two credible witnesses a vineyard, married, or is is required for conviction “afraid and soft-hearted”; and punishment. the requirement to of- fer terms of peace before In every generation, says attacking a city; and the Moses, there will be those prohibition against wanton entrusted with the task destruction of something of interpreting and apply- of value, exemplified by ing the laws of the Torah. the law that forbids cutting “According to the law that down a fruit tree when lay- they will teach you, and the ing siege. (In this context judgment they will instruct the Torah makes the fa- you, you shall do; you shall mous statement, “For man not turn away from the is a tree of the field.”) thing that they say to you, to the right nor to the left.”

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The parsha concludes with underscores the responsi- the law of the eglah aru- bility of the community and fah—the special procedure its leaders not only for what to be followed when a per- they do, but also for what son is killed by an unknown they might have prevented murderer and his body is from being done. found in a field—which

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I. INTRODUCTION Mind Control

TEXT 1 DEVARIM (DEUTERONOMY) 20:1

ּכִ י תֵ צֵ א לַמִ ְלחָמָ ה עַ ל ְאֹיבֶ ָך ְורָאִ יתָ סּוס וָרֶ כֶ ב עַ ם רַ ב מִ ְמָך, ֹלא תִ ירָ א מֵהֶ ם,ּכִ י ה' אֱ ֹלקֶ יָך עִמְָך הַמַעַ ְלָך מֵאֶרֶץ מִ ְצרָ יִם:

When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horses and chariots, a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for the L-rd, your G-d, is with you, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

TEXT 2 IBID. 20:2–4

ְוהָ יָה ְּכקָרָ ְבכֶם אֶל הַמִ ְלחָמָ ה, ְונִגַ ׁש הַ ּכֹהֵ ן ְודִּבֶר אֶל הָעָ ם: ְואָמַר אֲלֵהֶם, ְשׁמַע ְיִשׂרָאֵל! אַּתֶם ְקרֵבִים הַיֹום ְלַמִלחָמָה עַל ְאֹיבֵ יכֶ ם, לאַ יֵרַ ְך ְלבַ ְבכֶ ם, לאַ ּתִ ְיראּו ְו לאַ ּתַ ְח ְּפזּו ְו לאַ ּתַ עַ ְרצּו מִ ְּפנֵ יהֶ ם: ּכִיה' אֱֹלקֵיכֶם הַהֹלְֵך עִמָכֶם, ְלהִלָחֵם לָכֶם עִם ְאֹיבֵיכֶם, ְל ה ֹו שִ ׁ י עַ אֶ ְת ֶ כ ם :

And it will be, when you approach the battle, that the priest shall come near and speak to the people. And he shall say to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are ap- proaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint, you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them.

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“For the L-rd, your G-d, is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

. . . And That’s an Order

TEXT 3 , SEFER HAMITZVOT, NEGATIVE COMMANDMENTS §58

Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon שהזהירנו מלירא מהאויבים בעת המלחמה ושלא נברח מפניהם, (Maimonides, Rambam) 1204–1135 אבל חובה עלינו להתגבר ולעמוד ולחזק כנגד העם האחר, וכל מי שיסוג אחור ויברח כבר עבר על לא תעשה. והוא אמרו יתעלה: Halachist, philosopher, author, and physician. Maimonides ״לא תערוץ מפניהם״, ונכפלה זאת האזהרה ואמר: ״לא תיראום״, was born in Córdoba, Spain. After the conquest of Córdoba ונכפל הציווי בזה הענין גם כן, שלא יברחו ושלא ישובו אחור by the Almohads, he fled בעת המלחמה, כי בענין זה אפשר לקיים אמונת האמת. ונתבארו Spain and eventually settled in Cairo, Egypt. There, he משפטי מצוה זו בשמיני מסוטה. became the leader of the Jewish community and served as court physician to the vizier We have been warned against fearing the enemy in war, of Egypt. He is most noted and not to flee from them. Rather, it is incumbent upon for authoring the , an encyclopedic us to overcome, to stand and be strong against the other arrangement of Jewish law; and for his philosophical nation. Anyone who retreats and flees transgresses a nega- work, Guide for the Perplexed. His rulings on Jewish law are tive commandment. integral to the formation of halachic consensus. Thus, the Supernal One has said, “You shall not be terrified because of them,” thereby repeating the warning that “You shall not be afraid.” The commandment is repeated to also imply that they should not flee or escape from battle, for only this way can the true faith be preserved. The laws of this are explicated in the eighth chapter of Trac- tate Sotah.

