“Pharaoh commanded his entire people … “Every son that will be born – into the river you shall throw him …” (Shemos 1:22).
The medrash tells us that in response to this decree Amram divorced his wife and the rest of the Jewish nation followed suit. Miriam, his daughter, said: “Your decree is more severe than Pharaoh’s. Pharaoh only decreed that the male children be killed; your actions will result in no Jewish children at all being born.” Amram acknowledged the accuracy of her argument and took back his wife. The rest of the Jewish people did the same.
The Mashgiach, HaGaon R’ Yechezekl Levenstein notes that, indeed, Miriam was correct. Her argument was that having couples separate or divorce, and engaging in shev v’al ta’aseh (being passive) was excessive, for no children at all would be born, not even females. The thought process of believing that rather than having a child murdered he would separate from his wife was incorrect. Miriam revealed the will of Heaven that the exact opposite was appropriate.
A bachur from the Yeshiva Orchos Torah was scheduled to get married on the 27th of Tishrei, a week after Simchas Torah, when the bachurim would still not have returned to yeshiva. The mechutanim requested that the wedding be scheduled for a later date, when the bachurim would all have returned to yeshiva and could participate in the wedding.
At the end of Av, another bachur got engaged and the only available date was the 27th of Tishrei; otherwise, he would have to wait till the 14th day in Cheshvan. The first bachur requested that he schedule it for the later date so that the two weddings should not be on the same date.
Doubtful on how to proceed, the two bachurim presented their dilemma to HaGaon Rav Ahron Leib Shteinman who advised them that one never pushes off the wedding date. He explained that our sages tell us that Boaz died the following day after his marriage. If he would have pushed off the marriage date by one day he would not have merited to bring the Mashiach. Getting married is also a mitzvah, and the performance of mitzvot should not be postponed, for it is unknown what opportunity may be lost. Rav Shteinman suggested that the two bachurim should make the necessary arrangements so that half the guests would attend one wedding, and the other half would attend the second wedding.
Rav Shteinman stipulated that his words were da’as Torah, and Rav Elyashiv echoed the same thoughts – that one should not delay a wedding more than is customary. This is analogous to Miriam’s exchange with Amram, that the separation of a husband and his wife could be akin to literally killing the females.
Our sages teach us (Pesachim 4a) that it is meritorious to be alacritous in the performance of mitzvot, i.e. to do them at one’s earliest opportunity. This principle is derived from Avraham Avinu who set out early in the morning to perform the challenging task of akeidas Yitzchak, as it says (Bereishis 19:27), “Avraham arose early in the morning.”
The Sefer Toldos Vayechi Yosef says that, in fact, when a person is excited about something, or he stands to profit from his action, he will hurry to do what needs to be done. When one moves quickly to perform a mitzvah, he demonstrates that he is enthusiastic about the mitzvah and is eager to perform it. He appreciates the great value of the mitzvah and does not want to pass on it.
This dictum of our sages is also applied, as well, in the halachic analysis of the proper fulfillment of certain mitzvot. For example, the Vilna Gaon discusses whether one should buy the first lulav and esrog he finds that meet the halachic requirements in order to expeditiously fulfill the mitzvah, or he should wait until that time when he finds a lulav and esrog that are more mehudar (beautiful). In a similar vein, the question arises whether one should daven at the preferred time without a minyan, or pray with a minyan at a less optimal time.
Nineteen-year-old Nachman Shilion, one of ten brothers and sisters, lives in Netivot. He tells that one of the challenges he has in life is that he often cannot get up in the morning to daven and sleeps in very late.
“This year on Simchas Torah,” he says, “I decided that I would not give in. It’s Simchas Torah, it’s Shabbat. I have to get up. I had been in such a deep sleep.
“I really wanted to pull the covers back over my head and continue to sleep. But I knew that if I did that there was a good chance I would miss davening all together, as well as the hakafot. After moments of internal fighting, I hurriedly got out of bed and went to the bais haknesses.
“I was given an aliyah,” Nachman continues, “but when I began to recite the brachot over the Torah we suddenly heard loud explosions. We were all shaken. It sounded like a missile had fallen very close by.
“Very soon after, my sister ran into shul, with a pale face, and told me that a missile had fallen on our house. I was shocked. She assured me that everything was in order, they were just very rattled.
“I ran home with her. The family were standing outside the house in dazed silence, surrounded by a choking stench. Inside, the odor was even stronger.
“As I looked around, I saw a huge object lying on the floor. ‘What is this?’ I asked. They told me it was the missile.
“The house was completely destroyed, but my parents were thankful that, baruch Hashem, only the house had been damaged. We later found out that the Iron Dome had not been able to avert every missile.
“When we went upstairs, we were shocked to see that the missile had gone through my room, obliterating everything in the room, including my bed, to ashes.”
Nachman kept thinking – if he would have remained in bed for just a few more minutes and ignored the wake-up call, if he wouldn’t have gone to shul – and admitted that even if he would have heard the loud noises he would have convinced himself that he was dreaming and would have continued sleeping.
“A missile had never come near our house, certainly not into our house. I would have confidently kept sleeping,” said Nachman. “The moment that the missile struck, was the moment that I had my aliyah to the Torah.
“In the zechus that I battled with myself to wake up, in the zechus that I went to daven, and in the zechus of the Torah, I was saved.”
