~
Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas Emor
Of Mice and Men: Divide and
Conquer
By: Daniel Listhaus
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
שׁוֹר אוֹ
כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז כִּי יִוָּלֵד וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ וּמִיּוֹם
הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה לְקָרְבַּן אִשֶּׁה לַהֹ'ו
“Hashem spoke to
Moshe, saying: When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain under
its mother for seven days; and from the eighth day on, it will appease for a
fire-offering to Hashem.”
-Emor 22:26-27
The
Kli Yakar[1]
on this
passuk (verse) makes the following observation. The Torah, in
discussing the birth of animals, does not use the expression of “when an animal
gives birth to a baby”, but rather says, “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is
born”. We see from here that the Torah defines an animal by its name
immediately when it’s born. As soon as a sheep or a cow gives birth, its
product is right away called as such, for it has reached its purpose in life.
The purpose of a sheep is to be a sheep. The purpose of a cow is to be a cow.
There is no guesswork needed to determine the complexity of any given creature.
[2]
As the saying goes, “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have
to at least consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the
family anatidae on our hands”.
[3]
However,
as the Kli Yakar continues, man is very different. A person is defined
by his actions. We are put in this world with bechira (free choice) as
to how we will direct our lives. The directions we choose and actions we
ultimately do are what determine the level of perfection we achieve.
The
Kli Yakar is not really teaching us anything that we did not know
already, but rather something which is so obvious to us that we often do not
think about it. As people, we are born as unshaped, raw beings waiting to be
formed into what we are supposed to achieve. Within each and every child that
is born, there is an inherent, incredible potential waiting to be unleashed
through making the right decisions. The
Mesilas Yesharim, based on the
teaching of
Rebbe Pinchas
ben Yair
[4],
goes through the various levels a person could achieve – from cautiousness all
the way to the highest level of
kedusha (Holiness). We literally have
the ability to make correct choices and ultimately to persevere and reach the
highest levels of the
Mesilas Yesharim – becoming as close to Hashem as
a
malach (angel) while privileged with access to
ruach HaKodesh (Holy
spirit) and being capable of performing
techiyas hameisim (resurrection
of the dead).
[5]
Nonetheless,
it is often hard for us to realize our own potential. We all know that there is
much that is expected from us, and that there have been great people in the
past who have accomplished tremendous amounts. However, when it comes to us, we
often convince ourselves that it is out of our reach or capability. Somehow, we
are supposed to understand our potential and try to achieve it; but how do we
get ourselves to take the first step and then how do we go about accomplishing
what we are here to do?
The
Mishna in
Pirkei Avos[6]
states, “They used to say three things: Rabbi Eliezer says: 1. Let the
honor of your fellow man be as dear to you as your own... 2. Do
teshuvah (repent)
one day before your death 3. You should warm yourselves opposite the fire of
the
chachomim (Torah Sages)....”
Is
there a connection between these three ideas? Could we perhaps find a common
theme throughout these ideas being expressed in this Mishna?
The
first teaching was that the honor of your friend should be as dear to you as
your own. When hearing this, the first thing that comes to mind is the
mitzva
of
v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha[7]
(you should love your friend as you love yourself). The immediate
difficulty with understanding this
mitzva is of course the fact that
one's love for others seems dependent on one's love towards oneself. Does this
mean that someone who is full of himself must treat someone else with the same
respect, while a depressed person is expected to make everyone else's life
miserable? Certainly not! Rather, the
mitzva of
v'ahavta l'reiacha
kamocha must be a two-part
mitzvah. First, one is obligated to
realize his or her own self respect – why one as a person is deserving of
honor. Only then could one see that while each person is different from each
other with different strengths and weaknesses, there is one common denominator
which applies to each and every individual. There is something unique about
being a
ben-Adom (literally: son of Adam) which merits an inherent
kavod
(honor) and respect.
This
is certainly a difficult idea to pin-point. After all, we know how bad the
middah
(trait) of
gaivah (haughtiness) is and the measures we must take to
avoid it at all costs.
