Allow me to introduce two neighbors. The first lives in a large five-room apartment, with beautiful, high-quality furniture. Once a month someone is called in to repair anything that is needed, and the family members live in their “palace” with ample space and in comfort.
Across the hall, a family lives in an apartment of one and half rooms, the faucet is dripping, the paint is peeling, and the only closet in the apartment is sagging under the weight of the clothing and possessions of five people; life there is not so easy.
Nonetheless, Rabbenu Bachyai teaches (Shaar Avodas Elokim, ch. 7) that the aleph-beis of a Yid is to thank Hashem for every gift He gives him, and that he should not consider it small or insignificant – neither lacking in quality nor small in quantity. He should give thanks from the depth of his heart for everything he receives as though it were very large.
The second neighbor, with his one-room apartment, should thank Hashem for his lot in the same way that his neighbor would say thank you for his spacious five-room apartment. Is this possible for people in our times?
To further concretize the question, we’ll take an example of two poor people passing by, each of whom received tzedakah for hachnasas kallah from a different person. One of them got 18 shekels, and the other, 18,000 dollars. How is possible to say that the one who got 18 shekels should rejoice just like the one who got 18,000 dollars? How could there be no significance attached to the quantity and quality of the gift, so that the same depth of gratitude should be felt and acknowledged to the giver in each case?
But this is the principle stated by Rabbenu Bachyai: We should thank Hashem for all the good, and the good should not be insignificant in our eyes, either in quantity or in quality.
In order to understand how we can be obliged to reach such a high level, we’ll talk about the good mazal of Tuvia Simcha Gutman.
He was standing in a long line with eighty other people from Bnei Brak and beyond, from Eretz Yisrael and from abroad, near Lederman’s shul, waiting to go into Maran Harav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l.
Finally, the door opened. One after another, the people passed through and got a one-word brachah: Bu”ha – Brachah v’hatzlachah, and everyone rejoiced in this tremendous zechus. But when Tuvia Simcha Gutman’s turn came, things looked quite different. The Rav arose, put on his hat and outer jacket, went into the kitchen and brought out a nice, big red apple and a large jar of honey. He handed it to Tuvia Simcha respectfully and simultaneously bentched him warmly with a sweet new year of children, life, sustenance, and siyata d’Shmaya. Everyone looked on admiringly, praising him for the fact that his presence had caused all of this. He had merited to receive an apple and honey from the gadol hador! Along with amazing brachos!
By the time he arrived home, the neighbors already knew that he was a lucky man, and they were sure that he was going to advance and prosper on every level. “You’re going to be rich,” one man told him, “so please remember us then as well.”
Tuvua Simcha smiled and said good-heartedly, “If you want, I can give you a taste of the apple and honey.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the whole neighborhood was lined up to get a tiny sliver of the apple and a drop of the honey.
“I don’t understand,” someone foolish called out. “Why are you all pushing so much to get a drop of honey? I can get each of you a kilo honey in the grocery! And an abundance of apples of every shade and color!”
This man just doesn’t get it. All the goodness in this world is not worth the drop of honey given with a brachah from the rav himself!
Certainly everyone understands that this story is just a mashal to show how even a seemingly small gift from Hashem yisbarach can be something very great.
When we want to give thanks, we don’t look only at what He gives, we look Who is the Giver. Is it not proper to relate to the gifts of the King of all kings at least in the way we relate to a gift of a gadol hador? He is an exalted King, filled with mercy and compassion, Who personally bequeathed to us health, strength, and tools to manage in this world. What does the size of the gift matter when we know Who the Giver is?
This is the proper outlook on life. It is the outlook of a Jew who is constantly strengthening himself in emunah and bitachon, to value and recognize endlessly all the good and the gifts of any size or quality that come from the Creator yisbarach! The Good One Who does good, Who sustains and provides for all His creations with grace, mercy and compassion.
Kesivah vachasimah tovah, and best wishes for a good, sweet new year; amen.
