I would like to focus on one point that relates to two positive Mitzvot found in our Parsha – two among 53 total.
כִּי תִקְנֶה עֶבֶד עִבְרִ י שׁ ֵשׁ שׁ ָנִים יַעֲבֹד וּבַשְּׁבִעִת יֵצֵא לַחׇפְשִׁי חִנָּם׃ אִ ם־בְּגַפּוֹ יָבֹא בְּגַפּוֹ יֵצֵא אִם־בַּעַל אִשָּׁה הוּא וְיָצְאָה אִשׁ ְתּ וֹ עִמּ וֹ׃
If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years, but in the seventh he is to go out free, for nothing. If he came by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he was married, his wife shall go out with him.
The first Mitzvah in our Parsha relates to Jewish servant, and the question arises – why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu choose to open specifically with this Mitzvah? In its greater detail, this is a Mitzvah related to a Beit Din who sells off a man caught stealing, to pay restitution to who he stole from.
Rav Yaakov Neiman, in Darchei Mussar, asks why the Torah chooses to open specifically with the matter of a person who stole. Why open with the case of a man sold to a master, who for the next six years must take concrete steps to properly care for and rehabilitate the poor individual? Why not open with the Mitzvah to return a lost object, which is a special and exclusive Mitzvah for Bnei Yisrael; if a person finds a lost object, he must return it to its owner – and Chazal say that it is forbidden to return a lost object to a gentile unless it results in the sanctification of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s name. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Bava Metzia 2:5) and Midrash (Devarim Rabbah 3:3) recount a story about Shimon ben Shetach, whose students bought him a donkey from a gentile. They discovered a jewel on the donkey's neck and, despite the students' argument that returning a gentile's lost object was not required, Shimon ben Shetach insisted on returning it. He explained that he sought the sanctification of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's name through the gentile's praise more than any material gain.
Another question Rav Neiman asks, along the same lines, relates to another Mitzvah involving theft:
כִּי יִגְנֹב־אִישׁ שׁ וֹר אוֹ־שֶׂה וּטְבָחוֹ אוֹ מְכָרוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה בָקָר יְשַׁלֵּם תַּחַת הַשּׁ וֹר וְאַרְבַּע־צֹאן תַּחַת הַשֶּׂה׃
If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and then slaughters or sells it, he must pay five oxen for each ox, and four sheep for each sheep.
Rashi says, quoting Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai in the Gemara (Bava Kamma 79b), Hakadosh Baruch Hu has mercy on the dignity of people. An ox that walks on its feet and the thief was not humiliated by having to carry it on his shoulder, he pays five times the value; a sheep that he had to carry on his shoulder – he pays only four times the value, because he was humiliated by the affair. This seems odd. Since when do we consider the humiliation experienced by a thief? Since when does the embarrassment caused by their own act factor into their punishment? If you don't steal, you won't be humiliated!
Rav Neiman brings a wonderful idea in response. Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu open specifically with the Mitzvah of the Jewish servant who was sold for his theft? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to start the Parsha with people who do special acts of kindness, like lending money without interest, returning lost items, or guarding items for their peers at no cost? Why start first and foremost with a thief? The Alter of Kelm answers: If the Torah had been given by a person, he certainly would have started with important people who do good deeds for others – and not with a despicable person like this thief. But the Torah is given by Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and we are His children, and if a father has a thief among his children, all his thoughts and concerns are for that one child – the thief. The father constantly seeks advice on how to improve the way of his thief son and has no concerns with his other children. Therefore, immediately at the start of Mishpatim, Hakadosh Baruch Hu provides advice for His thief son.