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TEXT 4 DEVARIM (DEUTERONOMY) 30:10–14

ּכִ י תִ ְש עׁמַ ְ קֹולּב ה' אֱ ֹלקֶ יָך, ְלִשׁמֹר מִ ְצוֹתָ יו ְוחֻ קֹתָ יו הַ ְּכ התּובָ ְּבסֵפֶ ר הַּתֹורָה הַזֶ ה, ּכִיתָ ׁשּובאֶ ל ה' אֱ ֹלקֶ יָך ְּבכָ ל ְלבָ ְ ָךב ְּובכָל ְנַפשֶ ָׁך: ּכִ י הַמִ ְצוָה הַ זֹאת אֲשֶ ׁר אָ נֹכִ י ְמצַ ּוְָך הַ יֹום, ֹלא ְנִפלֵאת הִ יא מִ ְמָך ְוֹלא ְ ר ֹח קָ ה הִ י א : ֹלא בַשָ ׁמַ םיִ הִ יא לֵ אמֹר, ימִ יַעֲ הלֶ לָ נּו הַשָ ׁמַ ְימָ ה ְויִקָ חֶהָ לָ נּו, ְויַ ְשׁמִ עֵ נּו אֹ תָ ּה ְו ַ נ עֲ שֶ ׂ ָ נ ה : ְוֹלא רמֵעֵבֶ לַיָם הִ יא לֵאמֹר, ימִ ריַעֲבָ לָנּו אֶ ל עֵבֶ ר הַיָם ְו יִקָחֶהָ לָנּו, ְויַ ְ ׁמִ שעֵ נּו אֹתָ ּה ְונַ עֲ שֶ ׂנָ ה: ּכִי קָ רֹוב אֵ לֶיָך הַדָבָ ר ְמאֹד, ְ פִ ּביָך ּובִ ְלבָ ְ ָךב לַעֲ שֹוׂתֹו:

When you obey the L-rd, your G-d, to observe His com- mandments and His statutes written in this Torah scroll, [and] when you return to the L-rd, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command you this day is not concealed from you, nor is it far away. It is not in Heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to Heaven for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?” Rather, [this] thing is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can fulfill it.

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II. ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR An Impossible Ask?

TEXT 5 VAYIKRA (LEVITICUS) 19:18

ֹלא תִ קֹם ְוֹלא תִ טֹר תאֶ ְּבנֵי עַמֶ ָך, ְואָהַ ְבּתָ ְרֵ ל עֲָךּכָ מֹוָך, אֲ נִי ה':

You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am G-d.

Lowering Expectations

TEXT 6 , PIRUSH HARAMBAN, VAYIKRA (LEVITICUS) 19:17 Moshe ben Nachman ,Nachmanides) וטעם ״ואהבת לרעך כמוך״ הפלגה, כי לא יקבל לב האדם שיאהוב Ramban) 1270–1194 את חבירו כאהבתו את נפשו, ועוד שכבר בא רבי עקיבא ולמד

,Scholar, philosopher, author ״חייך קודמין לחיי חבירך״. and physician. Nachmanides was born in Spain and served The phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself” is an exag- as leader of Iberian Jewry. In 1263, he was summoned by geration, since the heart of a person will not accept that King James of Aragon to a public disputation with Pablo he loves his fellow as he loves himself. Moreover, Rabbi Cristiani, a Jewish apostate. Though Nachmanides was the Akiva has already taught, “Your life comes before the life of clear victor of the debate, he your fellow.” had to flee Spain because of the resulting persecution. He moved to Israel and helped reestablish communal life in Jerusalem. He authored a classic commentary on the Pentateuch and a commentary on the .

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TEXT 7 RABBI YAAKOV TZVI MECKLENBURG, HAKETAV VEHAKABBALAH, VAYIKRA (LEVITICUS) 19:18 Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg 1865–1785 נתקשו המפרשים על זה הפסוק, איך תצוה התורה דבר שהוא German rabbi and biblical נגד הטבע ואין האדם יכול לקיימו? exegete. Rabbi Yaakov served as rabbi in Königsberg, East ולברוח מן המצר הזה ברחו ונפלו בדחוקים עמוקים, כי יש Prussia. In 1839, he published Haketav Vehakabbalah, an אומרים כי ״כמוך״ על דרך הפלגה וגוזמא, ויש אומרים כי ״כמוך״ important commentary that בהנאה, בדבר שאתה מקבל הנאה תתן לו, אם אתה אוהב סוס — often demonstrates the indivisibility of the Written תן לו, וכדומה לזה. Torah and the . ובאמת אין אנו צריכים אל הדחוקים האלו, כי לא קשה מילת ״כמוך״ כלל, כי בזה תבאר לנו התורה כוונתה שתצוה על דבר שהוא דרך הטבע, ושכל אדם יוכל לקיימה, לא על דבר שהוא נגד הטבע ושאין אדם יוכל לקיימה. אמנם לפי זה, המכוון במילת ״כמוך״ — כמו אתה )ווי דו(.

The commentators have had difficulty with this verse, for how can the Torah command something that is contrary to nature and which no human can fulfill? To escape this quandary, they have fled and fallen into deeply contrived [answers]; some have said that “as your- self” is meant as hyperbole and exaggeration; some have said that it means “as you yourself” benefit, that is, when you derive benefit from something, you should share with your neighbor, so if you love horses, [for example,] you should give one to him. In truth, however, there is no need for these exertions. The words “as yourself” are not problematic at all; with this expression, the Torah is simply clarifying its intention, so as to say that it is only commanding that which is in ac- cordance with nature, and which everyone can fulfill, and not something that contravenes nature and which nobody can fulfill.

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TEXT 8 RABBI YAAKOV TZVI MECKLENBURG, IBID.

״ואהבת לרעך כמוך״. רצה לומר, כל אופני הטוב והחסד שאדם מסכים בדעתו וגומר בליבו שראוי לו לקבל מאהובו — יעשה לרעהו, שהוא כל אדם. והוא: ראובן רוצה משמעון אהובו שיתנהג עמו כאוהב נאמן בכל הדברים, וחושב בליבו אלה הדברים והאופנים שראוי לו לשמעון להתנהג עמו . . . והנה כל האופנים במספרם כמשפטם אשר יחפץ לבב ראובן שיעשה לו שמעון אוהבו, אותן בעצמן צריך שיעשה.

“Love your neighbor as yourself”: That means to say, every sort of favor and kindness he has assumed and decided that he deserves from his friend, he ought to pay his neigh- bor—which is every person. That is, if Reuven wants his friend Shimon to act as a loyal friend in every way, and he thinks in his heart about the various things or ways that he expects Shimon to do for him or act toward him . . . and all of these ways that Reuven wishes for his friend Shimon to treat him, he himself must do for Shimon.

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III. GETTING IN THE MOOD Mind over Matter

TEXT 9 RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL OF LUBAVITCH, IGROT KODESH, TZEMACH TZEDEK, P. 20 Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (Tzemach Tzedek) אך הענין, דיש לכל אדם ג' לבושי הנפש: מחשבה דיבור ומעשה, 1866–1789 והם עיקר בהנהגת האדם, ובהם הבחירה ורשות נתונה לחשוב Chasidic rebbe and noted ולדבר ולעשות כרצונו במוחו. ואף אם מפחד בליבו, יוכל לסלק author. The Tzemach Tzedek was the third leader of the המחשבה דיבור ומעשה, והעיקר שלא לחשוב ולדבר מזה Chasidic movement and a noted authority on כלל אלא לצד ההיפוך כנזכר לעיל, כמו שכתוב בלקוטי אמרים Jewish law. His numerous פרק י"ד. works include halachic ,responsa, Chasidic discourses ועל זה נצטוינו "אל ירך כו'", כלומר לא תחשבו בענין הפחד. וכן and kabbalistic writings. Active in the communal פסק הרמב"ם פ"]ז[ מהלכות מלכים "וכל המבהיל עצמו ומחשב affairs of Russian Jewry, he worked to alleviate the plight מחשבות כו' עובר בלא תעשה". ומיד שלא יחשוב בזה כלל — of the cantonists, Jewish ממילא יתבטל גם הפחד שבלב. ועל כל פנים, מיד יהיה הפחד children kidnapped to serve in the Czar’s army. He passed כאילו הוא ישן ואינו נרגש בגוף, ובמשך ימים אחדים יתבטל away in Lubavitch, leaving לגמרי, עד שלא יפול במוחו כלל אפילו דרך מחשבה זרה, וזהו 7 sons and 2 daughters. ״אל ירך לבבכם״.

Every person has three “soul-garments,” which are the fac- ulties of thought, speech, and action. They are the primary factors in a person’s conduct, and in each of them we have free will and the power to think, to speak, and to act as the mind wills. Even if there is fear in one’s heart, it is possible to remove it through thought, speech, and action; the key is to not think or speak about it at all, but to do the opposite, as it is written in Likutei Amarim [Tanya], chapter 14.

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Thus we have been commanded, “Do not be afraid,” which means to not think about the fear. The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and Wars, chapter 7, has ruled accordingly that “Anyone who frightens himself and thinks thoughts of [fear] . . . transgresses a negative commandment.” As soon as one completely desists from said thoughts, the fear in their heart will automatically dissipate. Or, at the very least, that fear will immediately become as if dormant and imperceptible to the body, and then after a few days it will dissipate completely so that it won’t enter one’s mind at all, even as an intrusive thought. This is [the meaning of the commandment] “Do not let your hearts be afraid.”

