In the Brachah of Borei Nefashos, we say that ‘Hashem creates numerous
living things with their deficiencies’. The Rashba (Teshuvos, 149) explains that
with these words we have gratitude to Hashem specifically for what appears to us
to be deficiencies in our lives, because in this way, we acknowledge that Hashem
has created us in this manner.
For example, Hashem could have created us without having the need to eat.
Therefore, we thank Hashem for this ‘deficiency’ which requires us to be human,
and to subsist on what Hashem provides us with.
This idea that we must appreciate everything that occurs in life, even if it
seems to be ‘deficient’ to us, is displayed by the Rosh Yeshivah of Tshebin in
Eretz Yisroel, Rav Avraham Genichuvski, zt”l, when he gave a Shiur to his
Talmidim.
He related the story of a Holocaust survivor who arrived in America shortly
after being liberated. He was looking for a way to make a living, but he was unable
to learn the English language very well, and because of this, his options were
limited.
A Neighborhood Shul was
Looking for a Shamesh
He heard that one of the Shuls in the neighborhood was looking for a
Shamesh, someone who could care for the Shul and help it run, as well as someone
to greet the members and visitors, and make them feel comfortable in Shul. The
Shul administration was impressed with this man, his confidence, his sense of
humor, and how well he got along with people.
He was about to get the job and sign a contract, when one of the board
members asked, “Of course, you speak English?” as until then they had only
spoken in Yiddish.
The man replied that he did not, and explained that in Poland he had had no
need to speak English, nor did it matter while he was in the Nazi concentration
camps, and he hasn’t picked it up that well.
The board member said, “We are very sorry that we can’t offer you the job.
In our Shul, we often have celebrations which are attended by family and friends,
and to many of them, a Shul is very foreign. They need someone to guide them
through the Davening and explain what is happening, and all of this requires
fluency in the English language. We would love for you to have gotten the job, but
you simply do not have the qualifications for it.”
Decided to Purchase a Pushcart
The man realized that he was out of choices, so he decided to purchase a
used pushcart and sell small items on the corner of one of the busy streets.
Business started picking up almost right away for him, and he expanded quickly,
hiring other people to manage additional pushcarts. Eventually, he had several
pushcarts throughout the city, and at this point, he decided it was time open a large
retail department store.
This too saw success, and soon he was purchasing other businesses. The
simple pushcart had now become a large corporation! At the closing of a major
transaction involving the purchase of a number of stores, he was asked to read and
sign the contract. The man gave the contract to his secretary, and asked for it to be
read it to him.
The businessmen and lawyers who had gathered around the conference table
were incredulous to see that this man, the CEO of such a large business, could not read English. They asked him, “How is it possible that you were able to build and
maintain such a large business empire, yet you can’t read English?”
He said, “Let me explain something to you. If I had even spoken English a
few years ago, today, I wouldn’t be here making this deal. I would be washing
floors in the Shul!”
The Rosh Yeshivah concluded his Shiur by telling his students, “We don’t
realize how it is specifically the ‘deficiency’ that may bring us the opportunities to
succeed in life, and can often turn our lives completely around. It is for this that we
thank Hashem in Borei Nefashos!”
