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The Many Levels of Everything: Question: Who is the one person who, for sure, would not have a problem with emunah (belief in Hashem)? The answer, of course, is Moshe Rabeinu (our teacher). “Mouth to mouth do I speak to him, in a clear vision … at the image of Hashem does he gaze.” How strange then, that it was specifically in emunah that he stumbled. “Ya’an lo he’emantem bi …” (“Because you did not believe in Me …”) at the Mei Merivoh.

The answer is that the question was rooted in the basement aspect of emunah which so many of us have difficulties with today. However, as in everything, there are countless levels. There are countless levels of ahavas (love of) Hashem; countless levels of yiras (fear of) Hashem; countless levels of kavanah (concentration) in davening (prayer), etc. and countless levels in emunah. It was on an exceedingly high level on which Moshe stumbled.

The Chait (Sin)

See the Maharal that the sin of Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife) was not in the fact that Moshe hit the rock instead of just speaking to it or in the fact that he said to the Jewish people, “Shimu noh hamorim” (Listen now you rebels), since these were only an outcome of his anger. However, anger itself is only possible if someone is lacking in trust in the goodness of Hashem. “Because belief means that one who trusts in Hashem can only be b’simchah (happy). This is belief that fully trusts in Hashem. With trust comes simcha. However, with anger there is no trust … because one who does not believe and trust Hashem with complete trust is in anger and suffering … this is what Hashem said, ‘because you did not believe in Me’ but with belief and trust there is no anger.” Of course, it is to be understood that Moshe Rabeinu’s slip in this was a very minor one, but, because he was Moshe Rabeinu, he was taken to task for it.

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Do Not Fear Him

“Al tira oso ki v’yodcho nosati oso” (Do not fear him for in your hand have I given him). See Rashi there, “Moshe was afraid to do battle with him lest the merit of Avrohom stand in Og’s behalf as it says, ‘Vayavo hapalit’ (and the fugitive came). This is Og who escaped from the Refa’im …” That is to say that he feared Og because of the merit he had in revealing to Avrohom that Lot was captured, whereupon Avrohom gathered some men and chased after them and rescued Lot.

The World’s Question

The “world” asks a question – the Rashi quoted before (see note 10) also brings a Medrash Rabah that Og was called “hapolit” because he was saved from the mabul (the flood) and that his reason for telling Avrohom about Lot was because he knew that Avrohom would try and rescue Lot and for sure be killed by the mighty four kings. He would then be able to “marry” Sora. The question is, why should Moshe be afraid of Og’s merit in telling Avrohom about Lot? What kind of merit? He wanted Avrohom dead.

The “world” answers that, nevertheless, Avrohom had a benefit from this which counts as a merit for Og.

A Problem

This answer is given often to many similar questions. For example, why was Homon zocheh (merit) that one of his progeny taught Torah in Bnei Brak? Because he caused the Jewish people to do teshuvah.

There is a problem with this kind of answer. How can you reward a person for an outcome which was not only the furthest thing from his mind but also against his very being? Og wanted to kill Avrohom. How can you give him schar (reward) for a miraculous outcome (Avrohom won the war) which was impossible for Og to have guessed? Homon hated the Jews bitterly. How can you reward him with a progeny who became a Talmid Chochom?

The answer regarding Homon is a different one. When Agag was saved by Shaul Hamelech (the king) he had relations with a Jewish-owned maidservant who kept mitzvos, as is required. It was this recessive gene (as per last week) in Homon (who came from Agag) that later produced the Talmid Chochom. In any case, how do we understand why Moshe was afraid of Og?

Moshiach

It’s brought down that the reason that Avrohom put his life on the line for Lot was because he saw that from Lot would come out Moshiach. “Motzosi Dovid avdi” (“I have found Dovid my servant”). “Hechon motzosiv, b’S’dom” (“Where have I found him, in S’dom”).

If so, the coming of Moshiach is dependent on the action of Og in that he told Avrohom of Lot’s capture. Therefore, Og’s speaking to Avrohom was an actuality which was a cause for the coming of Moshiach (one of the bricks, one might say) and is not dependent on what Og’s intentions were. In the same way, as the Maharal stated (see note 17), that Moshe’s encounter with Doson and Avirom was “one of the bricks” of the redemption from Egypt and was not dependent on their intentions.

Polit

“Actually his name was Polit (not Og). Why then was he called Og? Because when he came to Avrohom it was Erev Pesach (the day before Passover) and he found Avrohom baking oogos matzohs (cakes of matzohs).” Therefore, he was called Og (from the singular of oogos).

We need to understand this. What kind of a reason is this? And if he would have come when Avrohom was washing his car he would have been called Chevrolet? It seems like such a non-consequential reason. Yet we know that a name always teaches us some intrinsic actuality. Evidently then, the fact that Og came when Avrohom was baking matzohs reveals something important to us about Og.

The First and Last Redemptions

There is a connection between the first redemption (from Egypt) and the last redemption (the coming of Moshiach).

