There once was a king who had an only son. He hired a wise man to move into the palace to teach the boy all forms of knowledge, with special emphasis placed on the things he would need to know when he inherited the kingdom. The teacher taught the prince very well. He then brought the boy to the king and said, “I did as you asked. I taught him all he needs to know.”
The king tested the boy and found that he was now very knowledgeable. He was very happy to see this and he gave the teacher 100,000 gold coins as payment. He also appointed him to an important government job. The teacher then said, “There is one last thing that I still need to teach him. It will only take an hour. Send him to my house and I will teach it to him there.”
The king agreed and he sent the boy to the wise man’s house. The man locked the door and began hitting the prince. He struck him 50 times on the legs, striking him so hard that blood began to flow. The boy screamed and cried but no one was there to help him. The teacher finally let him go and sent him home.
The king saw his son groaning in pain and the blood on his legs. He asked what happened and the prince told him. The king became enraged and he decreed that the wise man should be hung.
Before carrying out the sentence, the king had the teacher brought before him and he asked him why he did what he did. What could possess him to attack the prince?
The man replied, “I did what you hired me to do. You wanted me to train your son so that he would know everything a king needs to know. I taught him everything but I saw that he still lacked one important piece of knowledge. I knew that when he becomes king, he will need to judge people and decide on their punishments. It might occur that someone will be brought to trial for stealing 100 coins, and he will rule that the thief should get 100 lashes. The reason he will give such a harsh punishment is because he never felt a lash and has no idea how painful it is. Therefore, he won’t be able to give a fair punishment.
“I hit him 50 times so that he would understand how much it hurts to be hit. Now that he knows that, he won’t give excessive punishments to others.”
The same idea applies to tzedakah. Some rich men have never been hungry. Therefore, they can’t understand the pain of a hungry, poor man. As a result, they may not give sufficient tzedakah. For this reason, Hashem commanded everyone to fast one day a year, on Yom Kippur, so that rich people would also know what hunger feels like and understand why a poor man needs money to feed himself.
This also is the reason rich men sometimes go through hard times financially. Hashem sends them these difficulties so they can understand what it’s like to be in financial trouble. Once they understand this, they will better be able to assist the needy. Accordingly, the pasuk is saying: “If your brother becomes destitute... with you.” When you brother is in pain, you should feel compassion for him because he is “with you”, as you also know what it feels like to be hungry and in need of help.
It is related that the Yitav Lev of Satmar zy”a had a student who was an only child. After his wedding, it was discovered that he hit his wife. The Yitav Lev called over two other talmidim and told them that the next day after davening, they should grab this young man and hit him hard. They did so and he began to scream in pain. The Yitav Lev then walked over and said, “Why are you screaming?”
The student said, “Because they are hitting me.”
The Yitav Lev said, “I told them to hit you. I knew that since you are an only child, no one ever hit you. you don’t know what it feels like to be in pain. I told them to strike you so that you’ll know what it feels like and you won’t do it to your wife.”
Do Not Send Away the Poor:
The Alshich Hakadosj explains that the pasuk is telling us that one may think that if his friend is poor, he doesn’t have to help him because there are many others who can take care of it. Rather, “you should support him” and not rely on anyone else to do it.
Don’t be a “Maamin” at a Poor Man’s Expense:
The Ropshitzer Rebbe zy”a famously asks: Chazal say that the Torah permitted every forbidden thing in some form. For example, meat mixed with milk is forbidden but a different food that tastes the same is permitted. If so, we may ask when and how apikorsus is permitted.
He answers that when one sees a poor man, he may not be a maamin and say that Hashem will help him. On the contrary, one must turn into an apikores and say that only he can help the man!
Asking for Parnassah to Lead to Yiras Hashem:
Sefer Imrei Noam explains by quoting the verse (Mishlei 30:8): “Give me neither poverty nor wealth.” This means that one shouldn’t want to be very poor, but he also shouldn’t want to be excessively rich. Too much wealth can lead to one abandoning the Torah (Devarim 32:15), but too much poverty is also not good, as “if there is no flour, there is no Torah” (Avos 3:17).