[8]
Yet, at the same time, the
mishna in
Sanhedrin[9]
states that there is an obligation for each person to say, “The world was
created just for me.”
Rashi[10]
on this explains that a person must believe that he himself is as important
as the entire world.
Besides
the evident contradiction between being warned against having feelings of gaivah
and the obligation to believe that one is just as important as the world at
large, the mishna also does not make any sense mathematically. For
arguments sake, let us assume that there are seven billion people in the world.
Leaving everything else aside, if I am to believe that the I am just as
important as the sum total of everything else, then mathematically, each person
is worth only one-seventh billionth (1/7,000,000,000) of myself. Yet,
considering that the person sitting next to me is believing the same thing,
that makes me worth only one-seventh billionth. Which one is it? Is the mishna
just giving us false encouragement to lead us in the right direction?
Perhaps
the mishna is actually teaching us what v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha is
all about. Each person has an obligation to recognize his potential – the
greatness that one could achieve as an individual. The obligation of reminding
oneself of one's importance is not one which permits him or her to feel better
than everyone else. Rather it is a responsibility to realize the chashivus
ha'adom which each individual has. Each person has such exponential and
infinite potential that it is impossible to measure his or her importance.
This
is the first stage we must understand. We must realize that each of us has
incredible potential. And although that potential may not be exactly the same
for everyone, there is a certain amount of kavod habriyos and level of v'ahavta
l'reiacha kamocha which is due out of respect of each person's
capabilities, even if they are currently unrealized. The chashivus ha'adom itself
demands a level of recognition in its own merit.
Admittedly,
this is one of those things which is easier said than done. The fact that we as
humans have an incredible potential may be something which is obvious and yet
still has to be brought to our attention. However, even once we realize this
about ourselves, we are immediately confronted with a new difficulty: Perhaps
now is too late. We have already spent our lives on x, y, and z when we could
have been doing something more productive. If so, it could be impossible to
turn back on the right path and first start trying to maximize one's potential.
This way of thinking, however, is of course a tremendous mistake. All it takes
is one second. Just one decision is needed to redirect oneself, and suddenly,
what was impossible literally only a moment ago becomes suddenly very possible.
The
Gemara Kiddushin[11]
states that if someone tries to be
mekadesh (betroth) a woman on
condition that he is a
tzaddik (righteous person), then even if this
individual is known as a complete
rasha (wicked person), still we are
concerned
[12]
that perhaps his stipulation worked. After all, just because he was a
rasha a
second ago, does not necessarily mean that he is a
rasha now. Perhaps he
changed his direction in one moment and has since decided to be a
tzaddik.
There
are two fascinating points one sees from this gemara. First, that we are
actually concerned that someone who is a known rasha might have actually
become a tzaddik overnight. What happened to the general concept of chazaka
which usually allows us to assume that things remain status quo? Second,
even if this man really did somehow get struck by lightning and decided to
change his ways, does that automatically deem him a tzaddik? At best he
should be considered a beinoni (regular person) and we should still not
be concerned about his stipulation. What did he do already that was so great
that we should suddenly treat him as a tzaddik?
It
must be that it is indeed possible to stop and re-decide at any given point to
redirect oneself on a path of reaching one's potential in leading a life
of maximum yiras shamayim. Not only that, but as long as one makes that
decision, even though it may be later in life, there is still a tremendous amount
of potential waiting to be uncovered and realized. Teshuva (repentance)
could be done at any time. This is the second stage to keep in mind: It is
never too late.
Despite
the realization of these two stages, there is an additional obstruction which
could often impede us from starting to conquer our potential. In other words,
some people may realize that there is tremendous potential to strive for, and
then follow through with actually deciding to go forth with achieving it, but
then realize that the task is too great. How could one puny person be expected
to learn so much and become so close to Hashem in such a short amount of time?
It is impossible!
