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Thought for the Day: בשבילי נברא העולם/The World Was Created for Me

I saw a mashal brought by R' Biderman in the Yamin Noraim sheets. A simple fellow became a ba'al t'shuva and he had a good friend, a talmid chacham, who helped him with his davening. Came Elul and the talmid chacham told his friend that now they would start getting up early for slichos. The month or week (depending on whether he was Sfardi or Ashkenazi; that wasn't specified and is entirely irrelevant to the point I of the story, as you will see if you let me get there) passed and he said, "Now on Erev Rosh HaShannah we get up really early and have three or four times as many slichos!" Fine. Then Rosh HaShanna, "Shofar, Mussaf, chazanus!" Uh-huh. Then the 10 Days of Repentance, more slichos (albeit less on erev Yom Kippur), then Yom Kippur ... a full day of davening and fasting! Then Sukkos with lulav and esrog and hakafos and Hallel and more musaf. Whew... ok... wow. Then Simchas Torah when we dance for hours with the sefer Torah! "Tell me," asked the simple person, "and then after Simchas Torah, what do we add on then?" "After Simchas Torah? We go back to usual."

That Simchas Torah, our simple friend danced with such enthusiasm knowing that he was finally at the end and would be a free man tomorrow!

Nebbich, right? None of us wants to be that guy and the message is clear. But, honestly, I feel like that guy sometimes. Not that dancing part, but the rest.

Then I heard (video on Rav Meilech Biderman - English Subtitles WhatsApp group): The Sfas Emes asks why HaShem didn't just start mankind with Noach? After all, the 10 generations before him were totally obliterated and lost; no portion in the world to come. Just start with Noach, which is what is going to happen anyway. The Sfas Emes answers: The deeds of a צדיק/righteous person are more valuable to HaShem then the creation of the entire world. It was worth creating the entire world 10 generations before Noach so that Noach could be born, have a childhood, grow in appreciation of HaShem, and become a צדיק. Inspiring, no?

But what happened right after Noach saved the world? You can go read about it, but you all know. However you understand what happened, you may still wonder what Noach did so bad to have that disgraceful story written about him and to be treated like that by his own son.

I would like to suggest that is the wrong question. I think the right question is how is it possible for someone to have fallen into such a disgraceful situation to be considered more important than the creation of the world itself?! And the simple answer is: disgraceful actions don't erase צדקות/righteousness. People fall, even great people fall. Then they get up. They don't know what comes next. Maybe another fall. Maybe another chance to shine. But they get up and move on.

I sometimes feel a kindred spirit to that simple fellow, but I have my moments. And the mishna (Sanhedrin 4:5) tells us that every person needs to say: בשבילי נברא העולם/the world was created for me. Not for people like me, not for the person I wish I was. בשבילי נברא העולם. Me, as I am. With all my failings and occasional moments of unfailure.

בשבילי נברא העולם -- So I appreciate you all being here, it certainly makes things more fun!
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