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.
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