LESSON 38: To Be A Zealot, Part 2
 
To answer the question from the previous lesson, let’s use another analogy. Let’s say you bought a gift for someone, and you want to know if it is truly what they want. If you simply give it to them, you know they will graciously accept it as if it is the most important gift in the world. They won’t let you know if you made a mistake, because they value your friendship too much. So, instead, you buy what you think is the perfect gift, and before wrapping it, you put it on your desk and invite your friend over. Leaving it in plain view, your friend enters your office, and right on cue, he notices the gift, and not knowing that it is for him, says, “Wow, this is great! Would I ever love one of these!” at which point you smile from ear-to-ear, and tell him, “Good, because I bought it for you!” Likewise, had the Jewish people shown up at the border of Eretz Yisroel on the day they were meant to enter it, it would have been a mitzvah to cross the Jordan river and take the land. Even if you enjoy doing a particular mitzvah, it is still something you have to do, because transgressing it has severe consequences. However, had the Spies come back with the kind of enthusiasm that Kaleiv and Yehoshua had shown, it would have proven how much the Jewish people sincerely wanted the “gift” that Eretz Yisroel was meant to be (Brochos 5a). It would have shown God how much they appreciated all that the land embodied, and what living there means to enhancing once relationship with God and Torah. To be a zealot, means to go the extra distance for a cause, even if it doesn’t seem to be required, and sometimes, even at personal risk. And, when that cause is important to God, it is one of the most beautiful expressions of love and devotion to Him, and therefore, it is very dear to Him. From the Jews who merited to enter the land and live there, only to be exiled 850 years later, we learn how important it is to appreciate living on the land. Until the time of exile, we had it good: a land, a temple, and God watching over us. Taking all of that for granted, we squandered it, and were forced into bitter exile for millennia to follow. And, it’s not over yet. From the Spies, and the Jews of Bavel who failed to return to Eretz Yisroel with the minority of the nation that did, we learn just how important it is to value the land even before it becomes a mitzvah to live there. We learn how important a spiritual opportunity it is to show God how much we love that which He values, especially at times when it is easy not to do so. To be a Jew, is to be a zealot, whether it means going the extra distance for a simple chesed, performing a daily mitzvah with a little extra intention, or yearning for redemption at a time when others do not.
Monday, February 11, 2008