We Can Take It
In Sefer Bamidbar, we read
Looking Above For Financial Aid
By Rabbi Daniel Yaakov
Travis
The following is based on a
shiur given by Rav Moshe
Shternbuch, Rosh Av Beis Din of
the Eidah Hachareidis of
Yerushalayim, in Beis Knesses
HaGra in Har Nof.
LIVING WITH MIRACLES
The Zohar describes at length
the great pleasure that Hashem
takes when the Jewish people
speak about the miracles per-
formed for them on a national
and personal level. I follow the
advice of this Zohar myself ev-
ery year when I make a seudas
hoda’ah on the 18th (Chai) Sivan,
on the day that I was spared from
death in a near fatal car accident.
Rav Moshe Sternbuch relates the
following story about a miracle
that he personally witnessed.
During World War II, Rav
Sternbuch was a bochur learning
in Yeshivas Toras Emes in Lon-
don. The British authorities de-
creed that the English students
could continue studying since
they were preparing themselves
to be Jewish leaders in England.
Foreign students, however,
Page 52
needed to take part directly in the
war effort, either by enlisting in
the army or by working in facto-
ries to fuel the war machine.
Rav Moshe Shneider was the
rosh yeshiva and, despite this
regulation, he refused to let any-
one leave the yeshiva. As a re-
sult, the foreign students were in
danger of imprisonment or
worse. On a Thursday night, Rav
Shneider called the entire yeshiva
together for a tefillah gathering
to annul this decree.
The next day, some of the for-
eign students of the yeshiva were
summoned by a government of-
ficial regarding their refusal to do
their part for the war effort. The
official asked the first student,
“Don’t you realize that your rela-
tives are being slaughtered?” The
student replied that although the
situation was dire, the best way
they could help their relatives
was to continue learning in the
yeshiva.
“But if your family is killed,
you will need to provide suste-
nance for yourself,” continued
the official. “Shouldn’t you learn
a trade?” The student replied that
he was not worried, as Hashem
would take care of them.
“But sir,” exclaimed the offi-
cial, “what would happen if ev-
eryone thought like you?”
The student replied that
Hashem had sent monn, bread
from the heavens for all of the
Jewish people when they wan-
dered in the desert for forty years,
and therefore he was not worried.
The official questioned another
bochur and received similar an-
swers. He concluded that Rav
Shneider and all his disciples
were crazy, and exempted them
all from military service.
Rav Shneider realized that a
great miracle had taken place and
he called the whole yeshiva to-
gether. Half Hallel was recited,
as Chazal warn us against say-
ing the full Hallel on a regular
weekday. When the students saw
the tears of d’veykus flowing
down the rosh yeshiva’s face
while reciting that Hallel, they
felt that they had never before
experienced a Hallel.
Rav Shternbuch relates that
during the war, the Nazis would
bomb England daily. The prime
minister, Winston Churchill,
would declare in response: “You
can bomb us, but we can take it.”
Rav Shneider adopted this very
same philosophy in refusing to
let his talmidim stop learning,
and he also came out victorious.
Many Jews are suffering dur-
ing these times of great financial
hardship. We should take lesson
from the monn. By showing that
“we can take it,” we will surely
find favor in Hashem’s eyes and
arouse Divine mercy.
NO COMPLAINING
that the am were kemisonanim,
like complainers. We know that
when the Torah writes the am,
this refers to the eirev rav. What
does the Torah mean that they
were “like complainers”?
The eirev rav noted that even
though they were subsisting on a
supernatural diet of monn in the
midbar, soon the people would be
going into Eretz Yisrael and
would have to make a living
through natural means. They
therefore claimed that they
needed real food to help facili-
tate their transition back to nor-
mal life. This ‘lesheim
Shomayim’ pretext was the rea-
son that the Torah describes them
as “like complainers.”
But this argument was all a fa-
cade and did not represent the
true motives of the eirev rav. All
they really wanted was to indulge
in physical pleasures. Further-
more, eating monn meant keep-
ing all of the mitzvos connected
to this spiritual food, which made
consuming monn a serious busi-
ness. The eirev rav wished to free
themselves from all of these
mitzvos and receive their
parnassah with no strings at-
tached.
LESSONS OF MONN
In giving us the monn, Hashem
meant to teach us that parnassah
is also kedushah and ruchniyus.
For this reason, the tzintzenes
hamonn, a flask full of monn, was
placed next to the luchos in the
Kodesh Hakodoshim, the holiest
place in the world.
Someone once came to the
Chazon Ish on Erev Yom Kippur
after Minchah, joining a line of
hundreds of people who were
waiting to ask the rov for his
bracha to be inscribed in the
Book of Life.
Getting Dirty
(Continued from Page 3)
shlichus, he is promised that
the task will be completed
by Hashem.
Shel’cha gedolah mishel-
ahem. Thus, the act of kin-
dling the menorah is greater
than the korbanos that the
nesi’im brought for the
chanukas haMishkan. The
avodas hahakrovah was not
even done by them.
