Let’s Get Along

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

This week, in Parshas Shelach, we study the tragic episode of the meraglim sent by Moshe to spy on the land of Eretz Yisroel. The Jews wanted to send spies to the Promised Land to ascertain whether it would be difficult to take it over. Moshe acquiesced and chose twelve leaders of Klal Yisroel for the mission, one from each tribe. Ten of those men went on to err terribly. The Jews were severely punished for the actions and words of the errant messengers, and though there was a certain measure of forgiveness, we have suffered throughout the ages because of the incident.

There are many timeless lessons embedded in the story.

We wonder how messengers of Moshe Rabbeinu could have made such a terrible mistake. And, assuming that the meraglim were misled because of some personal negiah, how does that explain their ability to convince virtually the entire nation that they would never make it to the Promised Land?

How was it that the people who experienced Yetzias Mitzrayim and Kriyas Yam Suf lost their faith in the G-d who promised them that He would care for them and lead them to the land that had been promised to their forefathers and about which they had heard ever since they were born?

The first Rashi in the parsha holds the key to understanding this enigma. Quoting from the Medrash Tanchuma, Rashi explains that “the parsha of the meraglim follows the parsha of Miriam, because although these wicked people saw that Miriam was punished for speaking gossip about her brother, they failed to learn any lesson from it.”

The common explanation of Rashi is that witnessing the painful consequences of Miriam’s lashon hora should have deterred the meraglim from speaking lashon hora about the Land of Israel. How, many commentators ask, can one extrapolate from Miriam’s episode that speaking ill of a country is as sinful as speaking ill of a person?

Perhaps we can understand this by examining the root of lashon hora, commonly understood as gossip. The roots of this sin, however, are far more destructive than gossip.

At the end of Parshas Beha’aloscha (12:1-2), the posuk states that “Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe concerning his wife. And they said, ‘Did Hashem only speak to Moshe? He also spoke to us!’” The posuk does not tell us what Miriam and Aharon said about Moshe’s wife, but it does say that they minimized their brother’s greatness. They compared themselves to Moshe, as if to say, “Who does he think he is? Hashem doesn’t only talk to him. He speaks to us as well.”

In fact, it seems that what lies at the essence of lashon hora is an intent to minimize the accomplishments of other people. People admire someone for being special or having accomplished something good, and one fellow will come by and throw a damper on it by saying, “What makes you think he’s so great? He’s really no different than you and me. He also has failings. Don’t be taken in. Don’t think that what he did is so exceptional.”

These kinds of disparaging remarks serve to lower public esteem for the victim. Remarks such as these also discourage people from engaging in good deeds by casting those deeds as insincere or politically motivated.

A mesaper lashon hora cools off people’s enthusiasm for a fellow Jew by casting aspersions on his motives and downplaying his accomplishments.

Such people seek to wreck the reputation of anyone good, if only to justify their own incompetence and lack of accomplishments.

The meraglim should have learned from Miriam what happens to someone who disparages and minimizes greatness. They failed to learn that negativity and cynicism are not compatible with greatness. They should have seen that such activity is frowned upon by Hashem, for even if the facts are true, talk that serves to diminish the subject’s esteem is lashon hora.

At the root of lashon hora is a desire to destroy the respect people have for someone or something else.

At times, lashon hora is an attempt to devastate a relationship, as, for example, when a person tells someone else that his friend acted in a way that is detrimental to the other party’s interests. The intention - and effect - is to drive a wedge between the two people.

When two people engage in conversation and one begins to speak negatively about someone else, the person he is speaking to feels comfortable piling on more negative stuff about the victim. Had the baal lashon hora not come along, he might have continued believing that his friend was beyond reproach, but thanks to the belittling remarks from the person who initiated the conversation, the victim has been knocked down from the high pedestal upon which he formerly stood. The second fellow now feels comfortable chiming in with deprecating remarks of his own.

Thus begins the chain of evil that is at the root of the churban Bais Hamikdosh and the reason we have not yet merited to be redeemed.

[The Gemara in Yoma (9b) states that the second Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed because of sinas chinom, commonly translated as unwarranted hatred. The Gemara cites as an example of sinas chinom people who ate and drank together and acted friendly towards each other and then stabbed each other with the daggers of their tongues.

Rav Yisroel Meir Hakohein, in his introduction to Chofetz Chaim, writes that this refers to lashon hara. It is thus evident that sinas chinom and lashon hora both have at their core a baseless jealousy and hatred that seek to separate people from each other and negate their positive attributes. Both ills have the same outcome and lead to divisiveness and churban.]

If you read the first Rashi in Parshas Shelach carefully, you should have a question. You will notice that Rashi refers to the episode of Miriam and Aharon talking ill of Moshe as “the parsha of Miriam.” Shouldn’t it be called “the parsha of Miriam and Aharon”? The pesukim in Parshas Beha’aloscha (12:1-2) state that both of them spoke ill of Moshe: “Vatedabeir Miriam v’Aharon b’Moshe… Vayomru…” Why, then, is it referred to as the parsha of Miriam?

Rashi (ibid.) says that Miriam’s name is quoted in the posuk prior to that of Aharon because she was the one who initiated the conversation.

Perhaps, since the root of lashon hora is that it seeks to minimize the accomplishments and positive attributes of another person, the one who began the conversation is the key perpetrator, since he or she is the one who opened the door to a negative portrayal of the person.

Therefore, it is referred to as the parsha of Miriam and the Torah relates that Miriam was punished, and it does not discuss whether Aharon was also held accountable for the words expressed in that conversation. Aharon and Miriam were tzaddikim on a high level of avodah and it is not for us to criticize them or their speech or actions.

It should be noted that the Torah relates what took place only in order for us to learn from the episode to avoid the temptations to minimize others.

Everything that takes place in this world should serve as a lesson for us how to conduct ourselves. The meraglim paid no heed to the whole parsha that transpired with Miriam and her very public punishment. They are therefore referred to by Rashi as resho’im, wicked people: “v’resho’im hallalu ra’u velo lokchu mussar.” People who aren’t on the lookout to improve themselves by analyzing the world around them are not just not good. They are wicked.

The downfall of the meraglim was their failure to learn this lesson not to belittle and disparage. They badmouthed the Land of Israel, which Hashem had praised. They said that it was an “eretz ocheles yoshveha,” a land that eats its citizens. Then they said that the people who live there are very strong and would cause problems for the Jews upon their entry into the land. They said that the fruits there were too large for people to carry home and eat.

They minimized the greatness of the Land and the promises of Hashem. They drove a wedge between Moshe and Am Yisroel. They caused the nation to have doubts about the greatness of Hashem and whether He could bring the Chosen People to the land of milk and honey He had promised them since the days of the avos.

For all eternity, these individuals will be referred to as resho’im.

Such acts are similar to the acts of Amaleik, a nation held up as a paradigm of evil because, as the posuk relates, “asher korcha baderech,” they caused the Jews to lose their enthusiasm on the way to Eretz Yisroel. After Matan Torah, when the nations of the world saw the splendor of Hashem and feared Him, Amaleik attacked us. Amaleik tried to dissipate the fear of Hashem that had spread across the world. They tried to show that Hashem could not really protect the Jewish people.

Their crime emanated from the same root as the crime of lashon hora, and thus they both cause churban.

To reinforce the concept that lashon hora and Amaleik are rooted in the same shoresh of evil, perhaps we can cite the Gemara in Maseches Megillah (13b), which quotes Rava as saying that there was no one who knew [how to speak] lashon hora as Haman did. This arch villain minimized to Achashveirosh every positive attribute the Jews possessed. As is well-known, Haman was a progeny of Amaleik and was well-versed in that evil nation’s ways.

Haman said that the Jewish people are “mefuzar umeforad bein ha’amim.” He sought to bring out that the Jews lacked unity.

