THE ART OF SEEING THE GOOD
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THE ART OF SEEING THE GOOD
Rashi at the outset of the Parasha writes that Har Sinai is mentioned by the Mitzvah of Shemittah to teach a lesson. Just like Shemittah, has so many details, that the Torah mentions, and all those details, were received by Moshe at Har Sinai… So too, all of the Mitzvoth, all their details, were received by Moshe at Har Sinai.
Another question rises, though. Why was the Mitzvah of Shemitta, out of all the Mitzvoth, chosen, to teach this lesson?
The Hidah answers something amazing. Shemittah is what instills Faith in G-d in a person’s heart. A whole year, a man does not work, and G-d makes miracles… and somehow, this man has what to eat, and survive the Shemitta year. If G-d could support me without working for the seventh year, He could support me for all the six as well, without me working! I only work, because of the curse, to eat bread by the sweat of the brow!
All of Torah, all of the 613, is to teach the lesson of Faith and dependence on G-d. Every minute of Torah that you learn, and don’t work, you are saying, G-d, I have faith in You! All the 613, the positive and negative, are all about the Faith that one has, in order to keep those Mitzvoth… You can just put on Tefillin, wear Tzizit, respect your parents, do kindness and say Birkat Hamazon, just checking off all the boxes. Or, you can learn the meaning behind these, and how these Mitzvoth build your relationship with your Creator. This lesson of faith, of reliance on G-d to keep His Torah, in its greatest detail, is learnt from the lesson of Shemitta, of relying on G-d, totally. Even when it almost does not make sense… That is why, the Mitzvah of Shemitta is chosen to teach us this lesson!
The Kli Yakar in this week’s parasha tells us something amazing. He asks why taking interest on your loan, when you lend a Jew, is forbidden, while when you lend a gentile, it is allowed. This difference, between lending a Jew and lending a gentile, has been one of the laws of the Torah that has caused a lot of antisemitism over the years. What is the reason for the difference? Also, why is this law of interest, mentioned in middle of the laws of Shemitta, which are laws of Bitahon?
The Kli Yakar answers, that there is an interesting reason for all this. When you lend out with interest, you know how much money you will make on the loan. This certainty in profit causes you to develop a nature, that is independent of G-d! All other forms of businesses, have a risk factor. A person is not sure if he will gain or not. But a person who lends out with interest does not need to rely on G-d, for there is no risk involved.
This is only true regarding lending a Jew. Taking interest from a loan to a gentile is allowed. Why? Because the gentile is generally not going to give your loan back! There is a risk, every time you give the gentile your money, causing you then to rely on G-d, and be dependent on Him! But when you lend a Jew, and the Jew is for sure going to pay back, the money you make in interest, is money that you know for sure you are going to get, with no risk factor!
G-d wants us to make money by taking calculated risks, and relying on Him! The person who lends out with interest, does not rely on G-d, because he knows for sure he will make money on the deal, and that is why interest is forbidden!
People who have faith, who know G-d, are those who rely on Him. וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ לִ֖י בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ אֶת־יְקֹוָֽק, G-d says, He will love us like the love of an engaged couple, in the merit of the Emunah we have in Him, and through that faith, you will know G-d. So let us ask ourselves the question… If interest brings us to be lacking Faith, what brings us Faith?
What brings us faith in G-d, when things look bleak, are the words of the Rabbi of Rabbi Akiva, Nachum Ish Gam Zu. Everything bad that would happen, Nachum would say, Gam Zu L’Tovah, this too, is for the good. The question is asked, why should one say, when something bad happens, Gam Zu Latovah? Just say, Zu LaTova! This is for the good!!
The answer is, that in order for one to be able to praise G-d for the good like the bad, to see the good in the bad, you need first to be a person, who thanks G-d for the good, and sees the good in the good! You need to build up that muscle of recognition and awareness, that G-d is זוננו- feeds us, פרנסנו – provides our needs, like home and clothing, כלכלנו – builds our financials and careers… Most importantly, we need to recognize, that G-d is רענו He shepherds us, protects us, when we can’t protect ourselves. And protects us, even when we protect ourselves.
If you can’t thank G-d for the bad, it is because you have not been thanking Him enough for the good! You can’t say, this too, is for the best! It is difficult to love G-d when things go wrong, if you have never loved Him when things went right!
A person is sure that he will wake up the next day, and so, he makes plans for tomorrow. An Israeli is sure that Israel will dismantle Hamas and get rid of Sinwar, otherwise he would not live here. Why is it, that we are sure that these things will happen? Because we rely on G-d, we have Bitahon! So why can’t we have Bitahon when G-d says, I am good to everyone, even to you! I have patience and mercy for everyone, including you! טוֹב־יְקֹוָ֥ק לַכֹּ֑ל וְ֝רַחֲמָ֗יו עַל־כָּל־מַעֲשָֽׂיו Why is it that I can believe and trust 100 percent that I am waking up tomorrow, and I can’t believe that everything that G-d does is for the best?!
G-d wants us to trust in Him in every Mitzvah we do. He wants us to trust in Him, to have the most kosher phone that our needs allow us to have, and that is how He tests our Faith! He wants us to live in Israel, and that is how He tests our faith!
Its amazing! The Iran-Israel War lasted 16 minutes. I always wondered. The length of the war of Gog Umagog will be רגע, one moment, according to the Vilna Gaon וְהָיָ֣ה׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא בְּי֨וֹם בּ֥וֹא גוֹג֙ עַל־אַדְמַ֣ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֣י יְקֹוִ֑ק תַּעֲלֶ֥ה חֲמָתִ֖י בְּאַפִּֽי And it will be on that day, in the day that Gog will come onto the land of Israel, says G-d, My wrath will rise in My Nostrils… וּבְקִנְאָתִ֥י בְאֵשׁ־עֶבְרָתִ֖י דִּבַּ֑רְתִּי אִם־לֹ֣א׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִֽהְיֶה֙ רַ֣עַשׁ גָּד֔וֹל עַ֖ל אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל And in My vengeance, with the fire of My wrath, I spoke, if not, on that day, there will be a great loud noise on the land of Israel. The first letters of רַ֣עַשׁ גָּד֔וֹל עַ֖ל spell רגע, which means, just a moment.
How could any war, be just a moment!?! Nobody could understand how this made any sense! But, look at what happened with Iran – Israel war! The whole thing was just 16 minutes, from the time the missiles entered Israel air space, till it was all over!
They told us that they are sending three waves of missiles. What type of missiles did Iran sent? 185 were sent in the first round. Each one of the first set, if it would hit a building, it would blow up the building. The plan was that the Iron Dome and Arrow system should waste all they had on the first 185 missiles. Then they sent 110 ballistic missiles, that not only destroy the building it hits, but all the buildings around it. After that, they sent 36 missiles, with GPS, that they can direct it to exactly where they want, which can do tremendous damage… What were their results? Half the missiles they sent, did not even reach Israel. 3 ballistic missiles ended up exploding in Iran, where many buildings went up in fire. No one even knows how many died in Iran from those missiles. On the way to Israel, a missile fell in Jordan, killing 3 Jordanians. One missile fell in Israel, in Um El Faham, no one got hurt. One missile that fell here, really hurt a Bedouin girl. Nothing happened to even one Jew!
The Haftarah tells the story of Yirmiyahu who prophesized the destruction of the first Temple, and how the prophecy of doom had started to come true. Then G-d tells Yirmiyahu to go buy some Real Estate in Israel! He tells Yirmiyahu, INVEST NOW! Buy the property, right before the exile, make the contract and seal it for the future! There will be a day, when the Jews will come back! עוֹד֘ יִשָּׁמַ֣ע … בְּעָרֵ֤י יְהוּדָה֙ וּבְחֻצ֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם ק֣וֹל שָׂשׂ֞וֹן וְק֣וֹל שִׂמְחָ֗ה ק֣וֹל חָתָן֘ וְק֣וֹל כַּלָּה֒ G-d tells Yirmiyahu, that although the Land of Israel will go desolate, the time will come, when every wedding hall in Jerusalem will be booked, with sounds of hope, of building families, and building future, a prophecy that unbelievably has come true!
G-d wants us to believe in Him. He wants us to invest in Him, even when it doesn’t make sense. Because, גם זו לטובה, He does so much for us, there is so much good, in all the good. So there has to be good, in whatever looks bad, as well.
