‘Parsha Growth Spurts’[1]
Rabbi Dani Staum
Parshas Vaeschanan/Nachamu 5773
“You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart.” (Devorim 6:5)
The gemara explains that ‘with all your heart’ means one must serve Hashem with both his Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara.
Why does the gemara have to instruct a person to serve Hashem with his Yetzer Tov whose sole purpose is to encourage him to do good?
Rav Moshe Feinstein zt’l (Darash Moshe II) explained that when people follow their own ideas of what constitutes good, the results can be very damaging. A person may offer financial support for a certain institution and feel very satisfied in doing so, when in reality the institution encourages activities counter to Torah. Similarly, a person may feel inclined to show compassion towards an individual, without realizing that person is wicked and undeserving of sympathy.
Therefore, one must always seek the counsel and direction of wise scholars to ensure that his well-intended ‘good actions’ are indeed good.
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“Console! Console My Nation!” (Yeshaya 40:1)
At the end of the Torah when Moshe ascends Har Nevo and gazes at Eretz Yisroel (Devorim 44:1), Rashi explains, “He showed him all of Eretz Yisroel in its tranquility, and the oppressors who are destined to afflict it.”
Why do we not find any record of Moshe shedding tears for the calamitous events of the future, while Yermiyah could not contain his anguish (see Yirmiyah 8:23)?
Shemen Rosh relates the following parable: In times of old merchants would chop down trees, brand their seal into the wood, and send them floating down the river to reach towns along the way. The merchants would then arrive in the towns alongside the river to collect money for the wood that was taken.
One merchant was informed about an as-of-yet untapped area of trees which could be chopped down. However, he was unsure if it was worth the investment. He decided to seek the advice of his Rebbe. When the Rebbe heard about the new area he immediately replied that he should stay away from the new area. But the merchant felt it was too great an opportunity to waste, so he sought the opinion of a second Rebbe. The second Rebbe thought for a few moments before replying that the man should indeed invest in that wood, and he would see much blessing from it.
The merchant spent many hours and much money chopping down wood and then sent it downstream. When the merchant arrived in town shortly after, he was dismayed to hear that a massive storm struck the area destroying most of the wood or sweeping it out to sea. Before leaving the city he decided to check the port to see if anything had survived. Indeed a few pieces had washed ashore intact, and because there were so few they were in extremely high demand. The merchant netted more profit from those few pieces than he would have ever made from all the wood he chopped down.
When he returned to the second Rebbe to thank him from his advice, the merchant told the Rebbe about the first Rebbe’s contrary advice. The second Rebbe replied that he was no greater than the first Rebbe. “It was just that the first Rebbe saw through his ruach hakodesh about the terrible storm that would destroy almost all of the wood, so he immediately told you not to get involved. I however, looked beyond the storm and saw that it would be the cause of your earning a tremendous profit. It all depends how far ahead one looks.”
Yirimyah lived through the churban and personally witnessed the tragedy and destruction. He therefore cried bitterly for their suffering and lamented their terrible losses. Moshe Rabbeinu however, was shown a panorama of the entire future of the nation. He was able to see beyond the actual destruction; how the destruction would be the underpinnings and seeds of the nation’s redemption and salvation. Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t cry when he saw the tragedies of the future, because his perspective went beyond the exile.
This is also the perspective that Rabbi Akiva always maintained. Chazal relate that when everyone wept at witnessing the churban, Rabbi Akiva smiled (see Makkos 24b). They saw the pain and suffering of the moment. Rabbi Akiva however, was able to visualize beyond the veil of the current bleak situation to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Our consolation is rooted in our long-term perspective and the knowledge that our tears are not shed in vain. We will yet merit redemption and the proliferation of Hashem’s Name throughout the world.
[1] This series was originally written for and published in Hamodia