“Our livestock, as well, will go with us – not a hoof will remain – for we shall take from it to serve Hashem, and we do not know with what we are to serve Hashem until our arrival there” (Shemos 10:26).
Pharaoh gave Moshe permission to take the Jewish nation, including the children, out of Mitzrayim, but he wanted the sheep and cattle to remain behind. Moshe insisted that they must take everything. This interesting disagreement between Moshe Rabbeinu and Pharaoh represents a fundamental concept in our service of Hashem.
Whereas Pharaoh attempted to limit the Jewish people’s service of Hashem, Moshe Rabbeinu made clear that avodas Hashem is boundless and never-ending, thus the need to take everything they owned with them.
HaGaon R’ Mordechai Eliyahu points out that Yaakov Avinu confronted a similar rationale when, as Rashi states (Bereishis 37:1), “Yaakov sought to dwell in tranquility and the troubles of Yosef sprang upon him.” Yaakov thought he had attained a state of perfection (shleimus) and had annihilated his evil inclination (yetzer hara). He had fought valiantly against evil, and had prevailed over Eisav’s angel and Lavan. Hashem let him know otherwise. In this world there is no tranquility or time for one to rest on his laurels, for as soon as the yetzer hara senses that the individual seeks serenity and peace, he jumps at the opportunity to make man stumble and err.
One must strive to always be moving upwards spiritually, with no restrictions or restraints in his Torah learning. In this way, the person gains a more educated and knowledgeable grasp of mitzvos, aveiros, and one’s mission in life. It is codified in Shulchan Aruch (607) that although one confessed to his sins the past Yom Kippur, he should return and confess them again the following year, even if he did not repeat those transgressions. The Ben Ish Chai explains that the person has to do teshuvah because he now has a heightened awareness of his sins.
The pasuk in Iyov (5:7) states, “Man is born to toil.” Our Sages clarify that if he is meritorious, man toils in Torah; if he is not meritorious, he must toil on the land. The Midrash Bereishis Rabbah expounds, “Happy is one who toils in Torah.” This is a pursuit that continues throughout one’s lifetime “until our arrival there,” referring to olam haba, which is described as (Iyov 3:16), “where the exhausted ones rest.” In olam haba, one no longer has the wherewithal to fulfill mitzvos, making it a place of rest. It is there that the person will perceive the tremendous value of even the smallest mitzvah that he/she did, and realize the great reward he earned, as it says (Tehillim 31:20), “How abundant is Your goodness that You have stored away for those who fear You.”
The Message in Havdalah
From the time the Ben Ish Chai was a young boy, everyone knew that Yosef Chaim had a great future. It was very obvious from his thoughts and chiddushim, his very refined character and middos, and the amount of time he spent poring over the seforim when most boys his age were still playing around. He was totally devoted to Torah and avodah; that was his delight.
When he was eight years old, the Ben Ish Chai wanted to hold the havdalah candle, an honor which many desire. His sister also wanted the privilege. That week she said it was her turn, but the Ben Ish Chai insisted it was his turn. Unable to come to an agreement, the two siblings turned to their father, R’ Eliyahu, to arbitrate the matter.
R’ Eliyahu said to his son, who was older, “My child, if you want this mitzvah just for the pleasure, then your sister gets the privilege, because she is younger than you. But if your intent is specifically dedicated to this mitzvah, because of the holiness of havdalah, then the privilege is yours.
Yosef Chaim began to speak about the havdalah ceremony. “I know that the concept of havdalah, separation, can only be understood with knowledge, as our Sages say, ‘If there is no knowledge how do you make a division.’ The separation between Shabbos and the mundane, and between Yisroel and the nations, requires intelligence and wisdom.”
R’ Eliyahu replied, “I see you have a grasp of the mitzvah, but if you will answer one small question I will allow you to have the privilege of holding the havdalah candle.”
R’ Eliyahu asked his son, Yosef Chaim: Our Sages tell us that the havdalah ceremony consists of four blessings. The first is on the wine (yayin), the second is on the spices (besamim), the third is on the candle (ner), and then there is the final blessing (havdalah). The mnemonic is yud, bais, nun, heh. Why did our sages institute this specific order of the blessings, and not juxtapose the two main blessings which are on the wine and the havdalah?
The young Ben Ish Chai thought for a moment and then said: My dear father has always taught us that a Jew must constantly strive for spiritual growth. If one is not moving upwards, then he is descending. Our Sages instituted the blessings in ascending order. We taste the wine with our mouth, at the lowest point of our head; we smell the spices with our nose; we see the light of the candle with our eyes; and we make the havdalah, the separation, with our brain, our intellect, the highest point of our head.
Upon hearing this extraordinary answer from his son, R’ Eliyahu bestowed the privilege of holding the havdalah candle to his son, Yosef Chaim, the future Ben Ish Chai.
