STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
PINCHOS 5779
“FRUITS
OF DILIGENCE”
Rabbi
Eliezer Silver zt”l[1]
was a brilliant scholar, who spared no effort to help fellow Jews and to
preserve traditional Torah Judaism. He was the President of the Union of
Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and one of American Jewry's
foremost religious leaders. He helped save many thousands of Jews during World
War II.
In 1907,
Rabbi Silver and his wife immigrated to the United States. They settled in New
York where Rabbi Silver first became a garment salesman and then sold
insurance.
That same
year, he accepted his first rabbinic position in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. At
the time the community of two thousand had an eclectic mix of outstanding
scholars and ignorant laymen.
One of the
members was a scholar who had studied under the Netziv in Volozhin. The man was
very particular on many areas of halacha, yet he did not observe Shabbos.
The young
rabbi connected with his congregants and helped them grow spiritually. When
they completed their first tractate together, he arranged a lavish siyum to
celebrate the accomplishment. The Volozhiner scholar was most impressed with
Rabbi Silver and became an ardent supporter for the rest of his life.
Rabbi
Silver related that his years in Harrisburg provided him with tremendous
opportunities to learn and to write his Torah thoughts.
The simpler
members of the congregation were very bothered by the fact that their young
rabbi was always immersed in study. They felt that if they hired a rabbi who was
purportedly a brilliant scholar, he should already know everything, and
shouldn’t need to always be studying.
After
Moshe confirmed that the daughters of Tzelafchad would receive a portion in
Eretz Yisroel, he decided that the time had come for him to seek his own needs.
The Medrash[2]
relates that Moshe requested that one of his own sons be his successor as
leader of the nation after his passing. G-d replied, "Your children sat
and did not engage in Torah study. Yehoshua served you and gave you tremendous
honor. He would wake up early and stay late in the Bais Medrash. He would set
up the couches and spread out the mats and serve you with all his strength.
Therefore, he is worthy to take your place as leader after your passing."
G-d then instructed Moshe to prepare Yehoshua for the nation’s leadership after
his passing.
If Moshe's
children were not worthy to lead Klal Yisroel, how could Moshe have thought
that one of them should be his successor?
Nachlas
Eliezer explains that undoubtedly, the children of Moshe were on the same spiritual
level as Yehoshua. Still, Yehoshua was more worthy of leadership.
When one
recites a siyum upon completing a tractate of Gemara or Seder (order) of
Mishnayos, he declares, “We express gratitude before you, Hashem, our G-d, and
the G-d of our forefathers, that You have established our portion with those
who dwell in the study hall, and have not established our portion with idlers.
We toil and they toil; we toil and receive reward, while they toil and do not
receive reward."
It doesn’t
seem to be true that “they toil and do not receive reward”? Would anyone work
if he wasn’t receiving remuneration?
The
Chofetz Chaim related a parable about a king who hired a simple yet experienced
shoemaker to design and make him shoes for his daughter’s upcoming wedding. It
was a tremendous honor, and the shoemaker understood the gravity of the
responsibility. Every nobleman and aristocrat would be in attendance, and the
king expected the shoes to be regal and perfect.
The
shoemaker worked diligently on the shoes, sparing no effort, and working
vigorously well into the night. Every stitch was sewn with precision.
A few
days before the wedding the king returned for his new shoes. The shoemaker
pridefully showed the king one shoe which the king happily admired. It was
truly magnificent and met his highness’s standards. But when the king asked for
the second shoe, the shoemaker apologized and said he needed another two weeks.
All color drained from the king’s face. Two weeks? The wedding was three days
away. But the simple shoemaker insisted that there was no way he could have it
done in that amount of time. The king controlled his rage, as he turned around
to leave.
The
foolish shoemaker asked the exiting king when he could expect payment for his
efforts? At that point, the king lost his temper. “Payment?! I should have you
killed for your insolence and for failing to fulfill your task. You get paid
when you meet demands. It would have been better if the shoe was less perfect,
if I would at least have two shoes. But now I have to wear old shoes to my own
daughter’s wedding. Be happy I’m allowing you to remain alive!”
The
Chofetz Chaim explained that that people work so they will get paid, which is
contingent upon their fulfilling their task. No one gets paid for their effort;
payment is for production. It is only in the world of spirituality where reward
is granted for effort, not for results.
There is
an old saying that “G-d doesn’t count the pages, only the hours.”[3]
Similarly,
the Mishna[4] states: “Lefum tza'ara
agra - Commensurate with the gain is the reward."
In the
world of truth what matters is not how much one has accomplished, but how much
effort one expended. It is that investment which effects internal change,
and that is what counts in heaven.
Nachlas
Eliezer explains that the sons of Moshe were undoubtedly great scholars. In
fact, they may have even been more knowledgeable and more scholarly than
Yehoshua. However, great as they were, they could have reached greater levels.
Yehoshua
on the other hand, was constantly at his Rebbe's side, always seeking to grow
and enhance his spiritual level. Therefore, Yehoshua was more worthy to be
Moshe’s successor than Moshe’s own sons.
There is
an often-quoted statement from the Chida, “אין לך דבר העומד בפני הרצון - there is
nothing that stands before want/desire.” Simply understood, it means “where
there is a will, there is a way”. The problem is that although that may be an
inspiring statement, it’s simply not true. There are many things a person may
truly desire yet will not be able to achieve or have.
The P’nei
Menachem of Ger[5]
related the following explanation from his father, the Imrei Emes[6] of Ger: The Chida didn’t mean
that one can achieve or ascertain anything that he wants badly enough. Rather,
he means that although one cannot get whatever he wants, he has the ability to desire
whatever he wants. Nothing stands in the way of desire! One can always yearn
for greatness and higher levels.
Rabbi
Avigdor Miller zt”l notes that results and accomplishments are solely in the
Hands of Hashem. Our role is to make the right choices and to desire the
correct things:
“Suppose a
person has no desire for anything good. He’s missing out on the most important
part. If he’s a poor man and thinks that he can’t build yeshivos, and so he
forgets about it. He doesn’t even have any interest in building a yeshiva. He is
losing out because the whole success in life is the desire to want to do it,
even though he can’t. That’s why we ask in our daily prayers, that the Bais
Hamikdash be rebuilt. This is a very important tefillah. We desire the Bais
Hamikdash. We can’t do more than that right now, so Hashem gives us a reward
for desiring it. People think that desire is a waste of time, but that’s the
biggest possible error...
“Rav
Yisrael Salanter was once seen talking to an old man for a long time and
explaining to him the importance of creating a kollel where married men could
sit and learn. Rabbi Salanter’s students assumed that the old man was wealthy.
When they found out that he had no money, they asked why he had wasted his time
on a poor man, he replied that the old man can want a kollel. We see how
important it was to get an old man to merely desire a kollel. That itself was
an achievement - planting into somebody’s heart the desire to do good, even
though he cannot do it.
“This is a
tremendous lesson for us. A person can build the Bais Hamikdash in his heart.
He can build yeshivos in his heart. He can do all good things, as long as he
makes up his mind that he’d like to do it.”[7]
In life,
our responsibility is not to live up to anyone else's expectations or
standards, but to desire and strive to be all that we can be with the G-d-given
talents we have been endowed with. That barometer is very personal.
“We toil
and receive reward”
“Nothing
stands before desire”
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor