Rosh Chodesh Tribe - 005 Av | Shimon

The Month of Shemiyah/Listening, Corresponds To The Tribe of Shimon

We are in the month of Av, which means that the month of Elul will be here soon.

The months of Av and Elul bear a connection. They are both months in which we are meant to use our power of shemiyah (hearing). The month of Av corresponds to the power of shemiyah, “hearing”, and in the month of Elul, we begin to hear the shofar blast.

The Sages teach that the month of Av, specifically, contains the power of shemiyah/hearing.[1] The twelve months of the year also correspond to each of the twelve tribes, and the month of Av corresponds to the tribe of Shimon.[2] The word “Shimon” is from the word shemiyah, to hear.

Following the month of Av is the month of Elul, which is all about the power of maaseh, “taking action”. There are two views in our Sages about which tribe the month of Elul corresponds to. One view is that Elul corresponds to the tribe of Gad[3], and the other view is that Elul corresponds to the tribe of Yehudah[4].

In either case, though, the month of Av is about the concept of shemiyah (hearing), while the following month, Elul, is about maaseh (action).

The Ideal State Is When Maaseh (Action) Precedes Shemiyah (Listening)

At Har Sinai, the people said Naaseh, “We will do”, before they said Nishma, “We will listen.”[5] Here, when it came to receive the Torah, we find that maaseh (action) preceded shemiyah (listening), because we were first willing to keep the Torah, before we even heard what the Torah entails of us. The Sages teach that when the people uttered “Naaseh” before saying “Nishma”, the angels remarked, “Who revealed this secret to them?”[6]

Thus, at the giving of the Torah, there was a secret revealed, that the power of maaseh (action) is able to precede shemiyah (listening).

How do we reconcile this with the order of the months, where Av, corresponding to shemiyah/listening, precedes Elul, which corresponds to maaseh/action? The answer to this is because after the sin with the Golden Calf, we fell from the exalted level we were at when we stood at Har Sinai, and that is why currently, it is shemiyah (listening) which precedes maaseh (action).

Thus, in the ideal state, maaseh (action) precedes shemiyah (listening). Why is it that way? And how did we fall from that level?

There is really a deeper root to this matter. When Hashem created the world, He first said “Naaseh”, that the world should be made. Thus, the original plan is that “Naaseh”, action, comes first. Before man was created, maaseh precedes shemiyah. Only after man was created did the order get changed, and now shemiyah precedes maaseh. Man first has to “hear” what to do, in order to know how to act. That is why the angels were perplexed at how Klal Yisrael knew the secret of saying Naaseh V’Nishmah.

When maaseh (action) precedes shemiyah (listening), a person naturally does the will of Hashem. But when shemiyah/listeningprecedes maaseh/action, man has to first “hear” what is being asked of him before he does it, and this will mean that man doesn’t always do the will of Hashem - because he doesn’t always listen. When doing depends on listening, man doesn’t always do what he is supposed to do, because he first has to listen, and he doesn’t always listen.

Two Different Kinds of Crying: Av and Elul

During the month of Av, our voices are heard, as we weep in mourning over the destruction. This kind of crying is called bechi, a mournful kind of crying. When we weep in Elul, though, it is a different kind of crying, which is called yelalah. What is the difference? Crying in the month of Av is to weep over the past, but crying in Elul is to regret the past and also make resolutions for the future. Our crying in Av focuses on the past, while our crying in Elul focuses on our future.

When we come into the month of Elul, we connect ourselves to the power of maaseh, to the maaseh (handiwork) of the dvar Hashem, the word of Hashem. The Sages teach that Hashem created the word in the month of Elul (on the 25^th day of Elul). We are connecting ourselves in Elul to the maaseh of Hashem, to the original handiwork of Hashem, and this was the maaseh which preceded all shemiyah.

The concept of maaseh in Elul is two-faceted. We cry in Elul because we just passed the month of Av, where we didn’t hear the word of Hashem because of our sins, and thus we had to endure the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, and we cried over the past. But in Elul, not only do we cry for our sins of the past, but we also reveal the maaseh of the creation of the world. In that sense, we access the original level in which maaseh precedes shemiyah. In Elul, our crying comes as a result of the maaseh that is in Elul.