Imagine
for a moment a mouse which had the good fortune of stumbling across a large bullet
salami one morning. Little Micky is so pleased with himself for having
discovered such a delicacy, and decides to skip breakfast and lunch in order to
work up a massive appetite so that he could properly feast on his salami banquet
for dinner. Dinnertime finally arrives and he rushes back to his mouse hole and
glances up at the piece of meat, which is at least twice his size, and then
looks down at his small mouse-sized plate, he begins to doubt his decision. How
in the world is he even going to get the salami on his plate? It is way too big!
However, of course, there is a simple solution to this problem which Micky will
instinctively do. Namely, that is to utilize something known as salami tactics.
[13]
In other words, when the mouse realizes that the salami is too much to eat
whole, it will attack it slice by slice until it has completed it.
This
is something which is instinctive for a mouse and seems obvious to us, yet it
is still something which, for some reason, humans need to actively think about
and realize before implementing. For example, one could look at conquering the
world as an impossible task, or one could implement the divide-and-conquer strategy,
as Alexander and Napoleon did, and suddenly the feat seems more reasonable.
Divide and conquer is a simple battle strategy. We must just learn to keep it
at the forefront of our minds so that we could accomplish anything.
These
three ideas are vital for one to realize in order to succeed. First one must
realize his own potential. Then, one must realize that it is expected of him
and that it is in reach. Finally, one must not give up by having the right
perspective as to how to conquer as much of one's potential as one could.
The
medrash[14]
lists three scenarios to better illustrate this idea. The first setting is
where there is a dune of dust, and it is your task to move it from one place to
another. The foolish person says, “This is hopeless! It is impossible to move
this mound.” However, one who is wise says, “I will transport two bucket-fulls
today and two tomorrow and eventually it will get done.” The second case is one
where there is a loaf of bread dangling from a high ceiling. The foolish person
looks at it and says, “It is literally out of my reach. I cannot even reach it
when I jump. It is impossible for me to obtain it.” However, one who is wise
comes in with a very different perspective and says, “Did someone else not get
it up there somehow? It must be possible to get down.” The third scenario is as
follows. Imagine you have the job of filling up a swimming pool using only a
pail with a hole in it. The foolish person says, “This is dumb. I fill up the
buckets but the water just comes out the hole in the bottom. By the time I get
to the pool, there is barely anything in the bucket.” Yet, once again, the wise
man looks at this from a different angle, “I am being paid for every bucket I
bring to the pool. This task will make me rich.”
Perhaps
this medrash is addressing exactly the three points discussed above, in
reverse order. The last case represents the wise person's realization of his
existing potential. The second case represents the idea that one's potential is
reachable – Hashem gave it to us, and therefore must be attainable. The first
scenario in the medrash represents the idea that the only way to conquer
a large task is through dividing it – taking one step at a time.
Perhaps
this idea is indeed also the common theme throughout the aforementioned
mishna
in
Pirkei Avos. The first step is that the honor of your friend
should be as dear to you as your own. Meaning, one must realize that he
himself, and every individual, has tremendous potential and is therefore
inherently worthy of
kavod.
[15]
The second step is to repent one day before your death. In other words, as we
saw in the
Gemara Kiddushin, it is never too late to realize that one's
potential is in reach. At any moment, one could redirect himself on the right
track; and that moment should be now. No one knows when it will be his last
day, so the time to do
teshuva is immediately. The third stage is to
warm yourself opposite the fire of the
talmidei chachomim. As the
medrash
taught us, the
chachomim were not born knowing everything. We must
observe that through dividing, taking one step at a time, one could conquer his
potential, as the
talmidei chachomim have.
The
Chofetz Chaim writes in his introduction to Mishna Berura:
ברוך ה' אלקי השמים ואלקי הארץ אשר ברא את הכל בחסדו
בששת ימים ולבסוף ברא את האדם
May
we all merit to realize the chashivus ha'adom, understand the fact that our
potential is in reach, and ultimately conquer our goals by taking one step at a
time.
