Who Needs a Blessing?

Translated from Rabbi Arush’s feature article in the weekly Chut shel Chessed newsletter. The articles focus on his main message: “Loving others as yourself”. 

What did the Baba Sali want? 

The home of the tzaddik, Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, known as the Sidna Baba Sali, of blessed memory, was like a magnet – it drew thousands of people to it.   

The rabbi would welcome them all and bless all of them generously and with love. And “his words would bear fruit”, as is known; the miracle stories that his blessings produced are endless. 

And with all that, his son-in-law, Rabbi Yehudayoff zt”l, once heard the Baba Sali speak very sharply, with great displeasure. It sounded like this holy man was disturbed by the many people who clamored to see him. Rabbi Yehudayoff explained what was bothering the tzaddik: 

The Baba Sali was pained by the fact that all those who came to him were asking only for their material needs: good health, sustenance, wealth, success, finding their match, having children. The Rabbi did indeed bless everyone, but it pained him that Jews were not living their purpose, that they were not very interested in asking for true, eternal, spiritual salvations: a blessing for complete teshuva (repentance), for fear of Heaven, for being diligent Torah learners, for a release from bad desires and traits, for keeping one’s eyes pure. 

It was important to Rabbi Yehudayoff to emphasize this at various opportunities, to show us that emunat chachamim (believing in the sages) consists not only of traveling a long way to see the tzaddikim, and not only of believing in the tzaddik’s blessing, and of believing that it can bring salvations; rather, true emunat chachamim is to think in depth how the tzaddik reached his high level, and to try to understand the source and the foundation of the tzaddik’s ability to bring salvation, and to try with all our strength to walk in his holy ways, which are: a real connection to the Creator of the World, complete faith, fear of Heaven, attaching oneself to Torah, observing halacha meticulously, kedushat habrit (personal holiness), much prayer, love of Jews, tzedakah and chessed and providing spiritual benefits to the many. 

To come to the tzaddik and ask only for material needs – that is like a pauper coming to a very wealthy person, and instead of asking the wealthy person to teach him how to get rich, to teach him the secret of his success – he just begs for a few coins. How pathetic. 

Perfect Conditions to Ruin the World? 

The Torah demonstrates this important idea in the story of the struggle between Esav and Yaakov over the blessings.  

Esav was seemingly a role model when it came to serving a sage and cleaving to a tzaddik. He believed wholeheartedly in Yitzchak’s blessing and that is why he was willing to exert himself. 

When Esav discovered he had lost the blessing, he cried out “an exceedingly great and bitter cry,” the greatest cry in the written Torah. This certainly shows Esav’s great faith in Yitzchak, his father, and it shows how much it really hurt him to lose the blessings. In addition, he was very devoted to Yitzchak and honored him on the highest level, so much so that even great tzaddikim of future generations were jealous of it and praised the honor he gave his parents. 

Even so, Rivka could see the falsehood in Esav’s behavior. She understood that his goal was to live a material life, and be successful in it, and to continue to do what he pleased. He was not searching for the inner intellect and da’at of Yitzchak, and was not really trying to walk in Yitzchak’s ways and improve his behavior. 

He honored Yitzchak greatly, but it was all external. He did not really respect Yitzchak’s way; rather, he continued doing his bad deeds and his wickedness only increased.  

Esav’s desire for the blessings is like a son who asks his father to buy him a tractor. The father asks him: “What do you need a tractor for?” and the son replies, “To wreck your house.” 

Esav’s behavior ruins the world, the creation. When Esav wanted a blessing without having any wish to change and correct his deeds, he was actually asking for the perfect conditions he needed in order to continue in his evil ways and ruin the world unhindered. 

The Son Who Builds the World 

Yaakov Avinu was not at all interested in the blessings, because he knew that Yitzchak’s essence is self-nullification in face of Hashem’s will, and that is exactly what Yaakov did all his life. That was his aim. He was a wholesome man, a tent-dweller. Perhaps he didn’t hover around his father all day, but inwardly he was walking exactly in the holy path of Avraham and Yitzchak.  

In truth, Yaakov is the one who really built the world. He is the one who produced the Jewish people, those responsible for repairing the world and making it the kingdom of Hashem.  

Yaakov Avinu served Hashem for many long years without any material benefit. More than that – for decades he suffered persecution and poverty, and yet did not budge from the way of Hashem he had learned from his forefathers. And even when he went to receive the blessings, it was only out of obedience to his righteous mother, who understood that although Yaakov lived in a perfect spiritual world, the Jewish People will need these blessings in order to survive and live. 

To Eat From the Kitchen of Tzaddikim 

And what is the message for us?  

The message is not that a person should stop going to tzaddikim to ask for blessings, chalila. Any connection with a tzaddik is certainly a very great thing and a protection. There is no doubt that without the connection to the tzaddik, even on a low level – the person would be a much worse state.  

We see this in our parasha: In spite of Esav’s bloodthirstiness and murderousness and in spite of his immense desire to take revenge and kill Yaakov, he managed to overcome it and delay his wish only thanks to his connection with Yitzchak, as Esav says to himself: “May the days of mourning for my father come near and I will kill my brother, Yaakov.” 

The goal of our words is only to awaken those who are already close to tzaddikim and who visit the graves of tzaddikim and light candles to them – that they should know and remember well what the real goal is; they should not be like someone who comes to a set table laden with food and gets excited only about the napkins, taking them home and saving them, without tasting any of the delicacies spread in front of him. 

Do not come to the tzaddik with your wants and desires. Put them aside for a few minutes and strive to leave the presence of the tzaddik with better wants, with less attraction to the follies of this world; come away from the meeting holier, more refined. 

The Tzaddik is not an ATM 

Rabbi Natan and Rabbi Naftali accompanied Rabbi Nachman on his way to a spa, and when they parted from him, he asked them what they would prefer to hear from him: a dvar Torah or a blessing? The righteous disciples didn’t need to debate the question. 

Of course, they wanted to hear a dvar Torah! They knew that the true blessing was to attain some more da’at from their Rebbe, and to serve Hashem in his way. 

And that is what Chazal mean when they instruct us to be of the disciples of Aharon – can we hear Torah classes from him, or go to his yeshiva? Rather, the Mishna itself explains its intention: “Be of the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them close to Torah.” 

Search for the essence and traits of the tzaddik and do your best to live according to them, and in that way, you can be truly connected to Aharon Hacohen. In the same way, we can understand what is brought in Pirkei Avot about Avraham Avinu’s disciples, who have a good eye, a humble spirit and a small appetite.  

The story is told about the righteous Rabbi Asher Fruend, known as “Reb Osher”, that there were years when barren women he blessed would be granted children, beyond natural realities. 

He would “give out children” just like a person distributes coins, and whatever he promised, came true. After a few years he stopped blessing, and his students didn’t understand why he was no longer blessing people with children.  

Once he explained: “I want people to come to me because they wish to serve Hashem, and they will learn from me how to serve Hashem, and will stay to serve Hashem with me. but they take the children and disappear, and I don’t see them anymore…” 

May Hashem grant us the merit to come close to true tzaddikim, to walk in their ways truly, to adopt their traits, to be of their true disciples, and to spread their knowledge in the world. May all our intention be to merit to serve Hashem and draw close to Him, to do teshuva and do His will truly and wholeheartedly.