(From the teachings of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)
(Halachah Yomit are grateful to HaRav HaGaon Rebbi Mordechai Moradi Shlit”a for providing this)
(written by his grandson HaRav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a)
(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds UK)
A Person is Like a Hired Labourer, Rewarded for Every Step of Their Work; So Let’s Fulfil Our Missions
Regarding one of this week’s Parshiyot, Parashat Mattot, we will connect our Chachamim’s words from Avot, “The work is not for you to complete,” our Chachamim explained (Yalkut Shimoni, Parashat Ekev), that a person shouldn’t say, “I cannot listen to the whole Torah, which is very long.” Our Chachamim gave an analogy. There was a king who had a deep courtyard. His trustworthy servant went and hired workers to fil the pit. One of the workers who wasn’t that bright, stood and looked at the pit and said, “How can I fill such a large pit?” In contrast, another worker, who was wise, said to himself, “What difference does it make to me whether or not I will succeed in filling in the pit, I will anyway get paid for the time I work. I am a day hirer and I am happy with my work, therefore I will begin filling in what I can!”
In the same vein HaKadosh Baruch Hu says to a person, “Why are you bothered? You are a day labourer, you will be paid according to your work!”
The following story is related. Before the tzadik Rebbi Yekusiel Yehudah Teitelbaum z”l (1808-1883, Austria-Hungary, author of Yetev Lev) passed away, his family wanted to bring before him a great professor of medicine. Perhaps the professor will be able to find a cure for the Rav. But the tzadik didn’t agree. When thy asked him, why he told them the following story.
Rebbi Yosel Sirkis z”l (c.1561-1640, Poland, author of the Bach – Bet Chadash) once visited his son-in-law, the Taz z”l (Rav David HaLevi Segal, 1586-1667, Volhynia, author of the Taz - Turei Zahav). All of the towns people came out to welcome him. Amongst them was an avrech (young man) who didn’t draw as close as the others and he didn’t say “shalom” to Rebbi Yoel the “Bet Chadash”.
The Taz asked him, “Why don’t you great my father-in-law, the Gaon?” The avrech replied that Eliyahu HaNavi had told him that his father-in-law the Bach, is, chas veshalom, ostracised. Why? Because when he was once travelling he passed through a city and there was a legal dispute between two people. One had purchased from the other a wagon laden with wood. The purchaser claimed that he paid three gold coins, whereas the vendor claimed that a further tenth of a gold coin was outstanding.
When the Bach arrived at their city, they kept him there and asked him to adjudicate according to Torah Law. The Bach asked, “How much is the dispute for?” They replied, “A tenth of a gold coin.” The Bach was angry with them and said, “For the tenth of a gold coin you have kept me from continuing my journey?!”
At that moment a tremendous accusation was levelled by Heaven at the Bach. Since there is a principle that, “the law of a small coin (a perutah) is the same as 100 coins,” and the Bach was required to pay attention to the dispute and adjudicate it.
The Taz asked the Bach, “Did this really happen?” The Bach replied, “Indeed it did.” The rabbanim realised that this avrech was a messenger from Heaven to enable the matter to be remedied. Immediately they set up a Bet Din and released the Bach from his ostracism.
The Bach turned to the avrech and said, “Since you are very important in Heaven, may I request just one thing. I will give you my works the “Bach” that I have, written which I wish to publish and you will cast your eyes on them to see if they are good.” The avrech agreed. He took the manuscripts away to analyse them.
After a few days, the Bach asked the avrech, “Did you manage to look at my works and would you return them to me?” The avrech responded, “Even if twenty years should pass I won’t return the works. Indeed it is true that your works are very good, however, I have been informed that as soon as you publish them and they become circulated in the world, your soul will have perfected itself and you will no longer have a mission in this world. Therefore, I wish to delay the publication of your works!”
The Bach retorted to him, “If this is the reason for the prevention, behold I hand over my body and soul to my Creator, and for this, I won’t refrain from publishing my works which is necessary for the world.” The avrech was forced to return the works. As he had interpreted so it transpired. As soon as the sefer “Bet Chadash” was published, the Gaon, the author, passed away. The works of the Bach appeared in the years 5,391-5,400 and in 5,400 the Bach passed away.
The tzadik Rebbi Yekusiel Yehudah Teitelbaum related all this and added, “I too, if I have already corrected myself, I have nothing further to do in in this world and as such I don’t require a doctor.” (It is understood that we are talking at the end of his life when he already felt his time had come and that the Rav knew that there won’t be any benefit by bringing a doctor.)
So we find in our Parashah, that Hashem said to Moshe Rabbenu, “Take revenge for the Bnei Yisrael against the Midyanites. Then you shall [die and] be gathered to your people” (Bamidbar 31:2). Moshe Rabbenu knew that as soon as he will fulfil Hashem’s command, to take revenge against the Midyanites, he will go to his resting place. Therefore the Bnei Yisrael didn’t want to hurry the war against Midyan. As it states, “From the thousands of Yisrael, 1000 were handed over from each tribe, [a total of] 12,000 special troops” (ibid. 31:5). “Were handed over,” implies that the Bnei Yisrael didn’t want to go to war, but rather against their will they went out because they didn’t want this to bring about the passing of Moshe. Yet Moshe himself, didn’t delay. He hurried to engage in the war with Midyan and after this indeed he passed away to his eternal resting place.
We learn from this how much a person must focus that our holy purpose in this world is to fulfil the will of Hashem. Not to make reckonings, for even when the matters effected Moshe’s own life, he didn’t delay and he hurried to fulfil Hashem’s will. All the more so, when generally speaking we aren’t considering such large tests but rather, just small losses which a person may envisage when fulfilling the mitzvot. They must remember that this is their purpose in this world and through which they merit to life in Olam Haba.
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!
