To Praise Him
So now you see bread is for the purpose of talking. There’s
a lot to say about bread; we’re just beginning. If you want to
study it thoroughly, the great adventure is just beginning once
you swallow the bread. Miracles upon miracles are taking
place now. It would take a whole library of books to explain
how bread becomes eyes. This library has been written already,
you just don’t know where to look. Do you know where the library
is written? It’s written on the helix of the DNA molecule.
The DNA’s library contains all the instructions for the seed to
produce wheat. There are millions of instructions, each one
precisely numbered. Each piece of information steps forward
in sequence, not a second before it’s needed, not a second too
late. If you would try to write all the information contained in
a DNA molecule in a book, even the biggest library in the world
would not be big enough to record it.
When the bread gets inside of you it starts going through
thousands of transformations. Every stage is miraculous.
There are wonders upon wonders in each organ as the bread
passes through. Each stage transforms the bread into something
different. Each transformation is a complex process
with many steps and stages. And therefore we must be excited
over bread as over nothing else in this world. And therefore
bread is lechem sheonim alav devarim harbei. Many words
must be said about bread.
Of course, we don’t have time to say everything, so we have
to make a brief and concise statement about the bread. And
that statement is already put into the Chumash: “Eretz asher lo
bimiskeinus tochal bo lechem — You will not have to eat bread
in poverty” (Devarim 8:9). “V’achalta v’savata — When you
eat and are satiated — u’beirachta es Hashem Elokecha — You
have to bless Hashem” (Devarim 11:15). The Torah tells us that
the function of food is to bring about the very great achievement
of thanking Hashem. Now when you eat and you say Bircas
Hamazon without thinking, you have not reached this goal.
You have lost out; it’s like you didn’t eat at all. The purpose is
frustrated. Eating is supposed to make you greater. Each time
you eat, a little bit is added to your awareness of Hashem. He
wants you to say these words, I thank You Hashem; baruch
Atah Hashem. If you think about what you are saying then you
are no longer the same personality. Now you deserve entirely
different treatment in the eyes of Hashem, because you’re not
the same as you were before you began eating.
This subject is of the utmost importance because one of the
fundamental purposes of life is to eat and to talk about the food.
At the beginning of the Torah, Adam was given the test of the
eitz hada’as (Tree of Knowledge). It was a test of eating; it’s not
an accident that the test was in this form. The test could have
been in the form of prohibiting Adam from looking or going
into certain places. Instead, the test was a matter of eating. Why
eating? The function of eating is one of the fundamental acts of
life. After air and water, nothing is as essential to life as food.
All of the fruits in Gan Eden were permitted to Adam except for
the eitz hada’as. When Adam viewed the luscious peiros, the
beautiful fruits hanging on the trees of Gan Eden, his first duty
was to become imbued with gratitude and love to Hashem just
because of this inestimable gift of food. His gratitude should
have kept him from doing anything which Hashem had forbidden.
The test of food was the test of gratitude. Because Adam
failed the test, he lost the great pleasure of Gan Eden – that of
pleasurable and enjoyable food. Because you didn’t utilize the
great gift of food, it was taken away from you, and from now
on you must labor. Adam’s punishment was “B’zeas apecha tochal
lechem — By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread…”
It will be difficult for you to make a living.
The lesson of bread for us, not for Adam alone, is that every
human being is obligated to the Creator for his very life. “Shekein
chovas kol hayetzurim — This is the obligation of every
living thing” (Nishmas). It doesn’t say kol haYehudim (all the
Jews). It’s the duty of all Hashem’s creations to feel this obligation
and to thank Hashem for their lives: “L’hodos u’l’hallel
lishabeiach l’faer l’romem l’hadar l’varech l’aleh u’l’kales”; all
expressions of praise. That’s how much every person, not only
Jews, has to thank Hashem for his bread. To us it seems exaggerated
to require so much for food. But the fact that we don’t
feel it does not exonerate us from the responsibility. Of course,
this great attitude isn’t achieved all at once. It takes time before
we are able to fulfill our obligation. But at least in a small
measure every day we must labor on the service of Hashem in
the matter of eating.
His Endless Goodness
When we say Bircas Hamazon, we start with the words “Hazan
es haolam kulo — Hashem feeds the entire world — b’tuvo
— in His kindness.” How does He feed the world with kindness?