Another indication of this idea is evident in the peirush of Rabbeinu Bachya on Chumash. In Parshas Shemos (2:13-14), the Torah relates the first episode involving Moshe and Doson v’Avirom. Moshe saw the two of them fighting and said to them, “Rasha lomo sakeh reiyecha.” To which they responded, “Who made you for an ish, minister and ruler above us? Will you kill me the way you killed the Mitzri?”

Moshe Rabbeinu responded by saying, “Now the matter is known.” Rashi cites the Medrash, which explains the statement to mean that now Moshe understood why the Jews deserved to be enslaved. Rabbeinu Bachya, quoting the Medrash, takes it a step further and says that the reason they were in Mitzrayim and not yet redeemed was because they had amongst them baalei lashon hora.

But they had not told lashon hora. They did not tell anyone that Moshe killed a Mitzri. They simply let Moshe know that they had witnessed what he did. Why does the Medrash refer to that as lashon hora?

It may be that Moshe Rabbeinu’s comment was going on their statement questioning Moshe’s standing: “Mi somcha l’ish…” It was their attempt to minimize him and his greatness to which Moshe was referring when he said that the reason they were still in Mitzrayim was because of lashon hora. Bittul is a cause of golus and impedes geulah. They said to Moshe, “Mi somcha l’ish? Who do you think you are? Who gave you power to lord over us?” They minimized the person who had come to help the Jewish people. That is lashon hora.

Lashon hora is compatible with destruction, for that is ultimately what it leads to - churban. Constant bittul leads to churban. As long as we are divided among ourselves and cynical of each other, we cannot live in peace with one another or with anyone else. We are mefuzar umeforad bein ha’amim as long as there is peirud between us, and there is nothing that causes peirud as does lashon hora.

To affect peirud and assuage our feelings of guilt and inadequacy, the yeitzer hora causes us to cast doubt on others’ accomplishments and good deeds on our behalf. Instead of returning the favor, we begin to develop a dislike for them.

When we see people take public stands on issues facing our people, and when we see people rise to assist the downtrodden, the abused, the poor, and tzaddikim or talmidei chachomim in need of assistance, some are quick to attach impure motives to their acts of tzedakah and chesed. We do that to calm our pangs of guilt. We sit by and do next to nothing. We do that because Amaleik has not yet been totally destroyed and some of his poison is still around, infecting us.

The sin of the meraglim’s lashon hora caused the Jews to wander in the desert for forty years. Our chato’im of lashon hora have caused us to wander even longer. Let us all be more careful about how we speak. Let us seek to look at our friends and people we come in contact with b’ayin tovah. Let us try to attach laudatory motives to people who rise to aid the community.

There was a time when we could disagree without seeking to destroy each other. The golden Jewish ideal of achdus means that we can disagree on legitimate matters of fact, or philosophy, or hashkofah, yet remain friends. There is no reason for radicals or pacifists to hate each other. They can have different perspectives on the world, yet argue amicably and peacefully. The rancor that is all too prevalent in our world is not only senseless and needless, but destroys us and keeps us enslaved in golus.

What excuse do we, who see what happened to Miriam, who see what happened to the meraglim, and who have studied Torah from great rabbeim, have to be cynical and negative? What excuse do we have to mock others and engage in public battles? What excuse do we have not to follow in the path of Torah, whose path is that of calmness and peace - “derocheha darchei noam vechol nesivoseha shalom”?

Just because others rip each other apart and seek to destroy opponents doesn’t mean that we should adopt their ways. Just because politicians perfect the science of destroying people they don’t like does not mean that it is the way for bnei Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov to deal with people. Just because there is a business known as “opposition research” in which people sit all day and look for lashon hora they can fling on people they don’t like, or whom they disagree with, does not mean that it is something we should do.

We have enough enemies who seek to undermine and destroy us. We shouldn’t be doing that to each other. Look at the election campaign now going on in Eretz Yisroel and see how parties seek to win the premiership by promising to destroy the frum community. It is not a time to be petty and myopic. It is a time to lock arms and see what needs to be done to turn around their evil plans.

Now is not the time for lashon hora and machlokes. Actually, it never is.

