Shtus D'kedusha

1 Adar I 5782

“And you shall make the planks for the Mishkan of acacia wood, upright.” (Shemos 26:15)

“The Hebrew word for ‘acacia’ (shitah) means ‘bending.’ The acacia tree is called the ‘bending’ tree because it bends to the side as it grows, rather than growing straight up. The Hebrew word for ‘foolishness’ (shetut) is another form of this word, since foolishness is an act of ‘bending’ from the path dictated by logic.

Foolishness can be either holy or unholy. Unholy foolishness is the illogical thinking that leads us to go against G‑d’s will. Holy ‘foolishness’ (Shtus D’kedusha) is our willingness to go beyond the strict requirements of the Torah in fulfilling our Divine mission or in refining ourselves.

Allegorically, then, placing the ‘bending’ acacia planks vertically means using our power to be ‘foolish’ for holy purposes. We can thereby turn this often negative character trait into a positive force in our lives, enabling us to reach levels of dedication to G‑d and union with Him that we would not be able to reach otherwise.” (Daily Wisdom, Lubavitcher Rebbe)

“It is impossible to conquer the evil nature with laziness and sluggishness, which stem from sadness and a stonelike dullness of the heart, but rather with alacrity, which derives from joy and an open i.e., responsive heart that is unblemished by any trace of worry and sadness in the world.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, Chapter 26)

Like two oponents wrestling, the good inclination cannot win over the yetzer hara if it is lazy and sluggish. Even though it is naturally stronger, it takes alacritty and joy to mobilize its tremendous powers against the evil inclination. The Alter Rebbe goes as far as to tell us to view even the tragedies in our lives as concealed good, stemming from a source too high to be revealed in this world. This is the Shtus D’kedusha described above, going above and beyond conventional logic to reveal our higher source, and viewing everything that happens in our lives through this elevated lens.

“The kings of the earth rise up, and rulers conspire together, against the Lord and against His anointed: ‘Let us sever their cords, and cast their ropes from upon us!’ He Who sits in heaven laughs, my Master mocks them.” (Tehillim 2:2-4)

Those who use human logic to defy G-d’s will are in fact the foolish ones. They use all kinds of reasoning to throw off the yoke of heaven, contriving ingenious ways to rationalize why this and this Mitzvah no longer applies today. G-d laughs at them. Those who submit their full intellect to the worship of Hashem, seeing even the obvious commandments of the Torah in light of their higher origin, are the real servants of Hashem. Even though they may seem foolish and old fashioned to the rest of the world, they are carrying out the service of Hashem in the most optimal way, as this chapter in Tehillim ends, “Serve the Lord with awe, and rejoice with trembling … Fortunate are all who put their trust in Him” (and not in their own logic).