We are enjoined to burn the nosar, left-over meat of a korban, after the time limit for its consumption has passed. The simple reason for the burning of nosar, is that after a few days, the meat begins to spoil and emit a putrid odor. It is no longer edible and people will be disgusted by it. Hashem does not want kodoshim, consecrated meat of a korban, to be a source of repulsion. Thus, He commands us to rid ourselves of this meat through the most effective means. (This is actually a rationale given by the Sefer HaChinuch for the purpose of human understanding. The actual reason for all mitzvos elude us. Hashem, the Divine Author of the Torah has His reasons for individual mitzvos – esoteric reasons which are beyond our grasp)
Second, the mitzvah alludes to the importance of bitachon, trust, in Hashem. The Almighty does not want a person to starve himself for fear that he might not have sufficient food for the next day. He, therefore, commanded that the meat should be destroyed when its time has passed. Neither human nor animal may partake of this meat. Hashem wants us to look up and rely on Him to provide us with our needs. Tomorrow? He will take care of us when the time comes. We must learn to place our trust in Him. We do not starve ourselves today out of worry for tomorrow. The One Who provided for us today can, and will, do so tomorrow.
This idea is the underlying concept, the anchor behind the manna that descended from Heaven. The people were enjoined to eat whatever they needed for one day. They received exactly as much as Heaven determined were their individual needs for one day – and no more. This routine continued every day (except for Shabbos for which they received a double-portion on Friday) for forty years. They were prohibited from saving manna for the next day, because such action would be indicative of a lack of faith in Hashem’s ability to sustain them. As a distinguished Rav said, “He Who created the ‘day’ will also create the sustenance for it.”
One who has bitachon, who lives his life with unreserved trust in Him, will safeguard his performance of mitzvos against violations which are engendered by anxiety concerning material hardship – real or imagined. Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, contends that one who has not learned to trust Hashem for the next day will worry so much about the prospects of years to come that he will ultimately be led astray from Hashem and His Torah.
The Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, was asked what it means to trust in Hashem. He replied that David Hamelech answers this in Tehillim 131:2, Shivisi v’domamti nafshi k’gamul alei imo, “I have stilled and quieted myself like a suckling babe beside his mother.” We should think of ourselves (says the Gaon) as a nursing infant. When he is full, he does not worry whether he will have more in a few hours when he will once again be hungry. He does not worry about what will be. Now, he is fine. His mother provided for him. So, too, we should not worry. Our Father in Heaven has provided and will continue to do so.
The baal bitachon who trusts in Hashem realizes that he has no other option than Hashem. Every other source is either a figment of our imagination or one of the many agencies which Hashem employs to deliver His beneficence. How often do we petition the assistance of individuals who have protektsia, personal connections, as an “alternative” to relying on the only true Source of abetment? After wasting considerable time, effort and money, they come to the realization that human assistance is just that: human. Hashem pulls the strings. Sooner or later, we will have to turn to Him for an answer to our concerns. So, why not sooner?
Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita (Barchi Nafshi) offers an excellent analogy that should engender contemplation on our part, to the point that we realize that we are looking for aid in all the wrong places. A benevolent king, who loved his subjects and treated them royally, sought to avail them the opportunity to obtain great wealth. As he was not giving it away, he devised a test which put their cognitive skills to a test. He announced that, at the bottom of a pond located in the royal garden, was a treasure chest filled with diamonds and other precious stones. The pond was far from shallow, and the chest was far from light. It was up to the successful person to figure out a way to retrieve the chest and somehow haul it to dry land. Everyone lined up and took his turn in attempting to drag the chest up to the garden. Some used brute strength, others were more creative, devising intricate engineering plans to bring the chest up. All failed. The people felt that the kind king had used and made fools of them. There appeared to be no way to draw the chest to the surface. They all gave up.
There was one person, a wise man, who did not give up. He knew there was a catch to this. He walked all around the pond, studied the chest, and, after contemplation, asked the king, “Is it necessary that one’s clothing become soaked in his attempt to retrieve the chest?” In other words, was it necessary to dive down into the pond in order to get to the chest? The king replied, “No.” The king was no fool. He knew by listening to the question that the wise man had solved the conundrum. He had figured out how to bring the treasure chest to the king. The wise man took a ladder and proceeded to climb the tree whose branches overhung the pond. Lo and behold, situated in the tree, supported by branches, was the elusive treasure. It was never in the water. What they saw was a reflection. They had been looking in the wrong place this entire time.
The lesson is obvious. We look all around us for someone, something, any avenue or medium that can extricate us from our situation. We look everywhere but up to Heaven.
The following story gives us a window into the perspective of bitachon intimated by gedolei Yisrael. One of the most prolific heroes of the Holocaust was Horav Michael Dov Weissmandel, zl. Through his tireless efforts, he saved thousands of Jews from the Nazi murderers. He could have saved more; he could have done better. These feelings gnawed at him until his last mortal breath. He had an intense love for the Jewish people and was prepared to do anything, to go anywhere, to spare their lives. As a result of his negotiations with the murderers, he was given the opportunity to save Slovakian Jewry (over 100,00 souls) for the sum of two million dollars. The ransom was indeed an exorbitant sum, but can one put a price on a Jewish soul?
Rav Weissmandel pleaded, begged and wept copious tears in his attempt to warm the hearts of the assimilated Jewish leadership both in America and in Eretz Yisrael. They were, however, committed to establishing a Jewish state – an ideal which, to them, took precedence over the plight of Slovakian Jewry. One cannot calmly relate one of the ugliest periods in our history, where brother could have saved brother – and chose not to. His priorities were Jewish land over Jewish life. Rav Weissmandel was relentless. He refused to give up. Telegram after telegram described the atrocities, the persecution, the wholesale murder. Yet, they were not moved. They had their own agenda, and it did not coincide with Rav Weissmandel’s. In the end, they relented and contributed some money – too little – too late. He was able to save some Jews. The majority, however, were relegated to become martyrs as they perished sanctifying Hashem’s Name.
It was after the war, and Rav Weissmandel came to America. He met with Horav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, zl, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rav Weissmandel became very emotional when he met the Rebbe. The pain and anguish over his failure to save more Jews was overwhelming. He could not stop crying bitterly. The Rebbe said nothing, allowing him to vent his emotions.
Finally, when Rav Weissmandel calmed down, the Rebbe asked, Uhn ver hot dos getohn, “And who (do you think) did all of this?” Der Bashefer, “The Creator! You think that this was all the result of the failure of secular Jewry to assist in the plight of their brothers and sisters? Can they do anything? Are they able to achieve anything (on their own)? This was all the Hands of Hashem. Since He did all of this (and did not permit your efforts to succeed), then all this is His decree. It is all for the good – because this is what the Almighty wanted.”
