פרשת וארא
This week’s Parsha tells us about the events which were set in motion which ultimately led to the Jews’ exodus from the land of Egypt, and the enslavement of the Egyptians. Hashem commands Moshe to go speak with Pharaoh and to tell him to let the Jewish people go. Moshe does exactly as he is commanded and the verse praises him by using the words, “He was Aharon and he was Moshe that did what Hashem said.” The Midrash comments on this verse, “He was Aharon and he was Moshe” shows us that they were completely righteous. We need to understand specifically what praise exactly it was that the Midrash seems to be adding to Moshe and Aharon.
R’ Mordechai Gifter, the famous Rosh Yeshiva of the Telshe Yeshiva used to explain that we need to understand one basic premise in order to properly comprehend this Midrash. The service of Hashem is different than any other achievement that exists in this world. All other disciplines that we are exposed to have a very simple and accurate barometer to gauge their success. Let us analyze, for example a person’s financial situation. Financial success can be measured quite simply by calculating how much money a person is making. If it is above average, than he is considered successful, and if it is below average, then he is unsuccessful. Or let us take a person’s relationships. If he is “making it”, then he has a successful relationship, and if not, then not. However the service of Hashem is quite different. In the service of Hashem, the ultimate results of his actions are completely irrelevant. Success is measured by whether or not a person can adequately meet the demands of the Torah, regardless of whether or not he obtained his objective. For example, if a person sets out to study Torah, even if he never completes one chapter of the Talmud, he will have been considered an overwhelming success if he is diligent in his studies. And on the converse, even if he finishes the entire Shas, but he was not deliberate in his studies, or studied at a time when he should have been helping his wife, he will have been a failure. It seems ironic that the world claims that the ends justifies the means, when in Judaism, “the means” is the end.
This type of attitude requires a great deal of humility to be inculcated successfully as the verse in Psalms (34) says, “In God my soul praises, the humble hear this and delight”. King David is teaching us that we have a tendency to judge ourselves based on our accomplishments, ergo we will push ourselves and often act inappropriately to reach our goals. We don’t realize it, but this behavior comes from our ego, which tells us that we must succeed. However, the Torah is teaching us here, that the correct approach should be to not be concerned with our ultimate achievements, but we are called upon by the Torah to humble ourselves, and seek satisfaction in the simple knowledge that we are doing what God wants, and will not necessarily see any glorious results at the end of the day. Interestingly enough, when we foster this attitude of serving Hashem just for the sake of that service, and not focusing on the ultimate goal, we will achieve true bliss as the end of the verse says, “The humble hear this and delight”. When we are focusing on the end goal, who knows if we will ever merit in attaining that goal, hence all our hopes may be on a futile target. But when we are focusing on the service it takes to make it to that goal, that is something which no obstacle in the world can hinder, and hence we are guaranteed success, and success usually generates happiness. Based on this principle, R’ Gifter explains the Midrash. We asked what praise the Midrash is ascribing to Moshe and Aharon. We now see clearly that the Midrash is awarding them the highest honor as the end of the verse in fact says, “He is Moshe, He is Aharon, who did what Hashem wanted”. The Torah is testifying that the only reason Moshe and Aharon did what they did was not to become “the leaders of the Jewish people”, but rather solely to serve Hashem, and this attests to their righteousness.
There is another interesting aspect of the above mentioned verse which I believe we can learn a great deal. The verse starts off by mentioning Aharon and then Moshe, and ends off by switching the order. The Midrash comments on this discrepancy by saying that the Torah wanted to teach us, that Moshe and Aharon were equal in their spiritual level. R’ Moshe Feinstein poses a powerful difficulty on this Midrash. Albeit Aharon was certainly a great person, Moshe Rabenu was the only person in the history of the world to speak with Hashem face to face. His powers of prophecy are one of the primary tenets of Jewish faith! He performed, almost single handedly, all the miracles in Egypt, he split the sea, he brought down the Torah, and carried us for forty years in the dessert. How then can the Midrash say that Aharon was just as great as Moshe?
R’ Moshe explains that we need to understand a fundamental principle about the service of Hashem. Hashem doesn’t judge us based on our achievements, as we already explained, but He also doesn’t judge us based solely on our service. He doesn’t compare our service with anybody else’s, but rather He compares our own accomplishments against the backdrop of our potential, which only He can accurately measure. To illustrate this, let us quote the Gemorah in Bava Basra (10) which says that once, R’ Yosef was very sick. He became so ill that his soul was already in the Heavens, but ultimately got better. When he recovered, his father asked him what he saw while he was up there. He responded that he saw an upside down world. People that seemed down here to be failing, were considered very lofty in Heaven, and people down here that seemed like big successes, were actually not noteworthy in the Heavens. R’ Yosef’s father commented that this was not an upside down picture, but rather this was the truth. R’ Moshe comments on this Gemorah that when R’ Yosef said that the world was confused, he didn’t only mean about physical wealth or honor, of which of course it could be said that these traits have no value in Heaven, but he even meant what he said about the spiritual success of man. Meaning there are people in this world who look like they are learning well, and davening well, but because they are not utilizing their full potential, they are not really remarkable in Heaven. And on the flip side, there are many who seem to not really be anything special in their learning skills or their spiritual accomplishments, when in reality, they are standing out in Heaven’s eyes as being exceptionally successful because they are fully utilizing their gifts.
This thought can be simultaneously both very disturbing, and very uplifting. On the one hand, many of us think we can get by on our wits, and have no need to exert special effort to succeed. Those of us who think that way will be very rudely awakened to the truth in the afterworld. On the other hand, those of us who are plugging away each day, trying to grow in our spiritual endeavors on a daily basis, can very often find ourselves getting quite frustrated over the lack of noticeable growth, and the monotony of our routine. Those of us who are feeling that frustration will take great comfort in the message that R’ Yosef has sent us in this Gemorah in Bava Basra. R’ Yosef has taught us that although it may seem like we are crawling instead of walking, in the afterworld, there is nothing more precious then somebody who is working on themselves in a genuine way, and using all their strengths to serve Hashem.
I think we can conclude with the Midrash in Devarim (8). The Midrash tells a story of a man who entered the study hall, and saw people learning. He was impressed by their enthusiasm, and therefore asked one of them what he needs to do to learn the Torah. The man told him that he must begin with the written law. Once he has mastered that, he may move on to Mishnah, then Gemorah, then Midrash and so on. When the person hears the sheer volume of his responsibilities, his next move will depend on whether or not he is a wise man. A fool will see the magnitude of the Torah and will give up before he has begun. The wise man will listen, and then set himself up a viable schedule with which he can competently complete the material. The Midrash compares this to a man who sees a loaf of bread hung high in the air. The fool says, how can I ever get it down from there. The wise man says, well, I guess if somebody put it up there, it can be gotten down, and begins to devise a realistic plan with which he can somehow get the loaf of bread down from the center of the room. Similarly, the One who created the Torah must have also created a realistic way to master it.
May we all merit to serve Hashem with all our strength!