"כולך יפה רעייתי ומום אין בך"“You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you” (Shir ha-Shirim 4:7)
As we move forward from an incredibly joyous holiday of Yom Haatzmaut, and as we on Tzipiyah.com take on all the inspiration we recieved from the positive outlook provided by the Yom Haatzmaut Project, there is still a small shadow left in this incredibly illuminating light. As much as we celebrate, and there is so much to celebrate - probably more than at any other time in history, we still recognize that our Atchalta Digueoula is not yet the full gueoula that we are awaiting.
Rav Kook answers a question many have when reading the above-quoted passuk. First of all, why the repetition of compliments? Why not just say “you are completely beautiful, my love”? More then that, while the first partof the passuk is definately positive in its formulation, the second part is not really the best formulation of a compliment. As my rav, Rav Mordechai Elon, said in a shiur, this is not the type of compliment that one is suggested to give to his beloved - “there is no blemish in you”. It's not exactly the most romantic language, and yet, it is found in the centre of one of the most romantic texts ever written.
Rav Kook explains that this passouk comes to teach us the way one should approach constructive criticism of Klal Israel. The first step is a recognition that “you are completely beautiful, my love”. First, one must understand the value and perfection of Klal Israel. One must understand that whatever the shortcomings, the full picture is positive. One must understand that there is so much to celebrate. Then, and only then, after accepting this basic fundamental premise, one can start evaluating the blemishes and seeing how we can enhance the representation of Klal Israel in this world. Then, and only then, can we start constructive criticism on the best way to bring down the light of Klal Israel in this world. If one rebukes an evildoer in Klal Israel, and sometimes there is a mitzvah to do so, it must be done from a strong feeling of love for Klal Israel, and therefore a strong feeling of love for this evildoer who is a part of this incredible body of Klal Israel.
“‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’ – The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes. However, even after the freest and most unrestrained criticism we find its essence as ‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’”
(Olat Re’iyah, Shir ha-Shirim 4:7)
With Klal Israel returning to its land, there is so much cause to celebrate. Yet, there is alot to criticise. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on each and every one of the leaders (past and present) of Klal Israel. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on the way our state, reishit tsmichat gueoulatenu, is run. However, these criticisms must come from an appreciation of the fact that 'You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.' We must be very careful not to engage into criticism which will put into question this very premise.
As we move away from the Kedusha of Yom Haatzmaut, I think the most important lesson to keep in mind is that this holiday is here to stay. Even with all the hardships in the desert, the Jews who left Egypt never stopped saying Hallel. Oh, Moshe had a lot of criticism for them. But he never stopped saying Hallel. We too will never stop saying Hallel on this great day which God has given us. The criticism is needed, but it does not take away from the big light which is being projected in our generation. I started this peice speaking of a small shadow hiding some of the light. This is a wrong approach. The light still shines just as brightly. The shadows do not take away from the light. They are present and must be dealt with. Criticism is important. “The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes”. However, the light itself will forever shine.
Rav Kook answers a question many have when reading the above-quoted passuk. First of all, why the repetition of compliments? Why not just say “you are completely beautiful, my love”? More then that, while the first partof the passuk is definately positive in its formulation, the second part is not really the best formulation of a compliment. As my rav, Rav Mordechai Elon, said in a shiur, this is not the type of compliment that one is suggested to give to his beloved - “there is no blemish in you”. It's not exactly the most romantic language, and yet, it is found in the centre of one of the most romantic texts ever written.
Rav Kook explains that this passouk comes to teach us the way one should approach constructive criticism of Klal Israel. The first step is a recognition that “you are completely beautiful, my love”. First, one must understand the value and perfection of Klal Israel. One must understand that whatever the shortcomings, the full picture is positive. One must understand that there is so much to celebrate. Then, and only then, after accepting this basic fundamental premise, one can start evaluating the blemishes and seeing how we can enhance the representation of Klal Israel in this world. Then, and only then, can we start constructive criticism on the best way to bring down the light of Klal Israel in this world. If one rebukes an evildoer in Klal Israel, and sometimes there is a mitzvah to do so, it must be done from a strong feeling of love for Klal Israel, and therefore a strong feeling of love for this evildoer who is a part of this incredible body of Klal Israel.
“‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’ – The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes. However, even after the freest and most unrestrained criticism we find its essence as ‘You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.’”
(Olat Re’iyah, Shir ha-Shirim 4:7)
With Klal Israel returning to its land, there is so much cause to celebrate. Yet, there is alot to criticise. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on each and every one of the leaders (past and present) of Klal Israel. Each of us can make a long list of criticisms on the way our state, reishit tsmichat gueoulatenu, is run. However, these criticisms must come from an appreciation of the fact that 'You are completely beautiful, my love; there is no blemish in you.' We must be very careful not to engage into criticism which will put into question this very premise.
As we move away from the Kedusha of Yom Haatzmaut, I think the most important lesson to keep in mind is that this holiday is here to stay. Even with all the hardships in the desert, the Jews who left Egypt never stopped saying Hallel. Oh, Moshe had a lot of criticism for them. But he never stopped saying Hallel. We too will never stop saying Hallel on this great day which God has given us. The criticism is needed, but it does not take away from the big light which is being projected in our generation. I started this peice speaking of a small shadow hiding some of the light. This is a wrong approach. The light still shines just as brightly. The shadows do not take away from the light. They are present and must be dealt with. Criticism is important. “The greatest love with which we love our nation must not blind our eyes from criticizing its blemishes”. However, the light itself will forever shine.
