STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
BECHUKOSAI 5779
“ERECT
BEARING”
During my first years
in chinuch I had the good fortune to be the School Social Worker of Yeshiva
Bais Hachinuch. Bais Hachinuch was created for students who struggle academically
in the mainstream yeshivos. The greatness of the yeshiva is that there are no
more than twelve students per class, allowing rabbeim and teachers to develop
strong relationships with their students. When I joined the yeshiva, it was
still in its formative years, and at the time had a relatively small student
body. Everyone knew everyone else’s names, and the members of the hanhala and
faculty shared a warm relationship. As the years wore on, although the yeshiva
remained smaller than other local yeshivos, it grew beyond its original numbers.
At a meeting held at the
conclusion of one of the school years as the yeshiva was growing, the executive
director of the yeshiva, Mr. Jordan Most, quipped that “with all growth comes distance.”
He added that our task was to do our utmost to bridge that distance to maintain
the comradery and warmth of the yeshiva, even as it grew.
At the beginning of
parshas Bechuksai, the Torah delineates the beautiful blessings that Klal
Yisroel will merit when they adhere to the mitzvos and observe the Torah faithfully.
“… And I will turn to you and I will make you fruitful, and I will cause you to
increase, and I will establish My covenant with you.”[1]
On the words “And I will increase you”, Rashi comments, “With erect (dignified)
bearing.”
As a rule, Rashi conveys
the simplest and most straightforward understanding of the words of the Torah.
If the pasuk says that Hashem will increase their numbers, why does Rashi
explain that their numbers will increase with erect posture? Having a sense of
pride would seem to be a separate blessing from qualitative growth?
In Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech
praises Hashem, “Who heals those who have a broken heart, and bandages their
sadness. He counts the number of the stars, to each one
He calls a name.”[2]
The commentaries explain that the second pasuk is explaining the first. Just
how does Hashem heal broken hearts and bandage people’s sadness? The answer is
by giving each star a number and a name.
When a person suffers
any misfortune, or is undergoing any difficulty, the pain he feels is magnified
by a sense of loneliness and isolation. Think about a child who falls and hurts
himself. He immediately runs to his mother so she can give him a kiss, even
before he runs for a band aid. The kiss does nothing to minimize the pain of the
wound. But as soon as there is a feeling of pain, a person feels alone in their
suffering. The mother’s kiss is a reassurance of love that takes away the
emotional pain. Only after the kiss does the child look for a band aid.
By giving each star a
name, Hashem demonstrates it’s value and uniqueness. Even though there is one
collective number of stars, each has a name, because each has a purpose.
The most profound
feelings of sadness stem from feeling insignificant and worthless. People who
are severely depressed often wonder what value their lives contain. If they
wouldn’t wake up tomorrow, would anyone care?
Showing someone love
and care can literally be an infusion of life, especially during difficult
times.
There is a program that a number of
local schools have introduced in the last couple of years entitled “Names, Not
Numbers”. Names, Not Numbers is a holocaust documentary film project offered to schools
around the US, Canada and Israel. The films follow students as they learn the
main aspect of filmmaking from journalists and filmmakers including research,
interviewing techniques, filming techniques and editing, to prepare them to
interview and film Holocaust survivors and liberators. The
feature-length films are screened at the end of the school year for the
students, their families, the participants, and the community.
The title itself is
symbolic of our efforts to undo the psychological damage that the Nazis
wrought. The Nazis sought to reduce their victims to a bunch of numbers, and
thereby rob them of their identity and dignity. By allowing and encouraging the
survivors to share their stories and speak about their travails and those they
lost, to a degree we are restoring the identity that was stripped from them.
The underhanded message is that you do matter, and every bit of suffering you
endured isn’t being allowed to be forgotten.
In parshas Bamidar, a census
was conducted to determine how many Jewish men there were between the ages of
twenty and sixty. Rashi explains that the census was conducted out of divine love.
On the first of Nissan the Mishkan was erected and began its service, and on the
first of Iyar the nation was counted.
It would seem that a national
census hardly grants an individual a feeling of uniqueness and importance.
After all, why would anyone feel important if he was only an anonymous number
within a population of 603,550. But that was in fact, not the case. The Ramban
explains how the census was conducted: “Every member of the assembly brought
his (half-)shekel and proclaimed before Moshe and the Nesi’im “I am so-and-so, born
to so-and-so, from the family of so-and-so”[3]….One
who came before the father of the prophets and his brother, the Holy one of
G-d, and he made himself known before them by name, it would be for him a merit
and (injection of) life, because he (thereby) entered the counsel of the nation
and the annals of the B’nei Yisroel, to have the merit (of being part of) the
public counting. For each individual it was a merit to be part of the census,
to be counted before Moshe and Aharon, who would place upon them their eyes for
good and beseech mercy on their behalf, ‘Hashem, the G-d of your fathers,
should increase upon you like you a thousand fold, and He should not diminish your
numbers.”[4]
The counting of the
nation wasn’t merely a means to attain the final tally. They did not walk to a
collection station, check their name off on a paper, and drop their half-shekel
in a box. Rather, it was an opportunity for every member of the nation to
present himself and introduce himself to the righteous leaders who would bless
and pray for them. Only after doing so, would an individual present his
half-shekel coin to Moshe and Aharon. When he walked away from that uplifting experience,
it was something he would relate to his family.
In Megillas Rus, when Boaz
learned about Rus in his field, he instructed her to only collect from the gleanings
of grain in his field, and he pledged to take care of her. “And she fell upon
her face and she bowed to the ground and she said to him, ‘why is this that I have
found favor in your eyes that you have recognized me when I am a foreigner?’”
Rus expressed her gratitude, not for the fact that he offered her protection and
sustenance, but beyond that, for merely noticing her.
Every person craves recognition,
validation, appreciation, and to be valued and appreciated.
The gemara says that
one who smiles at someone has given the recipient of the smile a greater gift
than a cup of milk.[5]
Milk has many vitamins and nutrients and one who drinks it adds to his physical
health. But one who receives a warm and pleasant smile feels uplifted in his
heart and it can have an impact on his entire day.
The worst pain is when
it is suffered in silence. The feeling of being loved and cared about/for makes
an incredible difference upon the very quality of one’s life.
The Torah promises
that when “I will increase you” and the nation will grow qualitatively, it will
be a true blessing. The only way that is possible is if every individual feels valued
and needed. That is why Rashi comments that Hashem will increase us it will be “with
an erect bearing”. It is a guarantee that when our population increases we won’t
become lost among the masses and feel like just another meaningless face in the
crowd. Every individual will recognize his uniqueness and understand and
appreciate his place.
The twenty-four
thousand students of Rabbi Akiva died during the days of Sefiras HaOmer, because
they didn’t treat each other with adequate respect.[6]
The way we seek to rectify that deficiency within ourselves is to love and
value everyone around us. That is the way in which we prepare to once again receive
the Torah on Shavuos.
“He counts the number
of the stars, to each one He calls a name”
“With erect bearing”
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
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