Rabbi Arush
teaches us the secret of true stability in life, no matter how volatile and
uncertain our lives, or the world around us.
When
referring to people who are struggling with some form of instability, whether
personal, emotional, marital, or professional, people often say, “It’s as if
the ground is crumbling beneath his feet.”
Just as the
ground is the physical symbol of stability, so too there is one foundational
rule which enables us to remain “on solid ground” spiritually. This concept
enables us to achieve true stability in every aspect of our physical,
emotional, and spiritual lives, even when things around us are stormy and in
flux.
Like it or
not, the truth is that Hashem doesn’t owe you anything, and is not required to
give you anything. Someone who lives this truth – his life is sweet and
happy. He is happy with every single thing in his life, and truly appreciates
it. He doesn’t give importance to any lacking or problem he has, because he
doesn’t expect anything. Everything is only a free gift, and Hashem doesn’t owe
it to me to be any different. Thus, the problems don’t take away from the
happiness he feels over all his blessings. Even his merits he does not count to
himself. Rather, he sees himself only in more debt to Hashem for all his
merits, because Hashem had mercy on him and enabled him to perform them even
though he doesn’t really deserve it. For sure, he is not now holding his head
up and expecting to receive anything because of them!
The perfect
of example of this mindset is Moshe Rabbeinu. If there was ever any person
about which we could say that he truly deserves something from Hashem – it’s
Moshe Rabbeinu. Yet, he saw himself only in debt to Hashem, and requested from
Hashem only a free gift without expectation, up to his last day.
This comes in
contrast to the Jews in the desert, who unfortunately never learned this trait
from Moshe Rabbeinu. They had every good imaginable, and they could expect only
more and more good - but because they thought that Hashem owed them, they
brought on themselves suffering upon suffering. They suffered from an utter lack of gratitude.
The Jewish people were still reeling
from the Sin of the Spies, when they had the chutzpah – the
brazen-faced gumption – to cry and complain about the biggest gift they could
ever receive – the Land of Israel. Now, comes Korach, who laid
everything on the table. He demanded with total self-assurance: “I should be
the King! I deserve everything. I should rule!”
Korach was
the exact opposite of Moshe Rabbeinu, and the icon of “I deserve everything.”
He had already received everything. He was one of the richest people in the
desert, and he already had a high position and important job. But he became
drunk and blind from his great feelings of “I deserve absolutely everything! I
should have even more!”
I already
discussed the hitchhiker who doesn’t realize that he is only a guest in my
previous article, Know Your Place. This story displayed just how foolish
it is to think that we are owed something; indeed, nothing is more foolish!
However, such behavior isn’t just
foolish; thinking that Hashem owes you something is also falsehood and total
heresy. The truth is, that Ein od Milvado – there is nothing besides
Hashem. Everything belongs to Hashem. Hashem does everything,
and He does it all with His power, not yours or anyone else’s. We have to thank
Him for everything, and He does not owe us anything at all.
This is also
the foundation of emuna. When a person thinks that Hashem owes him something,
he is immersed in a total lie, and there is no heresy bigger than this.
Therefore, Chazal teaches that Korach was a heretic, a kofer.
The beginning
and root of all heresy is when a person denies the reality that everything that
he has in life is a free gift given to him from Hashem in loving-kindness. “The
world is built on kindness” – this means that kindness is the foundation of the
world. The world stands on the kindness of Hashem and the free gifts He gives
us without merit.
No one stands
and lives on his own merits, but rather, only on the kindness of Hashem.
Someone who denies this truth is essentially denying the foundation of his own
continuation, and the principle on which the world is built. This is why Korach
was punished by falling into the ground, which “opened up its mouth” to swallow
him. He denied the kindness of Hashem on which the world is built, so he had
nothing left on which to stand…
This is also
the foundation of our own personal continuation. Someone who thinks that he has
it all coming to him and that Hashem should be giving him something more, or
something different, than what he already has, is essentially breaking up the
ground beneath his feet.
This is also
the foundation of our relationship with the tzaddikim (righteous
leaders), and our Rabbis and teachers, as well as our spouses. I will expound a
bit on how this understanding should influence our relationship with
the tzaddikim.
If the Jewish
people had acquired this humility to recognize that Hashem didn’t owe them
anything, then they also would have recognized that Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t owe
them anything either. Instead, they would have appreciated how much he did for
them – how many prayers, how much effort he put into them, how much he
literally put himself on the line for them time and again, and how much he
suffered for them. Nor would they have even begun to do the sins that they did
in the desert – not the Sin of the Spies, and not Korach, and not any of the
many sins of complaining that they did.
This is the
truth. This is the simple emuna (emuna peshuta). This is the real basis on
which the world, and our lives, stand. And this is the secret of true
stability.
By: Rabbi Shalom
Arush
