“Who is the man who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, and let him not melt the heart of his fellows to be like his heart. ” The Torah commands anyone who is afraid of going to war to leave the battlefield because of the negative influence his behavior will have on his fellow soldiers. They will be effected by his fear and consequently become more fearful themselves which will have a detrimental session . The Ramban brings the opinion of the Behag that this is one of the 613 Mitzvot . Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says that the root of this Mitzva is that it is forbidden to act in such a way in any area of life that will negatively influence onlookers. This applies even if the action is justified but can still be interpreted in a negative way - thus he warns of the care a person studying in Yeshiva must take in not missing the study sessions, even when he has a valid reason, because everyone else may not know of this reason and will come to learn to be less strict in keeping to their own studies . Rav Shlomo-Zalman Auerbach applied this principle in Jewish law. He was asked by someone who had a choice of two Shacharis (the morning service) minyanim (quorum); one was far slower than the other, allowing for more concentration, but if he would pray in it he would have to leave before the end. Rav Auerbach answered that he should pray in the slower minyan even though he would have to leave early. However, he told the person that he should make known the reason for his early departure so as to avoid other people learning from his actions and in the incorrect way . Even though the questioner was following the law by leaving early, nevertheless he had to be aware of the possible consequences that this could have on others .
One may ask, why should a person be judged by how his actions influence others if there is nothing intrinsically wrong with them - we are commanded to keep the 613 Mitzvot; if a person does that then why should he suffer from others imitating him in a negative way? Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l writes that in the Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh Hashana we say that Hashem judges the “maaseh ish upekudaso”. Maaseh ish means a person’s own actions, but what does ‘pekudaso’ refer to? He explains that each person has a sphere of influence beyond himself, which includes his family, his students, and any people that come into contact with him. The way he influences these people through his own actions is ‘pekudaso’ and he is judged in that area as well. If, by observing his behavior, they learn to improve their Avodas Hashem (Divine Service) then he will receive much reward but if the opposite occurs then he will be judged for his part in their sins just as he is judged for his own . A person’s actions do not take place in a vacuum, we are always being noticed by others, consequently we must constantly be aware of the possible effect we can have on others without even directly communicating with them.
We can benefit from this form of reward through the positive effect we can have on our fellow: One way in which to do this is by being a positive example in our own behavior and thereby inspire those around us to emulate us . Rav Aron Kotler notes that it is very difficult to rebuke someone effectively without embarrassing him. He suggests that one way to help him grow without fear of causing pain is rebuke by example; acting in such a way that inspires others to emulate his behavior . Someone who, for example consistently arrives on time for Shacharis can influence his roommates to want to do the same; a person who works all day but is careful to be learn Torah for a fixed time every day is an example to those who can’t find the time to learn regularly. Or a person who is careful not to speak lashon hara makes it difficult for those around him to do so by his mere presence. Rav Kotler adds that if a person deliberately excels in a certain area of Avodas Hashem in order to effect onlookers, then he has fulfilled the Mitzva of rebuke in this fashion. And the greater a person is, the more he can influence others in this way. A resolution to bring all of Jewry back to the Torah was found in the satchel of the righteous Rav Naftali Amsterdam. When asked how he planned to carry out this resolution, he replied, “I have resolved to keep all the laws of the Shulchan Aruch strictly. In this way I will serve as a living Shulchan Aruch and anyone who wants to keep the Torah will be able to see in me a living example of a complete Jew and learn from me how to return to the Torah .”
Rav Shmuelevitz goes so far as to argue that causing others to fulfill a Mitzva is considered greater than doing the Mitzva oneself. One of his proofs is a Gemara in Sotah : The Gemara says that Yehuda’s body did not find rest until Moses prayed for him and mentioned one of his merits; Moses said to God, “who caused Reuven to confess to his sin [of moving his father’s bed]? Yehuda [when he confessed about the incident with Tamar].” Rav Shmuelevitz points out that the only merit that Moses mentioned in his prayer is that Yehuda caused Reuven to confess. Why didn’t he mention the great merit of Yehuda’s own confession, an act of great courage that saved the lives of three souls?! We are forced to answer that benefitting our fellow in his spirituality is greater than our own deed in and of itself and therefore the effect his deed had on Reuven was greater than the deed itself !
