Say Thank You

Parshas Ki Savo

Posted on September 19, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

Saying thank you is one of the basic courtesies of human interaction. Though elementary and straightforward, it is often forgotten or neglected. In saying thank you, we are acknowledging that we are dependent upon the goodness and consideration of others and that we are not completely in control over events and even of our own decisions in life.

In traditional homes, both Jewish and general, some of the first words that children are taught are “thank you,” “please” and “ may I.” In fact, these words are the building blocks of civilized behavior and of being able to get along peacefully and gently in this world. But because of our egotististical nature, as children and later in life as adults, we resent the necessity of having to use these words and to thereby acknowledge our dependence upon others.

It is always ironic that we expect expressions of gratitude from others but are very sparing in granting them ourselves. If this be true, as I feel it is in families and among other relationships, it is also true regarding our relationship to our Creator. The Torah refers to the lack of gratitude as a cardinal sin of personality. It is based in arrogance and a false assessment of one’s place in the world. Therefore, Judaism stresses humility, for only in humility can one expect to find expressions of gratitude.

The Torah reading of this week begins with the necessity for expressions of gratitude for the blessings of a bountiful harvest and the first fruits of the agricultural year. These fruits were to be brought to the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to the priests serving there and as an acknowledgment of appreciation to G-d for having provided this bounty to the farmer.

There is no question that the farmer invested a great deal of effort, sweat and toil in bringing his crops to fruition. Because of this effort and the investment on the part of the farmer, there is a temptation that he will view these new fruits as an entitlement. For after all, he was the one who devoted the time and effort necessary to produce them. There is a danger that he will forget that there really are no entitlements in life and that one has to say thank you for everything that is achieved, though ostensibly we have labored to achieve this much desired goal.

Rather, it is incumbent upon the farmer to thank his Creator for the land and the natural miracles that occurred daily in the production of food, grain and fruit. As the old year winds down, we should all remember to say thank you for life, goodness and family, and pray that the new year will bring us more of the same.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

We Need Lots of Help!

Parshas Ki Savo

Posted on August 26, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

 

Then you shall call out and say before HASHEM, your G-d, “An Aramean tried to destroy my father. He descended to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation great, strong and numerous. The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, and placed hard work upon us. Then we cried out to HASHEM, the G-d of our forefathers, and HASHEM heard our voice and saw our affliction, our travail and our oppression. HASHEM took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with great awesomeness and wonders. He brought us to this place and He gave us a Land flowing with milk and honey. And now behold! I have brought the first fruit of the ground You have given me, O HASHEM!” And you shall lay it before HASHEM, your G-d, and you shall prostrate yourself before HASHEM your G-d. (Devarim 26:5-10)

Everyone bringing a first fruit to the Cohen is required to make this protracted declaration year after year. By the second or third time we can imagine that the person reciting these same words that comprise a good portion of our Haggadah is going to be learning little about our history that he didn’t already know. Then what’s the point of repeating this speech over and over and over again?

The Ribnitzer Rebbe ztl. was widely known for his ability to facilitate miracles. The story was related to me just this week that a certain Dr. Goldstein from Queens, an ear, nose, and throat specialist was visited by a family that had a girl that was stricken with classic deafness for which there is no known cure. The Doctor would have dismissed them without any medical attention but they insisted that the Ribnitzer Rebbe had sent them to him for a treatment and a cure. So to only to appease their persistence he prescribed a regimen of vitamins and sent them on their way.

Within a short period of time the parents received a surprising phone call from one of the teachers at the special-school for the deaf the girl had been attending. It seems she started to exhibit signs of being able to hear. When it was verified that she could in fact hear, everyone was amazed, and Dr. Goldstein was crowned with the credit for his healing prowess.

Word spread that Dr. Goldstein could, indeed cure deafness. He was then faced with a steep legal challenge. Since he had honestly deflected all credit he was charged with withholding treatment which is a crime. He had to prove in a court of law that he had offered the girl no more than a placebo. Ultimately the real cause of the cure, by default was legally credited to the miraculous powers of the Ribnitzer Rebbe, and so it was duly recorded.

