Adom HaRishon was given one mitzvah: not to
eat from the Eitz HaDas. When he transgressed it, HASHEM gave him the
opportunity to do Tshuvah. Not only didn’t Adom repent, he played the blame
game – “It was that woman that You gave to me. You gave her to me as
a helpmate- she turned out to be my ruination.”
Rashi quotes the Gemarah that calls Adom a
Kofi Tov, one who denies the good. The Gemarah explains that this is a
trait that has plagued mankind from that moment. Instead of appreciating the
good, man has continued to deny the very good that is given to him over and
over again.
Adom’s claim was logical
The difficulty with this Rashi is that it
doesn’t seem that Adom was guilty of denying the good. HASHEM appeared to
him and he felt trapped, caught red-handed. The correct action on his part
would have been to admit his guilt and beg for forgiveness. That isn’t what
he did. Instead, he engaged in small minded, shifting of the blame. However,
there was a logic to it. “Because she was given to me as a helpmate, I
relied on her and trusted her.” That fact does mitigate his guilt. After
all, no one less than the Creator of the heavens and the earth, gave him
this woman as an aide. Surely he could trust HASHEM’s choice.
Adom was guilty of not owning up to his
responsibility for the act Maybe he was guilty of being dishonest. He just
wasn’t courageous enough to admit that he did wrong. But his sin wasn’t one
of not appreciating the good.
Appreciating our great wealth
The answer to this question lies in
understanding a different perspective. The Chovos Ha’Levovos gives a
parable. Imagine a man who becomes blind at age 35. For the next ten years,
he does his best to reconstruct his life, but now without sight. Being a
fighter, he struggles to create a productive life for himself. One day, his
doctor informs him of an experimental procedure that, if successful, would
enable him to see again. He is both frightened and exuberant. If it works he
regains his sight; if it fails, he might die.
He gathers together his family to talk it
over. After much debate he announces, “I am going ahead with it.” The
operation is scheduled. The long-awaited day arrives. Paralyzed with dread,
he is wheeled towards the operating room. Given sedatives, he sleeps through
the 10-hour operation.
When he wakes up, the first thought on his
mind is to open his eyes. He prepares himself for the moment. He will now
find out how he will spend the rest of his life. With his family gathered
around, with the doctors and nurses at his side, the surgeon begins removing
the gauze. The first bandage is off, now the second. The surgeon says, “Open
your eyes.” He does. And he sees!
For the first time in ten years, he looks out
and experiences the sights of this world – and he is struck by it all.
Struck by the brilliance of colors and shapes; moved by the beauty and
magnificence of all that is now in front of him. He looks out the window and
sees a meadow covered with beautiful, green grass. He sees flowers in full
bloom. He looks up and sees a clear, blue sky. He sees people, the faces of
loved ones that had only been images in his mind – the sight of his own
children whom he hasn’t seen in years. Tears well in his eyes, as he speaks,
“Doctor, what can I say? What can I ever do to repay you for what you have
given me? This magnificent gift of sight! Thank you!”
This emotion, this extreme joy and sense of
appreciation, is something that we should feel regularly. The feeling of
elation that man felt when he regained his sight is something that we can
feel on a daily basis if we go through the process of training ourselves to
feel it. We have this most precious, unparalleled gift called sight, and it
is something that we are supposed to stop and think about – not once in a
lifetime, not even once a year, but every day. A part of our spiritual
growth is learning to appreciate the gifts that we have. One of the
blessings we say every morning thanks HASHEM for this most wonderful gift of
sight. It was meant to be said with an outpouring of emotion.
We humans are a curious breed. We can have
treasures for years, not once thinking of the wealth that we have been
given; not once stopping to appreciate them. Not taking a moment to be
thankful for them, until something happens, and we lose that gift. Then, it
is “HASHEM , why me? Of all the occupants of the planet why did you pick
me?” Till then there wasn’t a moment of reflection. Not one thank you. Not
even a recognition that it was a gift. Now that it is gone the complaints
find their home.
We fail to see the good
The reason that we humans don’t appreciate
the good is because we fail to recognize it. It isn’t a problem with
appreciation; it is a problem of recognition. By nature we
are very appreciative. “If I had any gift, if anyone were to ever do
anything for me, I would be the most appreciative person in the world. The
problem is that I have nothing. No one ever does anything for me.”
This seems to be the answer to Adom. On some
level, he did not recognize the great good that HASHEM had given him in
“that woman,” his helpmate. Had he fully recognized the good, he would have
felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation, which would have prevented him
from saying the words, “That woman that you gave to help me….” Those
words came out because to some extent, he failed to recognize how good she
was for him, and therefore he was able to blame her. Had he been fully
cognizant of the good, the natural sense of appreciation would have
prevented him from making such a statement.
Improving our lives
This concept has great ramifications in our
lives. Our service to HASHEM should be powered by a tremendous sense of
appreciation for the good bestowed upon us. Many of our interpersonal
relationships are dramatically weakened because we fail to remember the
great good that has been bestowed upon us – by our parents, by our spouses.
Ultimately, our lives become so much richer and more enjoyable when we train
ourselves to focus on and recognize the good. Our natural sense of
appreciation and a desire to pay back the good then wells up within our
hearts.
The solution is to take stock, to compare
ourselves to others less fortunate, and to recognize the blessings and the
good given to us. Once we do that, our natural sense of appreciation flows
from our hearts and changes the way we think and act.
For more
on this topic please listen to
Shmuz
#148 Rich, Richer, Richest - How to be Wealthy , and Shmuz #177
