MAY 14 • 2020 | 29
W
hat kind of world
will exist “at the end
of the days,
” the peri-
od of the Messiah and human
redemption?
The opening of the
Torah portion harkens the
messianic dream, the goal
of human history. God
promises the Israelites
that if they maintain His
laws and commandments,
their physical needs will
be taken care of. “I will
cause evil beasts to cease
(v’
hishbati) from the land;
neither shall the sword go
through your land.
”
How are we to
understand “cause to
cease”? Rabbi Yehuda
defines v’
hishbati as God causing
these “evil beasts” to disappear
from the world, that God will
destroy them. However, Rabbi
Shimon interprets the word to
mean that God will cause their
evil nature to be destroyed.
How does Judaism deal with
the problem of evil in the world?
Is it an objective force which
must be destroyed, or can even
evil be uplifted and redeemed if
we perceive the positive essence
of every aspect of creation
and utilize it for good? Rabbi
Shimon truly believes that the
task of the individual is to sanc-
tify everything; he maintains vir-
tually everything can be brought
within the domain of the sacred.
On the other hand, Rabbi
Yehuda is not so optimistic
and recognizes evil. Hence he
emphasizes the biblical com-
mand “and you shall burn out
the evil from their midst.
”
The period between Passover
and Shavuot is the count of
days between the physical
and incomplete redemption
of the broken matzah and our
advancement to the spiritual,
all-embracing redemption of
the Torah we received at Sinai.
The cĥametz (leavening) is the
symbol of raw emotions
and physical instincts;
it “ceases to exist” by
destruction on Passover.
On Shavuot, however,
it will be sanctified. What
was evil seven weeks ago
has now been redeemed.
If anything, Shavuot is
a manifestation of the
redemption of evil, of our
vision of the possibility of
dedicating every aspect of
our existence to God.
Rabbi Yehuda insists
on a time when all that is
evil will be obliterated from the
Earth; Rabbi Shimon maintains
the fundamental nature of the
world will not change, wild ani-
mals will still roam the forests,
but their force and vigor will be
utilized positively.
Rabbi Yehuda sees the millen-
nium as devoid of Amalek, the
nation bent on the destruction
of Israel; our Bible commands
us to “destroy the memory of
Amalek.
” Perhaps Rabbi Shimon
would see the millennium as
being devoid of the memory of
the ancient Amalek, for Amalek
at that time will repent and con-
vert to Judaism.
Does our Talmud not record
that the grandchildren of
Haman (the Amalekite) taught
Torah in Bnei Brak? I pray for
the vision of Rabbi Shimon and
for the sanctification of every
aspect of our lives and our
nature.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of Ohr
Torah Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat,
Israel.
Parshat
Behar/
Bechukotai:
Leviticus
25:1-27:34;
Jeremiah
16:19-17:14.
Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin
Spirit
torah portion
A Brave New World?
Let Old Friends be your
Michigan-Florida Connection
Keyes Real Estate
Estate Property Sales from
Listing to Clean-Out!
BUY
•
SELL
•
I
NVEST
Throughout South Florida, Including Boca, Boynton,
Delray, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties
Nina Spinner-Sands
NinaSpinner-Sands@keyes.com
(954) 290-8293
Rita Morse
RitaMorse@keyes.com
(305) 609-7559
Get
The Detroit Jewish News
Delivered to Your Door!
thejewishnews.com/subscribe