Look at the incendiary plans of the left in the United States and ponder what will happen if they make more gains in 2020. Perhaps the right is not perfect, but they sure are better for us and our interests than the left.

Iran seeks to battle Israel and America. Think when reading the news and realize that eis tzorah hee l’Yaakov. It is a time of real danger for the Jewish people. Our reaction when observing a $100 million American drone knocked out of the sky should not be to mock and question the president, but to pray that he is granted the wisdom and courage to act correctly in turbulent times. Our reaction should be to seek achdus among our brothers, along with kedusha and maasim tovim.

Let us get to work so that we can merit the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdosh and the geulah sheleimah bimeheirah.

Light Up the World

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

The weekly news cycle, which includes the events and stories that recently transpired, captivates the country and molds people’s opinions. It informs, educates, saddens and gladdens those who follow the fast-moving train. But for those who are sensitive enough to perceive that the rapid flow of news contains relevant messages with lessons for personal growth, the daily flow can also inspire.

Though the election isn’t until November 2020, the country is already in the grips of an election season. The media can’t wait to unseat the current president and is doing all it can to convince you not to vote for him. Democrats are ripping themselves apart debating over whether to impeach the president and kill him with one strong blow or to investigate every aspect of his private and public business and deliver a death of one thousand cuts.

The truth is not the motivator. It is the campaign’s agenda that sets the narrative. Arrogance and blind ambition are the prime motivators. A lust for power radiates from the faces of politicians. They lie and navigate around the news, seeking an advantage.

With the contemporary means of communication, politicians have to master only one medium to triumph: the art of rhetoric. Everything is skin deep, at most. There is no attempt to really understand an issue and analyze solutions. The only thing that seems to matter in this election cycle is a great sound bite, a tweet that can go viral, or a great line for use in a debate.

It’s all about talk. It’s not about explanations or answers, firm positions or the truth.

Accomplishment, decency, experience and reliability matter little. It’s about style and spin. The people are as superficial as their leaders and don’t seem to care about much. The economy, terrorism, jobs, a world in crisis - they are all simply talking points not to be taken seriously.

We must ensure that the state of the world at large is not reflected in our camp as well.

We need to banish those who rise to positions of influence through rhetoric and sound bites, and strengthen those with real ideas and genuine accomplishments. Style is important, but leadership must be about substance. We have to be intelligent enough to judge people by what they do, not by what they say they will do.

Those committed to a life of Torah, who probe the depth of pesukim and dissect the words of the Talmud, Rishonim, Acharonim and baalei machshovah, become better people, with depth and greatness. Talmidei chachomim are not about empty words and cute sound bites. They are real.

In Parshas Beha’aloscha, which is read this week in the golah, the posuk (11:1) describes the sin of the misonenim: “Vayehi ha’am kemisonenim ra be’einei Hashem - The people were misonenim and Hashem was angered and caused a fire to burn that devoured the edges of the camp.”

Rashi explains that the word misonenim means excuse. The people were looking for an excuse to depart from the way of Hashem. They complained that they were traveling for three days straight and it was too difficult for them. “Vayichar apo,” Hashem became angry, because the trek was for their ultimate good, so that they would enter Eretz Yisroel quicker.

The people cried out to Moshe, who davened on their behalf to Hashem, and the fire sank into the ground.

Immediately thereafter, the posuk relates that the asafsuf (the eirev rav - Rashi), followed by the Bnei Yisroel, began bemoaning the lack of meat for them to eat. Rashi points out that they had left Mitzrayim with plenty of sheep and cattle, but they were once again searching for something to complain about, so the facts didn’t matter.

They complained about the monn that fell every day to sustain them in the desert and spoke about the free fish the Mitzriyim fed them when they were slaves. Instead of being thankful for their freedom and bounty, they once again grumbled.

Shortly thereafter, the Torah tells of Eldod and Meidod, who prophesized in their tent regarding Moshe. A young man heard them and became upset with what they were saying. He ran to Moshe to inform on them. Upon hearing their prophecy, Yehoshua advised Moshe to lock them up and force them to desist from prophesying. Moshe refused, admonishing his assistant not to be zealous on his behalf. He declared, “If only the whole nation could be prophets!”

