Congregation Shema Yisrael

Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith; remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness. -Proverbs 25:4-5

See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her — but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. -Isaiah 1:21-22

The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them. -Jeremiah 6:29-30

The Bible is full of “refining fire” metaphors. The idea is that when we, as believers, suffer hardship and difficulties, we can see these events, not as random occurrences in an uncontrolled universe, but as God’s testing us, refining us as precious metal in the fire to burn away the dross. What’s supposed to come back out is a purer product. When believers “go through the fire”, what’s supposed to come back out is a person more faithful to God. However, does it always work this way?

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do —this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. -Romans 7:14-20

I imagine that many believers can relate to what Paul is describing here (I know I can), but he sounds pretty confused at this point. Who wouldn’t be? Who doesn’t struggle against his or her sin nature when seeking to do the will of God? And yet, does the struggle and suffering Paul describes always produce a fire that burns away dross? Does it always produce the best wine? Does it always result in a person washed by pure water to be white as snow?

This line of thinking was inspired by the following commentary:

Rav Yisrael Luria, shlit”a explains today’s daf with a fascinating parable brought in the Toras Avos:

We find in Mishlei 25:4, “Take away the dross from the silver, and there comes forth a vessel for the refiner.” This can be explained in terms of one’s service to Hashem (the Lord). If a person puts silver in the fire to remove impurities, doing so was worthwhile. But if a person places silver into a fire which does not remove any impurities, this is simply a waste of time. To an ignorant bystander, it might appear that in both cases the same worthy action has been done, but this is not the case at all.

The same is true with what each person accomplishes by firing up his emotions. Some people learn and daven (pray) with enthusiasm to better themselves and smelt out their character defects. Sadly, others wish to live a life immersed in materialism. But of course sometimes these people feel guilty when they see that they are not upwardly mobile in spiritual terms. So what do they do? They daven or learn with enthusiasm to prove to themselves that they are on a high spiritual level. In this manner they mollify themselves and are able to continue to plod along in the same pedestrian path, with limited or no spiritual growth.

On today’s daf, we find that diluted wine is not really wine at all. Tosafos explains that when wine is only a sixth of the total liquid mixed with five-sixths of water, it merely manages to ruin the taste of the water, not confer on the water the taste of wine. Wine represents spiritual enthusiasm, as the verse states, “He brought me to the ‘house of wine’ …” (and) “Your love is better than wine…” But this enthusiasm must pervade one’s day to such an extent (that) he is elevated as a result of it. It cannot be so dilute that it “ruins the water” (and) that it just serves as a foolish excuse to avoid genuine change!

-From Daf Digest
Bava Basra 96
Stories off the Daf
The Purity of the Wine

This probably isn’t what you wanted to hear, but I believe the commentary on Bava Basra 96 contains a great deal of truth. Just because we have a lot of outward “pizazz” in public worship or try doubly hard to pray to God when we feel spiritually stale, doesn’t mean we are achieving the goal and running the race with true, sincere, might. Many people look “holy” outwardly, and perhaps even convince themselves that they are more “holy” than those around them, but God knows the heart.

How many churches, synagogues, and other communities of faith are only “one-sixth wine” and the rest merely water? Christianity likes to use the phrase “…on fire for the Lord”, but does that always describe a heart “on fire” or merely an outward appearence? Worse, does it describe a person who has falsely convinced himself or herself that they truly have a “fire” when in fact, they’re all wet?

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” -Luke 18:9-14

We tend to assume the Pharisee in the passage above knows that he is falling short of the mark, and is making a big deal out of his prayer to impress those watching, but what if he really believed everything he was saying? What if he thought he was truly right with God, and that the tax collector didn’t have a chance? How many of us are ready to exalt ourselves, particularly when we see or hear about someone who embodies a sin we really hate? Do some believers feel they’re really “cool” or “holy” when they see a gay person, or a drunk, or a drug addict, or anyone they think makes them look good in front of God and other people? Have you ever prayed like the Pharisee in the parable…even a little? Have any of your sufferings and hardships made you feel just a little bit more sanctimonious than the next person?

Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours burn any brighter. -Anonymous

Of course, some people deliberately launch their lives into some calamity or disaster, with the idea that it will make them a better believer. This, as the commentary points out, only puts the person through the fire, but burns away no dross. Some people even manage to burn away the silver, leaving only the dross in their lives. Not all suffering you or I go through is necessarily a test from God to improve our relationship with Him. Sometimes, the suffering we face is of our own making and the result of our own foolish actions or assumptions.

Even Paul said that he found himself doing what his sin nature desired and failing where the will of God is concerned. King David, a “man after God’s own heart” managed to commit adultery, murder his lover’s husband, conceive a child out of wedlock, who later died, and was publicly disgraced by the Prophet Nathan. Half of David’s life was spent running from people who wanted to kill him. God continued to be with him and to bless David, but David did not have an easy life, in part, because of the consequences of his own actions.

Like any other relationship, our relationship with God requires constant attention. When we fail God, even though He grants forgiveness when we ask, we can’t assume we have “automatic reconciliation” with Him. Grace may be free, but it’s not always easy to maintain, not due to any failing of God, but because we mere mortals often don’t put the effort into it…I mean the sincere effort.

Look at your relationships with other people. Is your marriage all that it should be? Are you offering your best to your friends and neighbors. Do you truly honor your father and your mother? Are you really obeying the two greatest commandments?

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:36-40

If you’re going through the fire, make sure it’s for the worthwhile purpose of burning away your “spiritual dross” and some of the barriers that separate you from God. If you’re washing your heart with pure water, make sure to scrub in those hard to reach spots where sin tends to hide. If you are wine to those around you, don’t be watered down until you are flavorless and are ruining your “taste”. Not all suffering is for His sake or yours.

Examine your experiences. If you are just torturing yourself to feel pain, stop. Hair shirts don’t make you holy and tears don’t always wash away sins. Neither does puffing yourself up around those who, at least superficially, seem “less” then you. Talk to God from your heart. Ask him to wipe away any self-delusions you may have about your holiness or lack thereof. Remember, God is also a God of joy and peace.

Many blessings upon you from the heart of God.