יום ד Date: 15 Elul, 5774 (9/10/14) – Chagigah#2 {Tani}

To Inhabit the World

[2b top] Ravina and the Mishnah argue if a half-slave, half-free man is obligated in the Mitzvah of Reiyah [seeing Hashem on the festivals by being olah la’regel with korbanos (coming to Israel for sacrifice offerings]. The half-slave himself is in a bad place because he cannot marry at all, neither a slave-woman (because half of him is free and she may not marry a free man) or a free-woman (because half of him is a slave and a free person cannot marry a slave).
G-d “did not create it (the world) to be desolate; He formed it to be inhabited”. Therefore, for the betterment of society (Tikkun Olam), the Rabbis may ‘force’ the master to fully free the slave and the master gets compensated with the half-slave’s value for his loss in wages and the slave then can marry a free woman and have children.

T’s Lesson: The whole purpose of the world is to have children and to fill the Earth with people doing good deeds and making the world a better place. It is about being selfless and bringing humans into this world (with Hashem’s help). We even make the slaveowner transgress an Aveirah (of freeing a slave) in order to allow the slave to be fully free and partake of this great Mitzvah. In fact, one of the first (of four major) questions we are asked by Hashem in the afterlife is, “Asakts B’piryah V’riviyah?” [Did you partake in having children? (or at least trying all you could to have them)?] Western society teaches involvement in pursuits of pleasure, instant gratification, and selfishness (where one would rather make more money, focus on oneself, and not be burdened with a family). The next time we get upset at the cost of children and how hard kids are, remember that they are really our ultimate mission, as the world was created for us to raise children into it.