B"H
Monday, Mar-Cheshvan 13, 5780 / November 11, 2019
In last week’s Torah Fax we explained that according to the Torah, it’s the effort that counts most. Judaism is not a competition. Every single person can achieve and reach the highest spiritual levels. It’s not about who does more; who gives more; who knows more or who performs mitzvot more. It’s all about effort. It’s about performing to the best of our ability. The following is from the Midrash:
A wealthy man was leading his ox to be offered as a sacrifice in the Holy Temple. Suddenly the ox refused to continue. Nothing worked and the ox stubbornly stood there and refused to move.
A poor man, holding a bundle of grass, decided to help. He offered the ox his bundle of grass. The ox ate the grass and continued toward the Temple. The wealthy man felt great about his offering.
That night, he had a dream. In his dream he was told, “The bundle of grass which the poor man sacrificed was appreciated in heaven even more than your sacrifice.”
Another story in the Midrash: The Talmudic sages, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva went to a suburb of Antioch to collect for charity. In that suburb there lived a man by the name of Abba Yuden, who used to give charity with an open hand and open heart, but at that time he had lost everything and was poor.
When he saw the rabbis and knowing that he had nothing to give, he felt terrible and came home. His wife looked at him and asked if he was sick. Abba Yuden told her that he saw the rabbis and he feels awful because he has nothing to contribute.
His wife, who was even more pious than he (these are the words of the Midrash), said to him: “We have only one field left. Sell half of it and give the money to the rabbis. He did so. When he gave the money to them they said to him, “May G-d, Who is everywhere, make up what you lack.”
A while later, Abba Yuden went to plow the half-field he still owned. As he plowed the ground opened up and his heifer fell into the hole and broke a leg. As he went down to bring up the animal, he noticed a treasure there. Abba Yuden said, “It was for my benefit that my animal fell into the hole.”
Later, when the rabbis came back, they inquired about Abba Yuden. People told them, “Abba Yuden is very wealthy, he is the possessor of servants, he possesses goats, donkeys and oxen.”
When Abba Yuden heard that the rabbis were there he came to see them. They asked him how he was doing. He replied, “Your prayers had produced fruit and the fruits have also produced fruits!”
The rabbis said to him, “We want you to know that even though others gave more than you, we wrote down your contribution at the top of the list!” It’s the effort which counts most.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY