Blind Faith
Parshas
Behar Bechukosai
The commandment of
Shemitah is a test of our faith and an examination in our true belief in the
Almighty’s ability to sustain us. The Torah commands us that every seven years
we must let the land of Israel lie fallow, with no harvesting or planting of
crops. But Hashem promises us that if “you shall perform My decrees, and
observe My ordinances and perform them, then you shall dwell securely on the
land. The land will give its fruit and you will eat your fill; you will dwell
securely upon it” (Leviticus 25:18-19). Rashi explains the blessing “even if
you eat only a little, it will be blessed in your stomach,” The little you eat
will grow into a bounty of satiation. But after assuring us that our little
will feel plentiful the Torah talks to the naysayers. The Torah talks about
that group of people. “If you will say – What will we eat in the seventh year?
— behold! We will not sow and not gather in our crops!” Hashem assures them as
well. “I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year and it will yield a
crop sufficient for the three-year period.” (Ibid v.20-21)
The Kli Yakar and a
host of other commentaries ask. Why should a Jew ask that troubling question?
Didn’t Hashem command his abundant blessing in the sixth year? Didn’t the
little bit of food leave them satisfied? Why do they have concern about the
ensuing years?
My dear friend Rabbi
Benyamin Brenig of Golders Green, London recently related this wonderful story
to me: Reuvain and Shimon were two men, who lived on opposite ends of town.
They each inherited a fortune of gold. Each of them decided to bury their
fortunes in their backyards. They wanted to make sure that they would have something
to sustain them in their old age. On their respective properties, they each
picked a landmark, paced twenty steps due north and dug a large hole.
Reuvain, the more
nervous of the two, was careful to make sure that no one was watching. Every
other second he glanced furtively over his shoulder to make sure that no one
saw him bury the treasure. No one did.
Shimon, by nature, was
trusting and carefree and he was not so careful. He was not worried that anyone
would steal his fortune. But he was wrong. He was spotted by a nosy neighbor,
who was also a thief.
In the middle of the
night, the thief dug up the fortune. Out of mercy, he left few coins at the
bottom of the pit, and removed the coins. He refilled the hole and packed the
ground perfectly as if nothing was disturbed. Then he took off with the
fortune.
Reuvain’s fortune,
however, remained intact. But he was, by nature, a worrier. And so, the next
day he decided to dig up the hole to make sure that the gold was still there.
Accidentally, he counted only fifteen paces from his landmark and dug. There
was nothing there. Reuvain was frantic. Someone must have seen him dig the pit,
he figured. For the rest of his life, he worried. On his property, he had a pit
filled with gold coins, but all Reuvain did was worry!
Shimon on the other
hand had nothing but the remnants of a few coins. Everything else was stolen.
But he never checked the fortune, and was merrily content, assured that when
the time would come he could dig up the pit and retrieve his fortune. Reuvain,
the millionaire, died heartbroken and frantic. Shimon, the man with but a few
coins left for his old-age lived his life content as if he was the wealthiest
man in the world.
The Torah tells us
about the different types of blessings. For the faithful, Hashem says, “I will
command my blessing in the sixth year,” in which Rashi assures us that even a
bit will feel like a bounty. But we must acknowledge that despite Heavenly
assurances, there are those who always worry. They need to see the money! They
ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year? Behold! We will not sow and not
gather in our crops!” Hashem must assure them that he will increase their
bounty in a way that is visible to them.
Some of us can believe
without seeing immediate results. We can sleep well, with full satisfaction on
empty stomachs. The greatest expression of faith is when we do not see the
blessing, but we feel it in our hearts and even in our stomachs. That blessing
transcends tangibility, and the fear of deficiency. I think that is a noble
goal.
For the rest of us,
those who keep looking over their shoulder and check their fortunes every day,
they need a different type of blessing. Sometimes we dig for tangible
salvation, even though the treasure is sitting undisturbed in our own backyard.
Dedicated by Aleeza
& Avi Lauer and Family, in memory of Avi’s father, Rabbi Elias Lauer –
Harav Eliezer Ben Aharon Dovid, A”H, on the occasion of his yartzeit, 26th day
of Iyar, and in memory of Avi’s grandfather, Aaron Lauer – Ahron Dovid Ben
Eliezer, A”H, on the occasion of his yartzeit, 28th day of Iyar.
Good Shabbos!
Copyright © 1997 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.
If you enjoy the
weekly Drasha, now you can receive the best of Drasha in book form! Purchase Parsha Parables
– from the Project Genesis bookstore – Genesis Judaica – at a very special price!
The author is the
Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore.
The Formula for Success
Parshas
Behar
Posted on May 23, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi
Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah
| Level: Beginner
Hashem spoke to Moshe
on Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When
you come into the land that I give you, the land shall observe a Sabbath rest
for HASHEM. For six years you may sow your field and for six years you may
prune your vineyard and you may gather in its crop, but the seventh year shall
be a complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for HASHEM… (Vayikra 25:1-4)
What is the
relationship between the “Sabbatical Year” and “Mount Sinai”? Just as the
details of the Sabbatical were given on Mount Sinai so all the other Mitzvos
and their particulars were given on Mount Sinai. (Rashi)
Rashi asks a question
and he answers it! What is the connection between Mount Sinai and the Law of
the Sabbatical year? It is quite remarkable that the Laws of Shmitta are
connected to Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai and the experience in the desert, eating
heavenly bread and learning all day is a world apart from entering a physical
land with loads of agricultural needs.
Why should the
Shmitta be mentioned in connection to Mount Sinai? And even according to Rashi
what’s the importance of knowing that the details of the Sabbatical were
promulgated at Mount Sinai?
The Zohar tells us that
if Adam HaRishon, the first man, would have eaten first from “The Tree of Life”
before eating from the “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” then he
would have lived forever in the Garden of Eden. We know that that’s not what
happened. He ate from “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad”, first and
that made all the difference.
In practical terms,
what are these two trees? They are actually two distinct ways of learning about
life. “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” is subjectivity. It is the
school of hard knocks, not Fort Knox, hard knocks. The tuition for this school
is free at first but in the end it turns out to be extremely costly. It’s when
we learn and discover through experience.
Many great lessons can
be learned through difficult and even bitter experience but the fallout from
those lessons linger on. Sure, a person can learn who to marry and how to stay
married and how to raise children properly by trial and error, but the human
toll and the loss of time and can be devastating and tragic. No one wants to
look back and utter the words, “I wish I had known this sooner! I could have
saved myself and others loads of aggravation.”
Years back we paved a
huge piece of land in our backyard and installed a basketball court. “Today I
mention my sin”. I took up the cause of setting in cement and assembling the
basket. While my oldest son was busy carefully studying the instruction manual,
I was already at work putting things together. We came to the same discovery at
the same time. He looked up at one moment and declared first you have to put
this part on and only then attach the other. I had already done it in reverse
order and was wondering why it didn’t fit quite right and why do I have an
extra nut and bolt. Well I messed up and my mistake was unable to be undone. For the
next 20 years it always had a distinct wobble; a constant reminder and a
permanent monument to my false bravado.
Alternately, “The Tree
of Life” is utter objectivity. It’s a code word for Torah. It means making use
of the instruction manual for life.
Employing “The Tree of
the Life” versus “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad” is the difference
between going food shopping with an itemized shopping list and food shopping
without a list. If one has a list there is a greater likelihood that he will
navigate through all the tempting food isles and exit the store with only what
was needed. If one doesn’t have list then the shopping cart will be filled with
extra junk and the cost will be high.
When the Jewish People learned about the Laws of Shmitta well
in advance to entering the Land of Israel, they were in fact reversing the
faulty trend initiated by Adam HaRishon. Now they were gaining a mind of
objectivity before engaging a heart of subjectivity. Learning the laws and the
guiding principles of marriage before getting involved in the emotional world
of a relationship is the formula for success.
Small Coincidences
Parshas
Behar Bechukosai
Fire and thick clouds
descended on Mount Sinai as millions of Jewish people trembled in awe at the
foot of the mountain. And then the voice of the Almighty spoke directly to all
the people, the first and last time that such an incredible divine revelation
would occur in all the history of mankind. What did the Almighty say to the
Jewish people on that historic day at Mount Sinai? He gave them the Ten
Commandments.
But what about the rest
of the Torah? Where and when was that given to the Jewish people? In fact, all
the rest of the Torah was also given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. The
encampment remained at the foot of the mountain for over a year, and during
this time, Moses taught the entire Torah to the Jewish people, and the process
of study began.
This week’s portion,
however, when presenting the laws of the sabbatical year, opens with a strange
statement. “And Hashem spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying . . .” What is the
connection between Mount Sinai and the sabbatical year? wonders the Talmud.
After all, wasn’t the entire Torah taught at Mount Sinai. Why make particular
mention of Mount Sinai with regard to one commandment?
The Talmud explains
that by this we are meant to draw a parallel from this commandment to all the
other commandments in the Torah. Just as the laws of the sabbatical year, which
require that the land be left fallow every seventh year, were taught in full at
Mount Sinai so too were all the laws of the Torah taught there.
The question remains:
Why were the laws of the sabbatical year singled out as the example which all
the other laws follow?
The commentators point
to an interesting passage a little deeper into the Torah portion we are reading
this week. “And if you shall say, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?
Behold, we cannot plant nor gather in our produce,’ then I will command My
blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield enough produce for three
years.”
What an amazing
statement! Here is clear proof (among many others) of the divine origin of the
Torah. First of all, do laws of the sabbatical year sound like something people
would make up? And even if we could conjure up some motivation for instituting
such laws, how exactly did they plan to deliver on the three-for-one crop in
the sixth year? This was not written by men. It couldn’t have been.
This, the commentators
explain, is the point the Torah is making here. Just as the sabbatical laws
were formulated by the Almighty and not by men, so too are all the other laws
of the Torah from Mount Sinai, divine in origin and not the product of human
imagination.
A man, who had business in a distant city, bid his wife
farewell, left his apartment and went out to the street to find a taxi. To his
delight, a taxi was standing at the curbside. At the airport, he found a skycap
waiting to take his luggage just as he opened his door. His ticket was waiting
for him at the counter, and once again, he was delighted to discover he had
been assigned his favorite seat. What wonderful coincidences, he thought.
The coincidences
continued throughout his trip, and he marveled at his good fortune. Finally, he
arrived at the hotel in the city of his destination and found that a delicious
meal had been prepared for him. Moreover, the food was prepared and arranged
exactly as he preferred it!
Aha! he thought. This
is too much to attribute to coincidence. Now I clearly see my wife’s loving
hand. She made sure that I was happy and comfortable every step of the way. I
must thank her not only for the meal, but for every convenience I have so
fortuitously encountered on my trip.
In our own lives, most
of us can easily think of at least one or two times when we saw clearly the
Almighty’s hand leading us through difficult times. But think about it. Doesn’t
it stand to reason that all the other good things that have happened to us in
the normal course of events, all the little coincidences that we are so
accustomed to taking for granted, all of these were also engineered by the
loving hand of the Almighty? Once we come to this realization, our relationship
with Him will rise to a new level and will be forever spiritually enriched.