The Torah said to sell him, because what is done in the earthly kingdom by imprisoning a thief does not positively affect that thief. On the contrary, in prison he meets other thieves and learns new tricks from them and sinks into the abyss of his crimes, and afterwards when he leaves prison and has no livelihood to support himself, his wife, and his children – he is inevitably led to steal again. Additionally, while he is in prison, what will his wife and children do? From where will they support themselves? They too may be led to thievery! Thus, the Torah says to sell him. And most certainly, the court sells him to a decent person and household, where he spends six years learning proper manners, upright conduct, and good traits – as he’ll see how the children of his master behave. Usually, if one is a thief, it is because he had nothing to eat or because he was an orphan and struggling. But now, when he has food and all his needs tended to, and he sees how the household honors and values him in their prescribed treatment – i.e., the master may not eat warm bread while he eats stale bread; and if only one pillow is available, it goes to the servant first – then the servant will think: “If they honor me so much, how can I be a thief?” All this will influence him to improve his ways. And after six years, the Torah cares for him once more, ensuring he is given whatever support needed on his way out, so that he need not need be a thief again.
In this way, it is possible to understand what the Torah said, that if he stole an ox and slaughtered and sold it, he pays five, and for a sheep he pays four – because he carried it on his shoulder and suffered embarrassment and distress during the theft. Such a feeling can only be with a father and mother who feel the distress of the thief at the time of his sinful act. But a person cannot reach such a feeling by dismissing him and saying: "Who asked him to steal?" Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s love for His children is so great, even for His thief son, because He feels his distress at the time of the theft.
If that is the case, how much more so does Hakadosh Baruch Hu feel the distress of Am Yisrael whose blood is shed like water, and who are not thieves but righteous, intelligent, upright, and innocent? How much does Hakadosh Baruch Hu grieve if His love for even the thief is so great? From this, we can infer: כׇּל דְּעָבֵיד רַחֲמָנָא לְטָב עָבֵיד – Everything the Merciful One does, He does for good.
The Yerushalmi says that the first Mitzvah Bnei Yisrael were commanded was the release of slaves – even before the Mitzvot of Rosh Chodesh, Brit Milah, and Korban Pesach. The Mitzvah is alluded to in the following Pasuk:
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשׁ ֶה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶל פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶך מִצְרָיִם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם :
Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, commanding them regarding Bnei Yisrael and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring Bnei Yisrael out from the land of Egypt.
The Yerushalmi asks: What exactly did Hakadosh Baruch Hu, at that juncture, command Bnei Yisrael? Sefer Korban HaEdah writes, He commanded them not to enslave one another, and by this merit, they were redeemed. Bnei Yisrael had to accept the commitment to release their own slaves, before Pharaoh would be commanded to release them! He adds, Bnei Yisrael were never punished with exile from Eretz Yisrael except for sins related to releasing slaves.
What was so urgent to command them at that point about releasing slaves? After all, they had no slaves in Egypt, nor did they have any in the desert! Why not let them enter Eretz Yisrael and settle the land, and then issue the commandment when it would have more meaning and relevance? Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz explains (Sichot Mussar, 31), it is very difficult for a person to send his servants, his property, and his labor free – and even though the servant's soul longs for freedom and the burden of servitude is very heavy on him, the master does not feel it at all. It is a difficult step.
Therefore, they were commanded in this Mitzvah precisely at the time they themselves left their house of bondage, when they felt in their souls the great joy of freedom. That moment of transition from slavery to freedom, from bondage to redemption, and from darkness to light, is the most proper and fitting time to feel and hear the supreme command to release their brother in the seventh year.
וְגֵר לֹא תִלְחָץ וְאַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת־נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר כִּי־גֵרִ ים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִ צְ רָ יִ ם׃
Do not oppress a stranger. You should know the feelings of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
It was also the time for them to be directed not to oppress the stranger, for at that moment they truly understood the soul of the stranger. If they were commanded about it after this great moment of joy and feelings of release, when those feelings would gradually cool down, the Mitzvah would not be properly grasped. But, since they were commanded about it at a time when their hearts were open to hear the great Mitzvah of releasing slaves, they accepted it wholeheartedly and the feelings never faded.