Such a donation to the
Mishkan does not have the
same everlasting impact as
the hadlokah and hatovah
performed by the kohein
himself, as he was waiting
for the shalheves to be oleh
mei’eileha.
In last week’s parsha (7:9),
we learned that the Bnei
Kehos weren’t given wagons
to assist them in carrying the
keilim of the Mishkan
throughout the Midbar as
were the Bnei Gershon and
YATED NE’EMAN
When his turn finally arrived,
the man was shocked that the
great tzaddik asked him how his
business was going. The man
asked him, “Is this what a per-
son should be thinking about on
Erev Yom Kippur?” The Chazon
Ish replied that parnassah is
spiritual matter, especially when
it is the livelihood of another Jew
who might be suffering from fi-
nancial straits.
The monn was a message to
Klal Yisroel that parnassah
comes from Above. Every morn-
ing, the monn appeared at our
doorsteps, teaching us that
Hashem provides our sustenance
daily. For this reason, we could
not save any for the next day, for
Hashem’s kindness is repeated
with each new dawn.
Chazal tell us that parnassah
is even greater then the geulah.
Redemption will take place via a
malach, while parnassah comes
from directly via Hashem. What
is the reason for Hashem’s inti-
mate involvement in such a
worldly matter?
Malachim do not have physi-
cal needs, and are completely
spiritual beings. While a malach
can understand that the geulah is
essential, he cannot begin to
grasp why parnassah is impor-
tant. Therefore, Hashem takes
care of feeding us Himself.
On another level, Hashem is
our Father in Heaven. Only a fa-
ther can really know what the
needs of his children are. Feed-
ing us daily is an eternal sign of
His deep love for the Jewish
people.
ON THE HOUSE
The Alter of Navardok would
compare this world to a fancy
restaurant. When a person orders
his selection from the waiter, no
payment is requested. He might
order more and more dishes,
Bnei Merori. The posuk states
regarding the Bnei Kehos,
“Avodas hakodesh aleihem
bakoseif yiso’uh.” Since they
were given the job of carrying
the aron, mizbei’ach,
shulchan and menorah, they
had to carry them on their
shoulders, as the sanctity of
these objects did not permit
them to be placed in wagons
for transport.
Chazal say that “aron
nosei es nosav,” the aron
carried those who carried it.
Thus, even though the Bnei
Kehos place the aron on
their shoulders to transport
it, carrying it did not require
more than the initial effort
of lifting. Following that ini-
tial exertion, they were in
fact assisted by Hashem; the
heavy keilim they shoul-
dered actually carried them.
Those who endeavor to
accomplish and spread holi-
ness in this world and are
prepared to do the heavy lift-
ing are granted Heavenly as-
thinking that his meal is on the
house, since no one mentions
money. This continues until the
end of the meal, when he is pre-
sented with a huge bill.
So too, this world can be like
an expensive restaurant. Every-
thing we do here must be ac-
counted for, since the pleasures
we enjoy now will be deducted
from our reward in the next
world.
However, we can get our
parnassah for free, provided that
we remember that our Father in
Heaven owns the restaurant.
Hashem is the real Breadwinner
in the family. We must recognize
the miracles that sustain us and
our families on a daily basis,
which are no less fantastic than
the appearance of the monn in the
desert. If we can do this, then all
our worldly sustenance will in-
deed be “on the house.”
During our forty years in the
midbar, the monn taught us to
rely completely on Hashem.
Since the monn ceased to appear,
we must work much harder and
sometimes struggle intensely be-
fore parnassah arrives on our
doorstep. We can easily become
confused about its true source.
During these difficult times,
we must focus our eyes heaven-
ward in tefillah and recognize
that the Almighty alone is the
source of all parnassah. Any fi-
nancial problems originate from
Him, and so will their reprieve.
•••••
Rabbi Travis is a rosh kollel
of Kollel Toras Chaim in
Yerushalayim, and is the author
of Shaylos U’Teshuvos Toras
Chaim and “Praying With Joy -
A Daily Tefilla Companion,” a
practical daily guide to improv-
ing one’s prayers, available from
Feldheim Publishers. For more
information about his work, con-
tact dytravis@actcom.com.
sistance to complete the
task.
The fact is that although
our efforts contribute very
little to the actual results,
there is a factor we do con-
trol. Our mesiras nefesh
plays a major role in evok-
ing siyata diShmaya.
The only limits to what
we can accomplish are those
which we set by ourselves.
If we let the forces of nega-
tivity and cynicism get to us,
we will achieve as little as
those who cultivate the
negative forces. If we ignore
the chorus of naysayers and
nitpickers, there is no limit
to what we can achieve to
benefit our generation and
generations to come.
Let us set out to be
madlik and meitiv to the
best of our abilities and then
watch as the shalheves is
olah mei’eileha. Our chil-
dren and neighbors will bless
us and our cheilek will be
with Aharon Hakohein.
20 Sivan 5769 • June 12 2009