Thus, this pasuk is saying that one shouldn’t take “neshech” or “tarbis”. “Neshech” (which can mean “to bite’) is reference to “the bite” of suffering caused by poverty, while “tarbis” refers to having too much (“ribui’) wealth. One shouldn’t want to take from Hashem either of these things. Instead, he should “fear Hashem and let his brother live with him.” One should want a standard life, without an excess of either wealth or poverty.
אֶת כַּסְ פְ ּךָ לֹא תִ תֵ ּן לוֹ בְ ּנֶשֶ ׁךְ וּבְמַרְ בִ ּית לֹא תִ תֵ ּן וגו' (כה, לז)
His money shall not take from him with interest or give with an increase... (25:36)
אַל תִ ּקַּח מֵאִ תּוֹ נֶשֶ ׁךְ וגו' וְיָרֵ אתָ מֵאֱלֹקֶיךָ וְחֵי אָחִיךָ עִמָּךְ (כה לו)
You shall not take from him interest... you shall fear your G-d, and let your brother live with you. (25:36)
Donating Pleasantly:
Rav Moshe of Kobrin zy”a explains that this verse is a continuation of the last pasuk, which speaks about the mitzvah of tzedakah. It first says to support your brother and then says that when you give charity, it should not be with “noshech”, which can mean “a bite.” In other words, one should not give tzedakah in a harsh, biting way. Rather, one should give pleasantly and with a smile, as Chazal say (Bava Basra 9B): “If one gives charity to a poor man, he is blessed with six brachos. And if one comforts him with words, he is blessed will 11 brachos.”
וְנָתַתִּ י גִשְׁ מֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם וְנָתְ נָה הָאָרֶ ץ יְבוּלָהּ וגו' (כו, ד)
And I will give your rains in their time and the land will yield its crops. (26:4)
Parshas Bechukosai
Reward in this World:
The Beer Mayim Chaim asks why it says that Hashem will give us physical reward for our mitzvos, rather than mentioning the ultimate reward that we will receive in Olam Haba.
He quotes the Magid of Zlotchov zy”a as answering that while it is certainly true that one who serves Hashem by learning Torah and doing mitzvos for the sake of Shomayim will be receive all forms of goodness – both in terms of ruchnius and in terms of gashmius – because mitzvos are the pipeline to bring down goodness and blessing to this world. However, this can only happen if one serves Hashem l’shmah, out of love for Him, and not because one wants to be rewarded. If one only serves him because he wants to receive the good influences created by mitzvos, either in ruchnius or gashmius, he will not receive these blessings.
Accordingly, the Torah is saying that if one follows the ways of the Torah and serves Hashem properly, and He “gives us rain” – meaning that we are blessed with much goodness – it is a clear sign that our avodah was done l’shmah. The Torah is not speaking about the reward per se. Rather, it is telling us how we can now if our avodah is being done properly.
וְהִשִּׂ יג לָכֶם דַּיִשׁ אֶת בָּצִיר וּבָצִיר יַשִּׂ יג אֶת זָרַ ע וַאֲכַלְתֶּם לַחְמְ כֶם לָשׂבַע וגו' (כו, ה)
Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing and you will eat your food to be satisfied... (26:5)
Humility is a Segulah for Children:
My ancestor, Rav Mordchele of Nadvorna zy”a (Maamar Mordechai) writes that the word “dayesh” (threshing) has the same letters as the word “Sha-dai” (which is both Hashem’s name and the word for the place on the mother from which a baby suckles). This is a hint that this holy name provides sustenance for Klal Yisroel (see Noam Elimelech, Parshas Va’erah). The words “es baatzir” (the vintage) indicates a decrease. This is a reference to them iddah of humility. Thus, the torah is teaching us that if one wants to merit Divine sustenance, he can do so by decreasing himself and being humble.
The pasuk continues to say that if one does this, he will merit “zera”, which is a reference to upright children.
