STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
TERUMAH 5777
“THE VALUE OF EFFORT”
·
As a young man Abe Lincoln was a failure as
a businessman and then as a lawyer. He turned to politics and was defeated in
his first efforts to become a legislature, again defeated in his first attempt
to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of
the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated
in his efforts at the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial
election of 1858. It was at that time that he wrote to a friend, “I am now the
most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole
human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth.”
·
Winston Churchill repeated a grade during
elementary school. He twice failed the exam to the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst . He later wrote, “Never give in, never give in,
never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never
give in except to the convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never,
Never give up!”
·
Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too
stupid to learn anything”. He was fired from his first two jobs for being
un-productive.
·
Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was
four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. He was later expelled from
school.
·
R.H. Macy failed seven times before his New York City
·
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor
because “he lacked imagination and good ideas”.
·
Charles Schultz’s comics were rejected by
his high school yearbook staff. Walt Disney wouldn’t hire him.
·
Twenty seven publishers rejected Dr.
Suess’s first book “To think I saw it on Mulberry street
·
Twelve publishers rejected J.K. Rowling’s
book about a boy wizard, before a small London
·
Babe Ruth, not only held the home run
record for years (714) but also the strikeout record (1,330). In his words,
‘Every strikeout brought me closer to another home run’.
·
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school
basketball team.
The Mishkan, its vessels, and its priestly
garments were made from thirteen types of raw materials listed in the verses at
the beginning of parshas Terumah. The nation was so eager to donate the
materials and to have a share in creating a ‘resting place’ for G-d’s Presence,
that those in charge of the work appealed to Moshe to stop the
contributions.
The final two materials mentioned were,
“Shoham stones and stones for the settings, for the Ephod and the Breastplate.”
The Ohr HaChaim questions why the stones - which were so valuable and precious
- are listed last?
He answers by quoting the Gemara[1]
which states that the precious stones needed for the Mishkan miraculously fell
from clouds near the Jewish camp. The Ohr HaChaim explains that because those
stones required minimal effort and did not entail any self sacrifice because
they did not have to be donated per se, they are listed after all of the other
materials which required effort and sacrifice in their giving.
The Torah’s value system is often at odds
with our value system. While precious stones may seem invaluable to us, in
regards to the materials donated for usage in the construction of the Mishkan
they were the least valuable because they entailed the least personal
sacrifice.
The final chapter of Mishlei, known as
“Aishes Chayil”, read every Friday evening prior to the recitation of Kiddush,
begins with a seemingly degrading statement about women: “A woman of valor -
who can find? Far from pearls is her value.” Prima facie, it sounds as if
Shlomo Hamelech is saying that there are no accomplished women of valor, a
seemingly harsh condemnation of women. However, it seems illogical that that
was his intent for later in the same paragraph he explicitly states otherwise.
“רבות
בנות עשו חיל
- Many daughters have accomplished valor, but you surpassed them all.” How are
we to understand this seeming contradiction?
Rabbi Zev Leff explained that the key to
understanding Shlomo Hamelech’s message lies in the conclusion of the opening
verse. What does it mean, “Far from pearls is her value”? It is well known that
a pearl forms on the ocean floor in a most unusual manner. Pearls are not molded
by craftsman; it is simply a matter of ‘chance’ whether one will have the good
fortune of finding a pearl or not. A diver or fisherman can stumble across a
pearl effortlessly, or he can fruitlessly search for weeks. Finding pearls is
essentially pot-luck.
Shlomo Hamelech begins his description of
the Woman of Valor by declaring that no woman reaches such levels simply by
chance, or by getting lucky. You can’t just ‘find’ a woman of valor because she
isn’t something that just happens. In that sense her value is ‘far from pearls’
which are a matter of luck. Many women have made themselves[2]
into Woman of Valor, albeit only through great effort and introspection.
During the last few decades, a plethora of
‘gedolim books’ have been written[3].
These books, written with painstaking effort, offer a glimpse into the regal
lives of our greatest leaders. But there is one notable fault inherent in these
books. Very often they characterize the gadol as being otherworldly, as a
person who transcended the challenges and struggles that we encounter every day
of our lives. This not only makes the gadol seem ‘out of reach’, it is also
simply untrue.
The Torah does not mince words when it
comes to the shortcomings and failings of our greatest leaders[4].
This, despite the fact, that the ‘failings’ of the Biblical personalities were
so subtle and exacting that for the common person those same actions may be
even be considered meritorious. The Torah
wishes to teach us that every person struggles and at times fails; it’s part of
the human experience. What differentiates great people from the masses is that they
do not allow themselves to wallow in their mistakes. They dust themselves off
and get back in the ring.
Harav Aharon Feldman shlita eloquently expresses
this point[5]:
“With a few noteworthy exceptions, these books frequently ignore the
self-sacrifice and dedication which of necessity must have gone into the
development of every gadol. They often overlook the fact that certainly these
men must have had moments of self-doubt, error, and human frailty, and that
each had times when he needed encouragement, love, and friendship. Great men
are humans just as much as other men; on the contrary, they are great because
they faced and overcame the human shortcomings that they had. Because the book focuses
its attention of the superficial picture and not on the personal details, these
biographies can emerge as unreal and difficult to identify with, thus
undermining their educational impact…
“When some forty years ago, the Ponovezher
Rav, Rabbi Yosef Kaheneman zt’l, decided to found a kollel in Bnei Brak with
the express purpose of producing gedolim, his initial idea was to admit to this
kollel only young men blessed with brilliant intellectual faculties. When he
presented his plan to the Chazon Ish, the latter expressed his reservations.
“Shouldn’t there be a kollel where a future Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan can
develop?” he tersely asked. The Chazon Ish was implying that Rabbi Yitzcahk
Elchanan Spektor, the fabled Rav of Kovno, author of major halachic works and
recognized as the undisputed leader of European Jewry at the turn of the (19th)
century was not a natural genius. By restricting his kollel to gifted minds,
the Chazon Ish was saying, the Ponovezher Rav might be denying the next
generation of leaders of this caliber.
“True, many gedolim in Jewish history were
blessed with prodigious mental gifts, but this was not why they grew to be
gedolim. Rabbi Aharon Kotler zt’l, founder of Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood,
N.J., and a full-fledged genius if there ever was one, used to cherish Edison’s
adage (which one of his students once cited to him) that “genius is 1%
inspiration and 99% perspiration.” It was obvious to listeners that he held his
own accomplishments to be, not the result of his instantaneous grasp and
phenomenal memory, but of his hard work.”
The brief anecdotes mentioned at the
beginning are inspiring and intriguing. But they involve individuals who went
on to achieve great physical accomplishment and distinction. It was because
they were persistent and did not succumb to previous failings that they
eventually persevered. But their situations are a far cry from the spiritual
world in which effort alone is invaluable. If the individuals mentioned at the
beginning would not have achieved greatness they would have been relegated to
the dust-heaps of history. But in the spiritual world it is predominantly effort
that matters and creates greatness.
True
greatness is not accomplished overnight. It takes persistence, relentless
effort, powerful ambition, and most importantly, resilience in the face of
setbacks.
The invaluable stones needed for the
Mishkan were listed after all of the other materials, because they required the
least effort, and therefore contained the least spiritual value.
Like any really valuable commodity in life,
to become a Woman of Valor or a gadol requires work and sweat. It takes great
people to build great families to ensure the continuity of our great nation.
Only those who are up to the challenge can build a House of G-d.
“Shoham stones and stones for the settings”
“Far from pearls is her value”
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – ASHAR
Principal – Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
[1] Yoma 75a
[2] The word עשו
literally means ‘made’, thus the verse reads, “many women have made themselves
into Women of Valor”
[3] ‘Gadol’
literally means ‘great one’; the word is used to refer to our greatest Torah
leaders
[4] It is most
interesting to note that in the New Testament there is never a mention of sin
attributed to their “great ones” (so I have heard).
[5] Quote from
his new book, “The Eye of the Storm: A calm view of Raging Issues”
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