Our Thursday night Young Professional (YP) learning at our PTI yeshiva concludes with a kumzitz party. Last week we ended with the song, “I’m a Jew and I’m proud and I’ll sing it out loud. Hashem is always watching over me.”There was a certain energy in the room; everyone was singing, including young professionals from different backgrounds with different life journeys. They all had a deep feeling that burst forth in their singing, “ I’m a Jew and I’m proud and I’ll sing it out loud. I am happy to be a Jew.“
In Parshas Behaaloscha…we have the complainers. They said they remember the fish they ate in Egypt for free, plus gourds, watermelon, cucumbers, leek, onions and garlic. And now, all they have to eat is mann for breakfast, lunch and supper. Their complaint may appear valid. There’s always that one kid in my class who is happy eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for lunch, but most of us get bored eating the same thing every day. Yes, there’s the story about Rabbi Ahron Leib Shteinman who ate the same oatmeal porridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for 80 years. But most of us are not on that level.
The Egyptians enslaved the Jewish nation and forced them to build cities. They later intensified their oppression and stopped providing the Jews with bricks and then even raw materials. They certainly didn’t have fish and other delicacies to eat for free! So what were they complaining about? Rashi answers by quoting the Sifri: They were really complaining that they remember when they were free from mitzvos and were able to eat whatever they wanted without a bracha. They weren’t tied down. They felt relaxed and free.
As Jews, we can’t just buy pizza or a burger anywhere. In a supermarket, we look for a reliable hechsher. Only certain foods are kosher. Malls and airports have plenty of eateries, full of people dining. But in the case of the Jewish traveler, we pack our own food or purchase a packaged item with a kosher symbol. At times, we might wish we were free to eat anything we want… just like the complainers.
Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz notes that before we eat, we make a bracha recognizing that Hashem is the source of the food we are about to eat. When we finish eating, we make another bracha, thanking Hashem for the food we have eaten. Our obligation to recite these brachos may seem burdensome, but it’s really a constant way of connecting with Hashem, Who is the source of our food and our very life!
There are a few famous sayings, such as: “You get what you pay for…” or “Nothing is for free…” But true happiness comes from a feeling of purpose and meaning, not just from being free to do whatever one pleases. Mitzvos aren’t restrictions, but rather important directions to enable us to truly enjoy and be happy with our lives.
To illustrate this point, the Mishna says that Hashem wanted to give the Jewish nation extra merits, so He increased the amount of Torah and mitzvos in which we should be involved. But wouldn’t the opposite have been better? The fewer mitzvos we have, the easier it would be to follow all of what Hashem desires us to do! How is increasing the amount of Torah and mitzvos giving the Jewish nation more merits?
Reb Avrohom, the brother of the Vilna Gaon, answers that people think there are only 613 mitzvos. In fact, there are 613 primary mitzvos, but really, there are thousands of mitzvos since every halacha is another mitzvah. Every action we do in accordance with the Shulchan Aruch is another mitzvah, from washing our hands in the morning to how we get dressed— e.g., putting on the right shoe first and tying the left shoe first. All of these are mitzvos.
The Chovos Halavovos says that everything we do is either a mitzvah or an aveirah (sin). If it’s what Hashem wants us to do, it’s a mitzvah. If it’s something Hashem doesn’t want us to do, it’s an aveira. Hashem thus gave us Torah and mitzvos so that at each moment we are connecting to Him. The Torah transforms our entire life and every one of our actions into a higher purpose and connection. It makes for a life full of meaning. Not observing Torah and mitzvos may look like freedom, but it’s really just emptiness.
If we recognize, internalize, and feel that we’re using every second we have with a sense of divine purpose, then we’ll have a sense of genuine satisfaction. This will help us all to be able to proudly sing, ‘I’m a Jew and I’m proud and I’ll sing it out loud. Hashem is always watching over me. I am happy to be a Jew!!”
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at rbbodie@gmail.com. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com
