Parsha Halacha

Parsha Halacha – Parshat Balak

Acquiring the World to Come in One Hour

Rabbi Elazar ben Drudaya’s Teshuvah Legacy

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The end of the Torah portion of Balak^[1] describes how Pinchas killed Zimri and Kozbi, thus quieting G-d’s wrath and stopping the plague. This act changed Pinchas’ destiny as through it, he merited to become a Kohen and eventually a Kohen Gadol.^[2]

 

This article will focus on a single act of a man by the name of Elazar ben Drudaya many centuries later which changed his future dramatically.

 

The Story

 

The Talmud^[3] tells us that Rabbi Elazar ben Drudaya, after leading a life of debauchery, was inspired to repent by the passing comment of a prostitute. She said to him, “Like the passing wind, your teshuvah (repentance) will never be accepted.”

 

Deeply affected by her comment, he went and sat between two mountains and begged the mountains and hills to pray on his behalf. They said that they couldn’t help him as they needed to pray for themselves. He proceeded to ask the same of the heaven and the earth, the sun and the moon, the stars and the constellations, and got the same response. Finally, realizing that it was only up to him, he placed his head between his knees and cried until his soul expired. A voice from Heaven announced that Rabbi Elazar ben Drudaya was invited to the World-to-Come. Rebbi (Yehuda HaNassi) wept when he heard this and proclaimed that some people can acquire their World (to Come) in one hour while most people must work for many years to acquire it.

 

This article will discuss the details of this fascinating story.

 

When Did He Live?

 

According to the sefer Minyan HaTana’im (Jerusalem 2013), Rabbi Elazar lived in the generation of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the other students of Rabbi Akiva.

 

What’s in the Name?

 

The Maharal of Prague (in Chidushei Aggadot) points out that the word Drudaya can mean the dregs of the wine.^[4] These are considered totally useless since they’re inedible as opposed to vinegar which can be consumed. The dregs represent the sinners in whom no goodness is evident while vinegar represents the wicked people who still have some good behaviors. The name Elazar ben Drudaya therefore indicates that G-d helps (אלעזר is made of the words עזר א-ל which means G-d helps) even the first kind of sinners in whom no good is evident to do Teshuvah.

 

Why Was He Called a Rabbi?

 

The commentaries wonder why the Heavely voice called him with the title Rebbi which usually means that the person received Smicha^[5] and that he knew the entire Torah.^[6] Had Elazar been such a scholar it would be very unlikely for him to have sinned with such depravity.

 

Several explanations are given:

●      Some say that there is a mistake in the text and that the word ”Rebbi” doesn’t belong there.^[7]

●      The word Rebbi means teacher. As such, it can be said that Elazar ben Drudaya was our teacher in terms of how one can do teshuvah.^[8]

●      According to the Arizal,^[9] Elazar was a reincarnation of Yochanan Kohen Gadol who turned away from Torah Judaism at the end of his life and thus forfeited all of the mitzvot he had done and the Torah he had studied.^[10] When Elazar repented, he received the credit of all of Yochanan’s Torah and mitzvot, which would explain why he was referred to as “Rebbi.”

 

Mountain, Heavens, Earth, Sun, Moon, and Stars

 

Rabbi Yonatan Eibeshitz explains^[11] the reason why Elazar asked for the mountains, heavens and earth as well as the heavenly bodies to intercede on his behalf:

 

●      Mountains 

We find that the gentiles would serve idols specifically on mountains.^[12] This is because of the spirit of impurity that rests there. Thus, Elazar was saying that his sins can be blamed somewhat on the inherent impurity that G-d implanted in the world. The mountains responded by saying that this impurity is part of G-d’s plan for the world and that it can be overcome as is symbolized by the verse that in the future “the mountains will move.”^[13] Thus, this cannot be an excuse for his behavior.

 

●      Heavens and Earth

The heavens and the earth are opposites in many respects and, as such, they represent the fact that people have tendencies pulling them in opposite directions. The body pulls them towards corporeal pleasures while the soul pulls them towards spiritual heights. Asking for assistance from the heavens and earth was Elazar’s way of saying that his sins were due to the inborn struggles which he never managed to overcome. They responded that since they too would be diminished in the future,^[14] this was proof that man could vanquish their inborn tendencies.

 

●      Sun, Moon, and Stars

According to our sages the sun and moon affect how we are conceived^[15] and born while the stars dictate what our mazal (fortune) will be. By turning to them, Elazar was saying that his sinful lifestyle was affected by the traits implanted in him by his parents at the time of conception and by the various events that occurred to him during his life (which were his mazal). They responded that the fact that their stature will be diminished in the Messianic era^[16] proves that all of these circumstances are surmountable.

 

It's Up to Me!

 

As soon as Elazar realized that only he was to blame for his sins, he cried to G-d from the depths of his soul and pleaded for forgiveness. This is the key ingredient to Teshuvah – to realize that a change in our lifestyle is within our reach and that it depends only on us.

 

Passed Away Immediately

 

The reason that G-d took Elazar’s soul immediately after his teshuvah is because He feared that Elazar may not maintain his Teshuvah and might revert to his old ways.^[17]Out of His great kindness, G-d took him immediately. 

 

Why Did Rebbi Yehuda HaNassi Cry?

 

As mentioned above, when Rebbi heard this story, he wept, saying ‘Some acquire their world in one hour while some acquire it after many years. The commentaries question why Rebbi cried when he should have been happy for Rabbi Elazar. Certainly, Rebbi didn’t regret the years he had toiled to serve G-d and to achieve “his world!?!”

 

Several answers are given:

 

●      Rebbi wept when he realized how much one can accomplish in a short time and he regretted that, despite the fact that he had toiled to serve the Almighty for many years, yet (in his humble opinion) he didn’t do so with the same intensity that Elazar put into his Teshuvah.^[18]

●      Rebbi was ruing the fact that he suffered for 13 years in order to correct a small sin (that of not showing empathy to an animal)^[19] yet Rabbi Elazar was able to correct his major sins in a short time.^[20]

●      Rebbi was crying for Rabbi Elazar because, upon considering how much this man could accomplish in a short time, he realized how much more Elazar could have accomplished had he served G-d all his life.^[21]

●      Rebbi saw how Rabbi Elazar was taken by G-d immediately after his Teshuvah as G-d feared he might backslide. This brought him to tears realizing that even one who served G-d properly may be taken from this world if G-d deems him too weak to remain righteous.^[22]

 

Acquiring Which World?

The meaning of “acquiring their world” can be referring to each person’s portion in the World-to=Come. It can also be referring to earning one’s keep in this world, i.e., fulfilling the mission for which one was created. To do this, one must fulfill all the mitzvot, study those which one cannot keep, and learn the entire Torah according to the four levels of Peshat, Remez, Drush and Sod (Simple, Allegorical, Homiletical, and Mystical interpretations.) This normally takes a lifetime to complete yet, through giving his life up to G-d, Rabbi Elazar accomplished this in a moment. Pinchas, too, was able to “fix” himself quickly by risking his life for the sake of the Jewish people.^[23]

 

May We Merit to Acquire Both this World and the Next Together with Long Life!

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[1] Numbers 25:6 and on.

[2] See Judges 20:28.

[3] Avodah Zarah 17a.

[4] See Tosfot D.H. Drudaya on Avodah Zarah 34a.

[5] See Talmud Sanhedrin 13b and Rashi “To give Smicha to the sages and call them Rebbi.”

[6] See Radvaz on Rambam, Laws of Sanhedrin 4:8.

[7] Dikdukei Sofrim. This version of the Talmud would also remove the words at the end of the story; לֹא דַּיָּין לְבַעֲלֵי תְשׁוּבָה שֶׁמְּקַבְּלִין אוֹתָן, אֶלָּא שֶׁקּוֹרִין אוֹתָן ״רַבִּי״ – “Not only are penitents accepted, but they are even called: ‘Rabbi.’”

[8] Rabbi Shlomo Kluger in Avodat Avodah on tractate Avodah Zarah ibid.

[9] Likutei Torah of the Arizal, Tehillim 32. See Torah Menachem 5730, vol, 2 page 88.

[10] See Brachot 28a.

[11] Ya’arot Devash, Vol. 1, Derush 1.

[12] See Avodah Zarah 45b. “There was not one mountain or hill upon which the pagans didn’t worship.”

[13] Isaiah 54:9.

[14] See Isaiah 51:3; :The heavens will melt like smoke and the earth will wear out like a garment.”

[15] See Job 3:3 and Sanhedrin 96a.

[16] As the verse (Isaiah 24:23) says; “The moon will be ashamed and the sun will be abashed…” See also ibid 34:4 “and all of the hosts of heaven will disintegrate.”

[17] See Job 15:15; “He does not trust His holy ones.”

[18] Rabbi Dovid Yoel Wiess of Yerushalayim in Megadim Chadashim.

[19] See Bava Metziah 85a.

[20] Iyun Ya’akov on the Ein Ya’akov.

[21] Divrei Shaul by Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson.

[22] Ya’arot Devash.

[23] Petach Einayim by the Chida.

 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom Umevorach