In this week’s Parsha, we learn about the men and women who donated gold and material for the building of the Mishkan. The pasuk says, vayavo’u ha’anashim al hanashim, which literally means that the men ascended to the women. Seemingly, the pasuk should have said vayavo’u ha’anashim im hanashim – the men and women came together to make their donation as this is what it is conveying. Why the strange verbiage? It sounds like the men did something greater than the women. I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita that the Chiddushei Harim says something amazing. He says that vayavo’u ha’anashim al hanashim means that the men spiritually rose on top. The men superseded the women. The men were superior to the women. Why? In what way did the men surpass the women?
The Chiddushei Harim says that previously these men sinned. These men were the ones who gave gold for the eigel – but now they were doing teshuvah. They were giving the gold to Hashem. The women didn’t sin. They didn’t give gold for the eigel. However, now, since the men who did sin were doing teshuvah, they rose on top. They ascended above the women. The men were on a higher level than the women who never sinned because where a Baal Teshuvah stands not even a Tzaddik can stand.
This teaches us that there’s a beauty in falling and getting back up. A person who never sinned – a person who never fell, is not as holy as someone who falls but gets back up. Let’s realize the power of teshuvah. No matter what happened before we could become better. We could become holier and greater!
One Rosh Hashanah morning, Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l walked out of the Beis Medrash and saw a student sitting in the hallway. He looked very sad. Rav Shimshon walked over to the boy, placed his arm around his shoulders, and asked him why he looked so sad. The boy looked up and told his Rebbi that for the previous month he tried very hard to stay pure but many times he fell and did things he shouldn’t have done.
Rav Shimshon shared the following story: “During the Yom Kippur War, I was in the emergency room in Shaarei Tzedek hospital with one of my children when I noticed a commotion. Many doctors were gathered around a soldier who had been shot in the leg. It was a painful operation, and I was right there the entire time. After the doctors successfully removed the bullet, they told the soldier that the surgery was complete and that he was free to go home. The young man grimaced in pain and he looked questioningly at the doctor. “Home? Home?? You think I’m heading home? I was shot at and lost this battle, but there is still a war going on and my fellow soldiers need me back on the battlefield. I may have lost that battle, but I am still needed. I need to win the war!” With that, the brave and strong soldier hobbled out of the room and headed back to the front lines.”
Rav Shimshon concluded the story and said “I know that you may have fallen. I know that you may have slipped many times. However, just because you have fallen it doesn’t mean that you can’t get back up. Losing a battle doesn’t mean that you’ve lost the war. We are fighting now, and I don’t want to head back in without you. We need you to fight alongside with the rest of us!” Together the Rebbe and student walked back into the Beis Medrash to “fight” alongside one another.
When we fall in life, we must try our best to get back up. It’s not about winning the battle; it’s about winning the war – and that’s why the men were greater than the women. The men fell but got back up. When we do fall, we must not feel hopeless or helpless. We must stand up and go to war again! We’ve got this! Let’s keep fighting together!