Moshe learned the lesson of the misonenim and the asafsuf, and although he couldn’t have been happy with the subject of Eldod’s and Meidod’s prophecy, he wouldn’t lock them up. He only wished that more of the Jewish people would be worthy of prophecy. He saw the entirety of the situation and prayed for more holiness in his camp, ignoring any personal, selfish desires.

The parsha concludes with the story of Miriam and Aharon speaking disparagingly of Moshe. Hashem admonished them, “Lomah lo yireisem ledaber b’avdi b’Moshe? Why did you seek to find fault in My eved, Moshe? You know that he is the leader of the people. You know that I speak to him regularly. You know of his greatness. Yet, instead of praising him, you mock him.”

They were punished for concentrating on a perceived fault instead of examining the totality of the person.

The parsha opens with the commandment to Aharon to light the neiros of the menorah in the Mishkon. The lights were not for Hashem’s benefit, but rather for ours. The ability to achieve perfection in middos and to be people of substance, who examine an entire issue and seek to separate the bad from the good and support the good, is caused by the light of the neiros of the menorah. Those who are worthy see with that light, ki ner mitzvah v’Torah ohr, living lives of greatness.

That is the depth of the promise made to Aharon when he was upset that he had no role in the chanukas hanesi’im. Hashem told him, “Shelcha gedolah mishelohem,” meaning that his act of lighting the menorah will live on for eternity, while that of the nesi’im would not (see Ramban ad loc.).

The light that Aharon kindled in the Mishkon is prevalent in our day as well. Those who see the light and benefit from it can follow in the path of Aharon, who was an “oheiv shalom verodeif shalom,” loving people and bringing about peace amongst them and between them and Hashem.

Aharon himself would clean out the Menorah from the residue of the previous night and light the menorah daily. He didn’t delegate the work to other people. Because it was important, he did it himself.

We can now understand in a deeper way what Hashem told him: “Shelcha gedolah mishelohem.” The meaning was that Aharon’s service in the Mishkon was more precious to Hashem, because he performed the melocha himself, not through intermediaries.

We must emulate the example set by Aharon. When a job needs to be done, we should do it ourselves. Nothing should be beneath our dignity when it comes to mitzvos and the klal.

In Kelm, the aron kodesh was raised and it was necessary to use a stool to access it. Before each pesicha, it was necessary to carry it from the back, where it was kept, to the front of the bais medrash. This was done to inculcate the middah of anivus. Nobody should feel that because of their yichus or great prowess in study, they are absolved from publicly performing necessary menial tasks. All are equal in the obligation of working for Torah and its causes.

The Chazon Ish once called two students of the Ponovezh Yeshiva and told them that it was time for a revolution. “From what I see from speaking to the boys who have been coming to yeshiva recently, though they are bright, they are getting lost. They quickly give up and feel very lonely.

“You have to do something to get the older bochurim to find time to be mekarev these bochurim before they are lost.”

The two boys responded that the older boys are on a much higher level of learning and it is difficult for them to study with boys who just entered the yeshiva and are at a much lower level. Besides, they are so engrossed in their learning that they would not be able to find time for the younger boys.

The Chazon Ish responded, “If you speak to them and that is what they tell you, ask them why, if they are so busy and don’t have time for this, they put on tefillin every day. The mitzvah of spending time with these bochurim every day is no less a mitzvah than the obligation to put on tefillin.”

Helping other people, working with others, and being a source of support and encouragement is a mitzvah like any other and is incumbent upon all of us.

This week, Torah Umesorah celebrated its 75th anniversary of bringing Torah to children. Its goals have been accomplished because the greatest gedolim worked alongside dedicated mechanchim and askonim to see that American Jewry would not be lost in a sea of assimilation and am ha’aratzus.

