Parasha Thoughts
By Rabbi David Cohen
Do not covet your fellow’s house…not anything that belongs to your fellow. (20:14,15)
If we were to explore which transgression in the Torah encompasses all others, from which prohibition should one distance himself the most, the responses would vary. Chazal teach us that the Aseret Ha’Dibrot encompass the entire Torah. They serve as the foundation for the 613 mitzvos.
Therefore, all we must do is figure out which of these Ten Commandments carries the greatest weight, which one incorporates all of the others. In his Even Sheleimah, the Gaon, zl, m’Vilna points out that the very last commandment, Lo Tachmod, Do not covet, encompasses all the other commandments as well. Horav Chaim Vital, zl, comments that this is why it is the last of the commandments. It encompasses all of the others. One who covets — who is envious of what others possess, and is driven to have it for his very own – is falling into that abyss which is the root of all evil.
Why is this? Why should one who covets what someone else has be considered the paradigm of evil? If we think about it, it all really does make sense. This person is obviously dissatisfied with what he possesses, constantly envious of his fellow. What drives a person to such discontent? It comes from a lack of emunah in Hashem. He does not trust Hashem, or he subconsciously does not believe that Hashem guides his life as part of a Master plan, and that what he has – and what he does not have – is for a clear and defined reason.
We now understand why Lo Tachmod is the one transgression that encompasses all of the others. If one does not have faith in Hashem, then the rest of the Torah has no meaning or value. The cornerstone of Jewish observance is belief in Hashem. Without this essential ingredient motivating our observance, it will shortly dissipate. Believing in Hashem goes much further. One must recognize that who he is – the neshamah, soul, which serves as his identifying feature – is determined by Hashem. Likewise, it is Hashem who determines what life situation is best for nurturing his individual, unique soul. In other words, a believing Jew trusts that whatever happens to him is part of his ultimate destiny, as decided by Hashem. To covet is to deny this reality, thus undermining the entire corpus of Jewish belief.
Hashem wants us to be ourselves – not anyone else. Everything about our lives is part of His plan. Thus, when we are dissatisfied with our lot, we are actually disagreeing with Hashem’s decision. I recently heard a great quote: “There are two types of heretics; one says I don’t believe in God and the other says God doesn’t believe in me. “
Last year the kollel took on the initiative to read Living with Emunah. May I humbly suggest that we carry out the goal to read and re-read this wonderful sefer.