פרשת שמות
This week’s Parsha opens by telling us that Yosef and all of his brothers had passed away, and the new political situation was not quite as stable as it was when Yosef was alive. The Egyptians were concerned with the rate at which the Jews were multiplying, and Pharaoh therefore ordered that all the male infants to be drowned in the Nile River. This terrible decree was to be carried out by the two Jewish midwives, Shifra and Puah, and there were to be no exceptions. However, the Torah testifies that these two righteous ladies feared Hashem, and at great personal risk, they ignored this royal edict, and instead preserved and nurtured each and every baby that was being delivered, ensuring the survival of the Jewish people. They even secretly provided sustenance for these children when the mothers were unable to reach them. The Midrash goes even further to explain that they not only helped the birthing process for these fledgling human beings, but if they saw that there were some complications in the pregnancies or the deliveries, they figured out medical ways to save the fetuses, and if they saw that there was nothing they could do, they prayed fervently that Hashem have mercy on these tiny beings, and we find that their prayers were answered. Such was the level of involvement these virtuous Jewish women offered.
However, R’ Yerucham Levovitz is bothered by a verse in the Torah relating to what these ladies did. Generally, we don’t find the Torah pronouncing judgment about the level of fear of Heaven possessed by the characters mentioned therein. If the Torah wants to tell us about some good deed that was performed, it usually just tells us. Here, the Torah states, “And the Jewish midwives feared Hashem, and they therefore preserved the Jewish children.” Why do we need this uncharacteristic introduction to their act of piety? R’ Yerucham explains that this act of devoutness was different than many others in that these women would have been executed if Pharaoh would have found out what they were doing. They would have been found guilty of high treason for ignoring an express order from the uncontested ruler of the known civilization of the time. They not only ignored their directive, they deliberately did they exact opposite of what they were commanded to do. To do so could have only been born out of the fact that they actively increased their fear of Heaven such that it outweighed their fear of Pharaoh, and for this reason, explains R’ Yerucham, it was appropriate to mention these ladies’ impeccable level of Heavenly reverence to teach us how to act in a similar situation.
On a practical level, R’ Yerucham attempts to explain how we can reach this level of fear of Heaven so that we too might be able to stand up to such a test. R’ Yerucham says that this can only come after having spent much time learning the precious Mussar books that were entrusted to us by the great sages of the past which discuss this topic, and studying them with immense diligence, and contemplating their meaning so that their messages are driven deep within our consciousness. He adds that this is actually a positive commandment in the Torah, to fear Hashem, and the only way to fulfill this commandment is by actively contemplating the meaning of life, which will in turn generate a strong understanding of the Creator of the world and a deep reverence and desire to serve Him. He goes on to say something frightening. In the end of days, the wicked people will not be punished for not having possessed a greater level of Heavenly fear, because they simply didn’t have it. But they will be punished for the fact that they didn’t take the necessary steps to foster that level of fear, i.e. the steps we mentioned of studying the books which inculcate that fear, and spending quality time on a daily basis contemplating the grandness and the awesomeness of what it means to have a creator and to go against his will.
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It is interesting that the Torah changes the names of these righteous women. In the Torah, their names are Shifra and Puah, but their real names were Yocheved and Miriam, and some say Elisheva. The Midrash explains the reason for this name change. Shifra implies a woman who beautifies the children by making them more physically appealing, and Puah implies the purring sounds that women are just so naturally good at making in order to calm down babies, and lull them to sleep. But R’ Shmuel Rozovsky is bothered by this Midrash. These depictions and references seem somewhat mundane after the incredible self-sacrifice these women offered in order to perpetuate the Jewish nation. Furthermore, we know that they were both on an extremely high level of prophecy, capable of speaking directly with Hashem. This being the case, their ability to coo and fuss over a baby doesn’t seem like the highest level of praise to Torah is capable of dolling out!
R’ Shmuel explains that we find many places in the Torah which indicate that it is not the big things which define us as human beings, but rather the little acts which we perform consistently, but are done for the sake of Heaven, which will really earn us the lion’s share of our world to come. For a woman, taking care of her children may seem repetitive, mundane, and petty, but if she goes about her chores with trust in Hashem, and a pleasant demeanor, and she does what she does for the sake of Heaven, there is no act more lofty and more spiritual than these apparent “routine” activities. The Mishnah in Avos, (3:15) says, “Everything is determined by the majority of one’s actions.” The Rambam explains that when a person constantly performs small actions for the sake of Heaven, these continual exploits will eventually make a foothold in his heart and he will become a better person. One should not ignore “the little things” in Judaism, because according to what we have said, these little things are everything! When a person smiles at his child, and reads them a story, and has in mind that they are performing the Mitzvah of raising a human being to be happy and healthy, and capable of loving other human beings, it is no small matter at all.
A Talmudic student once came to visit the great Rosh Yeshiva R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz, and was shocked to find him on the floor playing hide and go seek with his grandson. The student was embarrassed and concerned that R’ Chaim may have suffered some sort of breakdown, but R’ Chaim reassured him and told him that what he was doing was absolutely integral, and on par spiritually with any other Mitzvah in the Torah. When the student thought about R’ Chaim’s words for a few minutes, he realized that he could see Hashem through R’ Chaim’s actions. Just as Hashem nurtures us, and delights in us, and waits for us to grow up, so to R’ Chaim was doing exactly the same thing, and he realized that R’ Chaim had really gotten the point. I would just like to conclude with a fascinating story I heard last week. There is a Kollel in Dallas Texas and like most Kollelim, their financial situation was somewhat precarious on a fairly consistent basis. One day, not so long ago, a very non-religious, very wealthy looking man walked into the Kollel and asked to speak with the Rosh Yeshiva. During their meeting, this gentleman pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check to the Kollel for the sum of $40,000. The Rosh Yeshiva was a little surprised, as he had never met this man, and was curious as to the rationalization for this unexpected largesse. The man explained that he had just returned from a trip to Israel, and while, there, he, like most other, scheduled a trip to Jerusalem. On the itinerary, of course, was a trip to the Kotel. While he was at the Kotel, this man, who had grown up completely secular, didn’t really know what to expect. He had always assumed that observant people were fanatical and irrational, and filled with superstitious, antiquated beliefs. However, he was shocked to see a Yerushalmi Jew, with long Payos and a long black coat, standing at the Kotel praying with such sincerity, and such a depth of feeling that this man had never seen before. When he witnessed this incredible display of dedication, integrity, and emotion, he realized that this man was truly alive, and he was filled with a deep desire to do something for the observant Jews of the world. So when he returned to Dallas, he went to the Kosher bakery and asked them where a person with long payos and a long coat would pray if he were visiting Dallas, and they directed him to the local Kollel. When this simple Yerushalmi Jew gets to Heaven, he will be pleasantly surprised to find that his guileless, simple prayers, which he probably performed daily, was responsible for a huge amount of Torah study in Dallas, Texas, and he will be rewarded for all the Torah accrued from those $40,000.
May we all merit to foster a deep sense of Heavenly fear, and perform all of our actions, even the “small ones”, for the sake of Heaven!