Years later Dr. Goldstein received a call from the Gabai- attendant of the Ribnitzer Rebbe requesting a home visit for Rebbe to assist him with a problem that he was having with his hearing. After administering whatever needed to be done the Dr. asked the Ribnitzer the obvious question. “Why didn’t the Rebbe, who was able to make miracles happen, heal himself from his own ear ailment?”

The Rebbe quoted the Talmud (Brochos 5B) where it says, “A prisoner cannot remove himself from prison!” There it tells about Reb Yochanon who had relieved others of their pain and yet required the help of someone else to alleviate his. What we do for others, often we cannot even do for ourselves. Sometimes a doctor needs a doctor, a lawyer may need a lawyer, and a psychiatrist needs a psychiatrist.

There are multiple versions of the same bad joke about the fellow who was looking frantically for a parking place in New York so he could be on time for a million dollar business deal. So desperate he became that he called to HASHEM and promised, “I’ll give half the profits to charity if I just get a parking place to be on time!” Just at that moment, magically, a car pulls out from a prime parking place and after quickly maneuvering into the spot he exits the car in a hurry and addresses G-d once again stating boldly, “It’s OK G-d! I didn’t need Your help! I worked it out myself!”

So great is the tendency for a person to gobble up credit, and cut G-d out of the deal, whenever anything goes well, an entire history lesson is in order to remind us repeatedly of what we know already, though it’s hard to admit. We couldn’t have gotten out of Egypt or High School on our own. To reach this place n’ time we needed and we need lots of help!

DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.

“Grind it out”

Parshas Ki Savo

Posted on September 8, 2017 (5777) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The explicit descriptions of the disasters, personal and national, that make up a large portion of this week’s parsha raise certain issues. Why do Moshe and the Torah paint such a harsh and unforgiving picture of the Jewish future before the people? And if we expect people to glory in their Jewishness, is this the way to sell the product, so to speak? We all support the concept of truth in advertising but isn’t this over and above the necessary requirement?

The fact that the description of much of Jewish history and its calamitous events related in this parsha is completely accurate, prophecy fulfilled to the nth degree, only compounds the difficulties mentioned above. But in truth, there is clear reason for these descriptions of the difficulties inherent in being Jewish to be made apparent.

We read in this book of Devarim that G-d poses the stark choices before the Jewish people – life or death, uniqueness or conformity, holiness or mendacity. Life is made up of choices and most of them are difficult and fateful. Sugar coating the consequences of life’s choices hardly makes for wisdom. Worse still, it erodes any true belief or sense of commitment in the choice that actually is made.

Without the necessary commitment, the choice itself over time becomes meaningless. The Torah tells us that being a Jew requires courage, commitment, a great sense of vision and eternity and deep self-worth. So the Torah must spell out the down side, so to speak, of the choice in being Jewish, The folk saying always was: “It is difficult to be a Jew.” But, in the long run it is even more difficult and painful, eventually, for a Jew not to be a Jew in practice, thought and commitment.

According to Jewish tradition and Halacha, a potential convert to Judaism is warned by the rabbinic court of the dangers of becoming Jewish. He or she is told that Jews are a small minority, persecuted by many and reviled by others. But the potential convert also sees the vision and grandeur of Judaism, the inheritance of our father Avraham and our mother Sarah and of the sheltering wings of the G-d of Israel that guarantee our survival and influence. The potential convert is then asked to choose whether he or she is willing to truly commit to the project.

Without that commitment the entire conversion process is a sham and spiritually meaningless. And the commitment is not really valid if the downside, so to speak, of being Jewish is not explained and detailed. Judaism is not for fair-weather friends or soldiers on parade. The new phrase in the sporting world is that the players have to “grind it out.” Well, that is what being Jewish means – to grind it out, daily, for an entire lifetime.

The positive can only outweigh the negative if the negative is known and defined. Those who look for an easy faith, a religion that demands nothing, who commit to empty phrases but are never willing to pay the price of practice, adherence and discipline will not pass the test of time and survival that being Jewish has always required.

Shabat shalom,