By Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, Dean, Ani Maamin Foundation
There is a mitzvah d’rabbanan to recite one hundred blessings every day, instituted by David Hamelech following a plague that was killing one hundred of his subjects every day. The Gemara relates this mitzvah to a pasuk in the Chumash: Moshe Rabbeinu tells am Yisrael, “Now, Yisrael, what does Hashem ask of you? Only to fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve Him and keep His commandments.” The first word is mah, what, but the Gemara interprets it as meah, a hundred. What does Hashem ask of you? One hundred brachos a day.
Although the Gemara often reads a deeper meaning into a seemingly simple pasuk (called an asmachta), there is usually some connection between the simple meaning and the asmachta.
Rav Yakov Galinsky z”l related that he was once approached by a very wealthy Jew whose son was dating a non-Jewish girl. “If you can bring him back to being a proper shomer Shabbos again,” the distraught father said, “I will give you a million dollars.”
Rav Galinsky called his wife in Eretz Yisrael. “We are millionaires!” he said. “This man is willing to spend a million dollars to make his son shomer Shabbos. Our son already is shomer Shabbos! We are millionaires!”
Imagine that someone wins $100 million in the lottery. His excitement knows no bounds. But the next day, his eye doctor tells him that he has a disease with no cure and will soon go blind. Only one doctor, overseas, has developed a therapy to treat this condition—but he charges $100 million. Will our winner pay? Of course!
So when we say pokeiach ivrim in the morning, thanking Hashem for our eyesight, we are millionaires. What would we give to save our sight? Hashem, in His infinite kindness, has given it to us for free!
So when the pasuk asks “What does Hashem ask of you?” and then lists our tasks in life—once we turn the mah into meah brachos, we realize how rich we are with all the gifts Hashem gives us. Then it is easy to fear, love and serve Him.
To be continued.
