Parshas Pinchos 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
לכן אמר הנני נתן לו את בריתי שלום ... (כה-יב)
MASHAL: One year, as the joyous holiday of Sukkos approached, the devoted students of the Vilna Gaon zt”l faced a terrible dilemma. Despite their desperate efforts, they were unable to find a lulav and esrog for their revered teacher. Eventually, they located a wealthy man who had one. The students offered to purchase it at a very high price, but the man refused the money. Instead, he offered a strange deal. He would agree only if the Gaon gave away his reward in the World to Come for that year’s mitzvah of lulav and esrog.
The students deliberated among themselves about whether it was legitimate to agree to such a bargain on behalf of their rav. Finally, they decided to go through with it. With a certain amount of trepidation, they approached the holy Gaon with the lulav and esrog and told him of the deal they had made, giving away his share in the World to Come for the mitzvah. They held their breath ... but then the Gaon let out a cry of joy, he was enraptured, “Finally,” he exclaimed, “I will be able to do a mitzvah without any ulterior motive, even that of gaining a spiritual reward in the World to Come!”
NIMSHAL: Pinchos achieved one of the greatest spiritual heights any human has ever reached. Perhaps something we can take out of his “cosmic” achievement is that Pinchos’ greatness was that his act was 100% lishmah; purely for the sake of Heaven, with zero thought of himself or any potential reward. Performing a mitzvah with absolute, unadulterated purity - completely lishmah - exemplifies the ultimate level of serving Hashem purely out of love and devotion. This is something we can - on some level - achieve.