Divrei Simcha on Parshas Yisro 5767

Last Friday afternoon I was preparing for Shabbos, when out of nowhere I heard a loud “boom”, and my whole house started shaking. I ran to the window to see five fighter planes flying by. It was the planes, that would be flying over the super bowl, practicing (at least I didn’t have to pay $1,000 a ticket to see these fighter planes fly over my head!). When I first heard the loud noise of the planes, I jumped. It startled me.

In this week’s parsha, Yisro, Rashi tells us that Hashem did not act this way at Har Sinai (Mount Sinai) when he gave us the Torah. In 19:19, the Torah tells us that the sound of the shofar was very strong when we got the Torah. Rashi explains this verse to mean as follows: normally when a person blows a horn, the longer he blows it, the weaker the sound gets. It was the exact opposite here though. Hashem started blowing the shofar low and it gradually got higher. Rashi asks why this was so. The answer is because he wanted to attune their ears so they could accept the sound.

When we hear a sudden boom, we jump because we are not accustomed to the sound. On the other hand, if a sound gradually grows louder and louder, we grow accustomed to it and we are no longer startled. This is not only true with sound; it is true with everything in life. It is especially true when we are trying to improve ourselves and take on more mitzvos.

I’ve heard many stories of people that want to become a ba’al tshuvah (a non-religious person that wants to become religious) that throw away everything in their life overnight. They cut their long hair and throw their TV out the window. They buy the black hat and start growing pais. But usually after a week or two, they are back to being non-religious. The reason is simple: they are like the loud boom. They were startled (or in this case inspired) for a quick moment, but then the excitement went away.

Compare this with a story from 1990, when Iraq was threatening to shoot dangerous Scud missiles at Eretz Yisroel. Dayan Donner, a rav in England, had a chance to speak with Rav Shach, one of the greatest rabbis of our time and ask him what they should do. Rav Shach answered that everyone should take on something small. And he emphasized the word “small”. Don’t take on that you won’t speak Lashon Hara ever again. It won’t work. Take on that you won’t speak Lashon Hara for two hours each day (and join www.chesedclub.com). Don’t say you’re going to have kavanah during all of davening. Choose one verse to have kavanah during. Begin with small steps and gradually increase.

The airplanes are gone and Baruch Hashem won’t be back in Miami until 2010. But when we take on something small and gradually grow stronger, it stays with us forever.

Good Shabbos!

-yes

Any questions or comments should be sent to [email protected].

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