Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). The highest level of doing mitzvot (commandments) is to do them in private, with no fanfare. The nature of man is to look for recognition, but we have to know that Hashem is looking and recognizing every ounce of effort that we put into our avodah (service). Rabbi Ephraim Waxman once said, “When a person does good deeds discreetly, it’s not just an exercise in humility; it’s an expression of bitachon (trust in God).” The Meshech Chochmah quotes the Gemara: “Kol ha'osek baTorah ba'layla, Shechinah k'negdo.” Anyone who learns Torah at night, the Shechinah is right next to them. And he explains: What does night mean? Night means when it’s dark and nobody sees, and you’re doing it solely for Hashem. Hashem loves those mitzvot. And for most mitzvot, Hashem’s going to show us in Olam Haba (World to Come) that He was watching everything. But sometimes a person is zocheh (merits) that Hashem will show him in this world that He was watching.
I heard a great story from Rabbi Falk that took place 35 years ago in Israel. There was a yeshiva boy who once took a taxi, and while in the car, he was engrossed in his learning. When he arrived at the stop, he was totally unaware that he was in a taxi. He felt like someone had just given him a lift, and he got out of the car without paying. The taxi driver saw the boy engrossed in his learning. He didn’t look like a thief, so he let him go. The taxi pulled away, and the boy realized that he had forgotten to pay. So he started running as fast as he could, and he almost caught the taxi at the light, but the light changed and the car pulled away. The boy thought to himself, “If I don’t pay now, I’ll never see this guy again, and he’s going to think religious people try to cheat.” So he started to run as fast as he could, and he kept getting closer and then losing him. Finally, after 20 minutes of running, he managed to catch up, and he knocked on the window. The driver opened the window and said in astonishment, “Mah! Mah! Ad po! All the way here you ran?” He kept saying, “Mah! Ad po! (What? All the way here?)” He couldn’t believe that this boy had run so far at top speed to catch him. The boy said, “I’m sorry I didn’t pay you before. Please take the money.” He settled, and he was very happy.
30 years later, this boy, who is now a man, was walking on a road in Yerushalayim, and he noticed a sign posted that said, “There’s a rabbi giving a derashah (lecture) on the subject of Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God’s name).” The man loved the subject of Kiddush Hashem. He was very interested. He took note of the time and day, and he ended up going to the class. The rabbi in the class said, “If someone made a real Kiddush Hashem in his life, then Hashem makes it so that you will be zocheh to see the outcome of the Kiddush Hashem. You will be zocheh to see the ripple effects of what it caused.”
The man went over to the speaker after the shiur. He thanked him for a great class, but he said, “Rabbi, I have a question. I once made a real Kiddush Hashem, and I never saw or heard any results.” The rabbi asked him, “Tell me what you did.” The man told him the whole story from 30 years before. He had been chasing the taxi driver, and he ended up paying him, and the driver couldn’t believe it. As soon as the rabbi heard the man tell the story, the rabbi said, “I am that taxi driver.” He told them where they were and said, “I remember what happened. As a result of that story, I was so taken aback by what you did that I became a Ba'al Teshuvah (one who returned to observance), and I went to learn Torah, and I am the fruits of your labor.” Hashem showed this man, 30 years later, that He was watching. But Hashem is always watching, and we never have to worry about being recognized. We will all see the fruits of our labor be'ezrat Hashem (with God’s help). Have a great day.