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Lemons for Oranges
Insight from the teachings of a great Sage and master of the spirit, Rabbi Avraham Pam
How the Divine rewards acts of kindness is often not obvious
— Leviticus 7:12
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T he korban todah is offered as an expression of thanksgiving to the Divine by someone who has been saved from
a life-threatening danger. As noted in the Talmud (Berachos
54b), the offering is brought by one who either: was seriously
ill and recovered; safely crossed an ocean; was freed from prison,
or safely crossed a desert. When a person lives through a traumatic
experience, it is vitally important to analyze the situation and discern
the merciful Hand of the Divine in it. Then he can truly be grateful
for the salvation he experienced and properly express his gratitude.
One of the fundamental principles of Jewish life is the realization
that the Divine deals with His creations mida k'neged mida, measure for
measure. At times this conduct is obvious, while often it is subtle.
The following Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 34:2) illustrates this
point:
The Divine says, ''You helped the poor man in his time of need. I will reward you for this at a time when your soul is about to depart your body.''
Why does the Divine not reward him before that time and under more
pleasant circumstances? The Dubno Maggid, in Ohel Yaakov (Leviticus
25:35), offers a profound solution to this question: The donor
gave the poor man a mere penny, but that penny made it possible
for him to buy a piece of bread with which to assuage his hunger
and extend his life. How much life did that single roll give the poor
man before he would once again face starvation? The satiation
may have lasted for eight to ten hours, and thus the donor has
given the poor man this additional gift of life. How will the Divine pay
the person back for his act of kindness? The Divine ''stores'' these
hours of life for a time when the donor finds himself in a dire
situation. It is then that He grants him those additional hours
of life.
LESSON FOR LIFE — LITERALLY
Rabbi Pam would illustrate this concept with an incident from his
own life when he clearly saw this measure for measure attribute of
the Almighty.
In late summer of 1976, Rabbi Pam and his wife were
spending a short vacation in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Rabbi Pam
fell ill and developed a very high fever. Suddenly he felt extremely
weak, about to faint. His wife ran out to the hallway of the rooming
house where they were staying. She banged on the door of a
neighbor and came back with a lemon. ''Bite into this! Bite into
this!'' she said. Rabbi Pam, with the last of his waning strength, bit
into the lemon and sucked out all its juice. Despite its intense bitterness,
the lemon felt like an elixir of life to him and temporarily
revived him.
A few days later, Rabbi Pam described to his son what had happened
to him. He said that he was surprised at how he had sucked
out the juice from the lemon in such an uncharacteristically coarse
manner. He had never seen a person eat a fruit in such an unrefined
way. As he was speaking, he reminded himself that many years
earlier he had, indeed, seen a person suck out the juice of a fruit in
such a strange way . . .
In the 1950s, Rabbi Pam had gone to visit an acquaintance in a
nursing home. He brought along a few oranges to give the man,
who refused to take them, saying that he had enough food to eat.
Rabbi Pam then offered them to another patient who was almost
totally paralyzed. Rabbi Pam peeled the orange and placed a piece
into his mouth. The man hungrily sucked the juice from the orange
with such unusual relish and appetite, as if his life depended on
every drop of juice! The man could not speak but his eyes conveyed
his intense feelings of gratitude for the fruit. Rabbi Pam was
awestruck by this unusual scene and it made a strong impression
upon him.
In remembering this scene of decades earlier, an insight flashed
through Rabbi Pam's mind as he recognized the Divine kindness that
he had experienced. The verse in Isaiah (40:31) says, Those who hope in the Divine
will experience an exchange of strength. The Almighty had made
an exchange of strength: a lemon for an orange. Rabbi Pam's gift of
an orange to a paralyzed old man had been repaid twenty years
later with a lemon which had revived Rabbi Pam and saved him from
collapse! The Divine had safeguarded his reward for his act of kindness
for a time when it would be of critical importance!
This attribute of measure for measure is alluded to in the words of
the verse, Send your bread upon the water, for after many days
you will find it (Ecclesiastes 11:1).
On a basic level, this means that
when one fulfills a religious duty or act of kindness, he should not abandon hope of seeing
his reward from the Almighty, because even if it takes a long time, it will
eventually come. But, in a deeper sense, for after many days you
will find it, is another aspect of the G-d's mercy. Instead of paying a person immediately for his kindness, the Almighty intentionally
''stores it'' and saves it for a time when the reward will spell the
difference between life and death.
Or HaChaim, in his comments
on the verse in Exodus (20:6): He shows kindness for
thousands (of generations) , alludes to this idea as well. It is the Almighty's
infinite kindness to His people that He does not pay them
immediately for their good deeds. He stretches the reward for generations
to come and doles it out at times when it is most critically
needed, and thus most beneficial.
The exceedingly intricate ways of G-d are above human comprehension. Yet by carefully analyzing the happenings in one's own life, a person will see how good the Divine is to him and will joyfully offer his thanks to Him.
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Comment by clicking here. Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Pam (1913 - August 16, 2001) was the dean of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York and a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudath Israel. Recently, some of his public addresses have been rendered into English by a disciple, Rabbi Sholom Smith. One collection is "Rav Pam on Chumash (Bible)", from which this essay was excerpted.
© 2007, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
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