Parashat Bamidbar: Our Greatest Gift

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

For a 20% discount on Rabbi Ashear's new book on THE TEENS BOOK click the link below https://www.artscroll.com/ Books/9781422640289.html On June 11th, Erev Shavuot, Rabbi Ashear will be starting Mishna Berura on the Laws of Shabbat. No better time to join and show your commitment to the Torah. Click on the link to join this program. https://chat.whatsapp.com/ EJFtV50LPJq44X7o0nthnN Today's Lesson dedicated for the Refuah Shelema of Shlomo Zalmen Ha'Levy ben Golda At the end of this week's parasha, Bamidbar , the Torah begins to count Shevet Levi for the purpose of working in the Mishkan for people between the ages of thirty to fifty. The family of Kehat was counted first, followed by Gershon and then Merari. The Midrash asks, usually the Torah gives preference to the bechor , who in this case is Gershon, so why is Kehat counted before him? The Midrash answers, because the children of Kehat carried the Aron HaBrit , which had the Torah inside of it. And the Torah is more important than the bechor . The Kli Yakar asked, why was Kehat chosen to carry the Aron and not Gershon? Shouldn't Hashem have given precedence to the bechor to have this honor? The Kli Yakar answered, that if Gershon carried the Aron and he was counted first, we would not have seen that it's the Torah that gave him precedence, we may have thought it was his bechor status. Hashem wanted it to be clear to all that it is the ma'alah of Torah that supersedes everything. Another reason why Gershon didn't get it is because Hashem wanted to teach us that the crown of Torah can be gotten by anyone. You don't need to have special lineage. You don't need to be a bechor . The greatest crown of all is available to anyone for the taking. As we prepare for Shavuot, we are to take to heart the message that the Torah is the greatest gift ever given. It is incumbent upon us to give honor to the Torah and to those who learn it. Those who learn it most know what real kavod HaTorah is. Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal once related that in the Chazon Ish's day, there was a great need for money to help those observing Shemitah properly. The first Shemitah after the war in 1948 was going to take place in 1951. At that time there was a lot of poverty and the farmers were having a hard time getting motivated enough to keep Shemitah that year. The Chazon Ish wanted to help them with their test and give them peace of mind by raising money on their behalf. So the Chazon Ish sent Rabbi Zelig Shapiro to handle this issue and raise the funds. A rich man in Tel Aviv told Rabbi Zelig he was prepared to cover any amount the Chazon Ish wanted, on one condition. He wanted the Chazon Ish himself to come to his house for a gathering and he would give him the money at that gathering. Rabbi Zelig was so excited, his legs carried him quickly back to the Chazon Ish's house to relate the good news. He was going to be able to get all the money in an easy way. No going around knocking on doors, no explanations and requests for donations. When Rabbi Zelig arrived at the Chazon Ish's house, he told him about the wealthy man and then told him of the condition and respectfully asked, “Can I tell him that the Chazon Ish will come?” To his astonishment, the Chazon Ish said, “Absolutely not. I should go there just to receive money? That would be a dishonor to the Torah, and it is forbidden to do such a thing.” The Chazon Ish did not go, and the wealthy man did not donate the money. The fundraising campaign continued with a lot of difficulty. In this story, there was no miraculous ending. Nobody else stepped up to give the large donation that this man would have. Not every story has to have a miraculous ending. The greatest part of this story is that the Chazon Ish would not bend one inch when it came to kavod Torah . No matter how much money was depending upon it. That is true emunah, following what Hashem wants under all circumstances. B’ezrat Hashem, this should give us a new appreciation of what Kavod Torah is and how Gedolei Yisrael make decisions. The Torah is our greatest gift and we have to treat it that way, as well as those who learn it. Shabbat Shalom.