26 Jul HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
When one
remembers that
everything is
from Hashem, he
will be humble.
People tell the
following story:
There was a poor person who lived in a
run-down home at the edge of town. He
had a friend in the city who owned a
store, where (among other items) he
sold lottery tickets. Once, his friend told
him, “Why don’t you play the lottery?
Perhaps your mazal will change.” The
pauper replied, “If I had an extra coin I
would spend it on a loaf of bread.” The
store owner said, “I will buy a lottery
ticket for you. If you win the lottery,
you can pay me back.” In the middle of
the night, the storeowner checked the
lottery and saw that his friend won! He
went to the end of town, in the middle
of the night, to tell his friend the good
news. He first knocked on his door
quietly, but his friend was sleeping
deeply. He knocked louder, and he also
knocked on the windows. Finally, his
friend woke up and opened the door.
What do you want? Why did you come
here at this hour?” “I wanted to tell you
that you won the lottery and now you
are rich!” The man’s mannerisms
changed in a moment. He said, “How
dare you wake me in the middle of the
night? If anyone else did that, I would
forgive them, because they don’t know
that I’m wealthy. But you know, so
what business do you have waking me
up like that in the middle of the night?”
This is the way people are. When
something good happens to them, they
become haughty and think they
deserve the good that they are
receiving. They forget that it is from
Hashem and that without Hashem’s
help they would remain poor. Reb
Yisrael Salanter zt’l pioneered the
mussar movement because of the
following story: There once were two
poor cobblers, and the mazal of one of
them turned around, and he became
extremely wealthy. He was appointed
rosh hakahal (president of the
community). Almost everyone forgot
that he was once poor. His daughter
became engaged to the son of the rav
of their city. The wedding was
celebrated with pomp and honor.
Many people – among them rabanim
and wealthy people – came in honor of
the wealthy man and in honor of the
rav. The wealthy rosh hakahal spent a
lot of money on the wedding, and he
hoped that no one remembered his
humble past. All this time, the other
cobbler was still poor, and he
was very jealous of the honor
that his childhood friend was
receiving. As the chasan and
kallah, rav and rosh hakahal
stood under the chuppah, the
cobbler put out a shoe and said
to the rosh hakahal, “Can you
fix my shoe for me?” reminding
everyone present of his poor
past. The roshh hakahal
collapsed from shame and was
niftar on the spot. Reb Yisrael
Salanter was present at that
chasunah. He saw what can
happen to people who don’t
study mussar, and he
immediately launched the
mussar movement. Reb Nota
Zehnworth zt’l said that most
people think that Reb Yisrael
Salanter launched the mussar
movement because of this
cobbler’s bad and cruel middos.
However, that wasn’t the main
reason that Reb Yisrael began
the mussar movement. It was
because the rosh hakahal
couldn’t bear the shame. Why?
He had everything: wealth,
honor, and nachas. His
daughter was getting married!
Yet, it bothered him so much
when someone embarrassed
him. Reb Yisrael Salanter, who
was at this wedding, thought,
“He should have taken the shoe
and danced with
it because of the
chasadim that
H a s h e m
performed for
him. He was
raised from the
lowest levels,
and Hashem
gave him so
many honors.
But he wanted to create an image that
he was always wealthy and that he
earned his wealth with his strength and
power. He didn’t want to remember the
chasadim Hashem did for him. That is
why the mussar movement was
launched.
Kriyas Shema
There were six primary arei miklat
plus an additional forty-two cities that
also served as cities of refuge
As it states
–
… - –
- - ,
The cities that you shall give to the
Levi’im, the six cities of refuge…
Additionally, add another forty-two
cities [cities of refuge].” The Ohev
Yisrael writes, “This mitzvah also
applies in our times, because the Torah
is nitzchis (eternal) and therefore it
must be applicable even today… The
explanation is, if someone committed
aveiros and has in a sense murdered his
own soul, this is what he should do for
his rectification: When he recites the
first six words of he) … )
Shema should accept the yoke of
Heaven with love, with mesirus
nefesh, with sincerity, and
commitment. Those are his six cities of
refuge (arei miklat). He should add
another forty-two cities, which is the
paragraph that contains
forty-two words…” Shema is the arei
miklat in our generation, where one
runs to for atonement. This lesson is
also alluded to in the Gemara (Brachos
5), which says, “One should always do
battle with the yetzer hara. If he
succeeds, all is well. If not, he should
learn Torah. If he succeeds, it is good.
If he fails [and the yetzer hara is still
overpowering him], he should read
Shema.” For kriyas Shema is a place of
refuge, where we can be protected
from the yetzer hara, and where we can
attain atonement for sins.