A person can never know when his deeds can influence others, even the smallest actions can have great effect as is demonstrated in the following true stories: Expecting a large crowd in shul on Yom Kippur, Rav Elya Dushnitzer occupied himself by tearing pieces of toilet paper for public use in the large Petach Tikva shul’s bathroom. A secular Israeli stopped to watch what appeared to him as somewhat peculiar. “Why are you doing that,” he asked. “Tomorrow there is going to be a big crowd, and I don’t want anyone to be inconvenienced.” After becoming a baal teshuva, the Israeli explained what moved him to make a life change. “It was that rabbi. Every rip of paper made a tear deep in my heart. ”
Unsure of whether to attend yeshiva or not, young Moshe decided to go to a yeshiva and see what the guys were like. As he was walking through the lunchroom, someone bumped into him, causing Moshe to spill his coffee on another boy seated at a table. Without a moment’s hesitation, the boy jumped up and called out, “Hey, Shimon, quickly bring another cup of coffee for Moshe!” Moshe decided that if this is what yeshiva bachurim are like, then he’s going to stay. He went on to become Rav Moshe Shwab, the mashgiach (spiritual overseer) of Gateshead Yeshiva .
The people in these stories who were the catalyst for the great changes people made in their lives, do not merely gain reward for their single action. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot writes that a person who benefits others receives incredible benefits ; It begins by saying that ‘sin will not come to his hand,’ - many commentators explain this to mean that he will receive great Heavenly assistance to avoid sin . The Mishna then describes Moses as an example of a mezakeh d’rabim (one who benefits many) and says that he receives reward for all the Mitzvot that he caused to be done as if he fulfilled them himself. Thus, Rav Aaron Kotler notes that one who causes others to perform Mitzvot receives incredible reward for his deeds. “one can not imagine the great gain a person receives through this; he merits extra heavenly protection to not stumble in sin and also to a great number of merits, something which would have been impossible for him to achieve through his own free will . He writes further that this can help us in Heavenly Judgment; The Gemara says that the Books of Life and of Death are opened on Rosh Hashana. Tosefot explains that the dead are also judged . For what are they judged? Rav Kotler answers that even after a person’s death, the actions he committed in the world can still effect others , both positively or negatively. Thus, if a person helps others in such a way that the benefits are long-lasting, he can continue to reap the reward for this even after his own death .
Showing posts with label Rav Chaim Shmuelevits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rav Chaim Shmuelevits. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
LIVING FOR HASHEM - BALAK
Chazal tell us that Bilaam harasha had incredible powers of prophecy which in some ways were even greater than those of Moshe Rabbeinu. Yet, at the same time, he possessed numerous bad midos. How can these two opposite factors come together in one man? The answer is that Bilaam never worked to attain his madreiga. In contrast to the Jewish neviim who had to climb the ladder of Rav Pinchas Ben Yair and reach the highest levels of tzidkus, Bilaam was given his prophetic abilities without having earned them. He clearly knew the emes, that the G-d of the Jews was the only true G-d, and that keeping the Torah would reap the ultimate reward, but, he never internalised these truths and therefore was unable to match his behaviour with his hasagos.
However, we see from his brachos to Klal Yisroel that he hoped to attain the spiritual reward that awaits tzadikkim. In his first set of blessings he expressed this desire: “May my soul die the death of the upright, and may my end be like his. ” The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh writes that Bilaam did not simply hope to get reward without having done any righteous act, rather he intended “that when the day of death would arrive he would improve his evil ways…he desired that at the time of death he would do teshuva and be like the righteous of the nations.” Bilaam realised that he was living a life of sheker and that he would suffer in the next world, so he wanted to do teshuva, but only at the end of his life. The Ohr Hachaim continues with an amazing observation.
“Likewise I have seen reshaim who told me that if they would be certain that if they did teshuva and would then immediately die, that they would do so, but they know that they could not maintain their teshuva for a longer period of time, because the foolish and old king [the yetser hara] dominates them.”
