In this week’s Parsha (35:22) we learn about the kind-hearted and generous men and women who donated all types of gold and material for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The pasuk says, vayavo’u ha’anashim al hanashim, which 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. Why the strange verbiage? 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 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 The men superseded the women.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?
Says the Chiddushei Harim, that previously these men sinned. They were the ones who gave gold for the golden calf, but now they were doing teshuvah – they were giving it to Hashem. Since they were doing teshuvah they rose on top, and they ascended. They were on a higher level than the women who never sinned. This teaches us that there’s a beauty in falling. A person who never sinned – a person who never fell is not as holy as someone who fell but gets back up. Somebody who tasted sin but has the fortitude and resilience to forge ahead and become even stronger, greater, and holier is very special. Where a Baal Teshuvah stands not even a Tzaddik can stand. Let’s realize the power of teshuvah. No matter what happened before, we could become even holier, even greater.
There was a man from a religious family in Bnei Brak who tragically left the Jewish path. His Judaism continued to deteriorate, and he planned to marry a non-Jewish girl. One Shabbos, he decided to break the news to his parents. He went and he was openly violating Shabbos. On Shabbos afternoon, the man’s father came in and said that he was going to a class given by Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l. Surprisingly, the man agreed to come.
After the shiur, the father took his son to Rav Shteinman. The father mentioned that sadly, his son was no longer keeping Shabbos. Rav Shteinman looked at the young man and asked him how long he had not been keeping Shabbos and the man replied it’s been two years. Rav Shteinman then asked if he ever thought about doing teshuvah and the boy said yes, about four times for about ten minutes each. Rav Aharon Leib finished off by saying that, that added up to a total of about 40 minutes over the last two years that you were in the place where baalei teshuvah stand – the place where the biggest tzaddikim cannot stand! I envy you for that! After Shabbos, the man decided to break off the engagement, and today, baruch Hashem he is a Torah-observant Jew!
Later, the man was asked what made him choose to go to that class. After all, he spent the whole day desecrating Shabbos! He answered that when he was a boy in yeshiva, his class went to Rav Shteinman to be tested. Rav Shteinman asked very simple questions and each boy, in turn, received a candy upon answering the question. One boy couldn’t answer the question he was asked – and that was him. Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman asked an easier question; again, he didn’t know the answer. Seeing that learning was hard for this boy, Rav Shteinman asked an even easier question, but this time, too, the boy couldn’t answer.
As the class left the room, Rav Shteinman told the boy that we receive reward according to how hard we try, not according to the results. All the other boys tried hard to answer one question, so they got one candy. But you tried hard to answer three questions, so you get three.” And with a smile, he handed the boy three candies. What greatness! From this memory, the man had decided to go to the class ultimately changing his impetuous life around! He became a full-fledged Baal Teshuvah!
