Rabbi's Blog

This Dvar Torah should be a zchus for Yocheved Bas Yitta for a Refuah Sheleima

One can only wonder why innovations need to progress go step by step and can’t jump ahead to the later stage earlier. Let me give a few examples. In preparation for my most recent trip, I needed some new luggage. My wife and I both bought a piece of luggage that  has a four all-direction wheels. This is not considered a luxury piece; it’s standard equipment in new luggage. As we were “wheeling” our luggage through the airport, we realized we didn’t need a cart to haul our belongings. I could remember that it wasn’t that long ago people had to actually lift and carry the entire piece. Later on, luggage came with four wheels, but you needed to pull it. Sometime later a two-wheel piece was introduced that could tilt and had a handle, making wheeling the luggage easier. Why couldn’t the original invention start off with what we have today? (Now I’m really curious to see how luggage will be improved even more in the next iteration!)Thanks to this luggage transformation, travel has become easier and more convenient.

A second example is the ‘air train’ that takes you from the terminal to different travel points and most often to the car rental agencies as well. It struck me that a double door system was instituted most probably for safety reasons. For those who travel by train, especially the subway of NYC, passengers wait on an open platform. Unfortunately, there are tragic stories of people either jumping, being pushed or even slipping onto the tracks into an oncoming train, resulting in devastating injury or ,more frequently,  death. The ‘air train’ system consists of doors on the moving car itself with a matching set of doors that line up equally when the train pulls into the station. The platform that passengers wait on is no longer open, rather it is a wall with doors that open only when the train pulls into the station and closes when the train departs. This is a very simple innovation that, like so many new and wonderful safety measures, has saved lives and prevented injuries to many. So many ideas and innovations that we live through must go through such a process of invention and development. Transformation of new ideas must go step-by-step rather than by leaps and bounds. Other than sudden, catastrophic events, incremental change is the norm. Under normal circumstances the progress will evolve step-be-step. I believe that by nature and design this is the way God intended the world to be.

Even within my personal life experiences, I notice development and growth in certain areas which give me cause to wonder why I never thought to do certain things I do now previously.  In particular I look back at how my ability to express my thoughts in writing has deepened and grown  over the last six years of these Divrei Torah/Messages.  Parshas B’Shalach is the completion of another yearly cycle.  My  first message was written for Parshas Yisro. The development of this concept of continuous growth is found in this week’s Haftorah for Parshas B’Shalach.

This week’s Haftorah, taken from the Navi Shoftim, is one of the famous ten songs of Tanach known as Shiras Devorah. In Shoftim 5:28 the Navi states: “B’Ad HaChalon Nishkpha V’T’Yabeiv Eim Sisra B’Ad HaEshnav, Maduah BoShesish Richbo Lavo Maduah Echeroo Paamei Markevosav”. “Through the window the mother of Sisera looked forth and peered through the window stating, ”Why is his chariot late in coming? Why tarry the strides of his chariots?”  

The fascinating story of how Yael killed Sisra, the commander of the Canaanite army of King Yavin of Chatzor, is mentioned in Shoftim 4 -5. After being defeated by the Israeli forces of the Zevulun and Naphtali under the command of Barak and Devorah, Sisera was killed by Yael, who hammered a tent peg into his temple. The navi goes on to describe how the mother of Sisra waited for her son’s return as she did after the dozens of battles that he fought in his lifetime. This time, however,  she waited and waited and asked herself why was he late. The word she used for being ‘late’ is “BoSheish”. The Midrash Rabbah in Bereishis teaches us that there are three places in Tanach which use this form of a word to describe time. The first time it is used is when Adam and Chava were in Gan Eiden prior to sinning. That verse states that it was already six hours and Adam and Chava were naked -  V’Lo Yisboshashu -  and they were not embarrassed. The second time was when Moshe Rabbeinu was thought to be late coming down from Har Sinai. In Shemos 32:1 the Torah states: ‘And the people saw Ki Bosheish Moshe’  - that Moshe was late coming down from the mountain.’ The third time refers to the line I mentioned above regarding  Sisera’s mother.Six hours had passed and still her son did not return. The midrash explains the word BoSheish is a contraction of ‘Baoo Sheish’ meaning “they came six” -  six hours late from their anticipated arrival.    

In all three instances the same six hour window of time is expressed. Why, in each case did the individuals involved wait six hours before growing concerned?  Why were they not concerned immediately? I would like to suggest that six hours is a quarter of a day which is either one side of the day or the night. The initial phase of news or a situation will remain the same for a while until more information changes the previous status. A person will hear or learn about something, digest it and then react to those circumstances which will settle within the person for a bit. Once it has been adapted, then change from new information will lead the person to react differently to the new circumstances.

I believe the same is true with innovation and technology. It takes time to determine if the new invention will take hold and successfully do what it was designed to do. Using hindsight, we think to ourselves, “Why didn’t we just jump to the current level of technological advancement rather than having had to go through so many different stages of development?” The same is true when growing spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. Life is a process of growth.  We each need to hit the markers of different levels, growing step-by-step, maintaining a healthy, sensible life on each platform before jumping to the next level. Hopefully, with God’s help and our own inner-patience, we will “come with six” in order to climb to the greatest heights of life.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky