“Revealing Hidden Praise”[1]
Parshas Re’eh 5782
לרפואה שלימה אסתר תהלה בת אריאל ציפורה
Based on “Erev Shabbos Parsha Inspiration” by Rabbi Phillip Moskowitz[2]
Written by Rabbi Dani Staum
The Torah teaches about an ir hanidachas, a city which worshipped idolatry that it must be completely destroyed, and all its population wiped out.
ולא ידבק בידך מאומה מהחרם למען ישוב ה’ מחרון אפו ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך כאשר נשבע לאבותיך – No part of the banned (city) may cling to your hand, so that Hashem will turn back from His burning wrath; and He will give you mercy and be merciful to you and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers.” (Devorim 13:18)
This pasuk seems incorouos. The first part of pasuk is imnstructing us to be insensitive and callous so that we can carry out the commandment to completely obliterate the city. But then the pasuk states that Hashem will be merciful to us. How do the two parts of the pasuk connect?
The Sefer Hachinuch records an important rule: אחרי הפעולות נמשכים הלבבות” – the heart ois drawn after one’s actions.” Although we are born with innate traits and proclivities, we are very influenced and molded by what we do. Netziv explains that there is, therefore, a concern that if we must completely destroy an entire city, with all its people and property, it will cause us to become heartless and cruel. Even if we are good people, committing such an act inevitably affects us negatively. Regardless of the motive, doing cruel actions breeds cruelty.
Netziv explains that it is to assuage that concern, that Hashem reassures us that He will have compassion on us to ensure that we do not become more insensitive, despite committing an act that requires emotionlessness. The blessing of mercy serves as a counterbalance to help us recalibrate and not surrender our innate sensitivity to life.
This idea is a reminder of how much our actions dictate who we are and who we become.
If a person asserts that he is a very generous person, but his tax returns show that he only gave 10 cents to charity this year, it is a clear indication that he is not a generous person. He may argue that despite the paltry amount he gave away, in his heart he really is sensitive and loving, and is always thinking about how he should give. But that doesn’t change the fact that at the end of the day he didn’t give, and he is therefore, not a kindhearted person.
Who we are is largely determined by what we do!
This idea comes up again later in the parsha. The Torah instructs us נתן תתן – we should give charity to a poor person (Devorim 15:10).
The mIshna )Avos 3:15) says, הכל לפי רב המעשה” – everything is dependent upon the abundance of deeds”. On those words, Rambam writes a fundamental idea: It’s not the greatness of one’s action but the quantity of one’s actions, how many times a person does a deed, that really matters. It is better to give one dollar to a hundred people, than to give a hundred dollars to one person. Giving a large amount one time requires one act of selflessness. But giving constantly, even a far smaller sum, trains the person to become a giver. It causes him to develop positive habits that transform him into a giver.
Ir hanidachas and tzeadakah sensitizes us to the vital role that actions play on our character.
In his 1960 bestseller, How People Change, Dr. Alan Wheelis wrote: “We are what we do because it’s our actions that define us. The longer and more consistently you and I commit ourselves to a set of actions, the more integral that behavior will become into who we are and our very identity.”
Motivational writer Frank Tibolt quipped: “We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”
As we begin the month of Elul, dreaming of where we want to be, the people we want to become, and the habits we want to form and change, there’s a simple formula for success: Begin by committing yourself to specific actions that you are going to perform on a consistent basis.
Dr. Tel Ben-Schachar notes that he researched how long one must do something before it develops into a habit. His research shows that if you do something for 30 days it becomes part of your identity.
Elul is 30 days!