Eating a Little and Being Blessed:
Rashi states that the blessing of “you will eat your food and be satisfied” means that one will eat a little and the food will be blessed in his stomach (and he will be full). My grandfather, the Kretchnifer Rebbe zy”a (Kol Emunah, Gilyon 444) asks why the blessing will be in this manner, that we will not have a lot of food but will still be full.
He answers by quoting Chazal (Yoma 18b) who say: “One who has bread in his storage house is not comparable to one who does not have bread in his storage house.” Just knowing that one has food is enough to satiate him. Therefore, the pasuk is saying that we will have a lot of food, so we won’t have to eat a lot to be satisfied. In the tochacha, however, it says that we will eat a lot but still not be satisfied. This is a terrible curse that even though we will have food and eat a lot of it, we won’t be able to get full.
Including the Shechinah’s Pain with your Pain:
The Tiferes Shlomo explains this pasuk by citing the Gemara (Brachos 65A) that states: “If one includes the name of Shomayim in his pain, his parnassah is doubled.” This means that if someone experiences pain and suffering, he should think about the pain of the Shechinah in exile. If one does this, he will find salvation. This idea is hinted to in this verse, as the word “dayesh”, which has the same letters as the word “Sha-dai”, and the word “b’tzarecha” can mean “in your tzar (pain).” Thus, the pasuk is saying that if one includes Hashem’s pain in his own, he will be provided with enough parnassah to “eat to be satisfied.”
וְאִ ם מָךְ הוּא מֵעֶרְ כֶּךָ וְהֶעֱמִ ידוֹ לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֵן וגו' (כז, ח)
And if he is (too) poor to pay the valuation, he shall stand him up before the kohen. (27:8)
A Maamin Lacks Nothing:
There is a common Yiddish expression that “a zindiger darf fil” (a sinner needs a lot). The Magid of Zlotchov zy”a stated that the reason this is so is because they lack bitachon. If one trusts in Hashem, he knows that he lacks nothing and that He provides him with all he needs, as is stated (Tehillim 34:11): “Those who seeks Hashem do not lack any goodness.” If they feel that they lack something, they know that it is due to their own failing, as if they had full emunah they would not feel like they need anything they don’t have. Thus, the pasuk is saying that if one feels like he is poor and doesn’t have what he needs, it is because of his “valuation”, meaning that he has yet to reach the proper level of emunah.
Always Thanking Hashem:
In this vein, it is related that the holy brothers, Rav Shmelke of Nikolberg zy”a and the author of Sefer Hafla’ah zy”a, once asked their Rebbe, the Magid of Mezhritch zy”a, the following question: “Chazal say (Brachos 54A) that one should bless Hashem for the bad just one blesses Him for the good. How is it possible to be as happy about bad things that happen to you as you are about good things?”
The Magid did not answer their question. Instead, he told them to go to the Rebbe Rav Zushe zy”a and to ask him.
They went into the bais medrash and asked where they could find Rav Zushe, and they were directed to a man who was dressed in patched and ripped clothes. They went over to him and told him that the Magid had sent them to ask him how one can bless Hashem for bad things just like one blesses Him for good things.
Rav Zushe answered, “You must be making a mistake. I don’t know how to answer this question because it doesn’t apply to me at all. I am not familiar with bad things because nothing bad has ever happened to me. Hashem has only given me good things. Therefore, I never had to make a bracha on anything bad.”
If You Don’t Have it, You Don’t Need it:
Sefer Mayim Rabim quotes Rav Mordechai of Zhvil zy”a as saying that his father, Rav Yechiel Michel of Zhvil zy”a, told him that his grandfather, the Magid of Zlotchov zy”a, said, “I never needed anything before I got it because as long as I didn’t have something, I knew that I must not need it.”
Trusting Only in Hashem:
Sefer Yalkut Yosef quotes Rav Bentzion Rabinowitz (Ostrover) zt”l as relating that many years after his wedding, he still had not been blessed with children. One year on erev Rosh Hashanah, he went to the Chidushei Harim zy”a to ask for a bracha for children. The Chidushei Harim told him, “Who am I? I am a lowly person. Doesn’t the pasuk say not to rely on ‘nedivim’ (Tehillim 146:3). This means that one can’t even place their trust in great men like the Avos, who are called ‘nedivei am”. Rather, one may only trust in Hashem.”
