The
Hidden Treasure Within You
Parshas
Chayei Sarah
Transcribed
and translated from previous recordings of
HaRav
Eliezer Berland Shlit”a
”Avraham bows to the people of the land and says, ‘Please give me the cave
which is at the end of Efron’s field, for full value I will purchase it, so
that I may bury my dead’. Efron answers ‘No, my Master, listen, may the field
be yours, and the cave which is in it, take it! Bury your dead!’ Avraham bows and
says, ‘please, take this money, so I may bury my dead there’…” (brieshis
23)
Effron
had a wondrous treasure in his backyard, Me'aras HaMachpela. He had Adam and
Chava whose dazzling light shone from one end of the world to the other. But to
him, Me'aras HaMachpela was just darkness and gloom, an utterly pitch black
darkness. Since Adam and Chava were buried in this cave, Hashem made sure that
the people would have a terrible fear of the cave, including all kinds of
illusions that it harbored demons and ghosts. People were full of dread at the
thought of even drawing near to the place. It was in such a remote spot on the
slope of a mountain that no one dared wanted to buy it, so clearly Effron knew
he was cheating Avraham Avinu when he sold him the cave.
Rebbe
Nosson explains, that the holiest place, the holiest tzaddik, anywhere there is
holiness, always seems like a place of darkness and gloom, surrounded by demons
and evil spirits. As it is written, “The holier a person is from his friend the more empty he seems.”
“Effron” has the gematria of 400 which is the same gematria as “evil eye,” the
opposite of a “good eye.” So, Effron saw only darkness and gloom in the Me'aras
HaMachpela, but David HaMelech had a good eye, about whom as it is written,
“beautiful eyes and lovely to see.” He saw only the light in each Jew, only the
good points in each Jew, the holy spark in each Jew. A person sees his own
light, but he doesn’t see the light of others, neither his friends or even at
home. Sometimes, a person sees the light of his wife, but she doesn’t see the
light of her husband. Or it could be the reverse: a woman sees the light of her
husband and he doesn’t see her light. But in truth, each person needs to see
the light of others, because it is very bad for a person to see the other’s
weaknesses, the other’s flaws. The essence of a bad eye is when a person can’t
stand seeing that his friend is succeeding better than him—that he feels that
he is better than his friend. A person is quick to notice that his friend
learns more than him or prays more than him. Why should he care if his friend
is praying better than he is or learning better than he is? Every single person
has a bad eye and no one is ready to accept that someone else is better than he
is. If a person was able to accept that someone was better than he is, he would
be able to live forever—he would be able to fix the entire world. A good eye is
something altogether different. If a person wouldn’t be jealous of others,
would love others, would be happy with the other person’s success, then he
would have the eyes of the true tzaddik, who has a completely good eye. This is
David HaMelech who has “beautiful eyes and is lovely to see,” who is completely
focused on the good, and doesn’t wish bad on anyone.
Each
person has countless treasures; he only needs to remove the earthliness that
covers them—to escape from the klippa of Effron, from the bad eye. In every
man, in every woman, in every Jewish soul there are unlimited treasures. The
Jewish soul is blazing and burning for Hashem--every Jewish soul wants to do
teshuva! Every Jew has a heart that is on fire for Hashem, a blazing heart that
could burn the whole world. Every Jew has a fiery flame inside, “The eternal
fire shall burn on the mizbeach; it shall not be extinguished.” Every single
Jew can bring the whole world back in teshuva, even the greatest sinner can
make teshuva, because to the extent that he can be bad, so too does he have the
power to be good—he has a greater soul.
This is what is related in the Midrash
about Yosi Misita who was a heretic. He denied everything and went and joined
the Romans. Whoever kept Shabbos, whoever gave his child a bris at that time
was crucified. He saw that the nation of Israel was lost, erased from the
earth, and he gave up and said, “Why do I need to be a Jew? I will be a Roman.” So he went along with them to burn the Beis
HaMikdash, threw torches with them, and before the Beis HaMikdash had finished
burning the Roman’s said to him, “Wait one minute! Who will go into the
sanctuary to get the menorah?” They told him to go in and take something. Everyone
knew that anyone who would go into the sanctuary would be burned. Whoever would
go into the Kodesh Kodoshim would be burned. Everyone was afraid to enter, so
they told him, “Whatever you bring out first is yours to keep.” Yosi Misita went in grabbed the golden
menorah and came out with it, and they said to him, “Give us that menorah! You
can’t take it—it’s too valuable. Take some goblet, some spoon, but not the
menorah!” At that moment his Jewish spark ignited—suddenly his spark was
awakened. The menorah lit his inner spark, and he saw that the menorah was
completely made up of light. So he held on to the menorah and said, “This
menorah you are not going to get. You are not going to get the menorah.” They
said to him, “What do you mean we’re not going to get the menorah? It’s not
yours! It’s the King’s! We need to bring Titus the menorah.” He told them, “You
will not get this menorah under any circumstances; I will die together with
it.” And then he was completely aflame, completely on fire for Hashem. “I am
returning to Judaism! I will start being a Jew.” Cut me into bits!” They said,
“OK,” and grabbed him and put him on a carpenter’s table which was used for
cutting wood and began cutting into him, chopping him up. The minute they began
cutting him up, he felt pleasure. Each time they sawed into him he felt such
pleasure—he was full of joy and exhilaration, and he said, “I take upon myself
all this suffering with love! Ribbono Shel Olam, it is good that they are
chopping me apart; it is good that they are cutting me. Forgive me for all my
sins! How did I join the Romans who killed millions of Jews? How can it be that
I didn’t realize that the nation of Israel is eternal? Baruch Hashem that they
are sawing into these rotten bones, these poisoned bones that led me astray.
They led me to where they led me, and Yosi Mesita is now a dedicated servant of
Hashem, completely happy while they are cutting me apart, and he is still
singing and doesn’t feel any pain—a servant singing, ‘my soul is sick with love
of You.’ They are chopping him apart and he is sick with love for Hashem. He
only feels Hashem—he feels nothing but Hashem.”
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