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Shiurim & Adult Education
THOUGHTS ON BESHALACH BY RABBI WILKINSON
Tu B’Shevat always falls around the time of Shabbat Beshalach. Is this a coincidence, a random feature of the Jewish calendar, or is there some deep connection between the celebration of Tu B’Shevat and the story told in this parsha?
Tu B’Shevat marks the transition point from the dead of winter to the anticipation of springtime. In Israel, it is this time of year when the earliest buds appear on trees. And the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah comments that this date was chosen as the “new year for trees” because the majority of the winter rains have already fallen and the trees are now nourished from the current year’s rains. We might say, then, that the occasion of Tu B’Shevat celebrates nature’s triumph, it having survivied the harsh winter. As the first buds appear on the trees, and we look forward to the eventual blooming of spring and the emergence of all the produce it brings, we breathe a sigh of relief and feel grateful that the trees have made it through another winter. There is still plenty of winter left, and the trees are still largely bare, but nevertheless, we look at the early budding with joy and gratitude. We celebrate the moment, even as we know that the final goal, the nourishing fruit and vegetation, has yet to be attained.
In Beshalach we read of Benei Yisrael’s exhilaration after crossing the Yam Suf. After centuries of exile and persecution, and after finding themselves trapped against the sea, they were, once and for all, free. As the subsequent pesukim tell, there were still numerous difficult challenges awaiting them. They would need to deal with the harsh desert conditions, and wage wars against bitter enemies such as Amaleik, before reaching the Promised Land. Yet they paused there on the shore to appreciate and celebrate the moment, to be thankful and gratified over their present triumph, and to give praise to Hashem, singing the Shira at the sea. There were still long weeks of “winter” ahead, but they celebrated the “buds” of the present moment.
I am told that research has shown that a typical young person is praised or encouraged approximately 30,000 times in his or her life by the age of 18. However, most of these praises and words of encouragement are given before the age of 3. Infants receive praise for every developmental “achievement”: for rolling over, for crawling, for speaking, for walking, for being toilet trained. Later, youngsters seldom receive praise for their small achievements. Too often, praise is reserved for only major accomplishments: for an outstanding mark in an exam, for winning first place in a competition, for going well above and beyond what would normally be expected.
Tu B’Shevat, and the הים שירת Shira at the sea, teach us of the importance of celebrating the small successes, the early “buds” that appear well before the final product is ready. We should praise our children, grandchildren, friends and acquaintances even for the small successes, for their minor accomplishments. We should also pause and feel gratified over whatever small successes that we achieve, in whatever area of life it is. Whether it’s getting up on time for minyan one morning after weeks of struggle, getting through a difficult task, losing a couple of pounds, or any other small achievement: we should accustom ourselves to celebrating, even as we acknowledge the long journey that still lies ahead.
Every year we hold a festive event, Simchas Torah, to celebrate the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. After learning just a single masechta, we hold a joyous siyum celebration, even though there is still so much left to learn. In fact, Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl paskened that a person who has just begun learning Gemara and exerted a great deal of work and effort to complete just a single daf, can celebrate a siyum.
We should not wait until reaching the finish line to celebrate. Instead, we should feel genuine joy and satisfaction over every small success we and our associates achieve, and this will encourage and motivate us to continue onward to the next step, to the next goal, to the next step in our journey toward excellence.
Shabbat shalom
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