The Chidushei Harim continued to say, “Believe me Bentzion, if you trust in Hashem, you will certainly be helped.”
Even Merchants Must Rely on Hashem:
It is related (Sefer Erez Balevanon, page 296) that someone once asked the Sanzer Rov what he should do for parnassah. He asked, “Should I become a merchant or a melamed? Or should I continue to learn all day and simply trust in Hashem to provide for me?”
The Divrei Chaim replied, “You ‘galgan’! (This was a word he used to show his displeasure.) Do you think that a melamed or a merchant doesn’t have to rely on Hashem?”
Challenging Times are a Test of Bitachon:
Sefer Tenuos Hamussar relates the following story:
Rav Yisroel Salanter zy”a was once delivering a lecture on the topic of emunah and bitachon. Amongst his words, he said: “One who truly trusts in Hashem does not need to do any hishtadlus at all to earn a living.” A painter who was present was startled by these words and asked, “One who has bitachon really doesn’t need to work at all?”
Rav Yisroel answered, “I guarantee you that if you would have genuine bitachon in Hashem, He would give you 10,000 rubles!”
The painter immediately gave up his job and began to sit and recite Tehillim all day. He placed his trust in Hashem and waited for the day when He would send him his 10,000 rubles.
A few weeks went by and all of his meager savings were depleted. He had no money to even buy bread for his family but he still trusted that Hashem would send him the money. When his children began crying form hunger, his wife told him to go back to Rav Yisroel and to ask why his guarantee hadn’t been fulfilled.
Rav Yisroel listened to his complaint and said that he still fully believed that Hashem would send him the money. However, he told the man that if he didn’t have the patience to wait, he would purchase the rights to the money form him. He said that he was prepared to give him 5,000 rubles on the spot in exchange for the 10,000 rubles that he had promised him.
The painter was delighted with the deal and agreed to it immediately.
Rav Yisroel then turned to him and said, “Go back to your job. If you were willing to trade 10,000 rubles for 5,000 rubles, it is a clear proof that you never had complete bitachon. That’s why you never would have gotten the money. If you really believed that the money was coming, you would not have given away 5,000 rubles so easily.”
One Who Believes in Hashem is a Genuine Tzadik:
The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 4A) states that if someone gives a coin to tzedakah on condition that his son lives, he is a complete tzadik. We may ask why someone who does a mitzvah shelo l’shmah is called a perfect tzadik?
The Chozeh of Lublin zy”a answers that even though this person did not give tzedakah with perfect intentions, he is showing that he fully believes that Hashem will heal his son. Since he shows that he has tremendous emunah, he is considered a tzadik.
True Emunah:
The Gemara (Tamid 28A) says that the proper way for a person to live is to have “emunah yeseira” (excessive emunah). The Kobriner Rebbe zy”a explains what “excessive emunah” is by saying that in all other areas, one should not try to jump ahead, beyond what he is capable of on his current level, and one certainly shouldn’t act publicly in a manner that makes it look like he is on a higher level than he is. When it comes to emunah, however, one should display more emunah than he actually feels in his heart and more than he is capable of understanding and act publicly as if he has that much emunah.
The explanation of this is that “chitzonios” influence “penimius” – one’s external actions influence his internal feelings. If one acts as if he has a great deal of emunah, he will end up truly having that amount of emunah. This is as the Rov of Lechovitch zy”a explains the pasuk in Yirmiyahu (7:28): “Emunah has disappeared and become cut out from their mouths.” He explains this to mean that because emunah was “cut out from their mouths”, meaning they were not constantly speaking about it, it disappeared and became lost from their hearts. If we do not speak about emunah, we will lose our emunah!
