On returning (lost objects) and Returning (to Hashem)
in Parashat Ki Tavo
Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad (1838-1908), the Ben Ish Hai, is a midrashic virtuoso. The sheer diversity of interpretational methods he uses, and the fascinating connections he draws between the worlds of Torah, agadda, kabbalah and halacha can be staggering.
At times, the significance of the kabbalistic interpretations he offers is hard to grasp without a great deal of background knowledge. More often than not, however — and this is perhaps Rabbi Yosef Haim’s true greatness — he succeeds in giving very mundane halachot (religious laws) an additional meaning that is completely approachable by all. The Ben Ish Hai on this week’s parasha supplies a beautiful example.
“The Lord will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom — if only you obey and faithfully observe the commandments [of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day]” (Deut. 28:13).
The simple meaning of this verse takes us back to themes of political hierarchy that appear elsewhere in this week’s parasha: fulfilling ‘our side of the deal’ will lead Hashem to fulfill his promise and make the people of Israel leaders (or perhaps rulers) of other nations. Rabbi Yosef Haim, however, does not go in this direction at all. Instead, he concentrates on the transformation that takes place in people when they act as they should.
The Ben Ish Chai starts out with the kabbalistic view of the soul as something hewn from a place in heaven that is even higher than where the angels live. Accordingly, a person that has sinned is like an object that has fallen from heaven and is lost. When an object is lost, the person closest to it must return it to its rightful owners, its rightful place. And when a person is lost — a soul hewn from a place high in heaven — Hashem, as the one that is closest to it , must ‘return’ it. This, according to Rabbi Yosef Haim, is very lucky – since Hashem’s way of ‘returning’ is full of compassion. Hashem does not say “the soul that has sinned shall die!” He does not want the “death of the dead”, i.e. the sinner, “but rather that he return from his wicked ways and live!”
People’s “life”, the possibility of repenting, is then dependent on the commandment of returning a lost object. Resisting the temptation of saying “finders keepers, losers weepers” is not just the fulfillment of a mundane commandment. Nor is it even a parable for the divine acceptance of those who have sinned. It is an enactment of the very same divine compassion that allows Hashem to fulfill the commandment of returning a lost soul to its place. The simple act of returning someone’s lost belongings is an expression of the possibility of mending the world. It can give us the encouragement and strength not only to impact things around us, but to do something that is much harder… –to allow Hashem to “return” us. In other words: to change ourselves.
This — according to Rabbi Yosef Haim – is the explanation of: ” if only you obey and faithfully observe the commandments”, “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom”.
If you’re wondering how this verse has anything to do with returning anything lost — whether an object or a soul — and if you have enough energy, feel free to read on and see a nice example of Rabbi Yosef Haim’s midrashic virtuosity.
OYM
