Daf Yomi Gittin 36
At this time of year in Edmonton, temperatures can reach
minus forty. Now, at that point, it
doesn’t make a difference whether you’re talking Celsius or Fahrenheit. It’s so cold that the scales converge! The coldest I’ve experienced was one year when
it reached minus forty, but it felt like minus forty seven with the wind chill
factor. That day, we were the second
coldest place in the world, after Siberia!
But honestly, who are we kidding with this wind chill factor
thing? Minus forty seven is minus forty
seven! The temperature is how it feels
outside, right? And if it feels like
minus forty seven, don’t tell me it’s really only minus forty! I mean, they don’t tell you on a beautiful day
in the middle of July that it’s actually zero degrees Celsius, but with the sun factor, it’s going to
feel like thirty! Right?!
The Rabbis taught:
Those who are insulted and do not offer insult in return, who hear their scorn
and do not respond, who serve out of love and are happy with affliction,
concerning them the verse states, “And those who love Him are like the sun
which comes out in its strength.”
What a powerful reminder of how to stay on track and focused
on your mission, even when people around are trying to cut your down! When you know that you are doing the right
thing, it doesn’t matter what anyone else is saying about you. There will always be naysayers. The better the job you are doing, the more
they will shoot their venomous arrows.
The key is to avoid becoming ensnared by their insults.
The moment you lower yourself to their level and shoot back
at them, you’ve lost your momentum. Let them say what they will; you know that you
are on the right track, the track of productive work, optimism, positivity! They are the ones who have chosen antagonism,
cynicism, pessimism, negativity. Never
allow yourself to be dragged down to their level. As soon as you insult them back, you’ve lost
your edge; you’ve become just like them fuelled by the power of the yetzer hara, the forces of the dark
side.
When Korach first began his uprising against Moshe in the
Wilderness, Moshe’s response was strange.
The Torah says that he fell on his face.
Why didn’t he simply stand tall?
Our Sages explain that he needed a few moments to introspect and decide
whether he was indeed guilty of the egotism Korach had ascribed to him. Once he had determined that Korach’s claims
were unfounded, he then arose, stood tall and proceeded to serve Hashem and
lead the Children of Israel. He didn’t
stoop to the level of Korah or Dasan and Aviram who were hurling their insults
at him. He simply got on with the job
Hashem had assigned him to do.
You know what you need to do. Any abuse you receive from the naysayers who
are fighting to cut you down, just ignore it.
They will wither away. Accept the
suffering and affliction with joy, knowing that the Almighty is merely challenging
your patience and endurance. And if,
G-d forbid, you ever do get momentarily dragged down into the mire, be the first
to apologize to your antagonists, and then move on. They will be left scratching their heads,
wondering how you have the strength to stay positive and focused on your
mission, not even holding a grudge.
You see, it’s never worth bearing a grudge. Grudges take a person toll on you. They weigh you down and keep you from being
your best. They’re a strategy of the yetzer hara to remove your focus. Instead of concentrating on your important
mission on earth, you’ve allowed yourself to get bogged down by negative
feelings. You need to simply let it go and
get on with your mission in full force!
If the naysayers want to ruin their happiness by hanging on to
ill-feeling, that’s their prerogative; you don’t need to spoil your joy just
because they choose to spoil theirs!
The Gemara compares “those who are insulted and do not offer
insult in return” to “the sun which comes out in its strength.” When you rise above the derision, why are you
likened to the sun?
Ever stood outside on a hot summer’s day and listened to the
way people are cursing? Do you think the
sun gets offended? Of course not! He knows that he provides heat and light to
the world and that the service he renders is essential to life on earth. He’s not going to get upset when foolish
people curse him out, he’s completely above such lowly insults! He is so much greater than the silly fools
that are deriding his work due to none other than their nearsightedness and focus
on themselves and their immediate comfort and mood.
When you ignore the naysayers and critics, you are like the
sun. You know that your mission is so
much greater than they will ever appreciate as they remain mired in their
mediocrity. May you always rise above
and stay focused on your vital mission!
