01 Mar PARSHAS PEKUDEI

The Golden Trap

Money is from the basic necessities of life — and it’s also from the greatest tests. A person who doesn’t approach the pursuit of earning parnassah in the correct spirit — in the way of the Torah —will inevitably fall into the yetzer hara’s trap. Rebbe Yisrael of Modzitz zt’l (Divrei Yisrael) discusses this great test from this week’s parashah (Pikudei). It states “v’yirku es pechi hazahav”. Literally these words mean, “They flattened out plates of gold” and then they sliced it into threads, and wove them into the cohen gadol’s clothing. “Pechi hazahav” can also mean traps of gold, and alludes to the great trap of the pursuit of gold that people get sucked into. The solution is ”v’yirku”, heaven. When he remembers that parnassah comes from Heaven, he will be saved from this trap. The traps of gold can appear in the following modes:

1. The desire to steal and cheat, in order to earn money,

2. Anxiety/worries, which rob people from their peace of mind, and

3. Overworking.

A person who remembers that parnassah comes from Hashem, is saved from these three pitfalls.

1. He will not steal, because he knows that parnassah comes from Hashem.

2. He will not be worried. He might go through hard times, but he believes that he’s in Hashem’s hands, and Hashem will ultimately help him.

3. He will not overwork. He will do his hishtadlus — the amount that Hashem wants him to do — but he will make sure to have time for Torah and tefillah as well. Rashi writes, “They thinned out the gold and flattened them into thin plates…” From this Rashi, Rebbe Yisrael of Modzitz zt’l derives that one should consider his financial worries to be thin and minor. He shouldn’t allow worries to cause him to lose his peace of mind. All of this is achieved when one remembers that parnassah comes directly from Hashem.

Parashas HaChodesh

The first mitzvah given to Klal Yisrael as a nation is the mitzvah of rosh chodesh “hachodesh hazeh lachem” (Shemos 12:2). Included (and alluded) in this mitzvah is that a Yid should always re-new himself in Hashem’s service. Regardless of what he did in the past, he should make a new start and begin serving Hashem. The Beis Avraham zt’l says that this mitzvah [of rosh chodesh] was given to the nation when they were still living in the impure land of Egypt. This teaches us that even if one is on a very low level, he should make a new start and begin serving Hashem. It says “v’tzapah rasheihem v’chasak osam” (Shemos 38:28). Alluded in these words is that Hashem desires new beginnings (Divrei Yisrael). The Lechovitcher zt’l explained the first passuk of the Torah, “Bereishit”, for the new beginnings, which are so precious to Hashem, “bara elokecha es hashamayim v’es ha’aretz” Hashem created heaven and earth. In the Hagaddah shel Pesach we say “Originally, our forefathers were idol worshipers; and now, Hashem has brought us to His service.” These words imply the need to start anew. “V’achshav”, when one starts from new, that is to become close to Hashem’s service. However, if one continues on the path that he was on until now, it isn’t good (to say the least).