The Connection Between Shimon and Shemiyah/Listening

Let us try to understand this better.

Chazal teach that when Leah gave birth to her second son, she named him “Shimon”, from the word shemiyah (listening), because Hashem “listened” to her prayers when she felt “hated” by Yaakov Avinu.[7] Leah was aware that she was not the main wife of Yaakov Avinu, and that her sister Rachel was the main wife. This made her feel hated [on some level]. Thus, Shimon’s name came from the face that Leah felt hated.

The Gemara says that the people in those times were saying that the Lavan’s older daughter, Leah, would marry Yitzchok’s older son, Esav, and that Lavan’s younger daughter, Rachel, would marry the younger son, Yaakov. When Leah heard the rumors, she was so pained at the fact that she might marry Esav, that her eyebrows fell out as she wept bitterly over her fate and prayed incessantly that she should not marry Esav.[8]

This was the actually the deeper root of how Leah would come to feel hated. It began with the fact that Leah was originally destined to marry the wicked Esav. There is a verse, “Yaakov I loved… and Esav I hated.”[9] Esav is “hated” by Hashem. Thus, even when Leah married Yaakov, she still felt that she bore a connection to Esav, who is hated by Hashem. That is why she still felt hated, even as she was still married to Yaakov! She knew that she was not the main wife of Yaakov, and that meant that she was still connected with Esav [by default, since she was not considered by Yaakov to be the main wife]. When Shimon was born, Leah knew that Hashem “heard” how she had felt hated, and that is why Leah named him “Shimon”, from the word shemiyah, to hear.

Shimon and Levi banded together to destroy the city of Shechem, and Yaakov Avinu cursed their anger. The Sages explain that Yaakov Avinu was chastising them for using Esav’s methods of violence and war.[10] Shimon (and Levi) used the method of Esav, of using violence to succeed, and on a deeper level, this is because Shimon bears a connection to Esav. Why? It was because, according to the above explanation, because Shimon’s name was given in connection with Leah’s feeling of being “hated”, for being the destined mate of Esav.

Shimon’s Punishment Was Because Of His Connection To Esav’s Actions

Shimon was punished for instigating the violence on the city of Shechem and for arranging the sale of Yosef. Yaakov said of Shimon, “I will spread him amongst Yisrael”. Shimon’s tribe did not receive a concentrated portion of land in Eretz Yisrael. Instead, members of the tribe of Shimon were spread out over the entire landscape of Eretz Yisrael. The Sages state that Yehudah’s portion of land overlaps with Shimon’s portion of land. Shimon didn’t receive an equal portion in Eretz Yisrael as the other tribes received. This was a direct punishment for acting like Esav, when he waged war against the city of Shechem. Shimon also bore a connection with Esav’s actions, because just as Esav sold his rights to the firstborn, so did Shimon also lose his rights to a portion in Eretz Yisrael.

Taking this further, the destruction to the Beis HaMikdash, which took place in the month of Av - the month that corresponds to Shimon - is essentially rooted in the Shimon’s error of acting like Esav. When waging war on Shechem, Shimon engaged with the sword in order to kill. The Hebrew word for “sword” is “cherev”, which is the root of the word “churban”, destruction. When Shimon used the cherev/sword to wage war against the city of Shechem, he was acting like Esav, and this led the roots to the churban, to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash.

The Gemara says that the second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed due to sinas chinam (baseless hatred).[11] This, too, is connected with Shimon. Shimon’s name was given in connection with Leah’s feeling of being “hated”.  Since Leah felt hated, and Shimon’s name was a reminder of how she had felt hated, Shimon’s month, Av, would eventually become tainted with the baseless “hatred” that led to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash.

Shimon’s Rectification Is To Join With Yehudah

[Thus, Shimon received an awful punishment, by acting like Esav. He lost a true portion in Eretz Yisrael, and his actions paved the way for the eventual destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. Yet, Shimon is one of the holy tribes in the Jewish people, and he can certainly receive a tikkun, a spiritual repair.]

How can Shimon be repaired? The answer lies in his name, “Shimon”, which is from the words shom meon, “There, is the dwelling place [for G-d].” Shimon can be repaired when he becomes connected with the “dwelling place for G-d.”

Shimon’s error in destroying Shechem, where he acted like Esav, made him fall to the level of shom avon, “There, is sin”.[12] Shimon’s repair is to rise from his fallen state, shom avon, “There, is sin”, to his ideal level, which is called shom meon, “There, is the dwelling place for G-d.” How can the tribe of Shimon achieve this repair?

In order for Shimon to be repaired, his tribe needs the rectified power of shemiyah, of listening. The fact that Yehudah’s portion overlaps Shimon’s portion in Eretz Yisrael is what contains the key to Shimon’s repair. It shows that the tribe of Shimon becomes repaired when they are joined and connected with the tribe of Yehudah. That is the deeper reason of why Hashem placed Shimon’s portion together with Yehudah’s: So that Shimon will learn from Yehudah and become repaired.

Shimon’s Repair Lays In Yehudah’s Power of “Naaseh V’Nishmah”

How does Shimon become repaired through Yehudah? It is because Yehudah has the power of maaseh, the power to take action, which precedes the power of shemiyah/listening (which is the power of Shimon). Yehudah represents the ideal state, in which Naaseh (We will do) precedes Nishma (We will hear), when maaseh/action precedes shemiyah/listening.

The ultimate effect of the ruination to Shimon’s power of shemiyah/listening, which took effect in the month that corresponds to Shimon/shemiyah – the month of Av - was the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash that happened in Shimon’s month, Av.

But when Shimon becomes joined with Yehudah, the ruined month of Av can become repaired. The month of Av can become repaired through its following months, Elul and Tishrei, which have great spiritual power. Elul contains the power of maaseh (action), which corresponds to the ideal state, in which Naaseh precedes Nishma. The month of Tishrei was when the second pair of Luchos were given, and this returned the people (on some level) to the state in which Naaseh precedes Nishma. This is the key to repairing Shimon’s ruined power of shemiyah.

Heeding Hashem’s Voice – Hearing The Endless Sound of Hashem

Shimon’s name is rooted in the word shemiyah, “hearing”, and this is a hint to the time when Hashem will “hear” to the cries of the Jewish people in exile.

How does one connect to the power of shemiyah, the holy power of “hearing”, which is Shimon’s power and which is the concept of the month of Av?

When one makes sure to “hear” the word of Hashem, one is “hearing” a spiritual sound that is endless. It is essentially to hear the “sound of shofar”, a cry of the shofar which is joyous, because it heralds the Redemption, as opposed to a sad, mournful cry that signifies destruction. To “hear” the sound of the shofar, the endless sound, is to connect to the level of future, to “hear” the sound of the future even in the present.

In the months of Elul and Tishrei, the level of the future is more apparently revealed. The shofar blast which we hear in the month of Elul is so that we can become inspired to accept resolutions upon ourselves and engage in teshuvah. Rav Saadya Gaon says that the shofar we hear in the month of Tishrei, the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, alludes to the shofar of the future. Thus, on a deeper level, “hearing” the shofar during Elul and Tishrei is about becoming connected with the future.

This is in contrast with the month of Av, in which we cry over the past and we grieve over our sins and mistakes. The month of Av focuses on our errors of the past. By contrast, hearing the shofar sound [in the months of Elul and Tishrei] is a catalyst that awakens us to accept upon ourselves that we will do teshuvah, by making resolutions to improve, for the future. The months of Elul and Tishei are about looking towards the future.

In Conclusion

When Hashem is speaking to us, and we are not “hearing” Him, this resembles how Hashem spoke to Adam in Gan Eden, and Adam didn’t want to “hear” Hashem’s voice…

But when we make sure to accept resolutions for the future, to improve, to do teshuvah, we hear the endless sound, the voice of Hashem, which we will hear in the future, with the coming of the Redemption, in which we will hear the great shofar sound of the arrival of Mashiach !

May we all merit together to make resolutions for the future, and merit to hear the shofar of Mashiach, the complete redemption, may it come speedily in our days, Amen.