We have to work hard in our communities to ensure that the battles we fight and the causes we champion aren’t just noise brought on by catchy words and superficialities. We have to be honest and ensure that our motivator is neither jealousy nor pettiness, nor a selfish desire to win or see our team come out on top. If we work lesheim Shomayim, following the guidelines of Torah, we can accomplish so much, defeating tumah and strengthening the causes of kedusha.

Too often, hate and anger, fueled by rhetoric, pollute the atmosphere. Everything becomes a cause worth fighting over and people feel compelled to take sides, causing division when the only way to accomplish anything is through unity.

Before we squabble, we should look beyond the surface to see what the words thrown around really express and the truth they conceal. We have to be honest and self-aware. Before we take a position, we have to look inward and make sure that our motives are proper, justified and responsible.

We have to look to see the perfection in Hashem’s world, perceiving the bigger picture that exists beyond our kehillos.

Before engaging in battle, we must see if there is a limud zechus, something that we failed to grasp the first time. We have to first see if there is a good side to the story before we declare war and condemn. If we are humble and selfless, we are better able to correctly analyze a situation and act properly.

After the Second World War, several orphanages were opened in Eretz Yisroel to accommodate the many children who tragically arrived to the new country without parents.

In Bnei Brak, there was a large orphanage that housed hundreds of young women. One of the neighbors had an issue with the institution and complained to the Chazon Ish.

“On Shabbos,” he said indignantly, “the girls sing zemiros and you can hear their voices outside the building. It’s an outrage.”

The Chazon Ish’s face lit up. “You’ve made me so happy. Maidelach cut away from their murdered parents, with bare memories of what the Shabbos tables looked like back in Europe, feel so at home and so happy that they are once again able to sing on Shabbos? Thank you for the good news.”

The Chazon Ish saw beyond the words. He grasped the truth beneath the surface and perceived the world in all its dimensions and was thus able to lead the Torah revolution in Eretz Yisroel.

“Mi yitein ess kol am Hashem nevi’im” was Moshe’s response to Yehoshua’s claims. Would that the whole Klal Yisroel develop the ability to say nevuah. The ultimate tov ayin wasn’t threatened by others. He understood that each person has his or her mission and role to play in Hashem’s world.

There is a famous statement of the rebbe Reb Zishe of Anipoli. He would say, “After 120 years, when I arrive in Shomayim, the Heavenly tribunal will not ask me why I was not like Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov. They will ask me if I was the Zishe I could have been.”

Rav Elozor Menachem Man Shach would explain that since the world is eternal, Hashem doesn’t need us to be like the avos. He needs us to be Leizer, Chaim and Shimon. Hashem needs each of us to be what we can be and who we can be, and achieve what we can accomplish.

Let us all seek to light up the world until we merit for the world to radiate with the return of the ohr hagonuz.

Living It

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

When the Bnei Yisroel were in Sinai after having crossed through the Yam Suf, Hakadosh Boruch Hu commanded them to count down the days until Shavuos, at which time the Torah would be given to them and shtei halachem would be brought (Vayikra 23:15-16).

It is commonly understood al pi drush that the reason for the count was to signify their anticipation to receive the Torah. The purpose of Yetzias Mitzrayim was not simply to free the Jewish people from slavery, but to bring them to Har Sinai for them to receive the Torah and become obligated to studying it and observing its many commandments.

There was a great deal of excitement inherent in that period of time. Thus, they counted day by day until the time they would finally be given the gift that would change and charge them for eternity.

However, once the Torah was given to the former slaves and they became the Jewish people on Shavuos, why was there an obligation to count in future years? There is neither excitement nor anticipation, as the Torah has already been received.

Additionally, why do we still count Sefirah in our day, when there is no korban ha’omer and no Bikkurim.

Perhaps we can explain with the teaching of the Ramchal that the force that was empowered when the miracle occurred that gave birth to the annual commemoration is evident every year on that day.

This means that every year, on the Yom Tov of Shavuos, the energy that delivered us the Torah is once again present in the world and we are able to re-accept the Torah.

In order to accept the Torah, we have to be prepared and purified. Just as the first time the Torah was given, the Jews had to raise themselves from the lowest level of tumah where they stood at Yetzias Mitzrayim, so too, in our day, those who wish for a reenergized Kabbolas HaTorah must prepare themselves for it.

