D’var Torah – July 25
I hope this finds you well.
There’s this young man. One day he’s out for a drive and he spots this little corner of heaven. This plot of land has everything he’s ever wanted and dreamed of – forests, creeks, fields and streams, fauna, wildlife, views of the mountains, and heavenly sunrises and sunsets. The problem- there’s no house. No worries – he has a custom one built there. But it’s expensive – so he takes out loans and finds a better paying job. Now there’s another problem – the new job requires a lengthy commute. Well, he gets up early every morning and goes to bed late every night. Some of his friends who say they never see him any more, tell him he lives to work rather than working to live. Undaunted, he continues this routine for years and years until the loans are paid off. And why? He tells them that the 30 minutes every night that he is able to sit back in his lounge chair on his back porch and watch the sun setting over the mountains is worth all of it. Years later, he’s married. One night his wife joins him on the back porch during an epic and breathtaking sunset and asks him if the loans, the commute, the long hours, all of it, was truly worth it. Without skipping a beat he replies, “You bet it was.”
“Is it worth it?” It is one of the most linguistically simple yet most powerful and profound questions in the English language. It’s a question we grapple with and ask ourselves every day as we wrestle with decisions, both mundane and life-changing.
In this week’s combined parshiyot of Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13), we see the confluence, tension, and conflict of want, desire, effort, toil, sacrifice, and reward. We are told the tribes of Reuben and Gad upon seeing the lands of Jazer and Gilead, territory east of the Jordan, desire to settle there because they are ideal for grazing and these tribes have a multitude of cattle, and ask for permission.
Moses angrily rebukes the tribes: “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here?” (*Numbers 32:6). One can easily understand Moses’s anger. After all, how can these tribes morally and in good conscience sit back, relax, and enjoy the good life while their brethren fight and struggle in righteous battle to claim their nation’s and people’s birthright?
Ultimately a compromise is reached. Gad and Rueben will quickly build enclosures for their cattle and defensive settlements for their children and then quickly march off to the war as Israel conquers the Promised Land. On top of that, they will serve as the vanguard of the Israelite army and will not return until the conquest has been completed. It is a very steep bargain, and we are told that they are away from their homes and families for seven long years.[1]
Is the deal worth it? For the Reubenites, Gaddites, and half of Manasseh, it is.
In life, it is beyond rare that we’re ever going to get everything we want in life, or get what we want exactly on our terms. In other words…there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You might get a great paycheck, but it comes with 80+ hour work weeks; your kids might go to a great school, but it is comes with living in a more expensive district; or you might have a beautiful garden, but it comes with hours and hours and hours of weeding, mowing, pruning, fertilizing, and sweating on one’s hands and knees.
There is a clear lesson in this section of Matot-Masei: if you want something in life, you have to go out and work for it. Additionally, if someone wants something from you, you have to ensure that they earn it. Nothing in this life should ever come free. What would it have said about our people – who we are, what we stand for…any or all of it…if Reuben and Gad had simply been able to settle on the east side of the Jordan while their brethren fought, struggled, and died on the opposite bank? There is something redemptive, strong, and reassuring that they’re not allowed to just walk away.
Perhaps, Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) said it best: “According to the effort is the reward.” (*Pirkei Avot 5:23)
Bizrat HaShem, with God’s help, may our rewards always be reflective of our efforts, may our efforts always be our best, and may our efforts always be worth it.
Wishing you a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.
Bivrakha,
Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky
Beth El Congregation | 520 Fairmont Ave, Winchester, VA 22601
(540) 667-1889 (office)