“This great happening to Yisroel (the final redemption) that Hashem will redeem them in any case and He will not look for the righteousness of Yisroel but because He (as it were) desires Yisroel intrinsically. In the same way that the first redemption happened (not through Israel’s merit) so Yisroel will always be redeemed. Therefore, Hashem says r’oh ro’isi (I have indeed seen), a double language which Chazal (the Sages) say means, I see now, I will see later, the affliction of My People.”

“Who is the dog (who barks) – this is Sa’m (the accuser). Any time Hashem does good to Yisroel, he is aroused and barks like a dog in accusations. But at that time (the Exodus from Egypt) … ‘no dog shall whet its tongue’ … at the end of the last exile it will be the same.”

“…regarding the future redemption it says, ‘as in the days of your redemption from Egypt I will show you miracles’ (in the future). That is, when the future redemption will be b’itoh (in its time), meaning the people will not be worthy in and of themselves even … if they repent (at that time) … the teshuvah will not come from themselves but from an awakening from above … the future redemption if it will be b’itoh will be similar to the Egyptian redemption which was also from above (not through their own merit). It will come suddenly without merit or effort on our part …”

The Four Kings

What we see from the above quotes is that there is a very definite connection between the redemption of Pesach and the final redemption – Moshiach. To tighten it even more, see the Pachad Yitzchok. “It is explicit in Chazal that the four kings who warred against Avrohom (and from whom Og had escaped) are representative of the four exiles that Jews will encounter. Avrohom’s victory over them represents Moshiach’s coming.”

Og

We now have a better grasp of the meaning of Og’s coming when Avrohom was baking matzohs. Matzohs are representative of the redemption from Mitzrayim (Egypt). Og told Avrohom of the capture of Lot from whom Moshiach, the redeemer of the last exile, comes. That is why he was called Og, because he represented the tie-in of the two redemptions. His coming at the time that Avrohom baked matzohs with the news that would ensure the coming of the last redemption is why he was called Og, to represent that tie-in. Avrohom’s subsequent defeat of the four kings, who represent the four exiles, further strengthens this connection.

Charvonah

“Then Charvonah … said, ‘Furthermore the fifty-cubit high gallows which Homon made for Mordechai – who spoke good for the king – is standing in Homon’s house.” And the king said, ‘Hang him on it.’” Until that statement, the sudden reversal of Homon’s fortunes had left a numbing gap of “now what?” If such a lull would have continued, Homon might have found his wits and talked himself out of his crisis. Charvonah’s statement presented the plan to settle the crisis.

But who was Charvonah? The name is mentioned earlier, but under a different spelling. “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Bizzetha, Charvona … to bring Vashti the queen …” However, there his name is spelled with an alef at the end whereas here, at the downfall of Homon, it is spelled with a heh. Is it the same person?

The Maharal states that indeed it is the same person. But just as the Maharal said earlier that Jewish redemption cannot happen by coincidence, in the same way, he states, Jewish redemption cannot happen through one who is not worthy. The reason his name ends with a heh here is that it represents the name of Hashem. None of what Charvonah said came from him. He was at that time like a robot or puppet with no mind of his own. Hashem, as it were, used him and put the words into his mouth. He himself had nothing to do with it.

Remembered for the Good

“Therefore, we say ‘and Charvonah too be remembered for good’ even though he served only, so to speak, as a piece of wood. That is to say that even though Hashem put the words into his mouth, nevertheless, good and salvation came through him.” What the Maharal is saying is that the “remembrance for good” is not dependent on one’s good thoughts and plans but the fact that he was used for good.

Back to Og

Moshe was afraid of the merit of Og, since he told Avrohom about Lot from whom Moshiach is destined to come. We were troubled by the fact that none of this was on Og’s mind but the fact that he wanted Avrohom killed. According to the Maharal, one’s thoughts do not come into play. The fact that Moshiach and the future redemption (may it come speedily in our day) came through Og made him someone to be feared.

Og and Sichon

“They (Yisroel) smote him (Og), his sons, and all his people, until there were no survivors left of him …” Regarding Sichon it also says, “We did not leave a survivor.” Why was it important that there be no survivors? The simple answer is because they were from the Emori, one of the seven nations.

There would seem to be another reason also. As stated above, Og was saved from the mabul (flood). The Gemara (Talmud) states that Sichon and Og were brothers. This means that Sichon was also saved from the mabul. From the mabul to their demise in our Parshah (Torah reading) was six hundred and fifty years – plenty of time to have einiklach and oor oor einiklach (grand and great grandchildren). In fact it is quite possible that a large percentage of the population of their countries stemmed from them. These people were not from the Emori.

The Covenant with Noach (Noah)

After the mabul, Hashem made a covenant with Noach and gave him the seven mitzvos Bnei (children of) Noach. However, Sichon and Og and their descendants were not Bnei Noach. There was no covenant with them. It was not their world. Therefore, it was not possible for them to have existing survivors. The difficulty with this is why it should be a task of Yisroel to ensure this.

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