2022/5782
Parashat Tetzaveh opens with “Ve’Atah Tetzaveh Et Bnei Yisrael VeYikchu Eilecha Shemen Zayit Zach Katit LaMaor LeHa’alot Ner Tamid,” “You shall address Bnei Yisrael to bring you clear oil of crushed olives for lighting the lamps regularly” (Shemot 27:20). The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 36:1) notes that the word “Eilecha” seems redundant. While addressing this issue, the Midrash seems to relate “Eilecha” to the analogy of Bnei Yisrael to an olive and cites a Pasuk in Yirmiyahu, “Zayit Ra’anan Yefeih Pri To’ar,” “Flourishing olive tree with beautiful fruits” (11:16), to prove this comparison.
The Midrash then asks if Bnei Yisrael had been compared to other fruit trees. The Midrash points out that Bnei Yisrael were compared to many other trees, such as grapevines, fig trees, date trees, cedars, nut trees, and even all crops from a garden. The Midrash then explains the reasoning behind Yirmiyahu’s comparison. An olive is taken off a tree and squeezed, brought up to an olive press, placed in a mill, crushed, wrapped in ropes, pressed by stones, and only after all this do they give their oil. The same applies to Bnei Yisrael; as the other nations of the world come and beat us, drive us from place to place, imprison us, bind us with chains, surround us with soldiers, and after all that, we repent. That is how to explain the Pasuk quoted above with the olive tree.
The Midrash then presents another explanation. Says the Midrash, why did Yirmiyahu see fit to compare us to an olive tree?
Many Mefarshim are bothered by the fact that this Pasuk seems to be talking negatively about us. In truth, the Pasuk portrays us in a positive light. As the Gemara (Pesachim 33b) says, olive oil, as opposed to other fruit/vegetable juices, is deemed separate from the fruit itself. There is a tiny reservoir of oil in the olive, but not within its flesh. The oil that was there is revealed when the shell is crushed.
The same applies to us; even when we sin, our essence remains pure. We may act sinfully, but in our heart of hearts, we remain devoted to Hashem. When we are beaten and suffering, our repentance strips away the shell of sin that distances us from our Creator. Our essence is then revealed, as Shabbat 146a says, pure as the nation was born. With this, the Midrash praises a Jew whose soul, like the oil of an olive, is unaffected by the rude vessel in which it is contained.
This is the rationale famously offered by the Rambam in Hilchot Geirushin 2:20 for forcing a husband to divorce his wife when necessary, even though a husband must do so willingly. The husband refuses because his Yeitzer HaRa incites him to act in a selfish manner. Through the application of force, this external influence is overcome, allowing the person to express his true will which is to grant the Get as required. The case of the uncooperative husband is true with respect to Bnei Yisrael as a whole. Our sins are not ingrained in us, rather from the influence of the evil inclination. Behind this facade, what one truly desires is to serve Hashem and do his will. The suffering causes us to repent, making the evil inclination vanish, and our true goodness becomes revealed.
We have to remember that we are like an olive tree. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we are in the wrong. Sometimes we sin. Deep down, however, we want to do better . We are better than that. All we have to do is repent and remove the facade that is blocking us from showing our true intent.