He could have fed us without giving any kind of flavor or aroma
to the food, but no. Hashem makes the food delectable; it has
taste, aroma, and many times a pleasant color. “B’chein b’chesed
u’v’rachamim hu nosein lechem l’chol basar — With favor, kindness
and compassion he gives bread to all flesh.” An apple could
have been created with the same color and taste as a potato. But
Hashem made it look and taste like an apple; it’s red, juicy, and
sweet with just the right touch of tartness. That’s Hashem feeding
us with kindness!
He’s doing it for a purpose, and the purpose is “Baavur
shemo hagadol — For the sake of His great name.” That’s a
remarkable thing. Hashem’s kindness is for the sake of His
great name. When a person does an act of kindness for the
sake of becoming famous, that is really an act of selfishness
But that is not the case with Hashem. Hashem doesn’t need
us to give Him a great name. He wants us to learn about His
great name. That’s our purpose in life. We came to this world
to learn about His great name. Hashem loves to bestow kindness
on people; He’s happy when He gives them pleasures.
And the greatest pleasure that Hashem can give us is the
achievement of recognizing His great name.
When you’re enjoying the bread, Hashem is happy. He wants
you to enjoy the bread. But the fact that you’re going to make
a big bracha before and after gives Hashem even more nachas
ruach (satisfaction) because that is our purpose in life. That’s
Hashem’s greatest pleasure; “Yismach Hashem b’maasav —
Hashem rejoices in His handiwork” (Tehillim 34:31). Hashem
rejoices in His handiwork when people recognize His glory.
Every day the malachim (angels) are saying “Kadosh
kadosh kadosh — Holy, holy, holy” (Yeshaya 6:3). You know
why they’re saying that? Because
“Al meorei ohr she’asisa yefa’arucha
selah — They are praising You for the luminaries,”
(Shacharis) for the sunlight. Now what’s the purpose of the
sunlight? So that we should say, “Baruch kavod Hashem
mimkomo — Blessed be the glory of Hashem” (Yechezkel 3:12).
The
purpose of the sun is only to demonstrate the glory of Hashem.
Now if the sun is for kavod (the honor of) Hashem, then how
much more so is food, which was produced from the photosynthetic
rays of the sun, also created for kavod Hashem. That’s
why we say baavur shemo hagadol, He made it for His great
name. We should live for that purpose every day and realize
that our success lies in recognizing Hashem’s greatness. When
we sit down to eat we should become greater every day in recognizing
the glory of Hashem’s name.
Now in Mishlei there’s a verse that describes a man who
wants to bargain down the price of merchandise. He does this
by criticizing the merchandise and finding faults in it. When
he finally agrees to the price, he boasts to everyone about what
beautiful, valuable merchandise he bought. “Rah rah yomar
hakoneh — The buyer says bad, bad” (Mishlei 20:14). When
he’s shopping for it in the store, he’s arguing with the owner
and saying that the merchandise is no good. “V’ozel lo — When
he goes away — az yishallel — then he boasts” about what a
good deal he made. That’s what Mishlei tells us.
Now who is the koneh? We are the koneh, the customer. And
who is the merchant? Hashem. He’s the One who gives us merchandise
every day. And what do we say? It’s no good. Often,
people complain about the weather. Even though we asked for
rain on Shemini Atzeres and on Hoshana Raba, when the rain
comes we’re dissatisfied, we complain. We asked for rain, we
davened for it over and over, but we’re not satisfied with it. So
rah rah yomar hakoneh. But later when the food starts growing
in the fields there’s plenty to eat, we forget that we complained
about the rain.
There are other things in life that we complain about. Suppose
a man has some trouble in life and he’s a koneh. We are
all supposed to be a koneh in this world. This is a tremendous
chiddush: we’re in this world to acquire. This fact was discovered
right at the beginning of the world by Chava. When the
first child in the world was born she called him Kayin. Kayin
means that he should be a koneh; his job in this world is to
acquire. Unfortunately, Kayin didn’t understand what he was
supposed to acquire. That’s why he was boneh ir, he built and
acquired a city. But Chava meant that he should acquire daas,
knowledge of Hashem. That is our purpose in this world.
Sometimes Hashem gives us a bit hard work in this world, and
we immediately begin complaining. We say rah rah, it’s bad, it’s
bad. But in this world we’re a koneh. We are supposed to acquire
knowledge of Hashem. And usually, we only do that when we
have trouble. When people have trouble they start shouting to
Hashem “Anah Hashem hoshia nah — Please Hashem, save us”
(Hallel). That is how we’re koneh, acquiring sheleimus (perfection)
in this world. But rah rah yomar hakoneh, the koneh is
complaining. He’s not happy. “V’ozel lo — when he goes away”
to the next world, “az yishallel — then he’s happy.”
