IN THE PARSHA:
In פרשת בהר we learn the about the מצוה of buying and selling, and how ownership is transferred from one person to another (פרק כה, פסוק יד).
One of the rules in sales is that you cannot sell something that doesn’t yet exist. If someone sells fruit of a tree that will grow in the future, but are not growing yet, the buyer or seller can back out of the deal at any time. It is not a valid sale.
QUESTION:
Every מצוה in the תורה has a spiritual lesson that it teaches us.
What does this הלכה teach us about our עבודת ד'?
ANSWER:
The מצוות that we do are compared to fruit of a tree.
In the same way that someone can sell the fruit of a tree, we can give ownership of our thought, speech, and action, to Hashem. When we make sure to only think, speak, and do what Hashem wants us to, we make it obvious that these are not our own, but His.
And just as selling fruit that do not yet exist, with the hope that they will grow in the future, is not a valid sale, one cannot simply assume that their good intentions for the future are guaranteed to come to fruition.
This is the lesson from the above mentioned הלכה:
A person must work hard to ensure that he actually fulfills his good החלטות that he makes for the future. Because one cannot guarantee that his future thoughts, speech, and action are obviously devoted to Hashem, until he actually does it.
Further discussion:
Although the sale of fruit that did not yet grow is not valid, one can sell the tree for the sake of its fruit.
What does this teach us? (See אותיות ד-ה in the שיחה)