We can now approach the words of the Haftarah, from the Navi Yirmiyahu, where it is explicitly stated that the Mitzvah of releasing slaves was commanded while still in Egypt:
הַדָּ בָר אֲשׁ ֶר־הָיָה אֶל־יִרְ מְ יָהוּ ...ל ְ שׁ ַ ל ּ ַ ח אִ י שׁ א ֶ ת ־ ע ַ ב ְ ד ּ ו ֹ ו ְ אִ י שׁ א ֶ ת ־ ָה חׇפְ שׁ ִ ים לְבִ לְתִּ י עֲבׇד־בָּם בִּ יהוּדִ י אָחִ יהוּ אִ ישׁ ׃ שׁ ִ פְחָתוֹ הָעִבְ רִ י וְהָעִבְ רִ י ...ָ שׁ ִ ב ו ּ א ֶ ת ־ ה ָ ע ֲ ב ָ דִ י ם ו ְ א ֶ ת ־ ה ַ שׁ ּ ְ פ ָ ח ו ֹ ת א ֲ שׁ ֶ ר שׁ ִ ל ּ ְ ח ו ּ ָ שׁ ו ּ ב ו ּ א ַ ח ֲ רֵ י ־ כ ֵ ן ו ַ י ו ַ י ח ׇ פ ְ שׁ ִ י ם ִ כ ְ ב ּ ְ שׁ ו ּ ם ל ַ ע ֲ ב ָ דִ י ם ו ְ ל ִ שׁ ְ פ ָ ח ו ֹ ת ׃ ו ַ י ...כּ ֹה־אָ מַ ר ה' אֱ -ל ֹהֵ י יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ ל
אָנֹכִי כָּרַתִּי בְרִ ית אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּיוֹם הוֹצִאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית ע ֲבָ דִ ים לֵ אמ ֹר ׃ מִ ק ּ ֵ ץ שׁ ֶ ב ַ ע שׁ ָ נ ִ י ם תּ ְ שׁ ַ ל ּ ְ ח ו ּ אִ י שׁ א ֶ ת ־ א ָ ח ִ י ו ה ָ ע ִ ב ְ רִ י א ֲ שׁ ֶ ר ־ ו ְ ל ֹ א ־ שׁ ָ מְ ע ו ּ א ֲ ב ו ֹ ת ֵ י כ ֶ ם שׁ ֵ שׁ שׁ ָ נ ִ י ם ו ְ שׁ ִ ל ּ ַ ח ְ תּ ו ֹ ח ׇ פ ְ שׁ ִ י מ ֵ ע ִ מּ ָ ך ע ֲ ב ָ דְ ך י ִ מּ ָ כ ֵ ר ל ְ ך אֵ לַי וְל ֹא הִ טּ וּ אֶ ת־אׇ זְנָם׃
This is the word that came to Yirmiyahu ... that every man should let his Hebrew manservant, and every man his Hebrew maidservant, go free; that none should enslave any of them, namely a man of Yehuda, being his brother... But afterwards they relapsed, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids... Thus says the Lord, the G-d of Yisrael; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying: At the end of seven years, shall you release every man his brother being a Hebrew, who has been sold to thee; and when he has served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not to Me, neither inclined their ear.
Demanding that Pharoah release Bnei Yisrael from Egypt was conditional on the release of slaves by Bnei Yisrael themselves. To understand why Bnei Yisrael were commanded specifically with the Mitzvah of releasing slaves, we need to delve into another Mitzvah from our Parsha:
אִם־כֶּסֶף תַּלְוֶה אֶת־עַמִּי אֶת־הֶעָנִי עִמָּך לֹא־תִהְיֶה לוֹ כְּנֹשׁ ֶה לֹא־תְשִׂימוּן עָלָיו נֶשׁ ֶך עַד־בֹּא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ אִם־חָבֹל תַּחְבֹּל שַׂלְמַת רֵעֶך תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ׃ כִּי הִוא כְסוּתֹה לְבַדָּהּ הִוא שִׂמְלָתוֹ לְעֹרוֹ בַּמֶּה יִשְׁכָּב וְ הָ יָה כִּ י־יִצְעַק אֵ לַי וְשׁ ָ מַ עְתִּ י כִּ י־חַ נּוּן אָ נִי׃
When you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is among you, do not act toward him as a demanding creditor. Do not place the burden of interest upon him. If you take your neighbor’s garment as security, you must return it to him till sunset; For this alone is his covering, the garment to cover his skin. With what shall he lie down to sleep? If it happens that he cries out to Me, I will hear his cry for I am compassionate.
