“…See Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Chur, of the tribe of Yehuda” (Shemos 35:30).
The Medrash Shemos Rabbah asks: Why was there a need to mention Chur here?
The Medrash explains that when the Jewish people wanted to worship the Golden Calf, Chur protested. He was moser nefesh (gave up his life) to prevent them from idol worship, and he was killed.
Hashem said: By your life, I will repay you.
This is comparable to a king whose troops rebelled against him. One officer, however, fought against all of them on behalf of the king. The king arose and announced to all the troops, “You rebelled against me; I will kill you all.” He then said to the officer who had defended his honor, “If you had given money on my behalf, wouldn’t I have to pay you back? How much more so, that you gave your life for me, now what can I do for you? All your children and grandchildren will be princes and officers.”
The Bais Yaakov says that this is a mussar haskel (ethical lesson) with regard to the proper service of Hashem. Sometimes a person is moser nefesh to do the will of Hashem. It may be that the person will not be able to accomplish his goal. Nevertheless, one should be aware that the fact that he even tried to stand up for the honor of Hashem is considered a noteworthy mitzvah.
Here, when Moshe Rabbeinu gathered the Jewish nation he told them: You will all see that Hashem is faithful to those who do His will. Any good deed, any good thought, or good word that a person does or says will be remembered eternally, and will be rewarded. This is as we learn (Avos 2:1), “… Know what is above you – an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book.” Chur was moser nefesh al kiddush Hashem. Even though he was not successful and he was killed, nevertheless Chur still received a rich reward and it was guarded for his progeny who were tzaddikim and aristocrats.
It is likewise assured that the descendants of those tzaddikim who were moser nefesh for the sake of the Jewish people will follow in the ways of their fathers.
The great R’ Noam Elimelech writes in his well-known Tzetel Katan that at any given moment in time that one is not learning, he should focus on the positive Torah commandment of (Vayikra 22:32), “I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel.” He should imagine that for the sake of mesiras nefesh for Torah and mitzvot he is prepared to sacrifice himself al Kiddush Hashem in the large fire burning in front of him.
The Noam Elimelech says that merely thinking this way is considered by Hashem as though the person actually did so and in that way, he has fulfilled the positive mitzvah of sanctifying Hashem’s name.
The Satmar Rebbe elaborates on this and notes that the Evil Inclination fixates especially on those individuals who study Torah and have resolved to honor the Name of Hashem at all costs. Yet, it is specifically the resolution to be moser nefesh in Hashem’s honor that will help the individual withstand life’s challenges, and the Evil Inclination will not be able to prevail over him.
Mesiras nefesh does not only refer to extreme instances. It also includes acts that may require a degree of selflessness for others.
A Yid who earned his living as a gemologist had been living under the very strict regime in Russia. He recounted the following:
He had a demanding job, and coming to work on time was mandatory. One day as he headed to his job, he suddenly heard a call for a “tenth man” for a minyan. He had never heard such a call in the street. When he turned around, he saw a man standing in a doorway motioning that he join him.
“I have yahrzeit for my father today,” the man said. “Maybe you can come in to complete the minyan?”
I went inside and saw that there were, in fact, only four people gathered.
“You need a tenth man?” I inquired. “Why did you trick me? You called for a tenth man, but I am only the fifth person. I am leaving. It will take too long and I will be late for work.”
The man begged the gemologist not to leave. “Believe me,” he said, “when you will have yahrzeit you will do the same.”
“When I heard these words,” related the gemologist, “I had pity on him and I acquiesced. I was already there. I might as well wait for ten people to gather so he could say Kaddish. I sat impatiently on the edge of the chair, while he continued to look for more people. He was probably convincing each individual that he was the tenth one.
“Twenty minutes later we finally had ten people. I figured he would recite the Kaddish and we would be able to leave. But that wasn’t it. He began with Hodu.”
“Shacharis?” I asked incredulously, and he responded in the affirmative.
“I told him I couldn’t wait and got up to leave, but he stood in the doorway.
“You’re not leaving,” he said. “I have yahrzeit for my father.”
“I didn’t have the heart to abandon him and his minyan. I thought to myself: So I will be late. Whatever will happen, will be.
“I sat back down. The prayers finished, and the man gave everyone a bracha for coming.
“Now that I had done the mitzvah I didn’t give it another thought and left the room satisfied that I had enabled him to say Kaddish with a minyan.
“As I approached the building, a person came over and whispered: Run away as fast as you can. The murderers are inside your office. This morning the Communists rose to power and the first building they came to was yours. They have already killed about 70 of the people there.
“The man gave me a push, and, believe me, I ran as fast as I could.”
The Yid concluded, “We learn in Pirkei Avos (2:1), ‘Calculate the cost of a mitzvah against its reward.’ I lost forty-five minutes but I gained a new lease on life.”
