By Rabbi David Cohen: A man’s holies shall be his. (5:10)
The Chafetz Chaim, zt’l, wrote that the above pasuk teaches us that an object or endeavor which a person dedicates/consecrates for sacred use is what actually belongs to him, and this is what ultimately accompanies him to the eternal world of Olam Habba, the World to Come. This means that the only objects/endeavors that we may call “ours” are those which are linked to a spiritual goal. Otherwise, we cannot consider it to belong to us. Moreover, we should not rely on others to carry out our responsibilities. True, many wonderful and generous people are around who are available to help a person in need, but what about “our” responsibility? Who will address our obligation to serve Hashem?
Indeed, in his Ahavas Chesed, the Chafetz Chaim writes: “Who is greater than Hillel, who certainly had sons who were holy Torah scholars, which in itself is a great merit for the Tanna? Yet, it was Hillel who declared, Im ein ani li – mi li? ‘If I am not for myself – who (else) will be for me?’ (Apparently, Hillel did not rely on his many z’chutim, merits. He continued to endeavor on behalf of Torah.) If so, what shall ‘we’ say, as we see the spiritual persona of the generations in decline… Each and every one of us must exert himself to the fullest to achieve spiritual perfection.”
