פרשת וירא
In this week’s parsha, Sodom is destroyed, and only Lot and his family are saved. However, Lot chose to live in the decadent environment of Sodom because of his own inclination to immorality. One may wonder what merit he had that made him worthy of being saved. According to the Midrash in Breishis Rabba 51:8, when Avraham went to Egypt and told the Egyptians that Sarah was his sister, Lot accrued merit by not telling Pharaoh the truth and deciding to remain silent. Although it seems that it was certainly a temptation for him to expose Avraham and Sarah, it is certainly puzzling why Chazal believe that this was Lot’s greatest merit? It seems to be such a trivial deed and it doesn’t even seem to be Lot’s highest achievement. Earlier in this parsha we saw Lot extending hospitality to two angels, much like Avraham Avinu. Lot even had to conceal his act of generosity from the people of Sodom, since those who practiced kindness in Sodom could be severely punished. Why does the Midrash point to Lot’s silence as the greatest thing he ever did?
Rav Aharon Kotler, citing the Alter of Kelm, answers that even though Lot extended himself to be hospitable, it wasn’t a trait that he developed himself. Inviting others into his house was natural for a man who had spent many years absorbing Avraham Avinu’s warmth. Hospitality was a simple act of cordiality which required no thought on Lot’s part at all. He was merely imitating Avraham Avinu. However, the self-restraint that Lot showed when he chose to remain silent was completely a result of Lot’s own choice to be good. No one taught Lot to exhibit such self-control, and his choice to do so was his own innovation. This Midrash is not ignoring the fact that Lot followed in Avraham’s ways, but is instead teaching us an important principle. Doing what comes naturally to us or imitating what we have seen others do is not the primary source of our merit. The deeds that we ourselves pursue and the actions that we make a part of ourselves are our real accomplishments. We need to truly embody the beauty that our acts represent. We see that Avraham Avinu didn’t merely invite guests over; he was pained when they didn’t come. Incredibly, Hashem made three angels appear in front of Avraham Avinu’s tent in order to do a chesed for Avraham- to bring him guests, since Avraham yearned to do chesed. A true tzaddik doesn’t merely behave like a tzaddik. He truly identifies with the importance of the righteous acts that he performs. Similarly, a ben Torah is not merely one who learns Torah but one who embodies it completely and is unable to live without it. These are the kind of people that we have to become. It’s not just about what we do. It’s about making what we do become truly a part of ourselves.
The gemara in Brachos 36b records a famous debate between Rebbi Yishmael and Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Rebbi Yishmael’s position was that the Torah expects man not only to learn but to engage in the world like normal people. Jews, like the rest of mankind, are expected to engage in the material world from time to time in order to support themselves and facilitate a healthy lifestyle of Torah and mitzvos. However, Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai held that if the Jewish people truly fulfill Hashem’s will, they need not worry about the pursuit of such ordinary activities and can rest assured that all their needs will be met by others. The gemara seems to accept both positions. However, Abaye testifies that many tried Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s approach but didn’t succeed. The question is: why not? We see that such a lifestyle worked for Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his colleagues. Why didn’t it work for so many others who wanted to do the same? The Bircas Shmuel, Rav Baruch Ber, answers that those who failed, failed because they didn’t truly have a complete dedication to learning Torah incessantly. In truth, those who did not succeed were motivated to a large extent by their desire to copy Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Who wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of a Torah giant? However, they didn’t fully appreciate the beauty and purity that such a lifestyle epitomized. Therefore, they did not succeed in their endeavors. Similarly, Rav Shach would tell people that some kollel guys think that as long they stay in learning, they don’t have to worry about anything. They think that they’ll surely get to the highest place in shamayim as long as they stay in kollel. However, Rav Shach taught that this is not how things work. A person must truly believe and feel the importance of what he is doing in what he is doing in order for it to be truly precious in Hashem’s eyes.
Who can we say embodied his own ideals and deeds more than Gershon zt”l? Gershon didn’t only act as a spokesman and fundraiser for the yeshiva. He really believed in the power and importance of Torah, learning three sedarim a day despite his other responsibilities both at home and in the yeshiva. How many yeshiva fundraisers learn more than most of the full-time students of their own institutions? Gershon would learn a few mishnayos before going to bed each night and worked on his ability to keep his eyes focused on the text to the point that he could learn almost 30 minutes straight without looking up. He killed himself in order to perfect his midos, being a prominent member of a daily mussar vaad, and Rabbi Wegbreit would constantly cite his deep insights into character correction. Furthermore, Gershon didn’t only focus on his own growth in Torah and merely fulfill that which was expected of him as a yeshiva administrator. He would constantly look out for others, aware of how they were doing with their chevrusas and shiurim, and how their spirits were in general. Gershon would constantly fight to bring others closer to Torah and would do anything he could to achieve that goal, whether it was paying for a student’s tuition (unbeknownst to the Rosh Yeshiva) or asking the Mashgiach if he could learn with a bucher who was struggling. Gershon would talk with others not merely to schmooze with them, but also to learn about what they needed and what he could do to help them. Gershon truly exemplified what a ben Torah is supposed to be. As Rabbi Donni Deutsch, the Rabbi who first brought Gershon close to Torah in Chicago, said, “There’s a lot we can all learn from Gershon.”
May we all be zoche to embody the ideals of true bnei Torah!!!