Since we are still within three days of Shabbat, and since we still have the flavor of it, we will share a beautiful thought on Parashat Emor.
Rav Moshe Feinstein, in in his Sefer Kol Ram, is bothered by why Parashat Emor uses the term Emor …V’Amarta /Speak..and say, using the lashon of Amira (indicating softness) versus Dibbur/Tell ( in a tough way) when talking to the Kohanim.
If anything, it should be said in a tough way, because the kohanim were getting more and more laws- many more than everybody else, and their lives would become tougher and more strict.
But Rav Moshe explains that when a Kohen (or any leader who is in a position of influence) performs his service, he has to realize that it’s a tremendous zechut/merit to serve in the Bet HaMikdash and teach the Jewish people (which was their job). Therefore, Mitzvot have to feel easy for them, so that they realize the tremendous zechut. The Gemara says that for Moshe Rabbenu, who heard that “All God wants is for you to fear Him,” this was a small thing. When somebody appreciates and understands what he is doing, he’s able to do it with happiness and excitement, because he realizes how great it is.
Rav Moshe Feinstein continues, “From here we learn that for anyone that is involved in education or teaching, which is difficult, whether it’s the students, the syllabus, the parents or the congregants, still, you have to accept it with love and happiness, like it is something light and easy.”
Teaching school should be like eating ice cream.
I remember a baseball player once said, when he was asked what it was like to play baseball professionally, “There is nothing like doing something you love and getting paid for it as well.” That is the way a rabbi or teacher is supposed to feel. They are supposed to feel like, “Wow! I’m able to get paid for this to? What an honor! What a zechut! I am teaching childrn!”
Rav Feinstein ends off by saying, “If it doesn’t feel light, it’s better not to be involved in education, because that person is not fit for it.”
Unbelievable. And this all has to do with Emuna and Bitachon. The rabbi, the teacher, and the rebbe have to realize what they are doing. They are picking gold up off the ground. It is supposed to be light, easy, delicious, and enjoyable. And if it doesn’t feel that way, if you don’t have that outlook, then you aren’t fit for the job. People listening might wonder what it has to do with them, if they aren’t rebbes, teachers, or rabbis. But it does apply, because the greatest educator is the parent.
And regarding how it says
Emor …V’Amarta /Say ..and say, again, Rashi says it’s once for the elders, and once for the youngsters.
Rav Moshe Feinstein says that the best way to teach younger children is for them to see how the parents act and feel. This is a great responsibility on the parents. Your children should not feel that it’s difficult for you to raise them. They should feel like it is an honor and a pleasure for you to be raising Jewish children. Do we know what a zechut this is?
Rabbi Ades once said, as we have mentioned before, that a mother bathing her child is no different than a man shaking a lulav. But the question is whether she appreciates and enjoys it. We often see a difference when it comes to performing Mitzvot between man and God versus man and man. People will go and sweat it out in the Matza bakery, or struggle to build a sukkah. There are a lot of Mitzvot that come with difficulty, but they don’t have that same frame of mind when bathing their children. They suddenly get nervous and tense, because they don’t appreciate what they are doing.
People who have help tend to dread when their housekeepers go off; they dread all the tasks that they now have to perform themselves. But it should really be the opposite. It is nice to have a housekeeper and get some help, but now that you have the opportunity to take out the garbage, what a zechut!
Terumat HaDeshen was the special job of the Kohen in the Bet HaMikdash, to remove the ashes from the altar. Was he a garbage man or was he working in the Bet HaMikdash? When a man or woman takes out the garbage after a day of raising children, that is also Terumat Hadeshen. You are taking the ashes off the altar. Do it with happiness. Again, this all goes back to Emuna and Bitachon.
Like Rabbenu Yona says, Part of Bitachon is relying on your Creator that He is a good boss and He’s going to pay you.
He is the best boss, and the way that you show that it’s by being a happy worker. Are you a happy worker or a disgruntled worker? If you are a disgruntled worker, then we don’t want you at this job, because you aren’t fit for it. People in our company are all happy, because they know that there are perks, and they know that their Boss is good. Some companies are fun, they offer free lunch on Rosh Hodesh, they’ll pay your parking ticket for you… that is a great company to work for…
Well, that is the kind of company that God’s company is. And if you aren’t happy, then something is wrong.
Have a wonderful day.