80 18
JULY 8, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Think, Feel, Grow
Enjoying Every Step of the Process By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman
N
o one knew what to do. The homeless man had charged straight through the lobby of a major office building in New York City, immune to the protests and questions of the well-dressed staff and security guards. “Excuse me, you can’t go in there,” protested the secretary. But to no avail; he stomped right past her, entered the elevator, and rode straight up to the penthouse, where he met the CEO’s private secretary. “Do you have an appointment? You can’t just barge in here like that,” she said with a distinct edge of alarm. But before she could finish her sentence, he stomped past her as well. Bursting into the CEO’s office, the homeless man sat down opposite the CEO, put his feet up on the desk, and smiled. “Hi Dad,” he said. “How are you doing?” “Son, I’ve told you a thousand times, you are not welcome here. You are an embarrassment and a disgrace. Look at yourself! When was the last time you showered; when was the last time you ate a meal? All you do is hurt yourself and waste your life away. I gave you every opportunity in life. I opened every door for you. Gave you everything you could possibly want. But you’ve thrown it all away, and now look at you. You are a failure and a disgrace.” The homeless man nodded, as if he had heard this speech hundreds of times. “You’re one to talk, Dad. You might have made it big in finance, but where were you for your family? Where were you during my childhood when I needed you most? You missed my birthdays, school events, and celebrations. I can’t remember the last time
passed through. Why is it necessary to mention every single place, every single stage of our journey? I would like to develop several deep themes related to these encampments, from which we can learn inspiring and profound ideas. While each theme will be developed separately, they also interconnect into a greater whole.
The Importance of Every Step you showed up to anything that wasn’t a business meeting!” the homeless man said. “You’re so caught up in being ‘successful’ that you have no idea what life is actually about. How much of life have you experienced? What has all your money, success, and fame brought you other than stress and worry? I may not have made anything of myself, but at least I know how to enjoy life! At least I know how to live in the now, to enjoy what I’m doing. Can you say the same?” This argument is rehashed year after year. CEO and homeless son, success and failure. But which is the success, and which is the failure? Some think the CEO is right, while others relate to the son’s emotional plea. Many think they’re both wrong. A few think they’re both right. But maybe they’re both wrong and they’re both right.
A Long Journey The Torah is not only a guide to living a life of truth within the physical world, it is also the literal blueprint and DNA of this physical world. Our physical world is a projection and emanation of the deep spiritual reality described by the Torah. This is
the meaning of the Midrash, “Histakel b’Oraisah u’barah almah,” Hashem looked into the Torah and used it to create the world (Bereishis Rabbah 1:1). The physical world is an emanation and expression of Torah, the spiritual root of existence. As such, every single word of Torah is of infinite importance. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuva 3:8), in line with this idea, explains that if one rejects a single letter of the Torah, it is as if he has rejected the entire Torah. The Ramban explains in the introduction to his commentary on Bereishis that the entire Torah is one elongated Shem Hashem (Name of G-d), one interconnected sefer (book), a single organic entity. Just as a single missing chromosome can affect an entire human being, the same is true for a Sefer Torah. Even a single missing letter renders the entire text pasul (invalid). Every single word and letter in the Torah is absolutely fundamental. If this is true, the beginning of Parshas Masei is puzzling. The first forty-nine pesukim in the parsha list, one by one, the various places that the Jewish People passed through along their journey in the Midbar. In the majority of these places, nothing of note occurred; the Jewish People simply
Although we often focus on the end result, every single step of a process is of critical importance. If we truly understood the power of this idea, our view of time and potential would forever change. Consider, for example, a single day of your life. Your day begins with infinite spiritual potential, with 86,400 seconds to utilize. At the very beginning of every day, you have the ability to learn new ideas, improve your relationships, and achieve any number of accomplishments. After 1,000 seconds of your day have passed, whatever you accomplished of that time – of that potential – is real, and the rest is lost. However, the potential for the remaining 85,400 seconds is shaped by how you spent the first 1,000 seconds. If you spent them well, taking full advantage of your time, sharpening your mind and awareness and building positive momentum, then you now have access to a higher version of yourself with which to continue building and creating your life. If you thought unempowering thoughts or failed to create a positive trajectory – instead choosing to engage in any number of self-destructive activities – then you have set yourself up for a very difficult journey ahead, perhaps
