The Torah’s Measure Of a Man
Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon Hakohen are mentioned together in numerous verses in the Torah. Usually, Moshe’s name appears first. There are exceptions, however, the first of which is in Va’era: “This was the Aharon and Moshe to whom Hashem said: Take the Children of Israel out of Egypt according to their legions” (Shemos 6:26). There, Rashi explains that “sometimes, Moshe is mentioned before Aharon, and other times, Aharon is mentioned before Moshe, to show that the two were equal.”
This is puzzling. Moshe and Aharon were equal? The Torah concludes with the statement that “there never rose a prophet like Moshe” (Devarim 34:10). Despite the greatness of Aharon’s role as Kohen Gadol, Moshe Rabbeinu was the leader of all Klal Yisrael. It was he who brought the Torah from heaven to earth, who saved the nation at the sin of the Golden Calf, and more. How can Rashi state that Moshe and Aharon were equals?
Harav Moshe Feinstein explains that indeed, Moshe and Aharon were equal, because they both wanted to serve Hashem with all of their might, and they both did this — each according to the abilities he possessed. Therefore, even though Moshe’s accomplishments outweighed Aharon’s, the Torah affirms that the two were equal.
Even if this idea sounds familiar, that what counts is the efforts one puts in, this may be far from our way of thinking. For example, in the working world, what counts is productivity. A boss values workers who bring him profit. A worker who puts in all his strength but shows only meager profits will probably be fired. The same is true concerning grades in the secular academic world — only the results matter. If this perspective affects the way we view Torah and mitzvos, our thinking is flawed.
When it comes to Torah, maximizing one’s efforts is what counts. A bright bachur may impress us, but if he is not using his abilities to the fullest, he is not fulfilling his purpose. Whereas the bachur that needs to put in extra hours just to keep up with his shiur will receive much greater s’char, so long as he does all that he can.
This idea is expressed in Bava Basra (10b), where Rav Yosef, the son of Rabbi Yehoshua fainted, and in his swoon he saw a vision.
“What did you see?” asked his father.
“I saw an upside down world,” he said. “Those who in this world are on top; there, they are on the bottom.”
“What you saw was a clear, correct world,” said Rabbi Yehoshua.
Rav Yosef saw men who were recognized as great scholars placed lower than simple Jews who set aside times for learning. The sages teach us from here that in the Next World, the measure of a person will not be his accomplishments in ruchniyus, but rather how much of himself he put into his accomplishments.
This should give many of us chizuk, particularly if our situation demands that we devote certain hours of the day to a job that takes us away from Torah study. We may view ourselves as hopelessly far from those who learn in kollel and spend their days and nights growing in Torah knowledge. While we should surely aspire to such a level, if the maximum amount of time we can devote to Torah study is only an hour each morning and an hour each night, we should not view ourselves with the business/academia viewpoint that only the results matter. In Torah, it is not quantity but quality; not how many pages of Gemara or even how many hours spent, but rather how much of ourselves we invest.
Similarly, the Mishna (Menachos 110a) states: “One brings an ox as a korban olah, another brings a bird offering, and a third man brings a [much less costly] meal offering as a korban olah, and each of the three are deemed equal, because both the one who brings much and the one who brings less — the main thing is that their intent is to their Father in Heaven.”
The Ohr Zarua (Hilchos Keriyas Shema 6) explains that a rich man is not allowed to bring a meal offering. Likewise, a poor man is not commanded to bring an ox as a korban olah. Whatever a person is capable of doing, he is expected to do. This applies not only to korbanos but to all aspects of avodas Hashem. The time and energy we devote to learning, the money we devote to tzedaka or the resources we use in maasim tovim — it all depends on how much we are capable of and how pure our intentions are. We may again make the mistake of focusing on quantity, but the Mishna shows us that this is wrong. What matters is how much of ourselves we put into our avodas Hashem, and how sincere are our intentions.
These ideas once bothered a father, who asked Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz: “I don’t have much time to devote to learning, and I am far from what anyone would call a ‘talmid chacham.’ My son learns in a cheder and is being taught to aspire to greatness in Torah. How can I be a role model for my son?”
“You don’t have to learn all day to be an example,” answered Rav Lefkowitz. “The main thing is that your son sees that ruchniyus is what you value. Even if you are not always learning, he should see that learning is the main part of your life. Also, your son should see that his success in learning or in avodas Hashem is what makes you happy. Tell him how happy you are when you see him learning, or hear from the rebbe how hard he tries in learning. This is the main thing.”
May we be zoche to put ourselves fully into Torah and mitzvos!