שבת שקלים ופרשת משפטים וענייני ב“א לחבירו
This week’s Parsha deals with many laws concerning how we should be relating to our peers on a daily basis. It seems clear that the Torah is very concerned with this topic, to the extent that Hillel the elder said that it is actually the entire goal of the Torah, and the rest is merely commentary. One such law in this week’s portion that I would like to focus on is the positive commandment in the Torah to lend our fellow Jew money during his time of need. The Torah is very specific about the nature of this commandment, and how careful we must be to not let the person we are lending money to feel any form of embarrassment or discomfort due to his need to take a loan. For example the Gemorah in Bava Metziah (75b) says that we are commanded to not approach him if we know that he is in no position to pay the loan back yet. So much so, we must even avoid passing in front of the borrower in the street as our very sight may make him uncomfortable. Another example comes from the Torah itself. The verse says that we must return the collateral to him each night so that he not be forced to live without the comfort of whichever item he chose to use as his collateral. The Torah goes on to say that the reason we must return the collateral every night is because if we do not, the borrower may suffer the inconvenience of having to live without that item, and he will then call out to Hashem, and Hashem will listen to him because He is compassionate. This reasoning seems strange. Why is Hashem’s being compassionate at all relevant here. Doesn’t the borrower have a right to take a collateral to ensure that the lender will pay the loan back? Furthermore, if the lender has absolutely no discomfort, what motivation will he have to repay his debt if he receives his collateral whenever he needs it? It seems that the Torah is being overly sympathetic to the borrower’s plight, and ignoring the legitimate concerns of the lender completely.
R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz deals with this difficulty by explaining that the Torah is teaching us here that when a person does the Mitzvah of Chessed, it must be done in a complete way, and not half-heartedly. Although it is certainly true that by relinquishing the collateral to the borrower daily, the lender sacrifices a certain amount of security, that is the price he must pay to allow the borrower the complete feeling that he is being lavished with kindness. In other words, R’ Chaim is saying that a kindness which is done for someone in a way that that person does not feel completely pampered, and that there are “strings attached”, is not whole in its nature, and is therefore inherently flawed. Parenthetically, R’ Chaim goes on to ask how we small people can be held to this lofty standard. He answers that when we decide to do a kindness for another, it lifts us to such an elevated position that that Hashem gives us the merit to perform acts of benevolence in this unique wholehearted way.
There is an interesting Midrash (Bereishis 8:5) which proves that doing Chessed in this manner is not merely a stringency, but it is actually the only way to do it. The Midrash says that when Hashem wanted to create the world, the angels in Heaven began a huge debate and split into two camps. The first group argued that Hashem should create man because he will do acts of kindness. The second group argued that man cannot be created because he is filled with deceit. Hashem however decided that indeed, man should be created, and sent truth down to the earth and said whoever wants, can attain truth. R’ Reuven Fein, the famous Rosh Yeshiva used to point out that this Midrash seems difficult. The Midrash seems to imply that benevolence somehow cannot coexist with falsehood. Why does one contradict the other? Another words, granted that man is filled with dishonesty, but he also performs acts of consideration which are the purpose of creation as the verse says, “The world was created for kindness”. What exactly was the argument? R’ Reuven explains that although it is true that man will care about his fellow, this caring can never be complete if man is filled with deceitfulness. There will always be ulterior motives. If this is the case, then even man’s Chessed is not reliable enough to justify the creation of the world. Indeed we find that the verses often juxtapose “Chessed” and “Emes” showing that they are interlinked. Based on R’ Reuven’s explanation of this Midrash, it is clear how careful we must be when we perform acts of goodwill,that we ensure that they are not mixed with thoughts of personal gain or aggrandizement, and that they are done solely to help another Jew because that is what Hashem commanded us to do. We must also take care that our acts of kindness are aligned with the Torah’s parameters for what kindness is, otherwise, they will be deficient. However, an act which meets these to criteria will reaffirm our existence as human beings, and will prove to all of creation that our presence on this earth is justified. (Perhaps this is why a synonym for goodness is humanity).
This week’s Maftir – Shekalim – is the first of the four prior to Pesach. We read about the Jews being asked to donate monies in order to facilitate the construction of the Mishkan, and we find with what happiness and enthusiasm the Jews in fact came through. The Sefas Emes points out that although we no longer have the Mishkan today, this reading should regenerate feelings of eagerness to help another Jew in our hearts in a powerful way. We know that any Mitzvah taken on out of happiness, is still being done with joy even today. The Radak (Jeremiah 9:23) writes in the name of the Rambam that even if a person reaches great heights in his learning and personal growth, if he has not yet fostered a sense of caring and compassion for his fellow Jew such that he performs kindness and acts of generosity with genuine zest, than there is still something grossly wrong with his character.
Perhaps it is appropriate at this time to tell you a little bit about R’ Chaim Brisker. Even a cursory glance at some of R’ Chaim’s works will reveal an inkling of his unfathomable breadth and depth of understanding in practically every region of the Torah. But maybe less well known was his incredibly kind nature and his desire to care for each and every member of the Jewish nation. R’ Chaim’s Yeshiva was possibly the only Yeshiva in Europe which fostered a complete “open door” policy in which anyone who wanted to learn there was welcomed with open arms. However, his piety was not limited to the Yeshiva. It was well known that anyone planning a trip through Brisk always had a place to stay. R’ Chaim would invite people in, and immediately prepare them a hot cup of tea to escape the cold Russian winters, and give them free room and board. It was not uncommon to see entire families residing in one of the rooms of his simple home for months at a time. His son, the Gri“z relates that he would sometimes see his father sleeping on a bench in the living room because there were no more available beds. He seemed to have felt no sense of ownership in his own home. The Gri”z himself would often sleep on the floor because there were no obtainable cots. It once happened that he came home after a long marathon of learning, and collapsed in one of the accessible beds. Shortly after he dozed off, he was awakened by a beggar who claimed that this was HIS bed. The Gri”z quietly apologized for his “mistake” and made other arrangements for himself. It once happened that on the 13th of Nissan, right before Pesach, a widow came to R’ Chaim’s door crying that she literally had nothing with which to make Pesach and to feed her children. R’ Chaim gently walked over to the cabinet which housed the families’ entire holiday provisions, and began to carry item by item into her carriage so that she could make her holiday. The next morning, when the Rebbetzin saw her months of preparation gone, she assumed that a thief had taken everything. As word spread that a burglar had pilfered the venerable Rabbi’s possessions, and that he was left with nothing for Pesach, each and every Jew in Brisk gave something of their own so that the Rabbi and his family were well taken care of for the Holiday. After the Seder, the Rabbi revealed to his wife that he was in fact the “thief“. When she asked him was he was thinking, he explained, “I am the Rabbi of the town. I knew that we wouldn’t go hungry. But who would help this poor widow so close to the holiday?”
May we all merit to perform acts of kindness and generosity with complete hearts!