The Reward Beyond Comparison
A lesson from the Tiferes Shlomo Parshas Nasso
על פי ה' פקד אותם ביד משה איש איש על עבודתו ועל משאו
"As directed by Hashem, they were appointed by Moshe, each man to his service and his burden”
"As directed by Hashem, they were appointed by Moshe, each man to his service and his burden”
In our Davening we ask Hashem to “place into our hearts to love and fear Your name”.
The commentaries question the appropriateness and efficacy these requests, based on the Talmudic dictum that “everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for the fear of Heaven”. This means that matters pertaining to our service of Hashem are not granted to us and can only be achieved through our own efforts.
The Tiferes Shlomo answers this question based on the teaching of our sages that Hashem says to us “make for me an opening the size of the point of a needle and I make for you an opening the size of the doorway of the Temple Ulam”.
When we put in our effort to serve Hashem, even though our human capabilities are limited, Hashem rewards us far beyond the level of effort that we put in.
So while we have a personal obligation to attain fear of Heaven, in these prayers we are asking Hashem to elevate us beyond the limits of where our own efforts will take us. This additional blessing comes through the Tzaddikim.
This message can be read into the Pasuk from our Parsha. The word פקד also means a command, referring to the Mitzvos. These were commanded to us by the word of Hashem.
Through the יד משה - “the hand of Moshe”, each person (איש איש) can be elevated “above” their service (על עבודתו) i.e. to be rewarded with a G-dly revelation and Divine assistance that transcends what we would receive through our Avodah alone.
The commentaries question the appropriateness and efficacy these requests, based on the Talmudic dictum that “everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for the fear of Heaven”. This means that matters pertaining to our service of Hashem are not granted to us and can only be achieved through our own efforts.
The Tiferes Shlomo answers this question based on the teaching of our sages that Hashem says to us “make for me an opening the size of the point of a needle and I make for you an opening the size of the doorway of the Temple Ulam”.
When we put in our effort to serve Hashem, even though our human capabilities are limited, Hashem rewards us far beyond the level of effort that we put in.
So while we have a personal obligation to attain fear of Heaven, in these prayers we are asking Hashem to elevate us beyond the limits of where our own efforts will take us. This additional blessing comes through the Tzaddikim.
This message can be read into the Pasuk from our Parsha. The word פקד also means a command, referring to the Mitzvos. These were commanded to us by the word of Hashem.
Through the יד משה - “the hand of Moshe”, each person (איש איש) can be elevated “above” their service (על עבודתו) i.e. to be rewarded with a G-dly revelation and Divine assistance that transcends what we would receive through our Avodah alone.