Thus, we count 49 days to symbolize the 49 steps of kedusha that must be climbed between Pesach and Shavuos, so that we are worthy of receiving the Torah once again on Shavuos.

We are reminded that Torah is not acquired without ascending the 50 levels of holiness and acquiring the 48 ethical steps involving middos tovos delineated in Pirkei Avos. The harder we work at studying Torah and at the requirements necessary for the Torah to become part of us, the more we will rise and the greater we will become.

In last week’s parsha, we studied the classic words of Rashi: “Im bechukosai teileichu, if you wish to be considered a follower of Hashem and reap His rewards, shetihiyu ameilim baTorah, you must toil in Torah.”

Every commentator set forward a different understanding of Rashi’s lesson to the future generations of Am Yisroel. My father, may he be well, offered in his sefer Ikvei Binyomin that a person who has a life’s goal and mission works towards achieving it with all of his abilities. He doesn’t just read a guide book and move on. He studies that book until he knows everything about the piece of equipment he is dealing with.

To merit the brachos of Hashem, Torah must be our life. It is not sufficient to simply learn Torah superficially. We must delve into it, work as hard as we can to comprehend what we learn, and remember it.

Shetihiyu ameilim.

We are all familiar with the Gemara in Pesochim (68b) that states that Rav Yosef would ask for especially delectable meat and would be overjoyed every Shavuos. He would say, “Ih lav hai yoma deka goram, kama Yosef ika beshuka - If not for this day upon which the Torah was given, there would be no difference between me and all the Joes in the marketplace.”

We can say that Rav Yosef, who spent his life studying Torah as a true omeil, was celebrating that the Torah, which was given on this day, caused his rise to greatness. He said that there are many people out there in the marketplace, many of them no different than him, yet they are market-goers, because they are not omeil baTorah. Torah is not their life. Torah is not what they pursue. They learn and they study, but Torah is not their mission. Their job is.

The Torah directs my life 24/7. I am not only a different Yosef, connected to Hashem for a couple of hours, but rather, I am dedicated to Torah through everything I do all day.

The other Yosefs may be connected when they study, but the rest of the day they are engaging - and being omeil - in material pursuits.

Rav Yosef celebrated his ameilus, which led to his greatness and all the other Divine blessings.

There is a new word coined by a Harvard University trained positive psychology expert to describe a very old phenomenon.

People think that if they will achieve a certain goal, they will attain eternal happiness. If they could only earn another $50,000 a year they would be happy, with enough money to buy everything they need and want. If they finish law school, work hard, achieve their dream of making partner at a white-shoe firm, they will happy for the rest of their lives.

However, studies have proven that this is not so. Attaining goals, earning more money, getting a better position with a better title and a larger office, do not bring happiness. Dr. Tal Ben-Shachar gave this a name: Arrival fantasy. Says the expert, “Arrival fantasy is the illusion that once we attain our goal or reach our destination, we will reach lasting happiness.”

People who learn Torah simply to attain a goal are rewarded for their study, but the satisfaction they have after their goal is attained dissipates if they do not continue to learn and be omeil batorah. There is no end to the depth of Torah and completing a goal in Torah in essence represents the achievement of a primary step, thus a person who is an omeil, as was Rav Yosef, is constantly growing in Torah, moving up and gaining greater understanding and increased knowledge. Therefore, he is constantly happy and Shavuos represents to him a special day.

However, the other Yosefs, who study Torah without the same depth of commitment as Rav Yosef, may achieve goals they set for themselves, but the satisfaction of attaining those goals is fleeting and the joy doesn’t remain  the way it does for the ameilim, whose lives are built around Torah.

Many of us learn, but not enough of us see Torah as the entirety of our lives. Now is a perfect time to prepare ourselves to accept the Torah as ameilim, so that it takes over our life and controls all we do. That way, we will be greater, happier, and more blessed.

As I write this, a friend sent me pictures of Rav Yeruchem Olshin studying Torah at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Sitting at a small table, with his hat removed, he is enveloped in his sefer, with a small smile on his lips. He is oblivious to all else, for wherever he is, he is an omeil baTorah, setting example for us all.

An omeil is, by definition, humble, proper and correct.

When we look into the shuka, we see Yosefs who are just the opposite.

Take the ongoing scandal of the prosecutor brought on to investigate Russian collusion in the 2016 US presidential election. A man who was marketed as the paragon of virtue showed himself to be just the opposite. For two years, he and opposition prosecutors looked for crimes committed by the president. They found nothing. With obnoxious haughtiness, special counsel Robert Mueller held a press conference to twist laws and facts to charge Congress with the obligation to finish the job he started and get rid of Donald Trump.

On his way out, after concluding that there was no obstruction and that he hadn’t found a crime, he said that Congress has to impeach Trump. For what? He didn’t say. He doesn’t know. Mueller maliciously wants Trump charged for obstructing an investigation into a crime that wasn’t. Just keep those subpoenas coming, he says, as he admonishes the small people that he will not be answering any of their questions.

As the press lauds his efforts to unseat a properly elected president and our elected representatives applaud, we sit by silently, not recognizing that the more justice becomes perverted and corrupt, the more dangerous it becomes for us to live here.

As the left gains more power in this country and others, accompanied by an increase in anti-Semitism, we need to be aware of the larger picture of what is taking place. If the Justice Department of the country can dedicate itself for years to destroying the president and the people who work for him, think of what they can do to simple citizens who cannot afford teams of lawyers to defend themselves.

The media has become twisted and not driven by the truth. Imagine the economy tanking and the Jews being blamed. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Jared Kushner will quickly be scapegoated by the left, while the right will blame those nasty New York Jews, Nadler and Schumer, and plenty more like them, for unraveling the administration and not allowing it to govern.

Where will we hide then? What will our defense be?

In times like these, it behooves us to become ameilei Torah so that we will earn Hashem’s blessings and protection. In times like these, we should be out of the papers, away from attention, and not engaging in behavior that our enemies can easily term as anti-social. It is not enough to be patriotic. We have to show it. It is not enough to follow the norms and requirements of society. When people view us publicly, they should see us as being free of threats of any kind.

Our existence in this golus may well depend on it.

And it is not only in America and Europe that we face increased threats. The new elections in Israel present a very dangerous period for people like us. A stubborn, evil minister refused to compromise on an issue of vital importance to the chareidi community, throwing the country into elections.

The chareidi community never does well when they are the issue, as they are this time. Secular parties are well aware that an easy way to gain adherents and votes is by bashing the ultra-Orthodox community. Many have previously ridden that horse to victory. This time, there will be several parties fighting for the right to carry the anti-chareidi banner.

It is incumbent upon our people to come together, presenting the good face of ameilei Torah, and putting an end to pettiness and insolence. Last time around, the chareidi parties miraculously scored higher and were set to play a leading role in a Netanyahu government. Mr. Netanyahu is not running for a rabbonus position, and under his recent administration, the religious community was accommodated as never before. It is in the interest of our community that he be reelected with enough mandates to form a coalition with the religious parties. That way, they will be able to coalesce as a right-wing government that will find favor in the eyes of man and hopefully Hashem, and they will be granted prosperity, security and the ability to enact laws that will benefit ameilei Torah and the fine citizens of the country.

Let us not even consider what the country would be like if the left were in the coalition. We remember what happened the last time that was the case.

But we have the antidote.

We hold the secret.

We are in possession of the key to success.

When we are fully engaged in the study and practice of Torah, we earn special Heavenly protection.

But we must not just study Torah. We must live it. We must make it primary in our lives and the lives of our families.

Shavuos is a time to re-commit to limud haTorah, doing more than we have in the past, filling our finite time in this world with substance. In the zechus of doing so, may Hashem bless us with prosperity, individually and communally, and may He watch over us, providing us with security and serenity until the day we pray for constantly with the arrival of the geulah sheleimah.