No Excuses

“Take from yourselves an offering for the Lord, every generous hearted person shall bring it, [namely] the Lord’s offering.” (Shemot 35:5) 

The Ben Ish Chai relates (Parshat Bereishit) a short story that contains a massive lesson for each person: 

There was once a Gemara teacher who taught young boys. On the 17th of Ta’amuz, which is a fast day, the teacher noticed that some of the boys looked weak and tired on account of the fasting, and he didn’t want this to impact their learning. So, what did the teacher do? 
 

He began his lesson, but, after a few minutes of teaching, he said, “I am exhausted today! Let’s play a card game. Does anyone know how to play Karma (an Arabic card game)? 
 

The students perked right up and there was a burst of energy accompanied by a resounding: Of course we do! We all know how to play! 
 

The entire class played the game with the teacher. There was laughter, spirited shouting, and everyone was engaged. After fifteen minutes the teacher said to them, “I thought you were all too weak from fasting to learn or even speak! However, I now see that you have a lot of energy. Let’s continue with our learning.” 
 

The students could no longer use the fast day as an excuse not to learn. They could not claim that they were too weak to focus, too tired to debate Talmudic passages, or that the fasting gave them a headache. They were all clearly strong enough to play a card game!

The Ben Ish Chai explained that Hashem created the tongue that is used to study Torah, the sustenance of the soul. He placed it in the mouth that is used to consume food, the sustenance for the body. This dynamic teaches the simple lesson of our story: just as one always has the desire to eat, they can and must always have the desire to study Torah.

Tricky Partners 

The Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, has a beautiful analogy based on how a person allocates their wealth for their needs: 

Shimon and Reuven were business partners. They agreed that they would each distribute funds to cover the costs of their homes and lifestyle and leave everything else in the business. At the end of the year, they would distribute any remaining profits. 
 

However, at the end of one year, they realized that there was very little profit left. So, they decided to lower their standard of living and, thus, withdraw less for themselves throughout the year. Whenever Reuven tried to take more, Shimon would convince him that he could make do with less. 
 

However, at the end of that year their situation worsened. There was even less money left in the business’ treasury. Reuven did an audit and discovered that Shimon was taking far larger distributions. Disturbed, he confronted Shimon and said, “How is this a partnership!? You keep convincing me to live like a pauper while you live an extravagant lifestyle and spend whatever you want!?”

The lesson from this parable is clear: A person consists of his body and soul. Each of these elements has its own needs. Therefore, you must divide your time and resources between the two of them. The Yetzer Harah is constantly trying to provide for the body while the Yetzer Tov is seeking the interests of the soul. 
 

When resources are scarce, the Yetzer Harah wants to limit what is allocated to the soul. He tries to convince you that a mediocre Etrog is good enough, that you don’t need such an expensive and beautiful pair of tefillin, etc. However, when it comes to physical possessions, the Yetzer Harah encourages you to indulge extravagantly: buy a bigger home, fancier car, nicer clothes, etc. 
 

If a person listens to his Yetzer Harah and its advice, he will not have any excuses for his behavior when he returns to the World of Truth. The Midrash Rabba (Bereishit 93) says, “Woe to us from the Day of Judgement; woe to us from the Day of Rebuke.” The Seforim explain that the “Day of Judgement” refers to actual sin. And, the “Day of Rebuke” refers to Rebuke on the person’s actions that contradict his excuses. 

No Excuses 

This is a tremendous insight. People make excuses. They try to avoid spirituality, and they use logic and reasoning to justify their behaviors. However, they do not apply that same reasoning to other areas of their life. 
 

A person must examine himself and become self-aware. For example, there are people who rush through their davening and leave shul before the minyan has even finished. They do not establish a set time to learn. They claim that they simply don’t have the time for these things. Yet, they waste countless hours being preoccupied with truly empty pursuits like discussing politics, etc. 
 

There are also those Jews who claim that they cannot understand Torah study. The Tanna D’bei Eliyahu (Zuta 14) relates that there was a hunter who explained to Eliyahu Hanavi that the Heavens simply did not give him the intellectual abilities to study Torah. He replied, “If you plant flax and weave it, and you hunt and fish, clearly the Heavens gave you intellectual abilities. Clearly, the study of Torah, which is “near to you”, the Heavens gave you intellectual abilities to study.” 
 

R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, zt”l, explained the prophet’s answer and taught, “Just like you had to learn to earn a living as a hunter, so too, if one felt that it was necessary to learn Torah, they would learn how to do that too.” 
 

This can explain our pasuk: 
 

“Take from yourselves an offering for the Lord” – A person must “take from yourself” all of your desires, motivations, and wants, and then direct them towards serving Hashem. 
 

“Everything that your heart desires” – and you see that you manage to pursue it with your time and resources, “bring it to the Lord’s offering” – use it as evidence for Avodat Hashem, that if you want to, you could approach Avodat Hashem, studying Torah and performing mitzvot with that same drive, and then you will find the time and resources to accomplish your mission. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.