Shabbat Parashat Vayakhel Pekudei 5786

Moreshet Shaul: Character Refinement – part I

Opening Source (Vayikra Rabba 9:3): Derech eretz (good character) precedes the Torah, as it says: “… to guard the path of the tree of life” (Bereishit 3:24). “The path” refers to derech eretz; and afterward, “the tree of life.”  

Derech eretz serves as an introduction, a sort of preparation and cultivation of the heart. Certainly, derech eretz includes within it the spirit of the Torah, for if it did not, how could it serve as a cultivator for Torah? On the other hand, one always writes an introduction after he has written the book, and it serves as a conceptual pole for that which follows it.

The simple concept of derech eretz includes manners, delicateness, and acting respectfully. It is often said that children born in Israel act with chutzpa, and thus they are not possessors of derech eretz. Let us investigate the causes of the lack of derech eretz and its ramifications.

We can propose that the lack of derech eretz in the Jewish communities of Israel and among the young generation is not incidental. It was preceded by an education and an educational philosophy that led in this direction. The generation that made aliya to the Land possessed an impulsive urge to erupt and blaze their own trails; it was a generation that rebelled against the habits of their fathers’ houses and forged a whole new style of life. Therefore, they expected of themselves to allow their children to enjoy the right to also shape their own destinies. They were concerned about the coercive nature of education, one that would attempt to force beliefs on students. This created a situation in which all boundaries and restraint on adolescent outbursts were violated.

I would say further: The treatment with derech eretz that was bestowed in previous generations on elders has been transferred to bestowal on the younger generation. Whereas in the past, advanced age was deserving of supreme honor, it turned into youth receiving that distinction. The generation that is growing old, whose hair is starting to become gray, whose back is starting to curve, and whose lungs are getting more feeble, looks with jealousy and awe toward the generation that follows him, the one that is full of wildness and desire to live. From this, the derech eretz for his children emanates.

There is another matter here – the denial of the survival of the soul after death. A person feels his strength waning and his march toward his end in progress, and he clings to his child, through whom he feels he can continue to live. For this reason, he gives his child dominion over everything.

Many people employ insignificant manners that are performed superficially, showing verbal honor to friends and people around him without the words being connected to anything internal. The rote expressions with no significant content cause some to be repelled by all manners and adopt an approach of dismissal [of manners in general].

Until now, the focus is on chutzpah in the broader and especially non-religious Israeli population. Next time, we will see Rav Yisraeli focus on the religious pioneer community, which he knew well as the rabbi of Kfar Haro’eh, a religious agricultural settlement.

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