Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Parshas Lech Lecha and Elections

Once the Mabit, zt”l, was asked a difficult question: “Rebbi, everyone knows the famous story of Choni HaMe'ageil. When we desperately needed rain he drew a circle around himself and swore that he wouldn’t step foot out of it until rain fell.
But why did Choni HaMe’ageil make a circle in particular? And why is this fact considered significant enough to be recorded for posterity in the Mishna? Couldn’t it have simply stated that he refused to leave his place until rain fell?"
The Mabit explained: “There is a very deep message hidden within the circle of Choni HaMe’ageil. The sages taught that the world is round. For this reason, a circle alludes to the natural world or the natural order of things. Choni made a circle around himself to show that if Hashem would not help His children by sending rain, this would imply that we are subject to the natural order of things, to the cycle of nature. This is a tremendous desecration of Hashem’s Name, because we are His chosen people who have been uplifted to higher things. This is why Choni said that he would only leave the circle when the rain came. It was his way of showing that we are actually above the circular cycle of nature when there are tzaddikim among us. When such lofty people are in our midst, all natural cosmological and astronomical influences are suspended for the Jewish people. This is the meaning of Hashem taking Avraham Avinu out of the stratosphere of the world to gaze at the stars. This was meant to show him that Hashem had raised him far above the influence of the stars and the order of nature. And it was this that would allow him to have children, because by nature, Avraham was physically unable to bear children.
The Mabit concluded: “The verse says that Hashem took Avram outside, above the natural order of things, and said, ‘That is how your descendants will be.’ (Bereishis 15:5) When will your descendants merit to transcend the circular cycle of natural influence? When they are truly ‘your descendents’—when they are righteous like you!”

1 comment:

Neil Harris said...

Amazing. Thanks for posting.