“Your children, your wives, and the convert in your midst, from your woodchoppers to your water drawers.” (Devarim 29:10)
Rabbeinu Bachya, in his introduction to Parshas Nitzavim, offers the parable of an archer who set up a target and began shooting his arrows at it. When he ran out of arrows, the target was still standing. This, he says, was Moshe’s point in telling the Jews that they were “standing” before Hashem. Despite all the tribulations and suffering Klal Yisrael goes through, the arrows are finished, but our nation is not. We’re still here.
In his speech to them, Moshe delineates that everyone was present. It was necessary for everyone to be there because they would accept responsibility for each other. Instead of simply being “every man for himself,” each Jew is obligated to help his fellow Jew fulfill their obligations. We are responsible and culpable for their failures if we could have done something to help avoid them.
By mentioning the woodchoppers and water drawers, considered lowly occupations, Moshe was highlighting the fact that regardless of one’s material station in life, they are an integral part of the Jewish nation, because within each of us is a spiritual component that cannot be compromised. A person doesn’t need to be wealthy or famous or even brilliantly intelligent to aid others in their service of Hashem. We all have the ability to influence others, and should be willing to accept guidance from anyone, if they are giving proper direction.
This unification created a bond between us all that cannot be severed. It devolves upon us certain obligations and entrusts us with protecting the welfare of our fellow Jews, even when they themselves may not realize what they’re lacking. How we behave affects others, so we must be very careful in the choices we make; they affect everyone else, too.
There is an interesting nuance of this posuk that can very easily be overlooked. The verse does not say, “You’re all here, even the woodchoppers and water drawers.” Rather, it says, “...from the choppers of your wood, to the drawers of your water.”
Everyone standing there that day now became someone to be viewed in relation to myself. He isn’t “a woodchopper;” he is “my woodchopper.” He doesn’t just carry water; he carries MY water. We have to recognize that everyone in this world has a role and a part to play. They (and we) are here because Hashem wants them here. They have a place in the grand plan of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and we should be sure to respect and appreciation everyone for that – even ourselves. We should never feel that we don’t matter. On the contrary, the world needs us, so it's up to us to be our best.
Rabbi Shamai Blobstein is a noted Torah educator who has taught and mentored thousands of students, and helped many who struggled with various challenges such as learning disabilities. Never willing to write a student off, he recently spoke at a large gathering and shared the following idea:
“When you are putting together a puzzle, there’s a big picture there. Some pieces have the stars and moon on them, shining brightly in the sky. Some pieces are closer to the bottom of the picture, and they contain animals which are not as brilliant as the stars. Some pieces are rather plain and look just like other pieces, but they aren’t the same.
In every puzzle, there is just a single piece that can fill the gap in each area of the puzzle. No other piece can take its place or the puzzle won’t be complete. That is the world we live in. Each person has a role to fill, and if we do, and appreciate the others who do, we will all become whole.”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
