Last week, everyone was talking about the English drasha given by Rav Moshe Sternbuch. What prompted Rav Sternbuch, the illustrious raavad of the Badatz of the Eidah Hachareidis and senior posek of our generation, to go out of his way to give that drasha?
In order to understand what prompted the drasha, let us recap the concepts of the drasha.
In his drasha, Rav Moshe cautioned about the euphoria that we are seeing among many frum Jews regarding President Trump. While Rav Moshe acknowledged that, boruch Hashem, we have a president who obviously sees the situation in Eretz Yisroel in a very different light than his predecessor, he cautioned against excessive euphoria. He explained that a Yid must believe that only Hashem can bring the geulah. When a person places his trust in anyone of flesh and blood without davening directly to Hashem and realizing that only Hashem pulls the strings, he can, chas v’shalom, cause the coming of Moshiach to be delayed.
Yes, it is a timely message, and yes, we most certainly should express our deepest gratitude to President Trump for being a good shliach in many ways, yet we must always understand from whence the true yeshuah really comes.
In all truth, not one of us wants to be the cause of delaying the coming of Moshiach, right? Rav Moshe is telling us that if we place our trust in a bosor v’dom, we can delay the coming of Moshiach.
What, then, can we do to hasten the coming of Moshiach?
Rav Moshe’s Message and Parshas Shekolim
That was the question that hit me when I heard about Rav Moshe’s drasha. I suddenly realized that Rav Moshe’s drasha came at a perfect time. Why? Because it reminded me of a lesson once learned in relation to Parshas Shekolim about how the very matzav of golus offers many opportunities to hasten the geulah that we will not be able to access once the geulah comes.
What is Parshas Shekolim and why is it so important to lain it this Shabbos? Yes, Chazal teach us that Rosh Chodesh Adar was the time when the Yidden were urged to bring their machatzis hashekel to the Bais Hamikdosh. In today’s world, however, we sadly don’t have the Bais Hamikdosh and therefore cannot bring korbanos or nedavos to the Bais Hamikdosh.
What, then, is the point of laining about the shekolim now, during golus? Perhaps, one might answer that just like we learn about history, we should learn now about what took place during the times of the Bais Hamikdosh and the Mishkon when every Yid did his part in giving money to pay for korbanos.
Possibly.
In truth, however, we all know that the Torah is a Toras chaim, a living Torah. The Torah is not just a recording of history. It is applicable to us today, even when we don’t have a Bais Hamikdosh or a Mishkon.
Thus, explains the Sefas Emes, the fact that Chazal instituted that we lain Parshas Shekolim this week while we are still in golus means that there is an avodah for us to do even now.
Before teaching us a practical lesson, the Sefas Emes explains what a korban is. Does Hashem need our animals? What benefit does Hashem derive when an animal is sacrificed and burned on the mizbeiach? The main component of korbanos, the Sefas Emes says, is not the actual sacrifice. It is the nedivus, the fact that a Yid gives of himself, from his possessions, with purity of heart. Hashem doesn’t want or need our korbanos. What He does want is our nedivus, our ratzon, our desire to give of ourselves to Him.
Being Makriv Ourselves to Hashem
Today, just as then, the Sefas Emes continues, Hashem accepts our nedivus. When we give of ourselves for Him, when we sacrifice from ourselves to give to Him, when we have a deep ratzon to give Him “shekolim” – not necessarily money, but anything that is difficult for us – Hashem considers that giving to be our shekolim. That nedivus still very much exists today, even when we don’t have korbanos. We are not always able to bring what we want when we want.
Also, not always do those who bring a lot have nedivus halev. They may have other motives as well. Therefore, we davka read the portion of the Torah that commands us to bring the shekolim on a day when we cannot actually bring them in order to teach us that it is not the actual shekolim that Hashem wants and values so much, but the nedivus halev.
Not only that, says the Sefas Emes, but perhaps our nedivus to Hashem today, in 2025, is even more beloved and accepted by Hashem. Why? Because today we can’t actually give to the Mishkon or the Bais Hamikdosh. We are limited to wanting to give and longing to give. When we long so much to give to the Bais Hamikdosh, when we truly long for the korbanos, and when we wish to be able to once again bring the korbanos as we once did, that is extremely beloved by Hashem. It shows our nedivus. It shows how much we want to give to Him. This, says the Sefas Emes, is the entire reason that Hashem created man – so that we can long for Him and deeply aspire for closeness to Hashem, even when it is dark and we don’t see any light.
Our Personal Korban
The Sefas Emes then says something that fills us with tremendous chizuk. “Now [when we are still far and still in golus], when a person is ready to be makriv his entire nefesh for Hashem, that certainly gives Hashem more nachas ruach than when one is makriv a beheimah, an animal, which is just money.
“It is not a chiddush to say that davka today, because we are still in golus, we can even bring a more elevated korban to Hashem – the korban of ourselves!
“Our personal korban, when we are makriv ourselves [our desires, our wants, our aspirations, our yeitzer haras], is certainly considered by Hashem to be much greater than merely giving a beheimah to the mizbeiach.”
Wow. Just think about what the Sefas Emes is telling us. The Sefas Emes is telling us that davka now in golus, in a way, we can give to Hashem much more “shekolim,” much more of ourselves.
Yes, we truly need Moshiach, but at the same time, golus offers us spiritual opportunities that we can’t get anywhere else, and perhaps, when we avail ourselves of those opportunities and we are makriv ourselves before Hashem, that kirva, that closeness to Hashem, that nachas ruach, will bring us one step closer to the coming of Moshiach.
