02 Mar OLAM HAZEH VS. OLAM HABA
Did you ever wonder why Olam HaBa isn’t mentioned in Tanach? The Vilna Gaon zt”l says that this is because for Hashem, Olam HaZeh is even more important. Dovid HaMelech prayed, “agurah be’oholcha olamim – I will live in the tents of Torah forever” (Tehilim 61). With these words, Dovid HaMelech was praying that his chidushei Torah be repeated in the batei midrashim, even after his demise.
But why was this important for him? Dovid HaMelech was certainly brought to the highest levels of Gan Eden, and he is considered the fourth leg of Hashem’s holy throne. The divine pleasures that he is enjoying there are way beyond our imagination. Why should it be important for him that people learn his chidushei Torah from this world? The answer is, even when tzaddikim are in Gan Eden, they want to retain a connection to this world because this is the world of purpose and challenge. It is important for them that their chidushei Torah continue to propagate even after their demise. It is important for them that their children continue their legacies, because this is the world of purpose. The gemara (Kesubos 103., Sefer Chasidim 1127) tell us that even after Rebbe’s (Reb Yehudah HaNasi) demise, he would come to his home, every Friday night, dressed in his Shabbos clothing and he would make Kiddush for his family. Once a neighbor discovered this, Rebbe didn’t come anymore, “So as not to disgrace other tzaddikim.” Rashi explains, “So people shouldn’t say that they aren’t tzaddikim, since they weren’t given permission to come to their homes, as Rebbe.” But why was it important for Rebbe to descend from heaven to make Kiddush for his family on Friday night? And why would this cause people to think negatively of other tzaddikim who weren’t granted this privilege? What could be better than being in heaven in Gan Eden? The answer is, this is the world that is of primary importance. This is the world of challenges, where we can serve Hashem and sanctify His Name.
One shouldn’t wait for the future. There is no better time than the present – the present world that we are living in to serve Hashem.
Machtzis HaShekel
This week’s parsha discusses the machtzis hashekel, the half-shekel which Hashem commanded the nation to give for atonement (to atone for the eigel). As it states, “This is what they shall give… a half shekel… to atone for your lives” (Shmos 30). Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t understand what the shekel looks like, until Hashem showed him a sample. As Rashi writes, “[Hashem] showed him a coin of fire that weighed a half-shekel, and said, ‘This is what
they should give.’”
Moshe knew the entire Torah, with all its laws and details. Why was the machtzis hasheckel particularly difficult for Moshe to understand? The answer is, the machtzis hashekel was for atonement and it was hard for Moshe Rabbeinu to imagine that a half-shekel, which is a relatively small amount of money, could suffice to bring atonement to the Jewish people. The Midrash Tanchumah (11) says, “When Moshe heard that the nation must give money for their atonement, he became afraid. [He feared that it would cost them a lot of money]…. Hashem knew what Moshe was thinking, so Hashem told him, “I promise, a kikar of silver isn’t needed [for atonement]; and not a hundred, fifty, or thirty silver coins either. All I am asking for is a half-shekel.”
Another Midrash states that Klal Yisrael was afraid when they heard that they must give money for their atonement. They were certain that they would need to give away tons of money. After committing the severe sin of the eigel, they figured that only a very great sacrifice could atone for them. They said, “All the money that we gathered in Mitzrayim, and afterwards from the Yam Suf, is for nothing, because we will now need to give it all away for our atonement…”
Hashem knew what they were thinking…. He took out a fiery half-shekel from under the Kisei HaKovod (Hashem’s throne) and showed it to Moshe. ‘This is what they should give.’”
We learn from this to value each good deed that one performs. It may seem small and insignificant, but for Hashem, even a half-shekel is a lot, and can atone for great sins.7 Every year, on the seventh of Adar the members of the chevrah kadishah have a custom to fast, and at nighttime they have a joint-seudah. The purpose of this fast is to atone for their sins, in case they didn’t treat a niftar (dead) with appropriate respect. At the seudah, there are speeches to encourage the chevrah kadishah to be careful in the future with kavod hameis (the honor of the deceased).
By one such dinner in Yerushalayim, a speaker related the following story: One Friday afternoon, a woman called the chevrah kadishah and told the secretary that her husband just died. The secretary told her that it was too close to Shabbos, and that the levayah will be held immediately
on Motzei Shabbos. “My husband left a request,” she told the secretary. “Immediately following his burial he wants people to sing Bar Yochai over his fresh grave.” “We will do so. If this is what your husband wanted, we will fulfill his wishes.”
