Rabbi's Blog

There is no way to win in a battle against a bureaucracy. As the world changes becoming more technologically advanced, bureaucracy becomes even thicker. -In the old days if a person had an issue with someone or a certain business, one you could at least talk to that individual face- to- face. In today's world, however, you have to deal with "automated people". If there is a glitch in the system, it is just about impossible to fix the problem; it's always the computer's fault.

Recently I had a terrible experience with an automated bill which I paid before the due date. For some reason the system failed and the issuing bank not only refused to take responsibility for its mistake but would not fix the series of events that automatically kick in when a payment is late. In other words I paid my bill in full and on time, while the bank card system read it as never having been paid, assessing late fees and accruing interest charges on the late payment. I was able to get the extra charges removed, but the system would take seventy- two hours to adjust itself; in the meantime I had no access to my credit card. I talked until I was blue in the face, hearing the words over and over again, "So sorry. There's nothing I can do about it".

Systems are an important component of our daily lives and even on our ultimate existence. There are times the system is good, and other times when it is not so good. One can look at a system as a barrier or divider between company and customer. The barrier should be in place to help the customer, not harm him. In Torah philosophy this divider is known as a Mechitza. The primary goal of the Mechitza is to bring things closer together not further apart. Of course this seems odd. A barrier, by definition, typically separates two things in order to keep them apart. How does one imagine it to bring things closer?

Rav Shimshon Pincus, Za"tzal, in his sefer Tiferes Torah on Chumash explains this phenomenon through the seventh plague that Hashem brought upon the Egyptians. In Shemos 9:18 the Torah states:'Hininee Mamtir Ka'eis Machar Barad Kaveid M'ode, asher lo haya kamohu B'Mitzrayim L'min Hayom Hivasda V'ad Ata' - 'Behold, at this time tomorrow I shall rain a very heavy hail, such as there has never been in Egypt, from the day it was founded until now'. Rashi quotes a Medrash, Rabba 12:2 and explains the words "at this time tomorrow" as Moshe made a scratch on the wall for Pharaoh and said to him that when the sun will reach this point, the hail will descend.

Rav Pincus points out that if the next day there will be hail, how would it be possible for the sun to shine on that very spot? Meteorically speaking, before it hails there would usually be a gathering of clouds that would cover the sun. The obvious answer is (like many other miracles that took place in Egypt) it was a Neis B'Soch Neis - a miracle within a miracle. The sun could shine through despite the heavy clouds with have a heavy hail storm still to follow. Rav Pincus takes us on a deeper level of understanding the purpose of a barrier such as a cloud. Usually, when it rains there are clouds in the sky. The clouds form a partition between that which is above and that which is below - between the upper and lower worlds - similar to what we read in the very beginning of Bereishis and creation on the second day.

A Mechitza can be viewed as keeping things apart or, in reality, bringing things closer together. Of course the general world sees a Mechitza as a barrier, pushing things and people apart, but we could look at things from a different angle. Take the Mechitza in Shul, for example. To the naked eye while it appears that the Mechitza separates the men from the women, in truth without the Mechitza a man could not even come there to pray. It's davka/specifically because there is a Mechitza that men and women are able to daven in the same room. Without the Mechitza they could not. A man must go to Shul, and only if there is a Mechitza would a woman be able to attend. Having the Mechitza allows a woman to come and get closer to the holiness of the time and place. Because women also want to hear the holy words of the davening and be spiritually uplifted, the Mechitza is constructed. The barrier on Har Sinai at the giving of the Torah made it possible for God's Shchina/Presence to settle down on the lowly earth. It was only through the heavy, thick barrier of clouds and darkness on Har Sinai that Hashem's presence descended upon the mountain. The more fixed boundaries there are in life, the closer we are to reach higher spiritual levels.

The concept of clouds appearing when it rains signals a blessing in the skies enabling Hashem to get a little bit closer to the earth. Hashem comes down as close as possible by means of a Mechitza of clouds separating Him from us, thereby allowing the full gust of Bracha to rain upon us. The plague of Barad/Hail had no blessing or getting close of God to this world at all. Rather, there was no need to have any clouds because Hashem was not trying to get close to the Egyptians but, to the contrary, to draw further away. Therefore, no Mechitza of clouds was present and as a result the sun could shine and mark itself on the wall. Therefor during the plague of Barad/Hil it was sunny and hailing at the same time.

People are continuously erecting barriers and boundaries in their lives, sometimes for protection and at other times to hide behind. In the case of the credit card experience, beaurocrats were using the excuse of the 'system', creating a wall or barrier to hide behind and not take responsibility. The Torah, through Mitzvos, and the Rabbis, through decrees, put up barriers and fences all the time. One must realize it is not to make our lives more difficult or challenging, rather these good systems are put into place to help us in our spiritual growth and to bring us closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Ah Gut Shabbos Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky