TAKING RESPONSIBILITY - BESHALACH

The splitting of the Yam Suf (known as krias Yam Suf) is one of the seminal events in Jewish history. Chazal and the commentaries derive numerous lessons from this great miracle. A less well-known aspect of krias Yam Suf is described in a Tosefta that recalls the events immediately preceding the first bold steps into the sea.

The Tosefta tells us that at the Yam Suf, all the tribes were arguing about who should step into the sea first, each one trying to avoid the responsibility (achrayus) to take the first brave steps. Finally, the tribe of Yehuda jumped into the sea and sanctified G-d’s name[1]. The Tosefta explains that this was one of the actions that earned the tribe of Yehuda the merit of being the tribe of Malchus (kingship). He was willing to be proactive whilst everyone else was seeking to shirk responsibility, thus he was awarded with the eternal responsibility of leading the Jewish people.

The word, 'responsibility' sometimes arouses negative connotations in people - it is difficult and even uncomfortable to have to assume responsibility. Accordingly, a person may be content to avoid positions of achrayus throughout his life in his quest to avoid uncomfortable situations. However, it seems that a desire to avoid responsibility does not accord with the Torah hashkafa in this area.

In contrast to the negative view of responsibility, the Torah views taking achrayus as highly empowering; Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt"l writes about this in his description of the significance of Shevet Yehuda's first steps into the sea., “at that time the tribe of Yehuda felt personally responsible for all of Israel and that he (Yehuda) should do what was incumbent upon him - because of this feeling, he became greater than all of Israel, and was filled with a strength and power to cross the sea as if it was completely dry, it was through this that Yehuda merited to be King[2].” By taking responsibility for others, Yehuda inherited the most important role among the Jewish people. We see from here a crucial idea: Responsibility can often be seen as a burden, something which restricts us and forces us to do things that we do not want to do. The actions of Yehuda show us exactly the opposite is true. It was his midda of taking responsibility, for himself, his family and his nation, that enabled him to reach such exalted heights. As Rav Shmuelevitz says, at the very moment that he accepted “what was incumbent upon him”, it was then that he rose to a whole new level. The same is true for each person, if he stands up and takes responsibility for himself and his people, then he too can attain heights that he never thought possible.

Rav Shmuelevitz goes even further in another piece. He brings a Yerushalmi in Bikurim: “A wise man, a chosson (newly married man) and someone who has risen in greatness, all receive atonement for their sins[3].” The Yerushalmi proceeds to give the example of Esav as the source that a chosson receives atonement - he married a woman the Torah calls ‘Machlah’, but that was not her real name. The name ‘Machlah’ comes from the root word of ‘mochel’ - ‘to forgive’. From here the Yerushalmi derives that all of their sins were forgiven when she married Esav. Rav Shmuelevitz proves from the choice of the evil Esav and his idol-worshipping wife that a person who gets married receives atonement even without teshuva for they clearly did not repent their sins. Even on Yom Kippur a person only receives atonement with repentance, why here is atonement so easily attained? He answers, “it would seem that the uniqueness of the chosson is that he accepts responsibility for his wife, and there is nothing greater that someone who accepts upon himself the yoke of responsibility. Therefore they forgive him for all his sins, and give him heavenly help to succeed in his new obligation, and they remove from him all of his past, so that he can live up to his new responsibility[4].” Taking a new level of responsibility is such a great feat that a person is given a clean slate - he now lives on a whole new level of existence!

We have seen how predominant the midda of responsibility is in a person’s life. It is no less than the decisive factor in determining the heights a person reaches in his life. All that is required for a person is to make the free will decision to take responsibility for himself and the world around him. Free will is in essence, the ability to make choices, to decide to change, to grow, to live up to our true potential. If a person makes that choice, then he can become a totally new creation, one whose past is left behind.

Facing the raging sea, the members of the Tribe of Yehuda made a momentous decision to take responsibility and not shift it onto others. May we too merit to take responsibility and thus achieve our potential.
[1] Tosefta, Brachos, Ch.4, Halacha 16.
[2] Sichos Mussar, Maamer 20, p.84.
[3] Ch.3, hal.3.
[4] Sichos Mussar, maamer 23, p.98.

LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES - BO

Parshas Bo sees the culmination of the ten plagues which devestated Mitzrayim. However, Chazal tell us that during the Plague of Darkness, the Jewish people suffered terrible losses; Rashi cites the opinion that four fifths died and only one fifth remained[1]. The Mechilta that Rashi quotes actually brings two other opinions as to what proportion of the Jews were killed; one holds that only one fiftieth survived, and another holds that only one five hundredth were left. Rav Shimon Shwab zt”l cites a number of problems with the literal understanding of this Medrash[2].

Firstly, according to the two later opinions, there were 30 million or 300 million Jews in Mitzrayim before the plagues. It is very hard to fathom that there were this many Jews there. Secondly, according to all the shitas, millions of Jews were killed and consequently this single disaster was far greater than all the plagues that the Mitzrim suffered, Rav Shwab also finds this very difficult to accept. Thirdly, he quotes Rashi that they died and were buried during the darkness so that the Mitzrim would not see that so many Jews died. He argues that if we accept this Medrash literally that millions died, then surely the Mitzrim would have noticed such significant loss.

Because of these problems Rav Shwab says that the Medrash should not be understood literally - rather only a relatively small number died, but had they lived they would have given birth to millions of people over several generations. The three opinions are arguing about how many descendants would have come from those that died. He suggests that perhaps all they disagree about is how to make an accounting of the survivors - one holds that we measure up to a certain point in time such as the building of the Beis HaMikdash, and another measures to a later point and consequently there are more descendants over that longer period.

He compares this interpretation to the Gemara which discusses the aftermath of the murder of Hevel. Hashem tells Kayin that, “the bloods of your brother are crying out to Me from the ground.[3]” The Gemara says that not only Hevel’s blood was crying out - so too were all his potential descendants who would now never attain life. Kayin did not just murder one man, he destroyed millions of lives through his single heinous act. Rav Shwab cites the recent tragic example of this concept in the Holocaust. He says that the Nazis did not kill six million people, rather they murdered untold millions in the form of their descendants who will never live.

So too, the tragedy of the death of the Jews in Mitzrayim was to be its long-term effect - only a small number may have died then, but over the generations, millions were lost. Rav Shwab’s pshat provides a whole new perspective to this death of the Jews in Mitzrayim. We know that the reason they died is because they were not on the level to leave Mitzrayim and become part of the Am Hashem. Rav Shwab argues that these people must have been complete reshaim to have to meet such an end. Based on the fact that they were relatively small in number and were so evil, it seems surprising that the Medrash gives so much emphasis to the long-term consequence of their death. We see from here that the loss of any Jew is cause for unlimited pain, no matter how far he is from Yiddishkeit. Moreover it is very likely that righteous people would descend from him and they are lost forever.

The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabbeinu demonstrated his awareness of this concept; when he saw a Mitzri striking a Jew, the passuk says that, “he looked this way and that way but saw no man.[4]” Rashi explains that Moshe looked into the future to see if any convert would descend from this Mitzri. Moshe knew that killing him would have long-term consequences and acted accordingly.

More recently, Rav Shlomo Heimann zt”l recognized this to a very high degree; he gave a shiur to dozens of talmidim which was characterized by his energetic style.. One day there was heavy snow and only four talmidim attended the shiur, yet Rav Heimann gave the shiur with the same energy as always. His talmidim asked him why he was putting so much effort into teaching such a small number of people. He answered that he was not merely teaching four students, rather all their future descendants and talmidim.
If Chazal see such a tragedy in the deaths of a few reshaim how must we feel when we look at the situation in Klal Yisroel today? We live in a world where there are very few genuinely ‘evil’ Jews - people who purposely turn their back on Torah. There are millions of Jews who, through no fault of their own, were brought up with no knowledge of Torah and very little sense of the importance of being Jewish. Every day, dozens of Jews intermarry, and their Jewish descendants are lost forever[5]. Some people argue that despite the intermarriage rates, we know that the Jews will never be wiped out and Mashiach will come, consequently there is no need to be so alarmed at the current trend. This attitude is severely mistaken - the reason that we should mekarev secular Jews is not to prevent the destruction of Klal Yisroel - there is no fear of that happening. But we want to give every Jew and his potential descendants the chance to remain part of Klal Yisroel so that they too can be present at the geulah. Rav Shimshon Pinchus zt"l writes that more Jews have assimilated since the Second World War than were lost in the Holocaust[6]. six million Jews. In effect that means that untold millions who would have been theri descendants have been lost to Yiddishkeit A person who is mekarev one Jew is in fact saving dozens of souls, giving them the chance to live a Torah life. May we all be zocheh to recognize the true value of every Jew and his
[1] Beshalach, 13:18.
[2] Me’eyn beis hashoeva, Beshalach, 13:18.
[3] Bereishis, 4:10.
[4] Shemos, 2:11.
[5] We all have a vague, intellectual awareness that things are not as they should be but how bad is it? The intermarriage rate in USA in 1950 was 6%, by 1990 it was 52% and rising. 2 million Jews of Jewish origin do not identify themselves as Jews. 2 million self-identified Jews have no Jewish connection whatsoever. For every wedding between two Jews, two intermarriages take place. 625,000 US Jews are now practicing other religions. 11% of US Jews go to shul#. Every day dozens of intermarriages take place which means that in the time it took you to read this, some Jews were lost forever. (it should be noted that since these statistics were taken, the situation has further markedly deteriorated.
[6] Tiferes Shimshon, Chanukah.

THINKING - BO

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Ten Plagues was the persistent refusal of Pharaoh to recognize the error of his ways and accept that the G-d of the Jews was indeed all-powerful. Miracle after miracle failed to persuade him of the veracity of Moshe Rabbeinu''s claims of being Hashem's shliach (messenger) and not merely an expert sorcerer. During the first five plagues he refused to release the Jews whilst in full control of his free will. In the second five plagues he would have sent the Jews out of Mitzrayim had Hashem not hardened his heart. The Seforno explains, however, that this does not mean that the plagues caused Pharaoh to do teshuva from a recognition of the greatness of Hashem, rather his inability to bear any more plagues would have been the cause of permitting the Jews to leave. Accordingly, Hashem's hardening of his heart gave him to strength to overcome his natural fear and make a 'reasoned' free will decision to continue to refuse Moshe's requests[1].

Pharaoh's seemingly superhuman stubbornness aroused great wonderment in Rav Aaron Bakst, zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva of Lomza. He used to give a mussar shmueze in his home every leil Shabbos. On one occasion his talmidim entered his house and were surprised to see him walking back and forth in his room, speaking to himself, "what was Pharaoh thinking when he saw these great miracles in front of his very eyes?!" Suddenly, he stopped walking, turned to the talmidim and explained, "he did not think at all! Only through lack of thinking can a person come to ignore such great miracles without allowing them to influence him in the slightest[2]!"

This explanation of Pharaoh's illogical behavior sheds great light on why people fail to change when they experience great events. They may even recognize that miracles have occurred but they do not think about their consequences. An example of this was people's reaction to the open miracles of the Gulf War in which 39 scud missiles succeeded in killing just one person[3]. Yitzchak Rabin acknowledged that the nation had clearly witnessed then hand of G-d. Yet, Rav Dovid Orlofsky Shlita points out, Rabin did not change his lifestyle one iota, he did not start wearing tefillin, or keeping Mitzvos. One may ask, what was he thinking?! He has clearly seen G-d's hand in protecting the Jewish people and yet he didn't change! The answer is found in Rav Bakst's explanation - he did not think! Had he sincerely reflected on the remarkable events he would have surely changed in some way.

Another striking illustration of this phenomenon is told over by Rav Dovid Kaplan Shlita. Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt"l was traveling in a taxi with a chilloni driver. The driver turned to Rav Chatzkel and told him the following remarkable story: Several years earlier, he had been traveling in the jungles of Africa with some friends. Suddenly, a snake attacked one of them, wrapping it's large body around him, causing him to suffocate. After concerted efforts to save him, they realized that there was no hope, so they told him to say the Shema before he left the world. He quickly said it and immediately the snake uncurled itself and left. This man, his life saved, was profoundly effected by this event, and gradually returned to Judaism and he was now a fully observant Jew. After hearing how this even so drastically changed the friend's life, Rav Chatzkel turned to the driver and asked him why he had not changed as a result of this miracle. The driver explained, "oh no, it didn't happen to me, it happened to him[4]."

The driver saw a potentially life-changing event but did not change; why? because he did not think, he did not let the obvious consequences of this miracle cause him to reflect on his life direction. It is also instructive to note that his friend, the subject of the miracle, did change - sometimes an event can be so powerful that a person cannot help but think about it and allow it to influence his life. However, often, we ourselves are not the subject of the miracle and therefore it requires far more conscious effort to force ourselves to 'think' about the ramifications of events that we see and hear about.

The recent events in the war in Gaza also constitute open displays of Hashem's hands. Rabbanim have told numerous stories of miracles that occurred there. Moreover, many have noted that the numerous missiles fired into Israel have had a miraculously minimal effect. Our avoda is to let such events cause us to think about our lives - to reassess our awareness of G-d in the world and in our lives; to think about what G-d is communicating to us; and to see how we can change and grow.