These reshaim, like Bilaam, knew the truth but they were not prepared to live by it, they were only willing to die by it. When a Torah observant Jew sees this attitude he is struck by its foolishness, however, in a certain way, it can effect us all. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l demonstrates this point : He quotes a Medrash that discusses the moments before Krias Yam Suf: It tells us that when the Jewish people were at the sea, each tribe was arguing with the other about who should enter the sea first, no-one wanted to take the first fateful steps, until Nachshon ben Amminadav stepped in first. Rav Shmuelevitz asks, how can it be that no-one wanted to step into the sea? Throughout history Jews have been willing to give up their lives and those of their children for the sake of Kiddush Hashem, how is it possible that the Dor Deah were not able to make the same sacrifice?! He answers that had they been commanded to enter the sea in order to give up their lives then they would have gladly done so, but that was not the test in this instance. Rather, “they were commanded to enter in order to be saved, to jump in in order to live.”
The avoda at the Yam Suf was not to die for Hashem but to live for Him. It is much easier to give up one’s life for Hashem and then be exempt from mitzvos, than to stay alive and face the challenges that life poses.
How is this yesod relevant to us? Rav Noach Weinberg Shlita says that there is a basic question that everyone should ask themselves: ‘What am I living for, what is the purpose of my life?’ This is not such an easy question to answer in a genuine way - Torah observant Jews know that the purpose of life is to get close to Hashem but this can be a vague concept - there are many different ways in which to do this, and it is not so easy to find a specific answer to fit each individual’s unique situation and strength. Rav Weinberg gives one suggestion that can help make it a little less abstract. A person should think what he would be willing to die for. Then, he should say to himself, ‘I want to live for that.’
A good example of this is chinch; we would all willingly give up our lives for our children, yet do we devote enough time and energy towards living for them. There was a baal habayis who worked long hours trying to support his family. He even worked on Sundays. Every week his son would ask him if he had time to play with him on Sunday but his father would always answer that he had to work. One week, the desperate son asked his father, “dad, how much money do you earn on Sunday?” The bemused father answered him, and the son offered to pay the father whatever he normally earned so that he could be free to spend time with his son! This story has a sad irony; the whole reason that the father was working so hard was so as to give his children a good life, but he got so caught up in his work, that he missed the tachlis, he wasn’t being a father to his son.
Another example of this is our attitude towards Klal Yisroel. Most, if not all of us, would be willing to give up our lives for the Jewish people if they were threatened with physical or spiritual destruction. But are we willing to live for the Jewish people? Do we spend some time helping our fellow Jew in need? There are many thousands of Jews who don’t have enough food on the table and millions who have no idea what Judaism is about. Do we take out any time out of our busy lives to help them? Rav Pam zt”l drives this point home in his haskama to the biography of Irving Bunim zt”l.
“We hear so much talk these days about ahavas Yisroel, but if you want to know the real meaning of these words, translated into action, read the chapters in this book on the rescue efforts of Vaad Hatzala, headed by Reb Aron, Rav Kalmanowitz, and Irving Bunim. These men, along with the Sternbuchs in Switzerland and Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandel in Slovakia, knew no bounds in their persistent determination to move heaven and earth tosave lives, to alleviate suffering. Read it! It will move you. It will inspire you. It will give you a deeper understanding of achrayus for Klal Yisroel…But it may also disturb you, for it may be induce some painful soul-searching. Did we really do all we could to save lives then, or, for that matter, are we doing enough today to respond to the crying, desperate needs of Klal Yisroel in this generation ?”
We are living in a time where Klal Yisroel needs us, but it doesn’t need us to die by Kiddush Hashem, rather to live by it. Bilaam is described as a rasha despite his lofty hasagos. He knew what Hashem wanted from him, but he wasn’t willing to live by it, only to die by it. We know better than Bilaam, we are prepared to live for Hashem, but sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees and forget the tachlis. By reviewing now and again what we would be willing to die for, we can remind ourselves of what we should be living for. And what is the reward for ‘living’ for Hashem?
