The following is a brief summary of a thought said over by R' Frand in his parsha shiur this evening. I have attempted to reproduce this vort to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistencies are the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
In Shmos Chapter 39, Verse 33, the chumash tells us that the Jews brought the Mishkan to Moshe, the tent and all its implement, its hooks, its beams, its bars, and its pillars and sockets. Rashi (in the name of the Midrash Tanchuma) comments that they brought the Mishkan to Moshe because they were unable to raise it and because Moshe had done no work on the actual construction, Hashem left it to Moshe to actually erect the structure (The Jews were unable to raise it on their own because the beams were too heavy). Moshe then said to Hashem, how can one man raise the Mishkan? Hashem said to Moshe - be involved with your hands in the process and it will rise all by itself. This is the meaning of Chapter 40, Verse 17 that the Mishkan was set up - using the passive verb to imply that it was set up on its own.
R' Pam (o"h) connected this thought to a Midrash Shirm Hashirim that discusses a verse in Mishle that states that "If you see a person who is committed on a personal level to accomplishing something, you should know that he will one day stand in this capacity before a king." The Midrash then tells the story of R'Chanina who was distressed when he saw many people passing through his village on the way to the Temple to offer sacrifices. R' Chanina was poor and could not do the same. Instead he went off into the forest and found a beautiful rock. He then cut and polished the rock and wanted to bring it to the Beis Hamikdash as well, but the rock was too heavy. He approached a number of men and wanted to hire them to bring the rock up, but they wanted 100 silaim and he only had 5 in his wallet. Hashem saw this and sent four angels who appeared as men before R'Chanina. He asked them whether they would bring the rock to the Temple. Yes, they responded they would perform the task for 5 silaim, as long as R' Chanina assisted as well. Upon their arrival at the Temple, R' Chanina turned to pay them, but they had disappeared. Said R' Pam - we see from this Midrash that if a person wants to accomplish something and is willing to try on their own, Hashem will assist them.
R' Frand then told a story about the Ponovitzer Rav (o"h) who in 1942 took a number of benefactors to a hill in Bnei Brak and said that on this hill will someday be the Ponovitz yeshiva. Said one of the men to him - surely you are dreaming - Rommel is rampaging across North Africa and he is days from conquering Egypt. Soon he will be here. The Rav responded - I may be dreaming, but I am not sleeping (implying that yes I am aware of certain current realities, but I will continue to work towards my goal). Obviously, the beautiful Ponovitz yeshiva now occupies the spot today.
We can learn a valuable lesson from the Midrash Tanchuma quoted by Rashi and the above stories - if we are willing to take the steps towards a process, Hashem will assist in achieving the goal.
On a personal note, I sit here this evening grieving the loss of seven teenagers whose only "crime" was that they were Jews studying in Israel and therefore were fair game for a terrorist intent on inflicting casualties on a civilian target. In my mind, the only way to understand this event is that Hashem gives everyone the free will to act on their own. If they act in a positive manner towards building a beautiful structure - Hashem will allow them to act and will assist in reaching that goal. Unfortunately, free will by its very nature also means that someone who acts in an evil manner also has the ability to destroy, like the villain who perpetrated this senseless act of violence against teenagers who were merely studying. May their souls go straight to Gan Eden and may we never know from such tragedy again.
In Shmos Chapter 39, Verse 33, the chumash tells us that the Jews brought the Mishkan to Moshe, the tent and all its implement, its hooks, its beams, its bars, and its pillars and sockets. Rashi (in the name of the Midrash Tanchuma) comments that they brought the Mishkan to Moshe because they were unable to raise it and because Moshe had done no work on the actual construction, Hashem left it to Moshe to actually erect the structure (The Jews were unable to raise it on their own because the beams were too heavy). Moshe then said to Hashem, how can one man raise the Mishkan? Hashem said to Moshe - be involved with your hands in the process and it will rise all by itself. This is the meaning of Chapter 40, Verse 17 that the Mishkan was set up - using the passive verb to imply that it was set up on its own.
R' Pam (o"h) connected this thought to a Midrash Shirm Hashirim that discusses a verse in Mishle that states that "If you see a person who is committed on a personal level to accomplishing something, you should know that he will one day stand in this capacity before a king." The Midrash then tells the story of R'Chanina who was distressed when he saw many people passing through his village on the way to the Temple to offer sacrifices. R' Chanina was poor and could not do the same. Instead he went off into the forest and found a beautiful rock. He then cut and polished the rock and wanted to bring it to the Beis Hamikdash as well, but the rock was too heavy. He approached a number of men and wanted to hire them to bring the rock up, but they wanted 100 silaim and he only had 5 in his wallet. Hashem saw this and sent four angels who appeared as men before R'Chanina. He asked them whether they would bring the rock to the Temple. Yes, they responded they would perform the task for 5 silaim, as long as R' Chanina assisted as well. Upon their arrival at the Temple, R' Chanina turned to pay them, but they had disappeared. Said R' Pam - we see from this Midrash that if a person wants to accomplish something and is willing to try on their own, Hashem will assist them.
R' Frand then told a story about the Ponovitzer Rav (o"h) who in 1942 took a number of benefactors to a hill in Bnei Brak and said that on this hill will someday be the Ponovitz yeshiva. Said one of the men to him - surely you are dreaming - Rommel is rampaging across North Africa and he is days from conquering Egypt. Soon he will be here. The Rav responded - I may be dreaming, but I am not sleeping (implying that yes I am aware of certain current realities, but I will continue to work towards my goal). Obviously, the beautiful Ponovitz yeshiva now occupies the spot today.
We can learn a valuable lesson from the Midrash Tanchuma quoted by Rashi and the above stories - if we are willing to take the steps towards a process, Hashem will assist in achieving the goal.
On a personal note, I sit here this evening grieving the loss of seven teenagers whose only "crime" was that they were Jews studying in Israel and therefore were fair game for a terrorist intent on inflicting casualties on a civilian target. In my mind, the only way to understand this event is that Hashem gives everyone the free will to act on their own. If they act in a positive manner towards building a beautiful structure - Hashem will allow them to act and will assist in reaching that goal. Unfortunately, free will by its very nature also means that someone who acts in an evil manner also has the ability to destroy, like the villain who perpetrated this senseless act of violence against teenagers who were merely studying. May their souls go straight to Gan Eden and may we never know from such tragedy again.
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