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Biography of Yehuda Katz | Archives | This Week's Parsha
This parsha sheet is being dedicated to my beloved father, Nachman Shimon ben Yehuda Meir Hakohan,Z"L.May it be a merit for his soul.
" A perfect and honest weight shall you have................................."(25:15) The Torah is commanding the Jewish people to maintain honest weights, even just having a dishonest weight in one's possession is prohibited. A question can be asked: Why does the Torah have to command us regarding honest weights and measures, shouldn't this fall under the category of stealing ,or lying ? It seems to be a redundant commandment ? I would like to propose , Bezrat Hashem, the following original answer : There is something symbolic concerning honest weights that needs to be addressed. We all know that G-d is the ultimate "Scale -Keeper".The world is continuously being "measured" and" weighed" in terms of its righteousness. This concept is found in Kiddushin 40b as follows, "The Rabbis taught: A person should always consider himself as though his good deeds and sins were equally balanced; so that if he fulfills one Mitzvah.......he has tilted the scale to the Mitzvah side....R.Elazar ben R. Shimon said: Your actions have global ramifications because the whole world is judged according to its majority...... Therefore, if a person were to do one mitzvah, how fortunate is he, for he has tipped the scale to the side of merit, for himself and the entire world................" (Please refer to Kiddushin 40b for further details.)When a person deals in honest weights and measures , he begins to value what a scaling system entails.Even a slight deviation in weight has an affect on the overall balance. This will now push a person into realizing that another scaling system is in effect, namely the 'Heavenly' one.A person will no longer erroneously assume that his deeds have no value whatsoever. A person will now apply what he knows concerning weights from his everyday business experience to his and the world's overall spiritual "scale". The Mitzvahs that he might have neglected before now take on a new dimension of significance and importance. He now knows that any slight shift in weight has the power to tip the scale. Every opportunity for Mitzvahs is a means by which the world can be saved or redeemed. Can you imagine for one moment if the very Mitzvah that he performed was the very one that had the proper spiritual weight to tip the scale for merit in the Heavenly "scale" above !!!!! Of course you would be eager to perform it, its the Mitzvah that tipped the "scale" for merit. Do we at all value the very Mitzvahs that we perform on a daily basis? The Torah is training us through the Mitzvah of honest weights and measures how to in essence be able to view the "heavenly scaling" system above. If we can appreciate the value of honest weights in business, then perhaps we can now shift our attention to the spiritual weight of our Mitzvahs above. Have a good Shabbos.......................................................................
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