A Soul Like The Dust

     

When a person is beset by controversy, he should not directly confront his enemies, thinking, “I’m going to do to them exactly what they are trying to do to me,” for that will only help them achieve their goal.  Rather, he should judge them favorably and do good to them, as we say in the prayer, "Let my soul be like the dust of the earth to everyone.” (From “Elokai netzor,” supplication recited at the end of Shemoneh Esrei.  See Berachot 17a.)  Everyone steps on the earth, yet the earth constantly gives – food, drink, gold, silver, and jewels.  Likewise, a person should give even to those people who seek to harm him. 

 

This can be understood with a parable:  when a robber digs a tunnel to break into another man’s home, if the owner of the house also starts digging, it will only make it easier for the robber to get in.  But if the homeowner pours dirt over the place where the robber is digging until there is a mound of earth, he will thwart the other’s plans…  Likewise, when a person makes himself like the earth, his enemy will be buried in his own hole (Likutey Moharan I:277).

 

It would seem that Rebbe Nachman is offering practical advice – if someone tries to hurt you, show him kindness, and you will foil his plans.  However, as with all of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings, there is a deeper, more spiritual element to his words.

           

According to the Talmud, (Rosh HaShanah 17b.  See Reishit Chochmah, Sha’ar HaAnavah 1) when God revealed the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, after the incident of the Golden Calf, He told Moshe (Moses), “Whenever the Jewish people sin, they should fulfill these Thirteen Attributes, and I will forgive them.”  It is not enough to merely recite the Thirteen Attributes, as we do in prayer, God wants us to fulfill them.  For when we act in accordance with these thirteen Divine qualities, we arouse God’s compassion toward ourselves and toward the whole world.  This annuls any harsh judgments that might have been decreed upon us. 

 

Rebbe Nachman taught, “When God awakens these thirteen attributes, a tremendous compassion and love is drawn into the universe, and no sin or transgression has the power to annul it” (Likutey Moharan I:105).

 

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Tomer Devorah 1) explains that the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy correspond to the attributes mentioned by the prophet Micah in the following verses: “Who is a God like You, Who pardons iniquity and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?  He does not maintain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.  He will again have compassion upon us, He will suppress our iniquities.  You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19).  Hence we must act in accordance with the attributes mentioned by Micah, and he explains that the first of these attributes, "Who is a God like You,” alludes to God’s humility.  God continuously gives us life: our hearts beat, our minds function, and every limb and sinew of our being is under His constant supervision.  Were He to remove His influence for even an instant, we would die.  Yet even when we use those very limbs to sin against Him, He still continues to give us life.  God suffers the insult of seeing that the vitality He bestows is used to anger Him, and yet He tolerates it patiently.  For this reason, the angels refer to God as the “humiliated King” (Pirkei Heichalot 25).

 

Thus, the first trait we must learn in emulating God is to be tolerant and kind to others, even when they have insulted or harmed us.  There are thousands of situations in which this could apply: a fight with a neighbor, feeling cheated in a business deal or even being shortchanged by a taxi driver.  We must forgive these people and continue to show them kindness. Then, God will do the same to us: He will annul any harsh decrees that might be upon us, (See Rosh HaShanah 17a) and Heavenly kindness will flow down.  Rabbi Chaim Vital writes, “If you truly understood this, you would run to find a person who would afflict you, just as you run after life itself.  Greet each person joyfully, even if he is your enemy, for in this way, he will eventually become your friend, and the credit will be yours” (Sha’arei Kedushah 1:6.).

 

In Tomer Devorah, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero teaches us how to emulate God’s ways.  He describes each of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, and shows us how to fulfill them in our lives.  This is also the path of the Baal Shem Tov, who showed how a person, through his actions and behavior, can express the supernal attributes of Keter, Chochmah, and Binah.

 

This is the inner meaning of Rebbe Nachman’s words.  If a person causes you harm, repay his evil with good.  Then, God will bestow goodness upon you.  It is difficult to overcome the initial urge for revenge, but if we act with kindness toward our enemies, we will purify our souls in an extraordinary way.  Furthermore, since each individual is a microcosm of all the worlds, when we overcome our own evil inclinations, all the supernal judgments are also annulled.  God will no longer have any reason to bring suffering upon us, and we will experience only His love and compassion.

 

 

(Excerpt from The Scent of Gan Eden, by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, Keren Ohr Publications. Used with author’s permission.)