At the Yam Suf, no-one wanted to enter until Nachshon be Amminadav went in, he was prepared to live for Hashem, the Medrash tells that that it was because of this act that the tribe of Yehuda was zocheh to Malchus . Rav Shmuelevitz describes the significance of this moment: “At that moment the tribe of Yehuda felt himself responsible for all of Yisroel to do what was required of them, and from this feeling, they became higher and greater than all of Yisroel, and were filled with strength and might to cross the sea as if it was completely dry, and through this, Yehuda was zocheh to Malchus . We too, can be zocheh to greatness if we learn from Nachshon’s lesson and live for Hashem.
However, we see from his brachos to Klal Yisroel that he hoped to attain the spiritual reward that awaits tzadikkim. In his first set of blessings he expressed this desire: “May my soul die the death of the upright, and may my end be like his. ” The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh writes that Bilaam did not simply hope to get reward without having done any righteous act, rather he intended “that when the day of death would arrive he would improve his evil ways…he desired that at the time of death he would do teshuva and be like the righteous of the nations.” Bilaam realised that he was living a life of sheker and that he would suffer in the next world, so he wanted to do teshuva, but only at the end of his life. The Ohr Hachaim continues with an amazing observation.
“Likewise I have seen reshaim who told me that if they would be certain that if they did teshuva and would then immediately die, that they would do so, but they know that they could not maintain their teshuva for a longer period of time, because the foolish and old king [the yetser hara] dominates them.”
These reshaim, like Bilaam, knew the truth but they were not prepared to live by it, they were only willing to die by it. When a Torah observant Jew sees this attitude he is struck by its foolishness, however, in a certain way, it can effect us all. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l demonstrates this point : He quotes a Medrash that discusses the moments before Krias Yam Suf: It tells us that when the Jewish people were at the sea, each tribe was arguing with the other about who should enter the sea first, no-one wanted to take the first fateful steps, until Nachshon ben Amminadav stepped in first. Rav Shmuelevitz asks, how can it be that no-one wanted to step into the sea? Throughout history Jews have been willing to give up their lives and those of their children for the sake of Kiddush Hashem, how is it possible that the Dor Deah were not able to make the same sacrifice?! He answers that had they been commanded to enter the sea in order to give up their lives then they would have gladly done so, but that was not the test in this instance. Rather, “they were commanded to enter in order to be saved, to jump in in order to live.”
The avoda at the Yam Suf was not to die for Hashem but to live for Him. It is much easier to give up one’s life for Hashem and then be exempt from mitzvos, than to stay alive and face the challenges that life poses.
How is this yesod relevant to us? Rav Noach Weinberg Shlita says that there is a basic question that everyone should ask themselves: ‘What am I living for, what is the purpose of my life?’ This is not such an easy question to answer in a genuine way - Torah observant Jews know that the purpose of life is to get close to Hashem but this can be a vague concept - there are many different ways in which to do this, and it is not so easy to find a specific answer to fit each individual’s unique situation and strength. Rav Weinberg gives one suggestion that can help make it a little less abstract. A person should think what he would be willing to die for. Then, he should say to himself, ‘I want to live for that.’
A good example of this is chinch; we would all willingly give up our lives for our children, yet do we devote enough time and energy towards living for them. There was a baal habayis who worked long hours trying to support his family. He even worked on Sundays. Every week his son would ask him if he had time to play with him on Sunday but his father would always answer that he had to work. One week, the desperate son asked his father, “dad, how much money do you earn on Sunday?” The bemused father answered him, and the son offered to pay the father whatever he normally earned so that he could be free to spend time with his son! This story has a sad irony; the whole reason that the father was working so hard was so as to give his children a good life, but he got so caught up in his work, that he missed the tachlis, he wasn’t being a father to his son.
Another example of this is our attitude towards Klal Yisroel. Most, if not all of us, would be willing to give up our lives for the Jewish people if they were threatened with physical or spiritual destruction. But are we willing to live for the Jewish people? Do we spend some time helping our fellow Jew in need? There are many thousands of Jews who don’t have enough food on the table and millions who have no idea what Judaism is about. Do we take out any time out of our busy lives to help them? Rav Pam zt”l drives this point home in his haskama to the biography of Irving Bunim zt”l.
