Brachos
6
The news came
out of the blue. Rachel, a dear member
of the community, urgently needed a kidney transplant. One day she was out for a jog when she started
feeling pain in her abdomen. The next
thing she knew she was in the Emergency Room being told by the doctors she was
suffering from kidney failure. Rachel
was young with a husband and three little kids and the thought of spending the
rest of her life on dialysis if she didn’t find a donor in time was terrifying.
We asked
around and a few family members and close friends were quick to raise their
hands to offer to donate their kidneys to Rachel. One young man in the community, Sammy, heard
about Rachel’s plight and he too offered to donate. Alas, one by one, the potential donors were
crossed off the list as it became clear that they were not matches for Rachel.
Finally, it
was down to two: Sammy and a cousin of Rachel’s. They each went through months of tests,
getting closer and closer to becoming eligible to donate. And then one day, Sammy received a call
asking him to come back in to repeat a test.
He wasted no time in doing his duty and eagerly awaited the results. Unfortunately, however, the results weren’t
conclusive.
“While you
are a healthy enough young man, we can’t recommend the removal of one of your
kidneys. You may need them both in the
future,” said the voice on the other end of the line.
While
Rachel’s cousin did indeed end up being a match, Sammy was devastated. It wasn’t about his own health that he was concerned,
but about his inability to perform this life-saving mitzvah.
“Rabbi, I
gave it my all,” he poured out his heart to me, “I so, so wanted to fulfil the
mitzvah of saving a life! And what do I
say next time, when they ask for a donor?
That I’m not healthy enough to donate?”
“My dear, Shmuel,”
I responded, “you did donate your kidney.
When they ask the next time around, you’ll tell them that you’ve already
donated.”
“Pardon?”
replied Sammy, looking a little confused, “What do you mean, Rabbi?”
Malachi
[3:16] declared, “Then those who feared Hashem spoke to one another, and Hashem
listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those
who fear Hashem and for those who think of His Name.”
What is
the meaning of “those who think of His Name”?
Rav Ashi taught: If one merely thought about doing a mitzvah, but was
ineluctably prevented from its performance, the Torah considers it as if he had
actually done the deed!
How often
do we fail to take the plunge to do something positive for fear that we will be
unable to complete the task? I’d really
like to try Daf Yomi, but I’m not sure I could keep up the daily
commitment. I’d really like to join the
chesed committee but I don’t know if I’ll be available every month to help out
with the initiatives. I’d like to
volunteer on the school PTA, but I might get busy at work. And so we don’t even start.
Rav Ashi
teaches that, first and foremost, it’s about your intent. If you will it, you are automatically
rewarded. Just get up and go! If it so happens that circumstances work
against your intentions, you still get to keep the reward! Why is that difficult for many people to
grasp? Because in the physical, material
world of Earth, we get rewarded for our achievements. And so, if you don’t complete the task, it was
all for naught. In contrast, in the
spiritual realm, we get rewarded for our efforts! As long as you mean well and do your best,
you get the mitzvah points!
Since Sammy
had every intention to donate his kidney, Heaven considers it as if he had
indeed completed the mitzvah! At the end
of the day, the Almighty had a different messenger – in this case, Rachel’s
cousin – to actually carry out the mitzvah.
Nevertheless, in no way does that diminish Sammy’s mitzvah. He set out to donate his kidney, he was
unable to complete the mitzvah through no fault of his own; and so, as far as
Heaven is concerned, he has donated his kidney!
And that’s why next time they ask, he can respond that he’s already
fulfilled that mitzvah!
Always remember
Rav Ashi’s principle: In order to receive spiritual reward, all you need is
intent and effort. After that, whatever
obstacles stand in your way are irrelevant.
You’ve accomplished what you needed to accomplish.
Unfortunately,
the saddest time I have to teach this principle is when talking to a family
with an ill loved one who appears to be unresponsive. Why intervene to keep them alive? Even if they were to recover, what kind of
life could they expect? And so,
sometimes the family believes that – as painful a decision as it is – the kindest
thing for the patient is to let them go.
G-d forbid!
They might be physically unresponsive, but as long as there’s brain activity,
we have no idea what’s going on in their mind.
Maybe they’re wishing they could put on tefillin, or light Shabbat
candles, or give tzedakah, or even lend a helping hand to a friend who needs
their driveway shoveled! Those thoughts
alone suffice for them to be considered as if they’d performed the
mitzvah. Since they are physically
restrained from fulfilling the mitzvos they want to do, they still get the
entire spiritual reward! And that’s why
every moment on this Earth is priceless and contains unlimited potential, no
matter one’s physical state.
Stop
worrying that you won’t finish the job before you’ve even started. As Rabbi Tarfon teaches in Pirkei Avot, “It
is not incumbent upon you to complete the task.
Nonetheless, that does not mean you are free to neglect it.” May you set out with the finest intentions
and best efforts and may Heaven show you the path to the fulfilment of your
incredible potential!
No comments:
Post a Comment