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TEXT 10 RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL OF LUBAVITCH, IBID.

והטעם לזה שעל ידי סילוק המחשבה יתבטל הפחד, הוא לפי שכל המידות קיומן מהדעת, שהוא הנקרא ״מפתחא דכליל שית״, והתלבשות הדעת במידות הוא על ידי אמצעות המחשבה, ולכן על ידי סילוק המחשבה הרי זה ממילא היסח הדעת מהמידה, ואז אין המידה מתעוררת והיה כלא היה.

When one withdraws thought from something, the fear subsides. The reason for this is because the intellectual and emotional attributes are sustained by daat [focus/at- tention], which is called [by the Zohar, in reference to its role in directing the six primary emotional attributes] “the key that contains six,” and it is only through the medium of thought that daat is able to invest itself in the midot [emotional attributes]. Therefore, by withdrawing one’s thought, daat is removed from the emotional attribute in question, and then the emotional attribute is deactivated, as if it never was.

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TEXT 11 RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL OF LUBAVITCH, IBID., P. 21

אך עיקר היסח הדעת והמחשבה הוא על ידי שישמור מחשבתו להלבישה בענינים אחרים, דהיינו אפילו בענינים דהאי עלמא הנצרכים ומשמחים, ובתורת ה' המשמחים לב דבר יום ביום, בקביעות עיתים לתורה, ובפרט עם עוד אחד.

In the main, the diversion of daat and of one’s thought is achieved by guarding one’s thoughts and by investing them elsewhere. This can even be in worldly matters, if they are pressing or positive, and in G-d’s Torah, which gladdens the heart each and every day, by setting fixed times for , especially when together with another study partner.

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The Body Below

TEXT 12 RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL OF LUBAVITCH, IBID.

וגם עוד זאת, שלא לדבר בעניני דמרה שחורה חס ושלום, רק אדרבה להראות בעצמו תמיד תנועות משמחות, כאלו הוא מלא שמחה בליבו, אף על פי שאין בליבו כן בשעת מעשה, וסופו להיות כן. והטעם בזה הוא, כי לפי המעשים והפעולות אשר האדם עושה נקבע אחר כך בלבבו, וכמו שכתב הרמב"ם וזה לשונו: "יעשה וישנה וישלש במעשיו שעשה על פי הדעת כו', ויוקבעו המידות בנפשו", עד כאן לשונו.

What’s more, a person ought to be very careful not to speak of any melancholy matters. To the contrary, one ought to exhibit joyous mannerisms, as though his heart was filled with happiness; even if at the time his heart is not, it even- tually will be. The reason for this is that the deeds and the activities a person performs subsequently become fixed in his heart, as the Rambam writes, “He should perform—once, a second time, then a third—the actions he does because they are reasonable . . . and then those attributes will be affixed in his heart.”

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Rational Love

TEXT 13 RABBI YOSEF YITZCHAK SCHNEERSOHN, SICHAH, SECOND DAY OF SHAVUOT 5705, KOVETZ LUBAVITCH 8, P. 35 Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Rayatz, Frierdiker) אהבת ישראל איז דאך על פי תורה, דער בעל שם טוב האט (Rebbe, Previous Rebbe אויפגעאטאן אין אהבת ישראל, דער "פארוואס" מען דארף 1880–1950 ליב האבן א אידן. און בכל אחד ואחד מישראל איז פאראן דער Chasidic rebbe, prolific writer, and Jewish activist. Rabbi "פארוואס" מען דארף אים האלט האבן . . . Yosef Yitzchak, the sixth leader ,of the Chabad movement דער בעל שם טוב האט אויפגעאטאן צו זעהן די מעלות פון actively promoted Jewish religious practice in Soviet יענעם, און אויב זעהט ניט די מעלות, איז ניט דער חסרון מצד Russia and was arrested יענעם נאר מצד דעם רואה, וואס ער זעהט ניט יענעם'ס מעלות. for these activities. After his release from prison and exile, he settled in Warsaw, To love one’s fellow Jew is a biblical command. The Baal Poland, from where he fled Nazi occupation and arrived in Shem Tov worked, with regard to ahavat Yisrael, to demon- New York in 1940. Settling in strate the “why” of loving another Jew. For every Jew there Brooklyn, Rabbi Schneersohn worked to revitalize American is a “why” we must love them. . . . Jewish life. His son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel The Baal Shem Tov’s accomplishment was to put on view Schneerson, succeeded him as the leader of the the positive qualities in the other person. If a person does Chabad movement. not see any positive qualities, the deficiency lies not with the other fellow, but with the viewer—he does not see the other person’s positive qualities.

LESSON 6 / Mind over Matter Isn’t Just a Slogan