“We hear so much talk these days about ahavas Yisroel, but if you want to know the real meaning of these words, translated into action, read the chapters in this book on the rescue efforts of Vaad Hatzala, headed by Reb Aron, Rav Kalmanowitz, and Irving Bunim. These men, along with the Sternbuchs in Switzerland and Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandel in Slovakia, knew no bounds in their persistent determination to move heaven and earth tosave lives, to alleviate suffering. Read it! It will move you. It will inspire you. It will give you a deeper understanding of achrayus for Klal Yisroel…But it may also disturb you, for it may be induce some painful soul-searching. Did we really do all we could to save lives then, or, for that matter, are we doing enough today to respond to the crying, desperate needs of Klal Yisroel in this generation ?”
We are living in a time where Klal Yisroel needs us, but it doesn’t need us to die by Kiddush Hashem, rather to live by it. Bilaam is described as a rasha despite his lofty hasagos. He knew what Hashem wanted from him, but he wasn’t willing to live by it, only to die by it. We know better than Bilaam, we are prepared to live for Hashem, but sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees and forget the tachlis. By reviewing now and again what we would be willing to die for, we can remind ourselves of what we should be living for. And what is the reward for ‘living’ for Hashem?
At the Yam Suf, no-one wanted to enter until Nachshon be Amminadav went in, he was prepared to live for Hashem, the Medrash tells that that it was because of this act that the tribe of Yehuda was zocheh to Malchus . Rav Shmuelevitz describes the significance of this moment: “At that moment the tribe of Yehuda felt himself responsible for all of Yisroel to do what was required of them, and from this feeling, they became higher and greater than all of Yisroel, and were filled with strength and might to cross the sea as if it was completely dry, and through this, Yehuda was zocheh to Malchus . We too, can be zocheh to greatness if we learn from Nachshon’s lesson and live for Hashem.
Monday, January 31, 2011
OVERCOMING LAZINESS - TERUMAH
The Parsha begins with Hashem instructing Moshe Rabbeinu to tell the people to bring the raw materials necessary in order to build the Mishkan (tabernacle). "This is the portion that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper; and turquoise, purple and scarlet wool; linen and goat hair; red-dyed ram skins; tachash skins, acacia wood; oil for illumination, spices for the anointment oil and the aromatic incense; shoham stones and stones for the settings, for the Ephod and Breastplate ."
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh zt"l points out that the order of the materials mentioned is difficult to understand; the shoham stones and the 'stones of the settings' are the most valuable of all the items in the list, therefore logically they should have been mentioned first. He answers by bringing the Medrash that informs us of the background to the donation of the precious stones. They were brought by the Nesi'im (princes) after everything else had already been donated. The Nesi'im had initially planned to wait for everyone else to bring their contributions to the Mishkan, and whatever was lacking, the Nesi'im would then give. However, their plan backfired when the people, in their great enthusiasm, gave everything that was needed with the exception of the precious stones. The Medrash goes on to say that Hashem was displeased with them because they were so late in giving to the Mishkan. Their 'punishment' was that the 'yud' in their name was omitted at one point in the Torah . Accordingly, the Ohr HaChaim explains that since the donation of the precious stones involved some kind of error, they are mentioned last in list of the materials given to the Mishkan, Despite their great material value, the spiritual failing that resulted in their donation by the Nesi'im meant that they were inferior to all the other materials in the list.
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt"l asks that it is still unclear why Hashem was displeased with the Nesi'im. Their reasoning for delaying their donation seems to be very understandable - why are they punished for a seemingly innocent miscalculation? He answers by quoting Rashi's explanation for their punishment: Rashi states; "because they were initially lazy, they lost a 'yud' in their name ." Rashi is revealing to us that the real reason that the Nesi'im tarried in bringing the gifts was because of laziness! Beneath all their seemingly valid justifications for their actions lay the trait of laziness.
