5 Bullet Friday - Parshas Eikev

 

 

❓Question I am pondering:   Rashi (Devarim 8:1) writes that deeds are attributed to those who complete it. As an example, he brings that although it was Moshe who took charge of bringing Yosef HaTzadik's bones out of Mitzrayim, the deed was attributed to B'nei Yisroel since they were the ones who ultimately brought the bones into Eretz Yisroel. Why is it that the full deed be attributed to the one who completed it despite the difference in proportion of effort put in and time spent, especially in a case like this where Moshe was forced to abandon the task as he died before entering Eretz Yisroel?   💡 Idea I am thinking about:   Easy vs Simple. Just because something is easy does not mean it is simple. In fact, oftentimes the easiest things are easy due to the of the amount of complexity that lies beneath the surface.    💢Concept I am considering:   Ish Har Habayis. The mishnayos in Middos describe the multiple shomrim that were in the Beis Ha’mikdash. This of course was not to “guard” per se, but to show chashivus. These shomrim, as part of their duty, had to remain awake to stand watch. There was an officer with the position of “Ish Har Habayis” who would have night duty and make his rounds to make sure everyone was awake. If one of the kohanim or le’viim was sleeping on the job, he would nudge him with a pole and if that did not work he had permission to singe the shomer’s clothes.   👑 Hashkafic idea I am reflecting on:   Treating Tendencies. Changing ones middos, habits, mentality, etc is extremely difficult. It requires committed time for introspection and self-reflection to be able to more deeply understand where one stands in the range of a particular middah, and when that level of the middah was even adopted. The Rambam in Hilchos Dayos comments that in general there are three channels for developing tendencies: 1. Acquired at birth as part of one’s nature 2. Exposure to tendencies that come more naturally to a particular person due to his nature 3. Exposure to tendencies that do not come naturally necessarily but are learned from an external source and for whatever reason (example: peer pressure) one decides to convince oneself to adopt such tendencies. As people we are all very different from each other; and when it comes to modifying our opinions, tendencies, and feelings, it is not enough to just know the immediate causes and effects for our middos but also the history in order to address it appropriately.   😀 Middah on my mind:   Zehirus. Zehirus is acting with caution, or perhaps more accurately, with deliberateness. Related to this week’s parsha and paying attention to even the perceived “less-critical” mitzvos, Rebbe in Pirkei Avos said “…be zahir with a light mitzva just as you are with a grave one…” In this sense, the warning for zehirus seems to counter something which a person might otherwise not take as seriously. This is certainly an appropriate place for zehirus and there are many other examples in Chazal that follow this paradigm. Zehirus also has an application for warning against falling into a default position. Default could take the guise of “go with the flow” (allow others to decide for me) or do nothing (decide not to decide). Zehirus demands of us to choose thoughtfulness over default. In this way zehirus is very much not an “opposite” of zrizus but rather prepares it for success. Once one has achieved clarity with zehirus, one can execute with zrizus.  The opposite of zrizus is rather laziness – which is the way the Orchos Tzadikim presents it by coupling zehirus and zerizus together as the opposite of atzlus. This is further demonstrated in the very first step (after “Torah”) of the famous teaching by Rebbe Pinchas ben Yair of which the Mesillas Yesharim is formatted to: “Zehirus leads one to Zrizus…”   Have a wonderful Shabbos!