23:20 – 23:21 ( הִנֵּה
אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ מַלְאָךְ, לְפָנֶיךָ, לִשְׁמָרְךָ, בַּדָּרֶךְ; וְלַהֲבִיאֲךָ,
אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הֲכִנֹתִי)
After Shishi we are told that there would be a Malach accompanying Klal Yisrael
in their journey. Then the Ribbono Shel Olam warns us (הִשָּׁמֶר מִפָּנָיו וּשְׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ, אַל-תַּמֵּר
בּוֹ: כִּי לֹא יִשָּׂא לְפִשְׁעֲכֶם, כִּי שְׁמִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ) Be careful with this Malach, he won’t
forgive you, and somehow Hashem’s name is in this Malach.
Which
Malach is this? Rashi tells us (כי שמי בקרבו: מחובר לראש המקרא, השמר מפניו כי שמי משותף בו, ורבותינו אמרו
זה מטטרו"ן ששמו כשם רבו. מטטרו"ן בגימטריא שקי) That there is a Malach (מטטרו"ן) whose name is the numerical value of (שקי) which
is the numerical value of Hashem’s name.
Who is
this Malach (מטטרו"ן)? The first thing I will tell you is that this name should not
be pronounced. This is something brought Al Pi the Arizal and is also mentioned
in some Halachah Seforim including the Kaf Hachaim Siman 5 Os 10. The Chayei
Adom is at the end of Klal 5 and brings this concept as well. Therefore, this
Malach is called by his nickname Matat which are the first three letters of his
name.
Who is
this Malach, we have never heard of him? Rabbeinu Bachye here on the Parsha
writes that this is Hashem’s beloved Malach.
The
Maral in Maseches Sanhedrin 39 explains that every Malach has only one Shlichus
and this Malach Matat does the Shlichus of whatever the Ribbono Shel Olam has
going on at that time. In a sense, when a builder builds a building he has many
workers and each one has a job. He also has a supervisor. In a very crude
example, Matat is Hashem’s supervisor.
Who is
this Malach? In Maseches Yevamos 16b (11 lines from the bottom) (אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר רבי יונתן פסוק זה שר העולם אמרו (תהילים לז) נער הייתי גם
זקנתי מאן אמריה אילימא קודשא בריך הוא מי איכא זקנה קמיה ואלא דוד אמריה מי קשיש
כולי האי אלא ש"מ שר העולם אמרו)
The Gemara here refers to the Sar Haolam (שר העולם) which means a Malach called the Sar of
the world. Tosafos writes there that it is this Malach Matat. (פסוק זה
שר העולם אמרו. קשיא
לר"ת דעשה הפייט השר המשרת נער נקרא הוא מטטרון הנכבד והנורא אלמא מטטרון הוא
שר העולם שנקרא נער ובפיוט אחר יסד תוקף מטטרון שר הנהפך לאש מבשר משמע דחנוך הוא
מטטרון ואי אפשר שיהיה חנוך שר העולם דבפרק אלו טרפות (חולין ס. ושם) אמר דבששת
ימי בראשית פתח שר העולם ואמר ישמח ה' במעשיו וחנוך לא היה במעשה בראשית וי"ל
דמטטרון אין זה שר העולם והא דנקרא נער לא משום דכתיב נער הייתי וגם זקנתי אלא (ה)
נער שכן היה שמו ובפסיקתא בח' שמות של מטטרון מונה נמי נער ועוד דאגדות חולקות זו
על זו דבבראשית רבה י"א דחנוך מת כדמתרגמי' כי לקח אותו (בראשית ה) המית יתיה
ובריש מסכת דרך ארץ משמע דנכנס לג"ע בחייו). Not much
is known about this Malach by most people.
Who is
he? The Michtav Eliyahu writes in Cheilek Aleph page 34 about this Malach. Most
people are aware that Eliyahu Hanavi never died and he went up to Shamayim and
returned as a Malach. There is a second human being who had the same Zechus, a
human being before Matan Torah. In Beraishis 5:24 it says (וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ,
אֶת-הָאֱלֹקִים; וְאֵינֶנּוּ, כִּי-לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹקִים). Rashi explains (ויתהלך חנוך: צדיק היה וקל בדעתו לשוב להרשיע, לפיכך מיהר הקב"ה וסילקו
והמיתו קודם זמנו [וזהו ששינה הכתוב במיתתו לכתוב ואיננו בעולם למלאות שנותיו). That this Chanoch too went up to
Shamayim alive and he became this Malach Matat. So what I told you until now is
a basic Yedia in Yahadus that there was such a person Chanoch who became a
Malach Matat which is a beloved Malach.
A Vort
regarding this Malach. The Michtav Eliyahu there brings regarding Chanoch, what
was his greatness? Chanoch had a job as a shoemaker. Every stitch that he made he
was Miyacheid Michudim. I don’t know exactly what this means but it means
something extraordinary. In his work he did something fantastic and that
brought him to a great Madreiga.
R’
Yisrael Salanter is quoted in the Michtav Eliyahu as saying the following. He
says don’t think that Chanoch had Kavonos Elyonos, that his main focus was on
Heiche Kavanos. When you are working for someone you are not allowed to do
that. He says that Chanoch in his work as a shoemaker was extra careful with
every stitch to do his work faithfully. To do his work and give his employer
the full day’s work that he was entitled to. That was his main Kavana. It was
not Kavonos Elyonos that would distract him from his work. He did his work
faithfully. This is a Vort of R’ Yisrael Salanter printed here in the Michtav
Eliyahu.
The
Michtav Eliyahu, R’ Dessler has a son in law who should live and be well R’ Yehoshua
Gelbzahler Shlita, who is an extraordinary Talmid Chochom and lives today in
Monsey. In 1952 Rav Dessler visited R’ Yehoshua Gelbzahler and R’ Yehoshua
Gelbzahler complained about this Vort from R’ Yisrael Salanter which his father
in law brought. He said how can you make Chanoch into a trustworthy employee,
that was his greatness? For that he became a Malach? He complained and he
brought that on the contrary that Chanoch was into Yesodos Elyonos. He
understood Yechudim of Hashem. Why do
you make him into a regular employee? This was his question to Rav Dessler.
Rav
Dessler responded in a letter that is printed in R’ Gelbzahler’s Sefer, Kodshei
Yehoshua at the end of Krach Hei (the fifth volume). I saw this Sefer in the
Azat in the Mir Yerushalayim and if you can get it, it is definitely worthwhile
to learn through this exchange of letters.
As I
understand, Rav Dessler’s response is the following. R’ Yisrael Salanter was
trying to teach us that there is a concept of extraordinary Kavanos that great
people can reach. But you should know one Yesod says Rav Dessler. That any
Heiche Kavanos, any greatness can only come if it is tied to Kiyum Hamitzvos.
You have to keep one of the Taryag Mitzvos and then you can go to higher levels.
For example someone who puts on Tefillin with great Kavana but those Tefillin
are Posul, will achieve zero, so you have nothing. Heiche Kavanos must be
attached to Mitzvos. That was R’ Yisrael Salanter’s focus. That Chanoch in his
first step of Avodah made sure that whatever Kavanos he would have would not
detract in any which way from his Avodah to the Ribbono Shel Olam. From the
things that he was doing and being Mekayeim the Mitzvah of being a faithful
employee. R’ Yisrael Salanter was teaching us that if you see a great man, you
want to learn from him? Know that even in his greatness, in his extraordinary
level that he had, you should know that his first and foremost Kavana was to be
a loyal employee who did the work that he had to do the way he had to do it. An
extraordinary exchange of letters and certainly an extraordinary piece of Mussar.
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