Over that Shabbos, a gadol was niftar, and thousands of people attended the levayah. The levayah of the almanah’s husband was pushed off until after the gadol’s levayah. The chevrah kadishah began the taharah late that night, and were ready for the levayah at 1:00 a.m., but by that time, there were only nine people around to attend the levayah. This couple never had any children, and they didn’t have much family either, and now there wasn’t even a minyan to escort this yid on his last journey. One member of the chevrah kadishah went to a beis medresh where people study 24/7, and sought someone willing to join them for the levayah. No one was available, other than a magid shiur. At first he also said, “I came here to prepare a shiur for tomorrow morning. Try to find someone else.” He tried, but soon returned saying that he couldn’t find anyone else. The purpose of Torah study is lilmod al menas laasos, to learn in order to keep it, and so the magid shiur climbed into the chevrah kadishah-van, to join them for this mitzvah.
The funeral was finally completed at two o’clock a.m. The secretary remembered the niftar’s final request. “Does anyone have a siddur with Bar Yochai in it? The niftar asked that we should sing Bar Yochai over his fresh grave.” No one had such a siddur. “Does anyone know the song by heart?” They didn’t. One person commented, “Maybe I know it by heart, but at two o’clock in the morning, standing in the cold, on Har HaZeisim, I don’t know anything anymore.” It seemed that the man’s final request wouldn’t be fulfilled.
Just then, the magid shiur remembered that he has the Bar Yochai with him. He took a piece of paper with Bar Yochai on it from his pocket, and they all sang together. On the way back the magid shiur told the chevrah kadishah the amazing hashgachah pratis that occurred. “Generally, on Shabbos I daven Minchah early, near my home. This week, I missed the early minyan, so I went to daven at the shtiblach, which is further away from my house. As I was walking to the shitblach with my son, my son noticed a page from a siddur on the ground. I picked it up, intending to put it into the sheimos box at the shtiblach. But I forgot it in my pocket, until now. That page has Bar Yochai on it.” Everyone in the van was astonished by this wonderful hashgachah pratis. Seeing their amazement, the magid shiur added another detail, “On Motzei Shabbos, I usually study in my house. Tonight, I needed to prepare a shiur, and my children were crying and I couldn’t concentrate. That’s why I went to the beis medresh. If I would have been home, as I usually am, you wouldn’t have found me.”
One member of the chevrah kadishah remarked, “If such a story would have happened to a chassidic rebbe, people would speak about it for generations.”
“Perhaps he was a tzaddik nistar?” said another. “I’ll check into the matter tomorrow,” the secretary said. After some inquires, he discovered that this man was a plain simple Jew. On erev Rosh Chodesh, he would go to Reb Shimon Bar Yochai’s kever in Miron, and every Friday night, he sang Bar Yochai before the meal – some communities have this custom.”
The speaker concluded this story with the following thought: “We should treat every niftar with utmost respect, because we can never know how special he or she is to Hashem. Here is a story of an otherwise simple person, but Hashem performed miracles for him, so his last will should be fulfilled.” The next speaker stood up and said, “Thank you for this wonderful story, and it definitely teaches us to be careful with kavod hameis, but I say that we shouldn’t wait for people to die to respect them. We should honor each person when they are alive as well, because each person has their qualities that make them special. Even the seemingly small good deeds that they do make them extremely precious to Hashem.” The specialness of a yid is also learned from this week’s parashah. After the Torah tells us to build the mishkan, the Torah commands us to keep Shabbos. As it states, úà êà åøîùú éúåúáù, “but you must keep Shabbos (31:13). Rashi writes, “[The Torah is saying] although you are rushing and zrizim to build the mishkan, don’t build it on Shabbos…”
The mishkan is extremely holy, it is the place where Hashem’s presence resides, keviyachol, in this world, but Shabbos is even more sacred. Therefore, Shabbos may not be desecrated to build the mishkan. A yid is holier than the Shabbos. This is the reason Shabbos is desecrated to save a yid’s life. When we contemplate this, we have an inkling of just how special Yidden are to Hashem. The order of importance, from lower to greater is: mishkan, Shabbos, a Yid. The passuk concludes, “Keep Shabbos… so you will know that I am Hashem, who makes you holy.” (31:13) The Chasam Sofer zt”l explains, the prohibition to build the mishkan on Shabbos, helps us understand just how holy Yidden are. They are holier than Shabbos, which is holier than the mishkan.
When we recognize the value of a yid, we simultaneously understand the power of our tefillos. We may be a regular, simple people, but we, and our tefillos, are very special to Hashem.
As the Noam Elimelech writes, “The tzaddikim… are able to bring you parnassah and shefa (chessed/bounty) with their pure words [of prayer]. Al achas kamah vekamah (All the more so) [this will occur] when you will pray from the depths of your heart to the Creator, blessed be He.” (HaAzinu)
This discussion should encourage us to live in the present. We, our tefillos, and our mitzvos, are precious to Hashem right now. We don’t have to wait for the future – after we improve in our ways – for Hashem to appreciate and enjoy them. As we are now, in the present, we can serve Hashem, pray to Him, and create a nachas ruach before Him.