Asking No Questions:
Sefer Noam Siach relates that during the Yomim Noraim of 5706, a half-year after the end of World War 2, he was in the Grosvarden, together with the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz zy”a. At the seudah on erev Yom Kippur, the Imrei Chaim said in the name of Rav Dovid of Lelov zy”a that if a person sanctifies and purifies himself and pushes down the bad parts of himself within him, he will have no questions on Hashem and he will not doubt His way. He used these words to explain the verse (Devarim 10:16): “You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, therefore, and be no more stiff-necked.” This means that if one sanctifies himself and removes his impurities, he will no longer be stiff-necked, meaning he will have no more questions about the ways of Hashem.
At that time, right after such a terrible communal tragedy, many people had lost their emunah, and the Rebbe was strengthening the survivors with these words. He added, “Sadly, many people today have questions on Hashem. We ask Him to ‘save us from all gezeiros kashos.’ This means that we ask Him to save us from having ‘kashos’ )questions(.”
A Believer Will Not be Punished:
The Kamarna Rov zy”a (Heichal Bracha, Parshas Tetzaveh) writes in the name of the Baal Shem Tov zy”a that as long as person is strong in his emunah and bitachon, it is impossible for him to receive any punishment. He adds that until the sin of the eigel, Klal Yisroel’s emunah was strong and they could not be punished for any sin. Only after their emunah weakened and they committed this sin were they punished for their previous aveiros.
Emunah Must Come Before Hishtadlus:
Rav Avrohom Dov of Chemelnik zy”a (quoted in Sefer Ginzei Tzadikim, page 122) says that most people think that although Hashem is the ruler and guide of the world, they first must whatever hishtadlus they can, and only when they see that their efforts are not working do they turn to Him as a last option. “But” he said, “I say that immediately that He is the guide of the world and I turn to Him right away.”
וְאִ ם לֹא תִ שְׁ מְ עוּ לִי וְלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ אֵת כָּל הַמִּ צְוֹת וגו' (כו, יד)
And if you don’t listen to Me and don’t do all of the mitzvos... (26: 14)
The Aliyah of the Tochacha is a Segulah for Long Life:
Sefer Siach Zekeinim (Chelek 6, page 272) relates the following story in the name of R’ Chaim Mendel Steiger z”l, who heard it from his uncle, R’ Shimshon Magolis z”l:
The Shinover Rov zy”a was in Eretz Yisroel during the year 5629, and he spent Shabbos Parshas Bechukosai in the city of Tzefas. During Kriyas Hatorah, no one wanted to get the aliyah of the tochacha. There was a man there named R’ Leibel Nadvorner, who suffered from many ailments, and the Shinover Rov gestured to give him this aliyah.
His name was called but he did not want to go up and accept the aliyah. He told the Rov, “Rebbe, I have enough problems. I don’t need any more.”
The Rov said, “Young man, you will merit a long life and much bracha (if you take the aliyah).”
He then went up for the aliyah and, indeed, he was cured from his ailments and lived until he passed the age of 100.
Blessed Because of the Tochacha:
There was a minhag in Russia that when it came time for the ailyah of the tochacha, they would announce, “Ya’amod... whoever wants this aliyah.”
It once occurred in one bais medrash that no one wanted to go up. There was one ger tzedek present who realized that this was somewhat of a disgrace for the Torah, so he ran up for the aliyah. That very week, he won the lottery and became very wealthy.
וְאִ ם בְ ּאֵלֶּה לֹא תִ וָּסְ רוּ לִי וַהֲלַכְתֶ ּם עִמִ ּי וגו' (כו, כג)
And if, through this, you will not be chastised to Me, and you walk with Me with happenstance.” (26:23)
Always Connected to Hashem:
In the bais medrash of Rav Bunim of Peshischa zy”a, there was a man who was given the aliyah of the tochacha, and this bothered him tremendously. This man came to Rav Bunim and said that he was scared that something bad would happen to him. Rav Bunim told him, “Don’t worry. Trust me, I went through the pesukim of the tochacha and was very pleased to see that that after all the curses, Hashem says ‘if you will not be chastised by Me.’ This means that even if we do not feel chastised and are not moved to do teshuva, we are still ‘by Me’, meaning that we still are connected to Hashem, as we are His people for all eternity. Therefore, there is no need to fear.”
