Parshas Vayikra
A Grade of 60 Can Be Considered an A+!
“When a person offers a meal-offering to Hashem, his offering shall be of fine flour; he shall pour oil upon it, and place frankincense upon it (Vayikra 2:1).”
A religious taxi driver in Israel once drove Rav Yaakov Kanievsky zt”l, the Steipler Gaon. The Steipler asked him if he learned Gemorah. The driver responded that after a long day of work he went home, ate a quick supper, and went to a nightly shiur. However, he was usually so exhausted after a long day of work that he usually fell asleep 5 minutes into the shiur. Thus, he only learned 5 minutes of Gemorah each day. The Steipler responded with the first two words of our pasuk, “וְנֶ֗פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תַקְרִ֞יב”. The Steipler was praising this taxi driver just as the Torah praises the korban of a poor man. The driver needed to work long hours to make a living. Yet, he showed tremendous mesiras nefesh, dedication for a mitzvah, every night by going to a shiur. He did all that he was capable of! That was special like the korban of the poor man who also gave all that he was able.
(The Power of a Vort by Rabbi Yissocher Frand)
The parsha lists various sacrifices that are brought to Hashem. Bulls, sheep, goats, turtledoves, and young doves were brought as sacrifices. One sacrifice, the korban Mincha, a free-will offering, consisted solely of some fine flour mixed with oil and a particular spice (Vayikra 2:1). This korban, which was inexpensive, was brought by a poor man who could not afford to bring animals or even birds as a sacrifice. Rashi says that the word נפש is not employed in connection with other free-will offerings. Who usually brings this type of offering, consisting mainly of flour? A very poor man! Hashem says that He considers it as though the poor man brought his very soul (נפש) as an offering because he gave all that he was able to afford for his sacrifice to Hashem.
Rav Avraham Pam zt”l learns a beautiful lesson from this (Messages from Rav Pam by Rabbi Sholom Smith). Some people sincerely want to do good, but they don’t have the intelligence or financial means to do so. Since they sincerely want to do good and they are doing their best, Hashem treasures their actions. Rav Pam zt”l gives two specific examples. If there is an important opportunity to give tzedakah, a few dollars donated by a poor man will not make the difference to the charity. But to Hashem, his donation is special! Hashem treasures his sincere efforts! Similarly, a student who tried his best yet still failed a test, performed as well as he could. He should be recognized accordingly, for all his effort.
In a similar vein, Rav Pam zt”l says that we have accomplished much in Torah learning and in creating various chesed innovations to help other Jews. However, our succeeding generations are weaker than earlier generations in devotion to Torah and mitzvos, as we are further from receiving the Torah on Har Sinai. Therefore, Hashem takes extra note of and values our efforts in serving Him. When we serve Hashem despite the challenges and difficulties that we face, Hashem treasures our actions just as He treasured the korban of the poor man.
