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Parshas Chukas - Live Normally

By Rabbi Moshe Meiselman

Posted on 07/15/16

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

We mentioned last week that Parshas Chukas begins a new epoch in Jewish history. We have new people who comprise Klal Yisroel. For almost 38 years, there was no communication between Hashem and the Jewish people. The Dor Hamidbor has died out, and the new generation is brought up and is ready to move into Eretz Yisroel. There was a nevuoh lero’oh that Moshe would die and a nevuoh le’tovoh that Yehoshuah would bring Klal Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel. He would be a manhig Yisroel and be zoche in the mitzvoh if conquering and settling Eretz Yisroel.


Based on the events that transpired in Parshas Bahalosecho, it became clear that Klal Yisroel could not enter Eretz Yisroel being led by Moshe Rabbeinu. That would presuppose a certain level and they demonstrated that they were no longer on that level. There was no way back in that regard, but a nevuoh le’roh could still be reversed and Moshe could have potentially entered Eretz Yisroel as a member and not a leader.


Yet based on the events of this week’s parsha and the incident at Mei Merivoh, that nevuoh could no longer be reversed. Moshe now prepares the way for Yehoshua to take over.


We have two prophesies with two sets of operative rules.


We find that Miriam dies, Aharon dies, and the battles for the conquest of Eretz Yisroel have begun. In these battles, interesting things happen. We read various poems and songs in this parsha describing the initial stages of conquest.


One posuk is expounded by Chazal to allude to the fact that only when a person makes himself hefker like a midbor, will the Torah be given to him as a gift. And once he gets the Torah as a gift, his nachaloh is Hashem. And since his nachaloh is Hashem, he rises to greatness. But if a person will slip at that point and attribute the greatness he attains to his own efforts and talents, Hashem will throw him to the ground. Pireki Avos explains that whoever engages in Torah is uplifted.


It is curious that these insights into the way to be acquire Torah and greatness and the nachaloh of Hashem are derived from these specific pesukim. It follows the theme of the beginning of the parsha about tum’as ohel. Chazal there derive that a person only acquires Torah when he kills himself over it.


After they destroy Sichon we find Chazal expound about the moshlim. These are people who are able to dominate their yetzer. It doesn’t single out the yetzer horo. A person has to be in control over both yetzorim. We ask in the morning tefilloh after birkas hashachar for Hashem to bend our yetzer to be subject to Him. Apparently we need to see to it that both yetzer tov and yetzer horo are kept in check and not allowed to take control.


The moshlim described by Chazal are able to make the calculation of how this world goes.


Many people claim to know how the world is run. Some people think the more ambition and audacity you have, the more successful you will be. Other people come up with other strategies and formulas for success. But they all fall short. The gemara in Bava Basra says the correct cheshbon of the world is achieved by weighing the reward of a mitzvah against its short term loss, and what you gain in the short term by doing the aveiroh and what you lose in the long term by doing it. If you are in control of your yetzer and you are able to remain coolheaded to evaluate your actions taking in the short term and long term ramifications together then you see clearly that the long term hefsed of the aveiroh outweighs the short term benefits. You see clearly that the short term inconvenience and financial drain of doing a mitzvah is outweighed by the long term reward. Hashem has His ways of making it worthwhile to keep the Torah and avoiding aveiros. If I can keep this in mind clearly and not let the yetzer pull me with emotional force, then I can make the proper cheshbon. People who let their emotions take over and follow their hearts without thinking things through and making a cold, calculated cheshbon, often wind up making the wrong decisions.


We have three sets of ma’amamorei Chazal right here in this parsha. It is a parsha where Klal Yisroel are preparing to enter Eretz Yisroel. They are starting a brand new life of living within the laws of nature. The mon will be finished and the be’er will stop giving water. They will still have hashgocho protis, but open miracles will not be a part of everyday normal life. In the past 38 years they had nothing to worry about and had nothing to do but sit and learn Torah. It was idyllic with four shiurim every day. But, now each one will start to live normal life. Why did they need to live for forty year in the midbor? Chazal explain that they had to be so imbued with Torah for 40 years so that they will be prepared to lead a normal life according to the Torah. The yetzer won’t take over the minute they live within nature and they can maintain the cheshbono shel olam.


People out in the world think there is a contradiction between living a life entirely according to the Torah, and living a normal, natural life. They think you need to be pragmatic and make compromises. But the reality is that no matter what you do, the cheshbon we make takes into account the short term loss of keeping Torah in the normal world and the long term gain. It takes into account the short term gain of cutting corners and compromising one’s values and the long term loss. Having a solid seder learning Torah every day of course comes at a price, but you gain a whole new world of ruchniyus.


As Klal Yisroel’s supernatural life comes to a close, they have to remember that the cheshbon is often in the distance, but it is there. You only see the immediate gain or loss. It is a very important part of preparing yourself to go out into the world.


Another point is that the Torah was given in a midbor a place that is hefker. A person has to forget his own ego and the he can be open to receive Hashem’s wisdom without ego interference. When he does this and abandons all other considerations, and sacrifices everything for Torah, then it is given to him as a gift. The result of this is you ride to greatness. But then there is a danger. It may inflate your ego. Gaivoh is antithetical to Torah. Don’t take credit for doing what you need to do in order to live and exist. Torah is life.


Chazal are telling us that before Klal Yisroel undergo this major transition from a miraculous Torah-only existence to one where you engage in the natural world, they needed to be cognizant of a number of things.


One thing is that Torah won’t come easy anymore. There won’t be a shiur by Moshe Rabbeinu followed by Aharon and his sons and the zekeinim. From now on, you will have to kill yourselves over it. But when you do that, and you forget your ego because that’s the only goal you have in life, not only do you get the Torah, but the One who gave the Torah comes along with the package. Hashem Himself is your inheritance.


The next lesson is to make yourself like a midbor and you will rise to greatness, but don’t let it get to your head. This is what you were created for.


And when you engage in the natural world, remember to make the correct cheshbon. Everything is reward and punishment. Everything I do has a potential aspect of mitvah and aspect of aveiroh to it. Everything that happens to me is a result of the cheshbon of sechar veonesh that depends on my decisions and my actions. I have to always look at the long term consequences as well as the immediate impact. It’s not so simple to stop yourself in the middle of a business deal and control your yetzer—not to cut corners and make compromises.


Life is challenge of balancing the short term against the long term and making the right decision. Those who rule over their yetzer will make the right balance and the fire will consume those who follow their desires and emotions. In the end there is reward and punishment even in this world. Evil people say there is no higher power, there are no long term consequences. They forget the cheshbon at the time they are caught up in their passion.


In this parsha we have an introduction to the new era of Klal Yisroel’s existence. They are told to remove their ego and their social considerations, go after Torah exclusively and Hashem comes with the package. And when you do other things in this world, you always need to maintain the cheshbon. You need to pull yourself out of the moment and make a cool-headed calculation of the long term and short term gains and losses for doing mitzvos and doing aveiros.


This parsha ends with the conquest of Sichon and Og and they settle right on the Yarden opposite Yericho ready to enter Eretz Yisroel. It presents us with a clear picture of how to live a normal life guided by the cheshbon of the Torah.