BS”D
Rav Moshe Twersky hy"d, was one of the Holy Martyrs that we remembered a few days ago on Yom HaZikaron. He was killed in the attack on the Shul in Har Nof about 18 months ago. The following Dvar Torah is something he shared with his students in Yeshiva Toras Moshe in Jerusalem:
The Yesod V’Shoresh Ha’Avodah avers that the mitzvos of v’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha and b’tzedek tishpot amisecha (Vayikra 19: 15, 18) comprise the backbone of avodas Hashem. He explains that Hashem feels every Jew’s joy and suffering. By alleviating someone's pain, or by giving them joy, one does the same for Hashem, as it were.
Why does that make them, though, the backbone of all avodas Hashem? Don’t all mitzvos bring Hashem nachas ruach? Why should these two particular mitzvos be any more significant?
The following mashal can help us understand this idea (in fact, everything in this world is a mashal for avodas Hashem). Two people need help. One individual is a penniless pauper who lives in a mud hut and he dreams of one day living in an opulent palace. The other is a man whose child is suffering from an extremely life-threatining illness. Who do you think should take precedence? In which one of these two situations will there be a greater transition “from darkness to light”?
We are the children of Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu. True, He gets nachas ruach from every mitzvah that we do, but He gets a unique nachas ruach when His children love each other and are happy. Learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos indeed creates “castles and palaces” in Shamayim, but the nachas ruachof helping a fellow Jew is still unique.
Why does that make them, though, the backbone of all avodas Hashem? Don’t all mitzvos bring Hashem nachas ruach? Why should these two particular mitzvos be any more significant?
The following mashal can help us understand this idea (in fact, everything in this world is a mashal for avodas Hashem). Two people need help. One individual is a penniless pauper who lives in a mud hut and he dreams of one day living in an opulent palace. The other is a man whose child is suffering from an extremely life-threatining illness. Who do you think should take precedence? In which one of these two situations will there be a greater transition “from darkness to light”?
We are the children of Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu. True, He gets nachas ruach from every mitzvah that we do, but He gets a unique nachas ruach when His children love each other and are happy. Learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos indeed creates “castles and palaces” in Shamayim, but the nachas ruachof helping a fellow Jew is still unique.