In the next world, he will see so clearly that the difficulties in
life guided him to greater recognition of Hashem. He will look
back at his life and say, “Why did You send me so few yesurim
(sufferings)? You only caused trouble for me a few times in my
life, and those were the only times I called out to You. If You
would have sent me more troubles and difficulties I’d be greater
than I am now.” In the next world you will look back and
be sorry over how little trouble you had in your life. So When
Hashem sends difficulties to you in this world, you should understand
it’s a big benefit for you. You have a chance to be a
koneh, to acquire knowledge of Hashem. Even though you feel
it’s rah rah and you would like to get rid of your difficulties as
soon as possible, you should recognize that in the next world
you will be grateful for all them.
Becoming Great
Now we’re going back to Mitzrayim, to lechem oni. Hashem
told Moshe Rabbeinu that He has finally decided to redeem the
Bnei Yisrael from Mitzrayim. Hashem gave two reasons for why
He was bringing the redemption. The first reason was “Hakimosi
es brisi, I’m going to uphold My covenant” (Breishis 9:11) that
I promised the forefathers; Hashem promised Avraham Avinu
that He would redeem Bnei Yisrael. That should be enough.
Hashem promised; He keeps His promise.
But it was not enough. Hashem gives a second reason. “V’gam
ani shamati es naakas Bnei Yisrael — I heard the outcries of
Bnei Yisrael.” Clearly, the first reason was not enough to bring
the redemption; two reasons were necessary. What was the outcry
of the Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim?
The Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim have been maligned and slandered
greatly. It’s a time-honored practice to teach Jewish children
all the faults of Am Yisrael. Hashem Himself is to blame for
this. The Torah talks nothing about the virtues of Bnei Yisrael,
only about their failures. This is a remarkable thing. We know that
Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim was the greatest generation that ever
lived. The Haggada tells us the Bnei Yisrael were “metzuyanim
sham — they were exceptional” in Mitzrayim. They were slaves,
and the natural behavior of slaves is to flatter and imitate their
masters. But “shelo shinu es shimam — They didn’t change their
names.” They refused to adopt the Egyptian names. “V’lo shinu es
lishonam — They didn’t change their language.” And “shelo shinu
es bigdeihem,” they kept their original manner of dress.” Now
remember, they were in Mitzrayim for 210 years. Imagine if the
Jews who came to America in 1780 would still be speaking only
Yiddish in 1990. Now imagine that they would still be wearing
their old-style European clothing and using only Jewish names.
Nobody would be named Morton or Irving, even after 210 years.
That would be so extraordinary as to be a real miracle. Even in
America, which has freedom of speech and religion, such a thing
would be impossible to believe. The Bnei Yisrael were slaves in
Mitzrayim; they had no freedom at all. It would have been so easy
for them to yield and give in to the ways of their masters, but they
stubbornly refused to change the ways of their forefathers. There
never was another generation like that. They demonstrated the
most stubborn loyalty that was ever was evidenced anywhere in
the world by any nation. They’re the model of loyalty.
Yet despite their loyalty, the Torah criticizes instead of praising
them. Do you know why? Because the Torah wanted to make
them better, to make us better. There’s one way to make people
better: “V’derech chaim tochachos musar” (Mishlei 6:23). The
way of life, to succeed in life, is to be criticized. Nobody likes to
be criticized, but it is one of the most important things in life.
A critic tells you the truth about yourself; he tells you what you
need to hear. He can help you out of the darkness, so that you
can walk in the light for the rest of your life. But a rebbe who is
critical often has no talmidim (students); he has to stand outside
and look for a minyan every day. If people were wise, they’d
flock to him, because he is the greatest specialist.
Find someone who will criticize you and love him for it.
Stick to him.
A good critic is one of the greatest things in life. But where
can we you find such a person today? Hashem sent Moshe
Rabbeinu as a gift to the Bnei Yisrael. Moshe Rabbeinu was
the Bnei Yisrael’s greatest critic. He didn’t give any compliments.
“Am naval v’lo chacham,” (Devarim 32:6) he called
them a foolish nation. He criticized them; and therefore he
made them great. The siddur says “Yismach Moshe — Moshe
was happy” (Shabbas Mincha). But the Torah tells us “Vayiktzof
Moshe — Moshe was angry” (Bamidbar 31:14) again and
again. Moshe was an excellent critic who created an excellent
people. The Bnei Yisrael were great enough to grow from the
criticism of Moshe Rabbeinu. They became better and better
because they had a strict mashgiach (overseer) who watched
their every movement.
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