The first stage of changing as a result of the world around us is to learn the lesson of Pharaoh and to 'think' - to let events that happen in the world at large, and that occur in our own private lives, cause us to reflect on our lives, and make necessary changes. May we all merit to 'think' about that which happens around us.

[1] Seforno, Va'eira, 9:12, 35; Bo, 10:1.
[2] Quoted in 'Mishluchan Gavoa', Parshas Bo, p.70.
[3] In the same war, a single scud missile in Saudi Arabia succeeded in killing dozens of people.
[4] Kaplan, Impact, p.85.

MOSHE RABBEINU AND PHARAOH - VA'EIRA

Parshas Va’eira describes in great detail the first seven of the ten plagues that brought Mitzrayim to its knees. A major feature of the Makkos is the behavior of Pharaoh in reaction to the destruction of his nation. When Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron bring about the first plague of blood, the passuk tells us that Pharaoh was not impressed because his sorcerers could also turn water into blood: “..And Pharaoh hardened his heart and he did not listen to them..” The next passuk states that, “Pharaoh turned and went to his home, and also did not pay attention to this.” The commentaries ask, what does the Torah refer to when it says that ‘he did not pay attention to this’ - the previous passuk already stated that Pharaoh did not listen to the arguments of Moshe and Aaron. The Netsiv zt”l explains that the second passuk is telling us that Pharaoh was also unmoved by the pain that his people were suffering through the plague, and did not seek out any ways in which he could ease their pain.

‘Dam’ was the only plague in which the Torah alludes to Pharaoh’s indifference to the suffering of his people - why is this the case? The Medrash, HaGadol provides the key to answering this question: “The wicked Pharaoh was not afflicted by the plague of blood.” The plague of blood was the only one which did not harm Pharaoh. It was in this plague where he was most immune to the suffering that it caused his people because he did not experience the pain himself and so it was this plague where his apathy to the pain of his people was most pronounced.

We see a stark contrast to Pharaoh’s cruel indifference in the reaction of Moshe Rabbeinu to the pain of the Jewish people. Moshe grew up in the home of Pharaoh, separate from his people and unaffected by the slavery. Nonetheless, he went out and looked at the suffering of his brothers and empathized with their pain - he even persuaded Pharaoh to give them a day of rest.

The passukim that describe Moshe’s tremendous concern for his people are preceded by the words, “vayigdal Moshe.” This does not mean that he grew up because an earlier passuk already stated that. Thus, the commentaries explain that it refers to becoming a great person - and the indicator of that greatness was his concern for others. Why does davke this mida of empathy represent ‘gadlus’? Rav Shimon Shkop zt”l explains that a ‘Gadol’ is a person who expands his definition of self to include others - he is not considered a mere individual, rather part of a larger whole, and consequently he himself becomes a ‘bigger’ person. Pharaoh, in contrast, is described by the Gemara as being a very small person. The commentaries there explain that this refers to his spiritual standing - he was on a very low level. Perhaps one aspect of his lowliness was his apathy to the pain of his own people, he only cared about himself, and therefore he did not expand his self-definition beyond his own self and remained a ‘small’ person.

How can a person avoid the apathy of Pharaoh and emulate the concern of Moshe Rabbeinu - it is particularly difficult to empathize with people who are in a situation that does not effect us. When the passuk says that Moshe saw the suffering of his people, Rashi elaborates; “he focused his eyes and heart to feel pain for them.” My Rebbi, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits Shlita explains that first he looked at their faces to see the pain that they were in. He then ’focused his heart’ by trying to relate to their pain, to feel what they were feeling. So too when we hear of a person in difficulty we should first try to notice their facial expressions in order to make real the pain that they are in. Secondly, we should try to feel what it must be like to be in such pain. In a similar vein, Rav Noach Orlowek shlita suggests for example, that when we hear of a terrorist attack in which people are killed, we should take out a few moments to imagine what the victims and their families must be going through. It is not enough to merely sigh and move on - we must strive to avoid becoming immune to other people’s pain.

Such empathy is not restricted to Jews who share the same lifestyle and outlook as us: Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt”l taught this lesson in his shmussen in Ponevitz throughout the Six Day War. As the war began he told his talmidim, “in a time of war we must feel the danger of our soldiers. The loss of one Jewish soldier, even when measured against the destruction of thousands of our enemies, is incalculable. And for every soldier who arrives home from battle alive our joy must be unbounded.” After the victory he exhorted his talmidim to identify with the people who lost family in the conflict: “Hand-in-hand with our victory another reality was created; thousands of Jewish lives have been lost. How many thousands of families are bereft with a pain that is so great that it cannot now be consoled? How many dear ones have been killed? How much this must weigh upon every Jewish soul. How much must we feel their pain - actually feel it as our own. More than our rejoicing over our enemies we must feel the pain of our grieving brothers and sisters.”

It is also instructive to make some kind of gesture to show that the suffering of our fellow Jew truly concerns us even if we cannot directly help them. During the Holocaust the Steipler Gaon zt”l undertook to give up smoking as a small token to show that the tremendous suffering of his brethren meant something to him. Whilst Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l was Rav of Brisk half the city was burnt down leaving hundreds of Jews homeless. Rav Chaim promptly moved out of his home and slept on a bench in a beis medrash. When asked why he was doing so he exclaimed, “how can I sleep in a comfortable bed when so many people do not have a roof covering them?!”
However, we also learn from Moshe Rabbeinu that it is not enough to merely feel bad for those in pain. The Medrash says that Moshe “would pitch in and help each of them, ignoring his rank, he would lighten their burderns while pretending to be helping Pharaoh.” Similarly we must strive to help those in difficulty in any way that we can. Rav Frand Shlita suggests that the next time we hear that our friend is in a difficult situation we should see if there is any feasible way in which we can help him. If, for example, he lost his job, we can think if we know any contacts that may help him find new employment, or if he is looking for a shidduch then think of any possible matches for him.

Even if we cannot actively solve the person’s problem we can do a great chesed by being there for him and showing him that he is not alone in his pain. Rav Shach zt”l excelled in this area; on one occasion having heard about a widower who was depressed to the point that he had stopped functioning, Rav Shach decided to pay him a visit. Receiving no response to his knock Rav Shach let himself in and found the man lying motionless on the couch. “I know what you’re going through,” he said as he put his arm around the man. “I’m also a widower. My world is also dark and I have no simcha.” The man‘s eyes lit up for the first time in months. Someone understood him. “On Friday I’m going to make cholent and send it over, and on Shabbos I’ll come over and we’ll eat together.” “I can’t possibly allow you to trouble yourself like that,” protested the man. “Well, then you think of something. But either way I’m going to be back tomorrow. We need to spend some time together.” Rav Shach gave this man hope because Rav Shach showed him that someone else understood the pain that he was going through - this in and of itself is one of the greatest chasadim we can do for someone in pain.

Indifference to the spiritual standing of our fellow man is perhaps even more objectionable than not caring about his physical situation. Rav Frand points out that it is very easy for an observant Jew who lives in an observant community to forget that the vast majority of Jews have no sense of Jewish identity and that every year several thousand are lost through intermarriage. He continues that we cannot say “Shalom aliyich nafshi’ - as long as I have my Torah education and live in a frum community then everything is alright. Rather we must feel that the spiritual Holocaust effects us as much as anyone else and that we must do something about it - whether it be to be in contact with a secular relative, strike up a friendly conversation with a non-observant colleague at work, or having people for Shabbos.

The main characters in the parshios of Yetsias Mitzrayim, Moshe Rabbeinu and Pharaoh, show us how greatness is defined by caring about others and katnus is a reflection of selfishness. May we all strive to emulate Moshe Rabbeinu.
　

THE PLAGUE OF FROGS - VA'EIRA

The second of the ten plagues was that of sefardaya, frogs. Rashi cites Chazal that describes how this plague manifested itself; at first one single frog emerged from the river, and the Mitzrim tried to kill it by striking it. However, instead of harming it, it split into swarms of frogs each time it was struck until the frogs were so numerous that they inundated the land.

The Steipler Gaon zt"l sees a very great difficulty with this Chazal; the Mitzrim surely saw that the first time they hit the frog did not succeed in destroying it, in fact their hitting had the opposite result, causing more frogs to emerge. Yet they continued to hit the frog many times, only succeeding in filling the whole of Mitzrayim with frogs! Why did they not learn their lesson and refrain from hitting the frog after they saw its disastrous results?

The Steipler answers with a principle about how the destructive midda (trait) of anger causes a person to act. When one is insulted he feels the need to avenge this treatment, therefore he responds in kind to the aggressor. The aggressor returns the insult, and he in turn feels the need to return the insult again, until both are subject to a vicious circle of fruitless retaliation and a full-blown quarrel erupts with harmful consequences for all involved. In a similar vein, when the Mitzrim were faced with this threatening frog, their instinctive reaction was to strike it, however when more frogs swarmed out of the initial frog, their anger was kindled and in response they wanted to avenge the frog by striking it again. When this failed again, they continued in their aggressive manner, continually striking the frog until their anger caused the whole of Mitzrayim to be engulfed with these pests. We learn from this explanation about the damaging nature of anger, and how it causes a person to act in a highly self-destructive manner.

It is instructive to delve deeper into why a person can act in such a seemingly foolish fashion. When a person is first insulted he feels considerable immediate pleasure by reacting in kind to the person who dared speak to him in such a rude way. However, after that immediate satisfaction, he endures a longer-term backlash which results in the negative feelings that are normally generated by arguments. Logically, it would seem that he should learn his lesson, recognize the long-term damage of reacting strongly, and control himself in a similar future scenario However, this does not normally occur, rather he continually falls into the same trap. His problem is that he has habituated himself to focus on the short-term results of his actions rather than its long-term consequences. It requires great effort and self-growth to break out of this damaging mode of behavior.

It seems that this problem of focusing on the immediate results occurs in many areas of Avodas Hashem with damaging results. The Medrash Tanchuma tells us a dramatic example of this phenomenon. There was a righteous man whose father was a hopeless alcoholic. On one occasion, the son saw a different drunkard lying in a sewer on the street. Youngsters around him were hitting him with stones and treating him in a highly degrading manner. When the son saw this pitiful site, he decided to bring his father to the scene in the hope that it would show the father the degradation that alcoholism causes. He brought his father to see the drunkard. What did his father do? He went to the drunkard and asked him which wine house did he drink the wine! The shocked son told his father that he brought him here to see the humiliation that this man was enduring so that his father would see how he appears when he himself was drunk, in the hope that it would cause him to stop drinking. His father replied that his greatest pleasure in life was drinking. It is very likely that the father was intellectually aware of the harm that his drinking caused him, however he was so preoccupied with the immediate pleasure it gave him, that he was blind to its overall damage.

The yetser hara's strategy of blinding a person to the long-term damage of his behavior is a very significant factor in hindering one's Avodas Hashem. Whether it be in the area of destructive responses or addictions, or any number of other areas, it is essential for a person to address this issue if he hopes to fulfill his potential. It seems that the first stage of this process is to develop an intellectual recognition that the mode of action or reaction that he has habituated himself to, is ultimately detrimental. Using the example of anger, a person must recognize that the short-term pleasure he feels after shouting at his wife, child or friend, is an illusionary pleasure created by the yetser hara and in the long-term it only harms his relationships.

The second stage is to anticipate situations of nisyonos before they occur so that he can intellectually prepare his response without being swept away with emotion b'shaas maaseh. Thus when he is insulted he can hopefully offset his natural reaction of anger with a calm countenance, based on his recognition that shouting in response will only aggravate the situation. This is no easy task, but in time one can hopefully internalize this intellectual awareness and react in s calm and measured fashion. The plague of the frogs gives us a vital insight into the destructive nature of anger and focusing on short-term results. May we learn the Steipler's lessons and control

RESPONDING TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE - SHEMOS

After enslaving the Jewish people, Pharaoh was informed by his astrologers that a baby boy was destined to be born who would redeem Klal Yisroel from their terrible galus (exile). Pharaoh responded with great efforts to prevent this prediction from being fulfilled, including his order that every baby boy born should be thrown into the Nile. The Steipler Gaon zt”l notes the irony of the events that followed Pharaoh’s decree. When Moshe Rabbeinu was born, the Mitzrim seeked to throw him into the Nile, as a result Yocheved placed Moshe in a basket and let him to drift down the river to an unknown fate. His salvation came from none other than Basya the daughter of Pharaoh who drew him out of the water. The young Moshe was then brought up in Pharaoh’s palace by Pharaoh himself. All of Pharaoh’s efforts to alter events failed, but what is more remarkable is that Moshe’s salvation came about because of the very decree to kill the boys! As a result of that decree, Moshe was placed in the Nile and saved by Pharaoh’s daughter! The Steipler Gaon teaches us that from here we learn that if Hashem desires that a certain event take place then it is impossible to change His plans despite the greatest possible efforts. A person may make great hishtadlus (effort) in a specific venture and do well, but the Steipler asserts that he succeeds only because the Hashgacha decrees it. If he were not intended to succeed then no effort could change that reality.

This fundamental lesson assumes great relevance in the financial crisis that is gravely effecting people’s lives throughout the world. Many people who have invested incredible amounts of time and energy into earning a livelihood have suddenly been placed in a very precarious financial situation. How should a person react to this difficult challenge? The Steipler‘s idea can help us answer this question.

