Parshas Ki Seitzei 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Sep 5
- 2 min read
והשבתו לו וכו' כן תעשה לכל אבדת אחיך וכו' לא תוכל להתעלם ... (כב-ב,ג)
Once upon a time, R’ Akiva Eiger zt”l, who possessed a unique sense of humility, spent an inordinate amount of time searching for a relative of his in a specific town. Eventually, he tracked him down and proceeded to engage him in discussion, words of encouragement to be mechazek the individual. Afterwards, some well-meaning people asked the Rav why he went to such lengths to speak to this family member, when he could have been learning or putting that time to better use. He responded with his inimitable trademark humility and brilliance as follows: “In regards to a lost object, the Torah writes, 'לא תוכל להתעלם' - You cannot look away. But Chazal in Bava Metzia, when explaining this posuk, explain that, פעמים, there are times that you may look away. For example, זקן ואינו לפי כבודו. An elderly Yid or a תלמיד חכם can, at times, be exempt from returning an object that is beneath his dignity to be seen with. However, there is another posuk; 'מבשרך אל תתעלם' - don’t look away from family. With family members, unlike with a lost object, there is no such leeway given. One must give him his full attention. So I happily did the mitzvah l’mehadrin.”
This is the outlook of a true גדול בישראל. R’ Akiva Eiger, the paradigm masmid, a תלמיד חכם from whose Torah we still benefit today, knew how to be שוקל and discern right from wrong, not looking to shirk his responsibilities.
As Elul progresses, a well-known eitzah to be זוכה בדין is to become an individual that others depend upon. In that way, Hashem takes their needs into account as well, not just yours. As the famous idiom goes: Chessed – Charity begins at home. Well, at least with family. Do you really know how your parents, siblings, and extended family are doing? Are you in tune with their wants and needs at all times? If we do our best to help our extended family members, we can hope that Hashem will iy”H reciprocate and “take care” of His family - we, the Jewish Nation - this year.