[Avodah] [Areivim] Seeing the Swiss Alps

[T613K at aol.com]

Subject: Re: [Areivim] Seeing the Swiss Alps


On Areivim, R' Yitzchak Levine posted something about Hirsch urging his  
students to see the Alps -- his famous line, HKB'H will ask you, "Have you seen  
My Alps?"
 
And then there were a series of responses, the flavor of which you can see  
here:
 
From: R' Moshe Feldman..
>> I have never heard an EY gadol  encourage
people to leave EY in order to see the wonders of nature.  <<


From: "SBA" <sba at sba2.com>
>From R' SBA:   >> Has anyone heard of ANY gadol besides RSRH encourage seeing 
the wonders  of
nature?

BTW, last year we visited the South Island of New Zealand.  
IMHO, if it was located in Europe, it would strongly challenge the Alps  for
its scenery and beauty. <<

----
From: "Danny Schoemann" _doniels at gmail.com_ (mailto:doniels at gmail.com) 

>> I believe  that the Swiss Alps simply have better PR than the Israeli  
hilltops.


....The local scenery is Hashem's showcase since its His  palace, though in
places it's desolate due to the Churban... but we have no  PR.

Do you really think Hashem prefers you to boost the Swiss  economy
rather than admire His own country?

- Danny, surrounded by the  magnificent Judea hilltops


>>>>>>>
[So here now is my response, which I have decided belongs on Avodah rather  
than Areivim]
 
People, people, people!
 
1. First of all, everybody here is taking Hirsch's remark about the  *Swiss 
Alps* WAY too literally.  Do you really think he meant that if you  live in the 
US and have an opportunity to see the Rockies, or that if you live  in Peru 
and can look at the Andes, or that if you have a chance to visit New  Zealand 
and see the beautiful scenery there, or that if you have a chance to see  the 
Himalayas -- that you should forsake all these mountains and DAVKA go  to 
Switzerland?!  
 
And kal vechomer do you think that if a person is living in Yerushalayim,  
surrounded by the Harei Yehuda, that Hirsch would have told him to go visit  
Switzerland?!  I am tearing my hair out from sheer frustration.   POETRY, people, 
can you not understand?  Acccchhhh.  Did he really  true mean to say that 
Hashem will ask every person in the world, "Did you learn  Torah?  Did you deal 
honestly in business?  Did you see My  Alps?"  How can you think that?!
 
What he meant was so obvious.  If you live in a city -- and we Jews  are an 
urban people -- if you live surrounded by concrete and sidewalks and  paved 
roads -- get out of there once in your life at least!  Go look at the  
magnificent world that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created!
 
You people.  You would read Shakespeare's line, "A rose by any other  name 
would smell as sweet," and you would gravely say, "Hm, I wonder what he  meant 
by that?  What about a lily?  What about a tulip?  WHAT  ABOUT JULIETTE?  Why 
is he talking about a rose when Romeo is pining  for Juliette?"  You would fill 
pages of commentary about why Shakespeare  talked about a rose and not 
another flower, and what on earth could he have  meant by that?!
 
2. Second of all, did any other godol besides RSRH ever say anything  
similar?  Well, folks, I would like to draw your attention to Exhibit A --  the 
Tanach -- and a couple of gedolim you have probably heard of:   Yeshayahu Hanavi 
and Dovid Hamelech.
 
"Se'u marom eineichem ure'u mi varah eileh?"  (Yeshayahu 40:26)   (And please 
don't get nitpicky and say that the navi was talking about  Hashem's glorious 
stars and this could not possibly be applied to His glorious  mountains.)
 
"Yefeh nof mesos kol ha'aretz Har Tzion...."  (Tehillim 48:3)
"MiTzion michlal yofi Elokim hofea." (ibid 50:2)
"Yerushalayim harim saviv lah v'Hashem saviv le'amo...." (ibid 125:2)
 
3.  Hirsch did not get his love of beauty from secular  sources! When he 
looked at the Alps he was inspired and that inspiration  was religious, it was 
spiritual.  "Mah gadlu ma'asecha Hashem!" (ibid.  92:6)  Just look outside 
sometimes, look at the beautiful world and be  inspired!
 
4. I am one hundred percent positive that if you already lived in  
Yeryshalayim, Hirsch would not have told you that you have to go see the  Alps!  But he 
WOULD have said, Go see the mountains!  During bein  hazmanim, go on a tiyul!  
If Dovid Hamelech himself called Y-m a place of  perfect beauty, why would 
you need to see the Alps?!  Don't you think that  Hirsch himself yearned to see 
Yerushalayim and the Harei Yehuda?!
 
5.  A different post needs to be written about Pirkei Avos, and a  person who 
looks up from his Gemara to say, "Mah na'eh ilan zeh!"  That  could be a 
whole separate essay but, on regel achas, it does not mean that a  person should 
refrain from looking at beautiful sights or should refrain from  noticing that 
Hashem has created a magnificent world for us to  enjoy.   What it does mean 
-- well that is for the other regel, enough  for now.




--Toby Katz
=============
Read *Jewish World  Review* at _http://jewishworldreview.com/_ 
(http://jewishworldreview.com/) 



--------------------------

**************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and 
favorite sites in one place.  Try it now. 
(http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20081210/3e9e250b/attachment-0001.htm>