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The Short Vort- -“All’s Well That Ends Well-” (6/25/10)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Friday the 13th of Tammuz 5770 and June 25, 2010
Parshas Balak; Candle Lighting in Passaic, NJ- 8:14;
All’s Well That Ends Well-
Shakespeare
In this week’s Parsha- Parshas Balak, Bilam makes the following declaration
“May my soul die the death of the upright and let my end be like his."
(Perek 23; passuk: 10)
What does the phrase ‘May my soul die the death of the upright and let my end be like his’ mean?
What did Bilam mean when he said ‘let my end be like ‘his’? Who is ‘his’?
The commentators point out that the pronoun ‘his’ refers to the avos –Avrohom, Yitzchok, Yakov. Meaning, Bilam wanted ‘his end’ be like that of the ‘avos’, of the forefathers?
What does this mean? What did Bilam mean when he stated that he wants his ‘end’ to be like the ‘end’ of the ‘avos’?
The commentators explain that this means that Bilam wanted to receive Olam Obah.
Meaning, Bilam wanted to be granted a share in the world to come.
Although he never lived a life which would have granted him a share in the next world, nevertheless, he wanted to have a piece of Olam Obah.
As the Chofetz Chaim explains, Bilam was sending out a message which has been echoed since his time and continues to be heard in our days as well.
What is that message?
Bilam wanted to have a share in the world to come; Bilam wanted to have a legacy among the greatest of the great, the avos. He wanted to be remembered as a good person.
However, as the Chofetz Chaim points out, although Bilam wanted to ‘die’ and have his ‘end’ like the avos, he was never willing to ‘live’ or to have his ‘beginning’ like the avos.
So too, as the Chofetz Chaim explains, we as well often repeat the words of Bilam.
Who does not want to be remembered at the end of their life as a good, charitable and loving person?
Who does not want to be extolled at their levaya (funeral) as a person
who was committed to Torah and to Mitzvohs?
However, how many of us are willing to put in the effort in this world to earn these accolades?
We all have a little bit of Bilam in us.
We want the world to be a place where ‘All is well that ends well’.
However, that is not how life is.
We cannot expect to be granted a share in the world to come if we do not earn it.
We cannot expect to leave a positive legacy in this world if we do not work hard to earn that legacy.
All of us want everything to ‘end well’; however, how many of us are willing to put in the effort in this world to ‘begin it in a ‘well’ fashion’?
A Gutten Shabbos to all!