Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Helping ourselves by helping others
11:21 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Protective environment of the yeshiva
“And Yaakov
left (vayaytzay) Beer Sheva and went to Choron” (28:10)
Yaakov left
Beer Sheva for the purpose of escaping Eisov’s murderous designs and also in
order to look for a wife in Choron. The Steipler zt”l commented that nowadays a young man needs to learn in a
yeshiva for two reasons. Firstly, in order to escape from the harmful
environment outside, and secondly, in order to learn and grow in yiras
shomayim. Consequently, even if a bochur is not learning as well as
he should, he must still continue to observe the commandment of vayaytzay
by remaining within the safe confines of the yeshiva, thus refraining from keeping undesirable company.
Rav Schneider zt”l was opposed to boys going to work before marriage, and was even more
adamant that they should not attend university. He argued that even if the
boy’s religious observance would not be affected, the very exposure to the behavior
and manner of speech prevalent in such environments would have a detrimental
effect on him. For this reason he felt a boy should not be thrown out of
yeshiva into a street environment, and that those responsible for such an
action would be held accountable before the heavenly court. Although the main
protection afforded by the sanctity of the Torah is when we are immersed in
studying it, just being present in an environment of bnei Torah also saves a person from sin and has a salubrious effect on him.
Rav Sternbuch recalls
the time when a young sailor from
Greece, about 20 years old, somehow found his way to Rav Schneider’s Yeshiva in
London. Once Rav Schneider had ascertained that he was indeed Jewish, he made
sure that this young man should be taught aleph beis, krias shema, tefillin etc. Even though the yeshiva was not designed for such people, since Rav
Schneider could not find a suitable alternative, the commandment to look after
a "lost body and soul" applied to this visitor. Had he not come of his
own accord we might have been exempt from helping him out, Rav Schneider
reasoned, but since he had fallen into our hands, we are forbidden to send him
away.
Spiritual charity
“And
everything that You give me, I will surely tithe to You” (28:22)
The obligation
to share the gifts with which Hashem has endowed us with others is not only limited
to money. It is brought down in the name of Rav Shimon Shkop’s students that
just like financial charity is the recipe for the economic enrichment of the
donor, so too someone who shares his talents and knowledge with others will be
rewarded several times over in the spiritual realm.
Rav Moshe
Schneider emphasized this point, and in fact instituted the practice in his own
yeshiva whereby an hour a day was set aside in which weaker talmidim
were taught by other students. He considered this time to be a period of avodas
hakodesh (holy work). Dedicating this time to others would not be at the
expense of one's own growth in Torah. On the contrary, someone who has a
student in his youth is likely to become the recipient of Hashem's blessings
and merit to have many students throughout his life.
Rav Sternbuch notes
having heard from several yeshiva bochurim who had not been successful
in their learning and whose prayers in this regard had not been answered, that it
was only when they started to devote even a small amount of time every day to
help a weaker boy that their own learning started to flourish. Such is the
power of tzedoko in spiritual matters.
Money as a litmus test
“A ladder (sulom)
was set up on the earth and its top reached towards heaven” (28:12)
The Baal Haturim says that sulom has the same gematria as momon (money) and oni (poverty).
Money appears to be like a ladder set up on
the earth, since a person’s status in this world appears to be dependent on his
financial situation, but its top reaches towards heaven, because a person’s
main test in this world revolves around money. The test of wealth consists in determining
whether a rich person minimizes the time spent in worldly affairs in order to busy
himself with Torah and other matters through which he acquires eternity, or whether
he constantly seeks only to become more enriched, and also whether he gives
sufficient charity and does so by granting the proper honor to the recipient.
The poor man, on the other hand, is tested
to see whether he complains against the ways of Hashem, and whether he attempts
to obtain money through illegitimate means. That is why the Baal Haturim states
that the top of the ladder - meaning money - reaches towards heaven, because
money is the litmus test for determining a person’s spiritual status.
Spiritual growth
“And if I
return in peace (besholom) to my father's house, and Hashem will be my G-d” (28:21)
The gemarah in Masseches Berochos (64a) says that a
person taking leave of his friend says "lech lesholom”, whereas
someone taking leave of a deceased person says "lech besholom”. This teaches us that lech lesholom is
the appropriate phrase when addressing someone who is still alive, and can
continue his activities and lech besholom should be used when taking
leave of a deceased person whose activities have come to an end. Why then did Yaakov Ovinu, who was still alive, say “if I return besholom”, as if he was expecting this to be his final
stop.
The Arizal explains that when Yaakov was
asking Hashem to be his G-d (Elokim) he was asking Him to treat
him with a strict attribute of justice (symbolized by Elokim) without
any admixture of mercy, just like Rabi Akiva. However, he did not make this
request for an indefinite period but only for a specific limited one, namely until
he would reach his father's house. Once he had done so, he would decide whether
to continue to ask to be judged in this extremely demanding manner. That is why
it says "and I will return besholom”. Besholom is used in the context of termination, and
here too Yaakov stipulated in advance that the elevated level which he
was seeking would cease when he reached his father’s house (and possibly be
resumed subsequently).
This teaches
us an important principle of great practical application. Whenever we wish to
make progress in a certain area we should not resolve to uproot previous
negative behavior permanently, but rather make a determined resolution to
maintain the desired conduct for a limited period. For example, a bochur
who wishes to increase his level of hasmodo should not make do with some
vague resolution never to idle away his time again, but should rather take upon
himself to maintain a strict learning schedule for a specific period, say three
days, until he habituates himself to his new conduct.
The same
applies to someone attempting to uproot a negative character trait. The main
thing is to start straightaway for a three-day period, and not in three days’
time. That way his good intentions are far more likely to be crowned with
success.
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