A person whom Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given reserves of money must take those funds and lend them to needy people. And if that person with means doesn’t want to deal with the transaction or with finding rightful recipients, Baruch Hashem, Hakadosh Baruch Hu placed a gemach (a free-loan fund) in every location, with righteous people who manage the money splendidly. Transfer the funds to them, and they’ll know exactly where to direct it! Rashi writes:
אֶת־הֶעָנִי עִמָּ ך – Consider yourself as if you are the poor! This implies that it is not just a Mitzvah of lending, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu demands that when you give the loan, do not give it with a feeling of superiority over the borrower. Rather, treat them as though you are exactly like them!
Later in the Parsha, the Torah deals with matters of unloading and loading the donkey of your adversary:
כִּי־תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲך רֹבֵץ תַּחַת מַשָּׂאוֹ וְחָדַלְתָּ מֵעֲזֹב לוֹ עָזֹב תַּעֲזֹב עִ מּ ו ֹ׃
If you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden, and you might not want to help him – make every effort to help him.
When the Torah says that you need to help unload the merchandise from the donkey, it does not say "the donkey with you" as in the Mitzvah of lending to the poor. This leads us to ask – why only in the Mitzvah of lending to the poor do you need to consider yourself as poor?
First off, the Mitzvah of lending to the poor is among the most important Mitzvot in the Torah. The Chafetz Chaim says that for people who have not yet been blessed with children, there is no better Mitzvah than establishing a gemach (a free-loan fund). He writes (Ahavat Chesed, 2:5) about the astonishing behavior of people who seek segulot to have children and spend large sums of money on them. He suggests that it is better to engage in the attribute of charity to help the poor, as this is a segulah found in Chazal. Furthermore, establishing a permanent gemach and continually engaging to maintain it and lend out its funds is greater than merely giving charity. In this merit, the Chafetz Chaim says, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will act with charity and kindness towards them, fulfilling their desire to have children. Many people have succeeded in this path, he says, and even if they do not have children, the tremendous Mitzvot they performed will not be lost and will be considered as their offspring.
We’ve learned just how important the Mitzvah of lending is, and how one is commanded to set aside from his money, for the reserves are not yours; they are only a deposit left with you to distribute to the poor. Therefore, the moment you have extra money, put it in a gemach and not in the bank!
But there is another key point: כֶּסֶף תַּ לְוֶה אֶת עַ מִּ י אִ ם – If you lend money to My people, implying that if you want, you lend, and if you don't want, you don't lend. Seemingly, if the Torah wants to teach that you are obligated to lend, it would not have led with the word “if,” but would have written “lend money to My people". Rashi says, every “if” in the Torah is optional, except for three, and this is one of them. Nevertheless, if the matter of lending to the poor is obligatory, why did the Torah add "if”? It implies that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants the matter of lending to be in the language of permission, but in practice, it is obligatory, and the question that arises is – why?
Another question that needs explanation, is with regards to the end of the Parsha and the covenant Hakadosh Baruch Hu made with Bnei Yisrael:
ַעַל מֹשׁ ֶה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ וַי ִ רְ או ּ אֵ ת וַ י אֱ -לֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר וּכְעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם לָטֹהַ ר׃
Moshe and Aharon then went up along with Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisrael. They saw a vision of the G-d of Yisrael, and under His feet like a brickwork of sapphire, and it was like the essence of heaven in purity.
Rashi says, the reason a brick of sapphire was set before Hakadosh Baruch Hu during the years of slavery in Egypt was for Him to remember the suffering of Bnei Israel, who were enslaved in the work of bricks. The Chizkuni writes, Pharaoh's servants were pressing and beating Bnei Yisrael to make them produce double the amount of bricks, yet the Egyptians didn’t give them straw; they had to gather straw in the desert, and that straw was full of thorns and thistles which would pierce their heels, and the blood would then mix with the clay. Rachel, the granddaughter of Metushelach, was pregnant and trampling in the clay with her husband when the child came out of her womb and mixed with the brick, and she cried out for her son [who died]. Her cry went up before the Kiseh HaKavod, and the angel Michael descended, took the brick with him and brought it before the Kiseh HaKavod, placing it under the feet of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. This is the meaning of: וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר.
The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah, 23:8) says it was not solely a brick placed at the foot of the Kiseh HaKavod, but all the accessories used by Bnei Yisrael in their work as well. The brick along with the spade and basket were placed there.
Rabbotai, just a few months ago, on Rosh Hashanah, we said during Mussaf: כִּי אֵ ין שׁ ִ כְחָה לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶ ך – For there is no forgetfulness before Your Throne of Glory. If so, why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu ask to bring the sapphire brick, or the work tools, and place them before the Kiseh HaKavod? Why does He ask for reminders if He does not forget? We’ll return to this question shortly.
The Gemara (Shabbat 31a) brings six questions that are asked of a person after their passing:
אָמַר רָבָא: בְּשׁ ָעָה שׁ ֶמַּכְנִיסִין אָדָם לְדִ ין, אוֹמְרִ ים לוֹ: נָשָׂאתָ וְנָתַתָּ בָּאֱמוּנָה? קָבַעְתָּ עִתִּ ים לַתּ וֹרָ ה? עָסַקְ תָּ בִּ פְרִ יָה וּרְ בִ יָה? צִפִּיתָ לִישׁ וּעָה? פִּ לְ פּ ַ לְ תָּ בְּ חׇ כְ מָ ה? ָ בָ ר מִ תּ ו ֹך דָ בָ ר?
Rava said: After departing from this world, when a person is brought to judgment for the life he lived in this world, they say to him: Did you conduct business faithfully? Did you designate times for Torah study? Did you engage in procreation? Did you await salvation? Did you understand one matter from another?
The monetary questions make perfect sense, as one returns to the world in a gilgul (spiritual reincarnation) to fix any monetary debts or wrongdoings. The next four are quite understandable too. One needs to allocate their time to learning, bring new life to the world, and yearn for redemption. Fine. But what about the final one? What exactly does it mean to learn one matter from another, and why is this important?
