Only
with Honest Work
For what great nation is there that has G-d so
near to it, as HASHEM our G-d is at all times that we call upon Him? And which
great nation is it that has just statutes and ordinances, as this entire Torah,
which I set before you this day? (Devarim 4: 7-8)
Why is the Torah telling us these things?
There are no Mitzvos being promulgated here. Are these mere open declarations
of certain facts? Perhaps we are being made aware of some great gifts!?
If so, this seems to be in violation of a
profound truth I have discovered over the years. Really it’s a reality revealed
by the Zohar. I am not disappointed not to be the first to have found this out.
You can’t truly give anybody anything! Perhaps, the best you can offer someone
is to show them what they already have. I know this is all begging for an
explanation.
HASHEM created the entire world in order to bestow
His ultimate essence and His endless kindness upon a deserving other or others,
and they would have to prove their worthiness by navigating through the
gauntlet of this world. The destination where this reward is realized in full
is the “Next World”. The Zohar wonders why there would be a need for “this
world” at all. Just plant a person right in the midst of the bliss of the next
world and forgo all the struggles of this worldly life. The Zohar answers with
a concept known as “Nahama D’kisufa”- “The Bread of Shame!” To get something
for free is inherently painful and embarrassing. It is essential to the human
soul to wish for the exhilaration associated with hard work yielding
accomplishment, and to reject the reception of “something for nothing”.
I was in Israel a few years ago and hurrying to
catch a cab to my Shabbos destination with only 20 minutes to spare. A driver
screeched to a halt and I jumped in. I decided I was going to try to strike up
a deep and meaningful conversation with my secular Israeli driver even if he
seemed disinterested.
Time was working against me though. I asked him
his name. “Uri” he uttered. One syllable. He was already annoyed by the length
of the conversation. “Where do you live, Uri?” I asked him. Again, a one word
response,”Yerushelaim!” I sensed a slight uptick of pride in his tone and maybe
this was my opportunity. I told him in my best Mishnaic Hebrew which must sound
like Shakespeare English, “Uri, ata kmo dag! Uri, you are like a fish!” He
almost let me off right there, shooting an angry glance. I certainly had his
attention. I told him I need to explain and his look told me I needed to
explain.
As I made my meaning clear, he calmed down and he
even started to shake his head in agreement. I explained as best I could that
the most obvious thing about a fish is that he lives in water. The fish however
does not realize that he is living in water. He is surrounded by it all the
time and he cannot imagine what life would be without it. Water is his air. I
told Uri, “You live here in Yerushelaim! I’m jealous of you! You are like a
fish. You don’t know how fortunate you are. I traveled from America and I paid
a thousands of dollars just to be for a few days in the Holy City of
Yerushelaim. You are here all the time!” By the time we reached our destination
he was elated. Now we can all treat ourselves to a chuckle at Uri’s expense.
How can one fail to realize the real value of their location, where they dwell
daily!?
The more I think about it the more I come to terms
with the notion that we are Uri and Uri is we. The Torah tells us about two
powerful entities that we have been granted. We have the power of prayer, the
ability to invite G-d Almighty into the detail of our lives. We have a Torah so dense
with wisdom and it is obvious no other nation could ever make a near claim.
These cannot be mere gifts. It is an invite to employ these power tools and to
explore the force of their functionality. They
are not trophies to be placed on a shelf and admired from a distance. Rather
they are the most incredible gifts a man can possess but only with honest work.
How
Ironic
For what great nation is there that has G-d so
near to it, as HASHEM our G-d is at all times that we call upon Him? (Devarim
4:8)
Now I know that HASHEM has delivered His
anointed. He will answer him from His Holy Heavens, with the mighty deliverance
of His right hand. Some rely on chariots and some upon horses, but as for us,
the name of HASHEM our G-d we call. (Tehillim 20:7-8)
That Talmud Brochos expresses curiosity about
the above verse. When is the time that when HASHEM is near to us? It offers the
answer that is at the time when the congregation gathers and prays together.
There’s something about that group activity that excites Divine involvement.
Sometimes though, what the community cries out for with all sincerity seems
thwarted. What happens to those prayers? Was it an exercise in futility, G-d
forbid! No! We know that no prayer goes unanswered. There have been a lot of
gathering together and an intense focus on prayer these past few weeks. Not
everyone is in the seat to see results. Sometimes, though, someone in a unique
position is offered a clear window into how the power of the many, praying as
one, manifests in the real world, and in ways that might otherwise go
unnoticed. This all may be pure conjecture but it is certainly compelling and
encouraging news for believing hearts. It is more than worthy of telling and
retelling.
Here is a true and amazing story told by Ohad
Shaked: I received a phone call on Sunday from “A,” one of the Iron Dome
commanders who was a student of mine about 6 years ago. I was glad he called.
“Where can a person learn Torah in Ramat Gan?” He asked me leaving me baffled
being that he was far from Torah and Mitzvot. “I’m going to be released in a
couple of months, and I want to learn in a Yeshiva – I saw the Almighty with my
own eyes!” He said, “Nothing more and nothing less.”
“What happened?” I asked him.
“A Missile was fired from Gaza. The Iron Dome can detect where the missile is
going to fall within a 200 meter radius. This particular Missile was heading to
the Azrieli Towers (the equivalent of the Pentagon in the USA), or to the busy
railroad tracks. Either way, hundreds could have paid with their lives!
We sent the first “dome” and
it missed. Then the second as well as the third dome missed, this is a very
rare occurrence. To date, only two other such cases occurred. I was in shock!
We had four seconds until there is no way back and the missile would hit. We
had already informed and dispatched emergency services, the police and the fire
department, to the location.” Then the commander spoke excitedly as I kept on
listening. “Suddenly, without any preliminary design from the Iron Dome system
(which calculates the possible wind currents, etc.) a strong eastern wind blew
– a wind that we have no idea where it came from and cast the missile right
into the sea. We were all in shock!!! I stood up and started screaming ‘There
is a G-d’! ‘There is a G-d!’ ‘There is a G-d’!!! I saw this miracle with my own
eyes. No one told me about it. It was not reported to me. I saw the Hand of
HASHEM fling the missile into the sea!
Of course this was not reported for security
reasons, but it’s enough to witness the miracles with our own eyes to know
there is HASHEM (G-d). I ran to one of the religious soldiers and asked him to
help me put on Tefillin. I took it upon myself to keep Shabbat, and that was
the very best Shabbat I have ever had.” This is what he told me. I was so
excited that it even brought a tear to my eye. “Ashrecha” (praiseworthy are
you) I said to him, “that you merited to witness this incident and to
understand that it’s from HASHEM (G-d)!”
Just in case we thought it was the iron dome alone
that was protecting our people, now we find out that we have a supernal
partner. “U’ Mi Doma Lach!?” Who is like You!? Who can be compared to You!?
That may be the hidden meaning of the iron dome. How ironic!
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