B"H

Friday, Sivan 18, 5779 / June 21, 2019

 

In this week’s Parsha, Beha'alotcha, the Torah relates an episode in which the Jewish people complained about the manna which G-d sent them daily. They cried, "We want meat! We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free; the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic."

 

G-d gave them meat, but they were punished in a plague which killed many of them.

 

Q.  Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians. Why did they claim that the food they ate was free?

 

A.  Our sages answer that "free" here means free from the obligation of performing the mitzvot.  They were complaining about the many mitzvot and prohibitions which G-d commanded them.

 

Why did G-d give us so many mitzvot to perform?  The answer is given by the Talmudic sage Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya; "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make the people of Israel meritorious, therefore He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance."

 

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya tells us that Torah and Mitzvot were given to us for our benefit. G-d gave us many mitzvot to grant us much merit and reward for performing them.

 

In one of his travels, a wealthy nobleman passed by a field and saw a peasant pitching hay. Fascinated by the peasant’s skill and the rhythmic motions of his arms, he offered the peasant more money than he was getting if he would work for him.  The peasant agreed and returned with the nobleman to his estate.

 

He showed him into one of the rooms of the castle and asked him to proceed with his masterful hay pitching technique.  The peasant worked a full day and was rewarded handsomely.  However, after collecting his pay he declared that he was quitting.

 

"I don't understand," said the nobleman puzzled, "Isn't it better and easier for you to just make the motions of pitching hay than actually working? In addition, you're getting paid much more!”

 

The worker replied, "I'd rather work much harder in the field even for less pay, because there, I see the fruits of my work and feel accomplished!"

 

The same is with mitzvot. Reward for doing nothing is meaningless. G-d gave us the Torah and mitzvot in order to accomplish in this world and thus earn our reward for fulfilling His commandments.

 

In addition, “Mitzvah,” also means “connection.” Through the performance of mitzvot we become connected with G-d. The more mitzvot we perform, the greater and stronger is our connection.

 

SHABBAT SHALOM

 

Montreal candle lighting time: 8:29 / Shabbat ends: 9:45