This week’s parshah ends off with the obligation to destroy the nation Amalek.
In Parshas Beshalach we learned how Amalek came to fight against Klal Yisroel in a place called Refidim. The Mechilta teaches that the word Rifidim hints to “rifyon yodayim” – their hands weakened. Because Klal Yisroel weakened in learning Torah, meaning that they were lacking effort in their learning, that’s why Amalek waged war. However, we find a contradiction in Parshas Beshalach, since it says the reason why Amalek came was because Klal Yisroel didn’t believe in Hashem; they were lacking in emunah. So was the reason for Amalek’s attack a lack of emunah, or was it because they weakened themselves in Torah?
The Sefer Shraga l’meir (a big posek in Manchester) explains that both reasons are really one. If a person doesn’t have emuna in Hashem, then he lives with the outlook of “kochi viotzim yodi”- that everything is in his power. Therefore, he believes that he has to work more hours to make more money. He attributes all success to his own hard work and therefore he is motivated to invest more hours of working. And the more he works, the less time he has available to learn Torah. On the other hand, if you have proper emunah then you believe that it’s Hashem Who gives parnasa. You understand that a person must work simply because he has to fulfill the decree of “bzeias apecha tochal lechem” – by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread. After the sin of Adam Harishon, all of mankind was punished with a “tax” that you have to sweat in order to receive parnasa. So, you have no choice but to do some hishtadlus and put in some effort in order to attain the parnassa that is preordained for you. However, you know that it’s not the hard work or the long hours that give you the hatzlacha. It can be compared to turning on a faucet of water. Obviously, you understand that it’s not your turning of the knob that’s enabling fresh, filtered water to flow into your cup. There was lots of planning, engineering, piping, and building that were done by countless workers in order to allow your sink to function. So, you don’t believe that turning the knob produces water. It’s just that the only way to get the water is by you turning that knob. The same is true for hishtadlus; it doesn’t result in your success. It’s just a necessary motion that you must do to turn the knob and allow the hatzlocha to pour down from Hashem. It was all preordained for you regardless how hard you work.
Also, another reason why you have to do hishtadlus is because you need to have a place where the bracha should rest. The pasuk says (devarim 15:18) “yevarechcha Hashem Elokecha b’chol asher taaseh”. Chazal tell us that Hashem sends beracha on the action that you do. So for that it is enough to work a little because working a little gave you a place for the beracha to be chal and Hashem does the rest. If a person really believes that the main beracha is from Hashem then he will have the time to learn and do mitzvos. He knows it’s not his own effort that gives him parnasa.
The sefer Ahavas Shalom (grandfather of Viznitzer Rebbe) in Parshas Re’eh- explains that by bentching we daven “v’nah al tatzricheinu Hashem Elokeinu lo lidei matnas basar v’dam ... ki im leyadecha hamilea hapesucha..” – Don’t put me in a position that I would have to come onto living off a gift of a human being. Rather, allow my hatzlacha to come directly from You. Says the Ahavas Shalom: Many people work for a boss or a company, and the fact is that their paycheck is coming from “matnas basar v’dam”. Yet, a yid believes that his hatzlacha comes from Hashem and the people who are involved in his parnasa are merely messengers. They have no say in his paycheck whatsoever. We have to be mispalel that Hashem should give us the strength to believe this, that it’s not the “basar v’dam” that is giving me the “matana”. I should understand that people can’t really give me anything; they are just the messengers of Hashem. The Ahavas Shalom continues by saying that this concept is not just for the receiver to believe; the giver must believe it as well. If you give something to someone, you have to believe that you are not really the giver; it’s Hashem who chose you to be the messenger to give to the other person. Again, we see the concept that when a person is strong in his emuna, he will have time to learn because he knows he won’t be diminishing his parnassah as a result of learning.
Now we can understand how to reconcile both reasons why Amalek came. The yidden were lacking in Emunah so as a result they weren’t learning as much as they should have. And that is the avoda of a yid; to believe that it’s not “kochi v’otzim yodi” but we still must do hishtadlus so the beracha should be chal.
Rav Moshe Shternbuch learned in the yeshiva of Rav Moshe Shneider. Rav Shternbuch writes in his sefer Taam V’daas that Rav Shneider came to him and told him that it was his turn to go collecting for the yeshiva. It seems that there was a rotation and every week another bachur went collecting. He was given a list of addresses and hired a car service to drive him around. Incidentally, there was no one home at any of the addresses he tried, and at the end of the day he came back empty handed. He didn’t even make up for the expenses of the car service and was very embarrassed that he was not matzliach. When he arrived back at the yeshivah, he merely slipped back into his seat in the bais medrash and didn’t report back. A week later, Rav Moshe Shneider came over to him and said, “Thank you! Thank you for the big check I just received!” “What do you mean?” Rav Shternbuch asked, “I didn’t even visit that person!” His Rosh Yeshiva explained: “You are making a big mistake; you think the hatzlacha comes from the place of hishtadlus. You did hishtadlus and you spent a few hours trying to collect money. And because you did the hishtadlus, the bracha came from somewhere else. The bracha doesn’t have to come from where the hishtadlus was made. This is the emuna a yid has to have. We have to understand that efforts do not yield success. It’s just a decree, a “gezeiras hakasuv” that you have to do hishtadlus.
Parshas Ki Seitzei ends with Amalek and the next parsha, Parshas Ki Savo, begins with the idea of bikurim. What’s the connection between the two? My father shlita explains that the essence of bikurim is that a person demonstrates that he has full emuna in Hashem and believes that everything comes from Hashem. Therefore, he is ready to give up the first fruits of his labor to the kohen. He recognizes that all the bracha he has is from Hashem, and that rectifies the sin that brought on Aamalek, which was a lack of emuna.
Now that we have reached the end of the year, it’s time to give thanks to Hashem for the past and it’s time to be mispalel for the future. May we be zoche that Hashem should continue to shower us with bracha v’hatzlacha and a ksiva v’chasima tova.