The Mesillas Yesharim writes at length about how laziness can prevent a person from fulfilling his obligations properly. He writes: "We see with our own eyes many many times, that a man can be aware of his obligations, and he is clear about what he needs for the goodness of his soul... yet he weakens [in his Avoda] not because of a lack of recognition of his obligations or any other reason, rather because of the powerful laziness that overcomes him." He continues that what is so dangerous about laziness is that one can find several 'sources' to justify his inaction. "The lazy one will bring numerous sayings of the Sages, verses from Tanach, and 'logical' arguments, all of them justifying his confused mind into lightening his burden ... and he does not see that these arguments do not come from his logical thought, rather they stem from his laziness, which overcomes his rational thinking. " Accordingly, he warns us that whenever we have two choices we should be very weary of choosing the easier option, because our root reason for doing so may very likely be laziness.
The Mesillas Yesharim is teaching us that even the most 'valid' arguments may simply be veils for a person's desire to avoid pushing himself. We see a striking example of this in the Introduction to Chovos HaLevavos. He writes that after planning to write the sefer he changed his mind, citing a number of reasons: “I thought my powers too limited and my mind too weak to grasp the ideas. Furthermore, I do not possess an elegant style in Arabic, in which the book would have been written… I feared that I would be undertaking a task which would succeed [only] in exposing my shortcomings... Therefore I decided to drop my plans and revoke my decision.” However, he recognized that perhaps his motives were not completely pure. “I began to suspect that I had chosen the comfortable option, looking for peace and quiet. I feared that what had motivated the cancellation of the project had been the desire for self-gratification, which had driven me to seek ease and comfort, to opt for inactivity and sit idly by.” To the eternal benefit of Klal Yisroel he decided to write the Sefer and it is difficult to imagine Klal Yisroel being bereft of its spiritual guidance. The reasons that he initially cited why he should not write the sefer seem fair and logical, but he recognized that, on his level, they were tainted by a desire for comfort. If someone as great at the author of Chovos HaLevavos nearly fell victim to the yetser hara of laziness, how much is everyone at risk of being ensnared by this destructive trait. A person generally does have seemingly valid reasons for why he may choose to ignore possible avenues in which he could improve hs Avodas Hashem but he must be aware that his true motivation may be laziness.
The yetser hara of laziness is so cunning that it can clothe itself in some of the most admirable of traits, in particular that of humility. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l addresses a common tendency of people to underestimate themselves by claiming that they are greatly limited in their talents and that they can never achieve greatness. He writes that this kind of humility really emanates from the yetser hara. It seems that this attitude actually derives from laziness, which is really a manifestation of the desire for comfort. It is not easy to achieve greatness; it requires great effort and the willingness to face setbacks and even failure. This is difficult, therefore it is very tempting for a person to ‘write himself off’ and thereby exempt himself from even trying - this is certainly the more ‘comfortable‘ option.
Constantly, throughout a person's life he is given the opportunity to improve himself and attain great heights in his own Avodas Hashem and his influence on others. We see from the lesson of the Nesi'im that perhaps the single most powerful factor preventing him from achieving his potential is a desire for comfort that stems from laziness. This causes a person to 'create' numerous 'reasons' as to why he does not push himself in the way that he could. The Mesillas Yesharim teaches us that he should recognize that these excuses are very often simply the atsas yetser hara and that he should disregard them and proceed in his efforts to grow and accomplish. May we all merit to overcome this powerful yetser hara and make the correct choices even if they are difficult.
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh zt"l points out that the order of the materials mentioned is difficult to understand; the shoham stones and the 'stones of the settings' are the most valuable of all the items in the list, therefore logically they should have been mentioned first. He answers by bringing the Medrash that informs us of the background to the donation of the precious stones. They were brought by the Nesi'im (princes) after everything else had already been donated. The Nesi'im had initially planned to wait for everyone else to bring their contributions to the Mishkan, and whatever was lacking, the Nesi'im would then give. However, their plan backfired when the people, in their great enthusiasm, gave everything that was needed with the exception of the precious stones. The Medrash goes on to say that Hashem was displeased with them because they were so late in giving to the Mishkan. Their 'punishment' was that the 'yud' in their name was omitted at one point in the Torah . Accordingly, the Ohr HaChaim explains that since the donation of the precious stones involved some kind of error, they are mentioned last in list of the materials given to the Mishkan, Despite their great material value, the spiritual failing that resulted in their donation by the Nesi'im meant that they were inferior to all the other materials in the list.