The Alter of Kelm explains (Chochmah U'Mussar, 1:163): הַ שּׂ ֵ כֶ ל – , וּמִשְׁנֵהוּ כְּמוֹ מֶלֶך– וּרִי הַצ. The intellect – like a king, and its deputy – the imagination. The meaning is, the king sets the policy, but the deputy implements it, and without him, no one will lift a hand or a foot. There is an important principle to bring forth here: When a person does not visualize something for themselves, they do not live it; only a person who visualizes something before their eyes, can live it. The Rema writes (Orach Chayim 1:1):
שִׁוִּיתִי ה' לְנֶגְדִּ י תָמִיד הוּא כְּלָל גָּדוֹל בַּתּוֹרָה וּבְמַעֲלוֹת הַצַדִּ יקִים אֲשׁ ֶר הוֹלְכִים לִפְנֵי הָאֱ -לֹהִים, כִּי אֵין יְשִׁיבַת הָאָדָם וּתְנוּעוֹתָיו וַעֲסָקָיו וְהוּא לְבַדּוֹ בְּבֵיתוֹ כִּישִׁיבָתוֹ וּתְנוּעוֹתָיו וַעֲסָקָיו וְהוּא לִפְנֵי מֶלֶך גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא דִּ בּוּרוֹ וְהַרְ חָבַת פִּ יו כִּרְ צוֹנוֹ וְהוּא עִם אַנְשׁ ֵי בֵּיתוֹ וּקְ רוֹבָיו כְּדִ בּוּרוֹ בְּמוֹשׁ ַב הַמֶּלֶך הַגָּדוֹל, כָּל שׁ ֶכֵּן כְּשׁ ֶיָשִׂים הָאָדָם אֶל לִבּוֹ שׁ ֶהַמֶּ לֶך הָקָּבָּ''ה אֲשׁ ֶר מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּב וֹדוֹ עוֹמֵד עָלָיו וְרוֹאֶה בְּמַעֲשָׂיו, כְּמוֹ שׁ ֶנֶּאֱמַר: אִם יִסָּתֵר אִישׁ בַּמִּסְתָּרִים וַאֲנִי לֹא אֶרְאֶנּוּ נְאֻם ה', מִי יַגִּיעַ אֵלָיו הַיְרְ אָה וְהַהַכְנָעָה וּפַחַד ה' יִתְ בָּרַ ך וּבָשׁ ְ תּ וֹ מִ מֶּ נּוּ תָּמִ יד )מוֹרֵ ה נְבוֹכִים ח''ג פ.(כ''ב '
"I have set the Lord always before me" is a great principle in the Torah and in the virtues of the righteous who walk before G-d, for a person's sitting and movements and dealings when they are alone in their house are not like their sitting and movements and dealings when they are before a great king, and not their speech and the expansion of their mouth as they wish when they are with their household and relatives like their speech in the presence of the king. All the more so when a person sets in their heart that the great King, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, whose glory fills the whole earth, stands over them and sees their actions, as it says: "If a person hides in secret places, will I not see him? says the Lord," immediately fear and submission and fear of G-d will reach them, and they will always be ashamed before Him.
The Alter of Klem learns a yesod from the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah, 23:5) which expounds on what Moshe Rabbeinu was shown ahead of Bnei Yisrael’s entry into Eretz Yisrael, Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed him everything that had been and is destined to be. He showed him that Shimshon would emerge from Dan, and Barak ben Avinoam from Naphtali. Likewise, He showed each and every generation and its teachers, each and every generation and its judges, each and every generation and its leaders, each and every generation and its transgressors, each and every generation and its righteous men. Hakadosh Baruch Hu then showed him Gehenom, wo to which Moshe asked, “Who is sentenced in it? ” Hakadosh Baruch Hu responded, “הָרְ שׁ ָעִים וְהַפּ וֹשׁ ְ עִים בִּ י – The wicked and those who betray Me.” Moshe immediately began to fear Gehenom, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him, “וְשָׁמָּה לֹא תַעֲבֹר בְעֵינֶיך הֶרְאִיתִיך – I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross into there.”
The Alter of Kelm writes: “All people of heart will be astonished, trembling and fear will seize them, seeing such a terrifying and shaking thing. A person [Moshe Rabbeinu] who ascended among angels until fearing they’d burn him with their breath, and who taught Bnei Yisrael before Matan Torah about reward and punishment, had Gehenom open beneath him his whole life. Yet, he only feared Gehenom when Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed it to him, as if now was the beginning of that fear. Moreover, did Hakadosh Baruch Hu not say to him: The wicked and the sinners in Me are judged in it, and was it not said about him, In all My house he is faithful? If so, why did he begin to fear? The answer is, it is because he now saw Gehenom, and thus the fear. And now, a person should understand how much obligation there is to bring the imagery of Gehenom before them, so that it can act upon them to turn away from evil, and not be among the wicked and sinners, G-d forbid.” Gehenom was there all along, yet Moshe Rabbeinu only began to fear it upon seeing it! And upon
