Summary

The Ramban admonishes his son to be diligent in his Torah study so that he will be able to fulfill what the Torah teaches. In this week's parasha, G'd instructs Moses to teach the Jewish people a host of ordinances that includes all areas of Jewish law. The parasha begins with the laws regarding if one Jew bought another Jew as a male servant. Why does the Torah obligate the master to pierce the ear of his servant? Every morning we say a blessing where we thank G'd that he did not make us a servant. Why does the Torah only say that someone who wants to prolong his servitude after the first six years shall have his ear pierced? We must always remember that whoever we turn to are only proxies of G'd. A person's success is not dependent on his efforts but on him finding favour in the eyes of G'd. We are better off putting our trust in the Almighty Who is in charge of everything and has the sovereign power over every aspect of our lives.

Be diligent in Torah study

The Ramban writes in his famous letter to his son how he should conduct himself in his daily affairs. Towards the end of the letter, he admonishes his son to be diligent in his Torah study, so that he will be able to fulfill what the Torah teaches. And when he has concluded his study, says the Ramban, he shall look into the material, to see if there is something he can implement and put into practice.

Ordinances

In this week's parasha, G'd instructs Moses to teach the Jewish people a host of ordinances that includes all areas of Jewish law. Some are more relevant than others in our times, but the truth is that every part of the Torah is eternal. And if we follow the Ramban and analyze these ordinances, we will find that even the ones that do not relate to our situation nowadays still teach us important lessons and principals.

The Jewish servant

The parasha begins with the laws regarding if one Jew bought another Jew as a male servant. There are two ways how a Jew can become a male servant. If a man is so poor that he cannot provide for himself and his family, he can sell himself to another Jew (see Vayikra 25:39-41). In this week's parasha, the Torah talks about when someone stole and has no money to pay back. In such a case, the Beis Din will sell him and pay the one that was robbed. In both cases, the master may not let his servant do any degrading work and must treat him with dignity as an equal. Rashi quotes from the Talmud (Kiddushin 22a) that the master is obligated to provide for the servant's wife and children and make sure they have what they need. With this in mind, we can well understand that the situation may arise that the servant does not want to leave when his six year term is completed. As it says (Shemos 21:5-5): "And if the servant says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children, I shall not go free!' And his master shall bring him to the judges, and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall drill through his ear with an awl, and he shall serve forever" (i.e. till the Jubilee years, see Vayikra 25:8:13).

Deserves to be pierced

This procedure seems to be unusual. Why does the Torah obligate the master to pierce the ear of his servant? Rashi quotes the Talmud (Kiddushin 22b) that explains the rationale behind it. Says the Talmud, "The ear that heard at Mount Sinai, 'For the Children of Israel are servants to Me, they are My servants, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt, I am HASHEM your G'd' (see Vayikra 25:55), and he went and acquired for himself a master, (his ear) deserves to be pierced."

Gratitude for not being a servant

Every morning we say a blessing, where we thank G'd, that He did not make us a servant. In this blessing, we express our gratitude not for our social status in society, but for the privilege that we are in a position to fulfill G'd's commandments. The blessing first and foremost refers to a gentile servant who only is obligated to fulfill the commandments that are not time limited, just like a Jewish woman. But a Jewish male servant is also somewhat limited in his abilities to study Torah and perform the commandments, as his time is not his own. By accepting another human being as his master he lost the opportunity to dedicate himself to serve G'd and maximize his involvement in Torah study and observing the commandments. He therefore deserves to have his ear pierced as a constant sign of his lack of appreciation of the privilege to only serve G'd as his master.

Not put trust in G'd

However, an obvious question arises. Why does the Torah only say that someone who wants to prolong his servitude after the first six years shall have his ear pierced? Anyone who sells himself as a servant ought to receive the same treatment for taking upon himself a human master that diminishes his ability to spend time serving G'd. Rabbeinu Osher (better known as the Ros"h) in his commentary on the Torah addresses this. He explains that originally this person was desperate and felt that he had no other choice how to provide for himself and his family but to sell himself as a servant. But over the course of six years, he no doubt managed to save up some money. If he still stays "I love my master ..." and chooses to remain under him, he truly deserves this treatment. For instead of putting his trust in the Almighty, Who is the provider for everybody, he chooses to rely on a fellow human being.

Proxies of G'd

Many people suffer from this malady. Rather than putting our trust in G'd we rely on people with influence, power or wealth. In ancient times, and still nowadays in many countries, there are idol worshippers. These people believe that their idols have power and they make an effort to find favour in the "eyes" of their idols. We, in the civilized world, look at them as primitive and somewhat unintelligent. But when we try to please and flatter individuals in order to benefit from their influential position, are we not acting in a similar way? No one in the world has any real power but G'd. Everybody else can only do what G'd allows. Obviously, we are supposed, and expected, to make an effort to look after ourselves and our families, whether in regards to our financial situations or medical issues, as well as any other concern. But at the end of the day, we must always remember that whoever we turn to are only proxies of G'd.

Running away

The Chofetz Chaim once noticed that a certain gentleman always left the synagogue before the end of the morning service. When the Chofetz Chaim enquired what his rush was all about, he answered that he was in a hurry to go and attend to his business affairs, so that he could make a living. Said the Chofetz Chaim, "Maybe you are running away from making a living rather than running to making a living." For at the end of the day, a person's success is not dependent on his efforts but on him finding favour in the eyes of G'd. As the Mishnah (Kiddushin 82a) says: "A person shall always teach his son a 'clean' and easy profession and pray to the One Who is the owner of all wealth and assets. For there is no profession where there are not both wealthy and poor, for neither poverty nor wealth depends on one's profession. Rather, everything depends on a person's merits."

Trust the Almighty

And in conclusion, let us not forget what we quoted last week from the Duties of the Heart: A person depends on the one he trusts. So, obviously, we are better off putting our trust in the Almighty Who is in charge of everything and has the sovereign power over every aspect of our lives.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

These words were based on a talk given by Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

Shalom. Michael Deverett