פרשת שמות
In this week’s parsha, the brutal subjugation of the Jewish people begins. The Jews are forced to work as slaves in inhumane conditions and Pharaoh orders the midwives Shifra and Puah (who Hazal tell us are Yocheved and Miriam) to kill all male Jewish newborns. However, the midwives didn’t kill any of the children. Instead, they provided food and water for them, risking their own lives. The Torah adds
ויהי כי יראו המילדות את האלוקים ויעש להם בתים.
Due to the midwives’ fear of G-d, Hashem rewarded them (as Rashi explains) by giving them “houses” of Cehuna, Leviya, and Malchus, meaning that they would merit having descendants that would be priests and kings. Righteous acts are mentioned all over the Torah, but usually the fact that the person was acting due to his fear of G-d is not noted at all. Why does the Torah start focusing on it here? Especially when the midwives heroically saved an entire generation of Jews, which is incredible in its own right?
Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein points out that not everywhere in the Torah do we focus on how Hashem rewards those who do His Will, either. But when we do, as in the case of the midwives, it’s important to know why someone is deserving of such a reward. It was only because they truly feared G-d. That made the action whole. If one acts because he wants to do good in the world, and G-d is not in the picture, the deed isn’t the same. Only because the midwives acted for the sake of Heaven did they receive such an incredible prize from Hashem. And in truth, the spiritual reward of mothering Cehuna, Leviya, and Malchus is midda k’neged midda for an act done with such yiras shamayim. Because of the midwives’ tremendous fear of G-d, they merited to build everlasting houses that would exemplify the fear of G-d for the entire Jewish people.
The Gemara (Shabbos 31) discusses what the proceedings in Heaven are like before one is admitted to the World to Come. After being asked if one was honest in business, set times to learn Torah, and other matters, one big question remains. Did the person have yiras shamayim? The Gemara says that this one question determines whether a person will be let in or not. We see here how crucial yiras shamayim is for spiritual reward. Without yiras shamayim a person can’t even access the reward of all the good things he did. And not only that, but the Gemara (Shabbos 32) adds that the main reward we get in the next world is really for yiras shamayim. The Gemara compares the reward of yiras shamayim to getting a house, while the reward for Torah is really just a gate for the house. It’s nice to have a gate, but it’s not too impressive without a house. From here we see how crucial and fundamental yiras shamayim is in Hashem’s eyes if we’re looking to build our spiritual houses in the World to Come.
So if we’re trying to develop some yiras shamayim, where do we start? To help us, here are a few bits of advice.
Firstly, we need to put Hashem in our heads. The more we think about how He’s part of our everyday lives and constantly involved in directing everything that happens to us, the more we can appreciate His presence. The more we appreciate Hashem’s presence, the more we can fear Him. Constant thinking about Hashem-related topics can lead to incredible breakthroughs.
Secondly, not only thought but speech as well can be utilized to gain consciousness of Hashem and yiras shamayim. If we talk with others about Hashem and truly pay attention when we says phrases like “baruch Hashem,” “hasdei Hashem,”“b’ezras Hashem,”etc., this will certainly have a long-term effect on us. And especially when we say Hashem’s Name in our t’fillos and brachos, we should think about what we’re saying. Rabbi Shimon Green shlit”a once said, “Everybody’s wondering how to get yiras shamayim. They’re looking for a special program to get themselves there. My goodness gracious, we have a hundred brachos everyday! Just pay attention and you’ll get yiras shamayim!” Also, talking about emuna is very important if one wants his heart to be filled with yiras shamayim. Rabbi Yehezkel Levenstein would talk almost obsessively about emuna. When asked by his students why he repeated the same ideas over and over, he replied that if our acts are still lacking the only reason is because of weakness in yiras shamayim. The best way to strengthen ourselves is to go back and review the basics.
Thirdly, Rav Aharon Kotler added that we can develop yiras shamayim through our deeds. The Sifri in Devarim 17 comments on the verse “ ’למען ילמד ליירא את ה” that if one learns Torah, it will bring him to learn Mishnah. If one learns Mishnah, it will bring him to learn Gemara. If one learns Gemara, it will bring him to action. And action will bring him to fear (of G-d). We see here that learning and doing both lead to fear. And if we make the action private so that it’s just between us and G-d, it can bring us much further than an action that everybody else sees.
The Brisker Rav once told a story about something that happened during the inauguration ceremony for Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. The building was donated completely by one very generous businessman in the town. There was a big party held for the event and everybody came to see the spectacle, from simpletons to the great rabbis of the generation. The Rebbe from Bian, a very holy man, went over to the businessman and told him, “There’s something that I want you to tell me. To be able to merit such a great honor, of donating a building of Torah such as this, you must have done a great deed of yiras shamayim that was only known to you and G-d. I would like to know what that mitzvah was!” It was obvious to the Rebbe from Bian that in order to have the merit of building a house of Torah, the businessman must have already had abundant merit because of his yiras shamayim.
May we all have the merit to infuse our deeds and our souls with yiras shamayim!