You Can Reach Your Potential – Just like Moshe!
In this week’s Parsha, Moshe says, Re’eh anochi nosen lifneichem hayom bracha u’klala – see, I have placed before you today two potential paths to take in life. The Medrash says that re’eh anochi literally means see me. Moshe was adjuring the people to be like him. He was telling them Re’eh anochi – look at me. Look what I became, look what I have accomplished. Choose my path. There is a question here: Moshe was the paradigm of humility. How could he say, re’eh anochi, look at me? How can we reconcile that statement with humility?
I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita, a beautiful answer from the Sifsei Tzadik. The Sifsei Tzadik says that Moshe was saying, re’eh anochi, look at me. I had struggles. I had challenges. I had temptations. But even so, I was able to persevere. Despite my challenges, I was able to become great. Moshe was saying that the same way, he became great despite his challenges, we too can become great despite our challenges. Moshe is saying, “I am no better than you. If I could do it, you could do it. If I made it, you could also make it. If I’m here at this level, you too could be here at this level.” We must believe in ourselves. We must realize how much potential we have and how great we are. That’s what Moshe is teaching us. Moshe is teaching us to have faith in ourselves.
The Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin zt”l, lived a few hundred years ago. He was one of the greatest and most famous rabbis of his generation. One day, the Netziv held a public celebration in honor of the completion of his latest published commentary. It was at this celebration where he told over the following personal story: “When I was a child, I never paid attention in class. I would sit around and do nothing. I just didn’t have a desire to concentrate. One day this all changed. I was 11 years old, sitting in my room, and I heard my parents talking with one another. My father was explaining how he had spoken to my teacher and together they concluded that I wouldn’t amount to anything in terms of scholarship. They decided that I just couldn’t learn. Together they decided that they would like me to leave Yeshiva and help the local shoemaker.
I was shocked by this conversation. I ran to my parents and exclaimed: ‘I’m sorry I have been so negligent and careless with my studies. I am sorry that I don’t learn. Please forgive me. Please give me one more chance to prove that I can learn. To my great delight, my parents agreed. From that day onward, I pushed myself and kept on trying to learn. I learned the Torah with tremendous vigor, dedication, and excitement and Hashem granted me tremendous success. Since then, I have not wasted a moment. It’s that devotion that has allowed me to write the commentary that I am celebrating today.”
Then the Netziv continued: “I want you all to imagine what would have happened if I didn’t overhear my parents’ conversation. I probably would have ended up as a shoemaker. I would have excelled and become a very successful and prominent craftsman. However, after 120 years when I went up to Shamayim (heaven), I would’ve been asked, ‘Naftali Tzvi, where are all the books you were to write? Where is your commentary?’ The Netziv continued: “And what would I possibly respond?”
The Netziv became one of the greatest Torah giants! Why? Because he had a real and sincere desire to change. He had a desire to grow. He had faith in himself. Let’s all have faith in ourselves and try to reach our potential. Let’s become great! To receive our weekly email, email us at [email protected] or visit our website parshaknowledge.com.
