בס''ד
Be careful what you wish for. That
is one message of the Medrash on this week’s Parsha that recounts the incident
of Rebbi Shimon ben Chalifta, an impoverished sage in the era of the Tannaim.
One Erev Shabbos when he returned home with a precious gem, his wife inquired
from whence it came, to which he replied that he had requested it from Heaven
and been duly granted his wish. Unimpressed with this
miraculous occurrence, she demanded that he return the jewel heavenward, for
she did not want him to lose some of the reward due to him in the Next World on
account of having received partial payment with this wondrous gift. When told what had transpired, Rebbi Yehuda
Hanosi, reassured Rebbi Shimon that if there was any loss, he would provide
whatever was lacking in the World to Come.
Upon hearing this Rebbi Shimon’s wife responded that when in the world
of rewards, one is entirely alone, and therefore the guarantee was of no use,
reiterating her demand to give back the wondrous gift, which he promptly did.
To explain the precise point that
Rebbi Shimon’s wife enlightened the two great scholars with, Reb Yisroel
Salanter zt’l described the process of receiving reward for our good deeds as a
direct and automatic creation of that reward at the moment of performing the
deed and as a manifestation of that specific act itself according to its myriad
details and nuances. That being the
case, for Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi to say that he would replace the reward with some
of his own, was simply an impossibility since his reward for learning, being an
affluent person, was completely different to the reward that a penniless man,
such as Rebbi Shimon would be conferred for his.
This idea is a powerful thought for
us to take with us throughout our lives.
The notion that our actions have delayed consequences that only come
into effect at the end of our lives can be used as a buffer for us from having
to actually come to terms with the significance of what we do and can dissuade
us from doing what we know is right when the reward is so far in the future. Internalising the idea that the act itself
creates the positive or negative consequence at that very instant, exposes us
to the magnitude and immediacy of every one of our actions and can be utilised
to bring us closer to a life of achievement rather than a life of regrets. Your every accomplishment creates a world
instantaneously that will be yours eternally.
That’s quite an investment!
May our Shabbos experience create
worlds of perfection.
לעילוי נשמת לאה
בת אברהם
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