A recipe for disaster: that’s what happens when people always insist on getting their way. In Parshat Tzav, the Torah introduces us to the ‘קורבן עלה - the burnt offering’, and this is how the Torah starts the Passuk: “זאת תורת העלה - This is the Torah (law) of the burnt offering.”
The sefer Vayedaber Moshe teaches a very important lesson from these words.
The term ‘עלה’, he says, of course means to go up, and here it can also represent an arrogant person, somebody who is always trying to raise his or her level at the expense of others – people who have an expanded view of themselves. Now, what is the ‘Torah’ of the עלה? What is their outlook, what is their mindset? It is all centered on the word ‘זאת – this’. “This is what I want.” “This is what must happen.” They never take no for an answer.
In Parshat Shoftim the Torah famously teaches “צדק צדק תרדוף - Justice, justice you must pursue.”
The term ‘צדק ’ of course, like ‘צודק’ means to be correct and our Sages teach us that the term ‘צדק’ is repeated in order to tell us that sometimes the correct thing to do is to compromise. When one has the maturity and the responsibility to compromise, then one facilitates peace and harmony. Where there is compromise, everyone’s a winner. And when there’s no compromise, and when everybody strives to achieve their own aspirations without ever giving in to anybody else, there is no basis for a harmonious relationship.
So therefore in the most surprising of contexts, the Torah teaches us an important lesson about human relationships. If you wish to be an עלה, always raising your own importance, always striving to get your own way at the expense of others while propelling yourself upwards, ultimately you might just come tumbling down.
In this spirit may Hashem bless and watch over our people with peace, by doing Mitzvot and joining together to pray with all our hearts, for the healing of all those injured, for the safe return of those taken as hostages, as well as Divine Protection for our brave IDF soldiers, police officers, medical professionals, firefighters, ZAKA members, security personnel and all those citizens protecting us in Israel as well as around the world, and for those who need healing, shidduchim, children or parnassah and may we be blessed to have the most awesome, gorgeous, beautiful, peaceful, healthy, amazing, relaxed, spiritual, safe, quiet and sweet Shabbat.
