Rabbi Shaya's Thoughts

Caring about the Little Guy

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 - 4:56 PM

Often in life we worry what the educated elite might say about us. Those powerful people are very influential and can be very intimidating. But in truth, their voices are not the only voices we should be concerned about; the voice of the “little guy,” the uneducated, is just as important, and perhaps even more important.

There is an interesting Midrash on the birth of Isaac, which tells us that when Isaac was born, Sara not only nursed him, she also nursed other children. She did this to prove to the educated elitists that she was Isaac’s real mother. However, the uneducated countered, saying that Abraham was not the biological father. And then a miracle occurred: Isaac appeared to resemble Abraham.

So why worry about what the uneducated think? The fact that they didn’t know that Abraham could father a child at his age should not have been cause for G-d to perform a miracle! In addition, If G-d was concerned about this, why didn’t he just make Isaac look like Abraham in the first place? Why the need for the extra miracle after his birth?

We must conclude that G-d is teaching us an important lesson here: He wants us to pay attention as much, if not more, to the uneducated, as well as to the educated.

You might find it interesting to know how the educated knew that Abraham could have children even while they understood that Sara couldn’t conceive. It is from the nuances of the verses that we deduce how they thought.

The Torah uses similar language to count Sara’s age and Abraham’s age: “Sara lived one hundred years, twenty years and seven years,” instead of one-hundred-and-twenty-seven years; “Abraham lived one hundred years, seventy years and five years” instead of one-hundred-and-seventy-five years. Yet Rashi and other commentators only explain the unusual language for Sara, but not for Abraham.

The reason for this will be understood if we go back to the birth of Isaac, and the lesson that we learned above.

When Isaac was born, the intellectual elite questioned the ability of Sara to give birth. However, they did not question Abraham’s ability, since everyone knew that he just fathered Ishmael at such a late point his life.

On the one hand, the intelligentsia knew that Sara was unable to conceive. That is why the Torah says “years” at each point in her life, to tell the “important” people that Sara, at age one hundred, was the same as when she was twenty. On the other hand, no one questioned that Abraham, at one hundred years, was the same as when he was seventy, and so did not question his ability to father a child.

Only the uneducated, those who did not understand this difference between Abraham’s and Sara’s ability to conceive a child, continued to make fun and ridicule Abraham. And it was for these people that G-d performed this great miracle.

If G-d can pay attention to these people, so should we.

Visiting The Sick

Friday, November 18, 2016 - 11:03 AM

There is a well-known Talmudic saying that when one visits the sick, they remove one sixtieth of the person’s illness. However, many of us have recognized that even when we visit the sick, the patient doesn’t become better. Are our visits a waste of time?

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayeira, we see that G-d visits Abraham when he is weak, after his circumcision. If G-d’s intent was just to visit the sick, then why did he also send a “visitor” to heal Abraham? Shouldn’t G-d’s visit have healed him? The answer is that G-d did not come to heal; he came as an act of kindness. We all know that G-d didn’t need the visitor to be the healer – He could have done that on His own – yet G-d chose not to. From this, we can learn a very important lesson.

Of course, we would love if every sick visit we make would have a positive effect on a person, but sometimes, we visit just to be kind. We do not see a direct benefit from our visit. Nevertheless, we should know that just as Abraham appreciated G-d’s visit – even if it were not going to heal him – so, too, our visits matter, not only to the patient, but to the visitor as well.

G-d is teaching us that we should do what is right for the sake of ‘doing the right thing,’ even if we don’t see a tangible result.

Go, and do the right thing!

Titles

Friday, November 11, 2016 - 10:55 AM

It’s proper etiquette when introducing an important person to do so with appropriate accolades, explaining to the public why this person deserves so much attention. The same practice is followed by the Torah, when Noach is introduced to us as a righteous person, a complete person, etc., and this is why the beginning of this week’s Torah portion is, seemingly, totally unexpected.

We are told that Abraham is born, but then seemingly out of nowhere, G-d says to Abraham “leave your parents’ home … and go to the land that I will show you, and I will bless you there.” This begs the question: If Abraham is deserving of a command, let alone a blessing, shouldn’t the Torah introduce us to him by saying that he “found G-d,” “he walked in G-d’s way,” “he was a righteous man,” or any other complimentary introduction? Why is it that G-d jumps right into the discussion about Abraham, without due attention to how important he is?

To find the answer, we should first question the whole idea of the introduction. If someone is famous – let’s say a well-known athlete – is it more respectful to give a long introduction as to why this person is important (as if we don’t know already), or is it more respectful and appropriate to simply say, Let’s welcome so and so? Such a person doesn’t need an introduction; on the contrary, an introduction is an insult.

This is the difference between Noach and Abraham. Noach, figured out on his own why it is important to serve G-d, and for this he deserves credit. Abraham, on the other hand, also figured out that there is a G-d in this world, but that is not what makes him special. For Abraham, it is the fact that G-d chose him to be the father of the Jewish people that makes him special, not his discovery of G-d or his great personality.

This is a lesson for us, as Jews. G-d chose us and that is what makes us unique. But that is not enough. He also gave us a mission: Leave your parent’s home, the land of your upbringing, and go to the land that I will show you. This means that we should leave our worldly perspectives behind and focus on what really matters in life. When we pay attention to the Torah and Mitzvot that G-d has given us, we will be rewarded with blessings. Let me reiterate: What makes us special is not limited to the Torah that we learn or the Mitzvot that we perform; it is our essence, the fact that we are Jews, that matters. Once we see that as a distinct quality of the Jew, then we want to learn Torah and perform the Mitzvot.

The Torah teaches that it is the essence of who we are that is important, by the lesson of not giving Abraham much of an introduction.

Let your essence (Neshama) shine!

Edited by Geminiwordsmiths.com

How To Deal with Disappointment

Friday, November 4, 2016 - 10:05 AM

Have you ever tried to accomplish a task, but failed? When that happens, many of us may feel disappointment. But did we really fail? Perhaps our trying is what really counts. On the other hand, if it is the effort that counts, can we sit on our laurels and congratulate ourselves for having tried, even though we have failed? How do we deal with this kind of disappointment?

This week’s Torah portion, Noach, teaches us an important lesson about how to deal with such a predicament.

The Torah tells us that, “Noach was a righteous man, a complete man, in his generation.” The words “in his generation” seem superfluous. What do these words add?

There are two opinions: Either it is a compliment, telling us that Noach was a righteous man even in such a corrupt generation, or it’s an insult, meaning that in this generation he was good, but if he would have lived in less corrupt times, he would just be an average fellow.

However, these questions beg to be asked: Why the need to insult Noach? Why not just limit the compliments? Why the need to call out the weakness of Noah?

And so we should look at both opinions, not viewing them as oppositional, but rather as supportive in the process of understanding. Noach was a righteous man, a complete man. He did the best that he could under the circumstances, and for this he deserves our compliments and praises. However, did he succeed at his mission? No. He did not succeed in getting his generation to turn around and repent. Maybe he felt that they would not listen, or perhaps he did not have the persuasive power to influence them, and for this we cannot fault him. But at the same time, we have to recognize that he didn’t succeed at his mission. This is not an insult, as much as a realization.

The lesson for us is clear: We have to try our best to succeed at the tasks that we set out to accomplish. However, when we don’t see the fruits of our effort, we should not beat ourselves up—after all, we tried hard. It’s the effort that counts. Conversely, even though we tried and did not succeed – and for this we should not reprimand ourselves – it doesn’t mean that we should give up trying harder next time.

Let us take our failures and from them, learn how to do even better next time around.