Divrei Simcha — Parshas Vayeitzei 5767

I am very thankful to a good friend of mine that shared this week’s thought with me.

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Yaakov falls to sleep and has a dream. Hashem comes to him and promises him that He will protect him wherever he goes. Yaakov wakes up and says (Bereshis 28:20), “If G-d will be with me, and guard me on this path that I am going…” The question is asked: why is Yaakov saying this. Hashem has already promised He will be with him.

An answer given is that Yaakov never took anything for granted. Hashem promised Yaakov that He would guard him. Yaakov is one of the greatest tzaddikim that ever lived. If there were ever a person that G-d would protect, it would be Yaakov. But this did not matter to Yaakov. Yaakov still did not want to take this for granted. It is not that he did not have faith. He did this to teach us a great lesson.

I was recently listening to a class about a Jewish outlook on wealth. Today, we take everything for granted. We are living lives full of luxuries. Did you know that 200 years ago, not even kings had the luxuries we have today? Indoor plumbing, indoor air conditioning (or for those up North, heat), microwaves, cars, airplanes, and even this computer that I’m sitting in front of are all luxuries. But even smaller things that these are luxuries: our beds (which 100 years ago were straw and feathers), tile floors (not dirt). The list goes on and on.

I’d like to share one story from this class with you. It is about the Rosh Yeshiva of Chofetz Chaim in New York, Rav Henoch Leibowitz. Rav Leibowitz was born in Europe and had only one pair of shoes. One pair! One day as he was walking, he got a hole in his shoe. Now this was a problem, because he could not ask his father for the money to fix it (which was only 25 cents) because his father did not have that much money. So one day, he thought of a plan — he would stick a piece of cardboard over the hole. It worked perfectly… until the one day he stepped in a puddle!

Think about this. This is a man who is alive today! Under 100 years ago people could not afford to buy new shoes. Personally, I have numerous pairs of shoes. In our society today, it is so easy to take for granted the luxuries we have. We should try our best to be a little more like Yaakov and not take anything for granted. We may never reach the level of Yaakov, but we sure can try.

Good Shabbos!
-yes

Any questions or answers can be sent to me at [email protected]. Thank you!

By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
[email protected]
(305) 652-0186