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt"l asks that it is still unclear why Hashem was displeased with the Nesi'im. Their reasoning for delaying their donation seems to be very understandable - why are they punished for a seemingly innocent miscalculation? He answers by quoting Rashi's explanation for their punishment: Rashi states; "because they were initially lazy, they lost a 'yud' in their name ." Rashi is revealing to us that the real reason that the Nesi'im tarried in bringing the gifts was because of laziness! Beneath all their seemingly valid justifications for their actions lay the trait of laziness.
The Mesillas Yesharim writes at length about how laziness can prevent a person from fulfilling his obligations properly. He writes: "We see with our own eyes many many times, that a man can be aware of his obligations, and he is clear about what he needs for the goodness of his soul... yet he weakens [in his Avoda] not because of a lack of recognition of his obligations or any other reason, rather because of the powerful laziness that overcomes him." He continues that what is so dangerous about laziness is that one can find several 'sources' to justify his inaction. "The lazy one will bring numerous sayings of the Sages, verses from Tanach, and 'logical' arguments, all of them justifying his confused mind into lightening his burden ... and he does not see that these arguments do not come from his logical thought, rather they stem from his laziness, which overcomes his rational thinking. " Accordingly, he warns us that whenever we have two choices we should be very weary of choosing the easier option, because our root reason for doing so may very likely be laziness.
The Mesillas Yesharim is teaching us that even the most 'valid' arguments may simply be veils for a person's desire to avoid pushing himself. We see a striking example of this in the Introduction to Chovos HaLevavos. He writes that after planning to write the sefer he changed his mind, citing a number of reasons: “I thought my powers too limited and my mind too weak to grasp the ideas. Furthermore, I do not possess an elegant style in Arabic, in which the book would have been written… I feared that I would be undertaking a task which would succeed [only] in exposing my shortcomings... Therefore I decided to drop my plans and revoke my decision.” However, he recognized that perhaps his motives were not completely pure. “I began to suspect that I had chosen the comfortable option, looking for peace and quiet. I feared that what had motivated the cancellation of the project had been the desire for self-gratification, which had driven me to seek ease and comfort, to opt for inactivity and sit idly by.” To the eternal benefit of Klal Yisroel he decided to write the Sefer and it is difficult to imagine Klal Yisroel being bereft of its spiritual guidance. The reasons that he initially cited why he should not write the sefer seem fair and logical, but he recognized that, on his level, they were tainted by a desire for comfort. If someone as great at the author of Chovos HaLevavos nearly fell victim to the yetser hara of laziness, how much is everyone at risk of being ensnared by this destructive trait. A person generally does have seemingly valid reasons for why he may choose to ignore possible avenues in which he could improve hs Avodas Hashem but he must be aware that his true motivation may be laziness.
The yetser hara of laziness is so cunning that it can clothe itself in some of the most admirable of traits, in particular that of humility. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l addresses a common tendency of people to underestimate themselves by claiming that they are greatly limited in their talents and that they can never achieve greatness. He writes that this kind of humility really emanates from the yetser hara. It seems that this attitude actually derives from laziness, which is really a manifestation of the desire for comfort. It is not easy to achieve greatness; it requires great effort and the willingness to face setbacks and even failure. This is difficult, therefore it is very tempting for a person to ‘write himself off’ and thereby exempt himself from even trying - this is certainly the more ‘comfortable‘ option.
Constantly, throughout a person's life he is given the opportunity to improve himself and attain great heights in his own Avodas Hashem and his influence on others. We see from the lesson of the Nesi'im that perhaps the single most powerful factor preventing him from achieving his potential is a desire for comfort that stems from laziness. This causes a person to 'create' numerous 'reasons' as to why he does not push himself in the way that he could. The Mesillas Yesharim teaches us that he should recognize that these excuses are very often simply the atsas yetser hara and that he should disregard them and proceed in his efforts to grow and accomplish. May we all merit to overcome this powerful yetser hara and make the correct choices even if they are difficult.
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