So Privileged

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

One of our primary obligations in this world is to learn to fully trust in Hashem. It is an avodah that is so dear to Him. When the Jewish people followed Hashem into the desert after Yetziyat Mitzrayim , trusting that He would provide for all of their needs, it made them so beloved to Him. When Hashem wanted to redeem the Jews from slavery and they didn't have enough merits, He gave them two mitzvot with the same theme: showing trust in Him. They were to slaughter the Egyptian deity and trust that Hashem would protect them. And at the same time, they needed to get a brit milah , which would weaken them considerably, making them even more vulnerable to be attacked. Hashem wanted them to fully trust in Him, and that is how they became zocheh , to finally get out of Mitzrayim . The main area that Hashem wants us to trust Him in is in the way that He taught us to live. As we approach the holiday of Shavuot, Matan Torah , it is incumbent upon us to take this to heart, to trust that Torah and mitzvot are the absolute best thing for us. We are to feel so privileged to be the Am Hashem and to look to carry ourselves that way. There is no greater enjoyment in this world than living the life of Torah, but because from the outside it looks like a daunting task, not everybody is willing to jump in so fast. Once they experience the beauty of Torah, they feel bad they didn't get involved earlier on in their lives. Everybody has different moments that give them the boost they need to commit themselves to the lifestyle Hashem wants from us. The key is to capitalize on those opportunities. I read a story that was told by a teacher in a girls high school in Israel. She had a student, who we'll call Shira, who refused to dress according to the codes of modesty. Every time she was rebuked for it, she just tuned it out. She managed to graduate from that school and then went on to work. One day, a former teacher of hers met her in the street and was pleasantly surprised to see her fully dressed like a daughter of the queen that she's supposed to look like. She couldn't help but ask her what prompted her to make this big change in her life. Shira replied, “It all happened when I was walking in the street one day and an Arab terrorist shot and killed three people. I was standing to his right a meter and a half away, but he was shooting to the left and did not notice me. I ran to the nearest building, my heart beating wildly. I felt a deathly fear and couldn't calm down. My body was shaking. “It took me hours to finally breathe a sigh of relief and appreciate the great miracle that Hashem did for me. Everyone was talking about the terror attack and I heard someone saying that whoever is killed because he's Jewish, it's considered that he died al kiddush Hashem. And Shulchan Aruch says, whoever dies al kiddush Hashem is buried in his own clothing instead of the regular shrouds that people are normally buried in. “I started to think, if that terrorist had looked to his right, there would have been four victims that day instead of three and I would have been put in the grave in the clothing that I was wearing. I would have had to appear before the Beit Din shel Mala and give an accounting in those clothing. What an embarrassment, I thought. Those clothes would have been with me forever. What kind of chutzpah would it have been to stand before the Creator of the world in clothing that did not conform to His halachot of tzniut ? I would have been eternally embarrassed with nowhere to hide. From that day on, I decided I'm going to dress in a way that I would be proud to stand in front of Hashem in.” After she began dressing modestly, she truly appreciated the beauty of it and felt bad that she hadn't started earlier. Every mitzvah is beautiful and enjoyable. If we trust Hashem, we'll happily do every mitzvah the best way possible.