The Idea Was Mine!
Many years ago, Vaad (council) leader, Rabbi Chaim Tzvi HaKohain Katz z”l shared an explanation on the Parshah (weekly Torah portion) with my friend. Upon hearing it, my friend exclaimed, “Ah! That’s the Reshash’s explanation”. Rav Chaim Tzvi looked at him and said, “No, it’s mine. I didn’t see it in the Reshash; I came up with it on my own. But let me tell you something. When you’re traveling from Cleveland to New York, you take the I-80, because it is the straightest route. The odds are, if you’re on the right road, you’ll come across others taking the same path.”
His point was that the idea was his own, original thought, but the fact that someone else said it only underscores its accuracy and truth. When your thinking aligns with that of someone else, especially someone of great Torah stature, you can feel more confident that you’ve arrived at the truth. Many of us can relate to thinking of a great question or answer and the joy in finding out that Rabbi Akiva Eiger, or Rashi (Torah commentaries), or some other great sage asks or answers it the same way.
A License Plate With Many Meanings
Well, recently, I had that experience. Sort of. You see, I got the idea for this column when I saw a vanity license plate on a car. It seemed to coalesce in moments in my brain, but I was afraid that I may have written about it before. Indeed, I did. Some ten years ago, it was a topic that also entered my mind while driving, and I shared my thoughts then. My thoughts are slightly different this time around, but I know that since I bumped into someone else on the same path – in this case, me of ten years ago – it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s emes (the truth).
As I drove down one of the beautiful roads in the Monsey area, I noticed a license plate that said, “PERGRIN”. Ah… I said to myself. Peregrine, like the falcon. Now, though I had been able to decipher the intended word, I still had no idea of its relevance. Was this person a falconer, with a leather gauntlet and medieval mask? Or an amateur ornithologist? No idea.
Then I wondered. What if I’m wrong? Maybe it doesn’t say, “Peregrine.” Maybe the fellow behind the wheel is a comedian whose success is measured in smiles and laughs. He gets paid “per grin.” And once I’m at that explanation, maybe he’s not a comedian at all, but an Orthodontist. Again, he gets paid per grin. It’s also possible that he intended some other combination of words to be indicated by those letters. I don’t know, I’m just a spectator.
Many Possible Messages
And in life, it’s very much the same thing. Hashem (God) places His little messages wherever He chooses to place them, and when we see them, we try to figure them out. I don’t know why He does things, so I can only guess, just as I guessed the word peregrine. But even if I guess correctly, I still have no idea what is in Hashem’s mind because the word could mean so many different things to different people. It would be hubris for me to assume I can know what goes on in Hashem’s thoughts if He hasn’t told me in His Torah.
Maybe that’s what Shlomo HaMelech was referring to when he said, “Vanity of vanities, everything is vanity!” I mean, I don’t think horses and donkeys had license plates affixed to their tails, let alone vanity plates, but perhaps he was alluding to this concept that we only get hints and can’t know everything.
A Hidden Reason
I’m reminded of a story which I find very comforting.
One harsh winter day, the Baal Shem Tov gathered a group of nine of his chassidim (followers), got into a wagon, and let the horses loose. They came to rest at a small home in the middle of nowhere. When they did, the man of the house came out and asked, “Is one of you a mohel (one trained to perform circumcisions)? My son is 8 days old today and I could not take him out in this weather!”
One of the chassidim was a mohel and the brit milah (circumcision) was performed with great joy. Afterwards, the chassidim took out a festive meal to celebrate. The seudah (meal) was pierced by a heartrending cry. As she was nursing her newly-circumcised son, the mother shrieked as the boy died in her arms. The Baal Shem Tov and his entourage buried the child, performed the consolation ritual and tried to calm the couple, then left. In the wagon, there was an uproar. “Rebbe!” the chassidim cried. “What is going on?”
“Did you not hear that the baby was named Yosef? Today is the yahrtzeit (annual commemoration of one’s death) of Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch. When he was born, there was an epidemic so his bris (brit) was delayed. The only thing his soul needed for complete rectification was a bris bizmanah (circumcision done on time). This baby possessed that holy soul. Once he had a bris on time, he was able to return his now-perfect soul to Heaven.”
Hashem Is Good
We may not know what Hashem intends at any time, but we can certainly take the license to rest assured that His intentions are good.
By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
2025 – All Rights Reserved
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