At the beginning of this week's Parsha the Passuk tells us that Klal Yisrael needs to have Judges and officers to make sure they are following the Torah and Mitzvos.
The Dubno Magid brings the following parable.
A man from a third world country village met a man from a different country and asked him the following.
"Why is it that in our village there are no doctors and if someone is sick they have to go to the big city to see a doctor. Furthermore, nearly no one is ever sick at all. Whereas in your country there are doctors everywhere, even in the small towns and villages. And you would have thought that with so many doctors everyone is healthy but it's the opposite, so many people are sick in your country."
The man replied, "in your country only when someone is really very sick and is basically bedridden that they are considered to be sick and then they need to see a doctor. However, in our country the doctors are there to take care of our health. So when someone has something even mild they will go to see a doctor. To one patient the doctor may give a medication, to another he may advise a change of diet, to a third, to rest and not overwork. So although many more people may be seeing doctors, there are far less really sick people in our country."
The Dubno Magid explains that Hashem gave Klal Yisrael many Mitzvos. Whereas the rest of the world don't have so many Mitzvos. By them only the major sins are recognized as forbidden acts, such as stealing, murdering and so forth.
But Klal Yisrael has 613 Mitzvos and therefore Hashem told Moshe to provide Judges and officers to make sure they follow Torah and Mitzvos. Sometimes people ask that having so many Mitzvos is a difficult. Why did Hashem have to put so much pressure on us?
There are two fundamental answers to this question.
Animals are more fit than humans, can eat so many foods that we mustn't eat, don't wear clothing or shoes. But we all understand that we are humans and we rather be a human being.
Klal Yisrael are blessed with a holy Neshama and therefore Hashem gave us Mitzvos that is necessary for our Neshamos. Sometimes we may think we are losing out but in reality we are are privileged to be Hashem's children and the Am Hanivchar (the chosen Nation).
This privilege demands certain standards and behavior.
But there is another very important point. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Aurbach explains that there are many things that we need to do in our lives. In order to give us extra reward Hashem told us how to do it and thus fulfill a Mitzva. We have to eat and sleep, but if we eat and sleep in order to have strength to serve Hashem then our eating becomes a Mitzva. We get dressed in the morning. If we put on our clothes and shoes in the way the Shulchan Aruch explains we have a Mitzva.
When we go on the street or during our work in business we behave correctly as befitting for a Jew and everyone around sees our behavior we are fulfilling the Mitzva of Kiddush Hashem.
As we approach Rosh Hashanah we are all looking for more Mitzvos to tip the scales. However, instead of looking for new Mitzvos it is far easier and more productive to look at our daily lives and behavior and see where we can put a little more thought and effort in what we are anyways doing and change it into a Mitzva and do it with some thought rather than as a habit. This will be much more powerful in tipping the scales in our favor.
By Rabbi Dovid Caro