The Steipler cites the Chazal that tells us that a person’s year is decreed on Rosh HaShana. Accordingly, there is no amount of hishtadlus in the physical realm that can change the hashgacha decreed upon a person. A natural reaction for one who has suddenly lost a significant amount of money is to strive to find new ways of earning money. This is understandable, however it is important to realize that excessive hishdtadlus will not lead him to earn more money. How can he know how much hishtadlus is appropriate? My Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits Shlita suggests that whatever is considered within the realm of ’normal’ hishtadlus is acceptable, however one should be careful not to go beyond that boundary. Devoting vast amounts of time and energy to earning money to the exclusion of everything else is considered unnecessary hishtadlus and will not produce any fruits. Thus, one lesson derived from the Steipler is that if Hashem decrees a specific event then there is no way to change that decree through physical hishtadlus.

An amusing example of this phenomenon is told over in the name of the Ben Ish Chai zt”l the story of a man who had incredible success in all his business ventures. This man earned so much money that he became deathly afraid of ayin haraa that would arouse from the jealousy of others. Consequently, he strived to lose all his money in disastrous business ventures. To his distress, his efforts proved fruitless and all his wild ventures succeeded! He went to a Rav to share his dilemma. The Rav told him that he should stop trying to lose his money because if Hashem decreed that he be wealthy then there is no way that he can change that decree. We see from here that both success and failure in gashmius are completely beyond our control.

There is however one way of changing the decree of Rosh HaShana; The Steipler explains that efforts in the spiritual realm can change the decree. The Gemara tells us that tefilla can change a gezar din. It further states that doing teshuva can make the decree pan out in a way that reduces the damage of a negative decree. For example, if a small amount of rain was decreed for the year because of one’s sins, a person’s teshuva can make that rain fall in a propitious fashion. Similarly, it would seem that if a person is decreed a certain amount of money based on his spiritual level at Rosh HaShana, his subsequent teshuva could make it so that that money arrive in a more beneficial fashion and suffice to provide for his needs .

Whilst growing spiritually can help one’s financial situation, it is important to remember that the main benefit of such growth is that it brings a person closer to Hashem. Very often, a loss of money can provide a person with an opportunity to focus more on the spiritual realm. For example, if aone’s business suffers to the extent that he has less work, he can react in one of two ways: He can either work harder in vain attempt to stem the downturn, or he can accept the decline in his wealth and use the opportunity to learn more Torah or be more involved in other spiritual pursuits such as chesed. A striking example of this phenomenon is the story of the beginning of the great Soloveitchik Dynasty of .Talmidei Chachamim.

In the time of Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l, lived a wealthy, G-d fearing man, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik. He had inherited his wealth from his parents. Since he owned great hardwood forests he went into the lumber business, cutting his tress and selling the wood for a good profit. Because of his busy work schedule, he was not known as a Talmid Chacham, but he was very generous with his great wealth, giving liberally to tzedoko. Yet the day came when he suddenly lost all his money, leaving him penniless. Everyone who knew him was left wondering how such a great philanthropist could suffer such a terrible fate. Rav Chaim of Volozhin convened a special Beis Din to delve into this question. They examined his account books exhaustively but found nothing amiss. Unable to point to any other cause for his economic collapse, they concluded that he must have transgressed the prohibition of giving more than a fifth of one’s fortune to tzedoko. They reported their conclusion to Rav Chaim, but he rejected their findings. He could not accept that for such a transgression Reb Moshe should be punished so badly, and thus the matter was left unresolved.

In the meantime, now that Reb Moshe had no business to attend to, he turned to the Beis HaMedrash and embarked on a vigorous course of study. Little by little, hidden talents revealed themselves until it became clear that he excelled in Torah study. He advanced steadily, until before long he was counted among the most learned in his town, and he eventually attained the position of Av Beis Din of Kovno. He also encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps, and they too, took up the challenge and became famous Talmidei Chachamim. Now, Rav Chaim understood why Reb Moshe lost his fortune so quickly. For his great acts of tzedoko he deserved a tremendous reward; to begin a dynasty of Talmidei Chachamim. Since is very difficult for greatness in Torah to rise from a wealthy house, his wealth was taken away, in order to release himself from worldly involvement and allow him to learn Torah, setting the path for generations of outstanding scholars.

It is very difficult when a person experiences Hashgacha that seems to make his life more difficult, however every challenge is an opportunity to change our life direction. Loss of money may trigger a person to put more effort in this worldly activities, but this is a great shame. We learn from Pharaoh’s fruitless efforts to change a heavenly decree that no amount of physical hishtadlus can change Hashgacha. The only fruitful reaction is to use the extra time gained by less work in to be more involved in ruchnius. May we all merit to respond to Hashgacha in th correct way.

GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING - SHEMOS

“G-d benefited the midwives - and the people increased and became very strong. And it was because the midwives feared G-d that He made them houses.”

Yocheved and Miriam risked their lives to save Jewish baby boys from being murdered by the Egyptians. Hashem rewarded them by making them ‘houses’ - Rashi explains that they merited to be the mothers of the lines of Kohanim, Leviim and Melachim. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l asks that if there main reward was these ‘houses’ then why does the clause, “and the people increased and became very strong” interrupt the description of their reward - since the ‘houses’ were the benefit described, it would seem that they should follow immediately afterwards and the passuk should have said, ”G-d benefited the midwives and made them houses.” He answers that their main reward was not the houses but rather the increase of the people since their true desire and joy was no more than the expansion of the Jewish population. Consequently after the passuk states that Hashem benefited them it immediately mentions the resultant expansion of the Jewish people - that was their main reward, the houses were merely a secondary bonus for their great yiras shamayim.

There can be a number of different reasons why a person performs an act of kindness - it may be because he knows it is a mitzvo to do chesed; it may be because he owes this person a favor, or it may be due to numerous other possible factors. We learn from Rav Feinstein’s pshat that the main kavanna we should have when we help someone (as well as the general intent to do a mitzvo) is that they benefit from our action. Yocheved and Miriam did not care about what reward they would receive for saving Jewish lives - they merely wanted the lives to be saved. Hashem rewarded them by enabling their actions to succeed and the Jewish people grew as a result.

Yocheved’s son, Moshe Rabbeinu inherited this same dedication to others. He saw the suffering of his people and risked his life to help them. He persuaded Pharaoh to give them a rest day so that they could observe Shabbos and furthermore he showed great concern for the sheep in his flock. It was in the merit of these actions that Hashem spoke to him at the Burning Bush and made him leader of the Jewish people. He wanted nothing more than to release them from the crushing slavery in Egypt, and his reward was that he merited to be the one to take them out.

This lesson is relevant in many areas of our lives, but perhaps is most important with regard to our careers. Many people are fortunate to be involved in a job which involves helping others, however it is quite easy to focus primarily on the money that they receive for providing their service. Rav Pam zt”l was once being treated by a dentist and he remarked at how much this dentist helped people in his profession. The dentist replied that this was a nice side-benefit to his job, implying that the main reason that he did it was to earn a living. Rav Pam replied that actually the money he earned was the side benefit but the ikar tachlis should be to help people have healthy teeth.

Unfortunately the tendency to over emphasize the financial aspect of maasim tovim can even creep into the most kadosh of activities such as learning and teaching Torah. The Mishna in Avos stresses how undesirable such an attitude is when it enjoins us “do not make it [the Torah] a crown to attain greatness with or a spade to dig with.” Many commentaries argue that the Mishna is not saying that it is forbidden to earn money through learning or teaching Torah for money however they all agree that this should not be the primary motive. The Rambam in particular emphasizes the abhorrence of being involved in Torah in order to earn a parnasa. However even he does not rule out learning or teaching if a person has the ideal kavannas. In Hilchos Shemitta v’Yovel he writes that Shevet Levi are separated from everyone else so that they can “serve Hashem and teach His just ways and His righteous laws to the public, as it says, ‘they will teach the laws to Yaakov and Your Torah to Israel.’” He continues that such a role is not limited to Leviim alone, but that anyone who is willing to learn Torah with similar motives is worthy of assuming the same function. The Chofetz Chaim zt”l writes that such a person is allowed to receive money for his learning Torah and it would seem that the reason for this is because there is no danger in his being motivated by ulterior motives.

We know that the ultimate reward for Yocheved and Miriam would be in Olam HaBa - the consequence of their pure motives. If a person does chesed with such motivations then he can assure himself of ample benefit in Olam HaBa. The Atler of Slobodka once noted the mesiras nefesh of bakers - in that time the baker would rise very early in the morning in order to provide bread for the community. They were performing an incredible act of kindness by getting up so early in order that people would have this vital commodity. However, he commented that if the baker is doing it solely in order to earn a livelihood then he is losing his main source of Olam HaBa. Performing acts of kindness is a great thing and merits great reward, but let us not lose focus of what our kavanna should be - to help others. The side benefits will come, but improving the lives of our fellow Jew is ample reward in and of itself.