12 May SHAVUOS/PARSHAS BAMIDBAR KNOWING YOUR TACHLIS AND PURPOSE IN LIFE

The Medrash Rabbah
in Parshas Bamidbar
says that when
Hashem’s Presence
descended upon Har
Sinai, 22 rivivos (units)
of 10,000 malachim
(angels) descended with
Him – each with flags. This is a strange
statement because a flag is a physical item and
malachim are entirely spiritual. Klal Yisrael
saw this sight and – the Medrash adds – they
began to passionately long for flags for
themselves. Hashem responded that since they
longed for flags, He would grant their wish.
Therefore, He gave them the flags.
The question, of course, is: What is so great
about flags and especially the nuance of the
language of the Medrash – “they passionately
longed for Flags” (nis’avee’sem)?
The answer is that flags represent a person’s
tachlis (purpose). Even though malachim are
spiritual beings, when it says they each had
their own flag, it really means that each had
their own purpose. Chazal say in many places
that every malach has only one purpose. They
only do one thing at a time – that is their sole
focus. Every malach knows its job and its
designated role in existence. When the
Medrash says that Klal Yisrael “passionately
longed” for flags, it does not mean physical

flags. They longed for the ability to know their
purpose in life and their designated mission.
This is one of the greatest gifts that a person
can have in this world – to know what he is
supposed to do. In Parshas VaYechi, when
Yaakov Avinu takes all his children beside his
deathbed and gives them his “blessing,” we
are often left wondering – what kind of
blessings are these? Many of them are not
really blessings. The answer is that he tells
them about their techunas ha’nefesh – the
inner qualities of their souls – their essence.
He tells them about their strengths and their
weaknesses. He tells them what they are
supposed to be doing. That is the biggest
bracha in life – to know what you are supposed
to do.
People talk about “having to find themselves.”
It is a major challenge. I don’t know if the way
many people try to go about “finding
themselves” is always correct, but the fact that
they want to “find themselves” is very
understandable and natural. That is why
sometimes people work at a job for ten, twenty,
or thirty years and then suddenly completely
switch jobs and find themselves happier than
they have ever been. They feel that they have
wasted thirty years of their life because they
were not doing what they were “supposed to
be doing.”
So, the source of the envy that Klal Yisrael

had for the malachim was that they saw that
every malach understood and was focused on
their dedicated mission. This is the attribute
for which they longed. Hashem said “This is
what I am going to do. I am going to give you
flags as well and group you with others who
have the same tachlis (purpose) and the same
tafkid (role). This is a great blessing.
I would like to conclude with an interesting
story brought down by the Tolna Rebbe, which
speaks to this point.
There was a Yekkishe Yid (Jew of German
descent) named Rav Avrohom Hoffman, who
lived in Yerushalayim and worked for the
government. He was in Eretz Yisrael both
before and during World War II. After the war,
when Holocaust survivors began arriving in
Eretz Yisrael, Gerer Chassidim (from Poland)
were among those who came. The first time
Rav Hoffman saw Gerer Chassidim walking
down the streets of Yerushalayim, he saw that
their pants were tucked into their socks. For
him, this was the strangest thing in the world.
Why stick your pant legs into your socks?
He met two Gerer Chassidim and he asked
them about this strange practice. They
explained, “In Poland, the streets were not
paved. The roads were muddy. Socks cost less
than pants. If something has to get dirty, better
the socks should get dirty than the pants. That

is why we wear our pants inside our socks.”
Rav Hoffman said, “I have news for you. This
is not Poland. The streets in Yerushalayim are
not muddy and there is no reason to wear your
socks in your pants anymore.” This logical
observation made no impression whatsoever
upon them. Sometime after that, Rav Avrohom
Hoffman met the Gerer Rebbe (the Beis
Yisrael). He figured that since he could not get
a satisfactory answer from the chassidim, he
would ask the Rebbe himself about this strange
custom.
The Rebbe answered: “This is our flag!” This
is part of the identification uniform of a Gerer
Chassid. When he wears his pants in this
fashion, he is proclaiming “I am a Chossid of
the Gerer Rebbe.” This is my group and this is
my tachlis. That is what I am proud of and that
is the way I fly my flag – by wearing my pants
inside my socks.
This is what flags are all about – being part of
something that is bigger than the person
himself, being part of a group, knowing the
tachlis of the group, and knowing one’s tafkid
within a specific group.