"Every firstborn male that is born in your cattle and in your flock, you shall sanctify to Hashem, your G-d...Before Hashem, your G-d, shall you eat it, year by year, in the place that Hashem will choose, you and your household."
In this week's parasha, we are told that we must sanctify every firstborn male in our cattle to Hashem - which means we must give it to the Kohen. The parasha goes on to tell us that, if you do this, you will eat it year after year. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt"l asks a question on this pasuk - if I gave the firstborn to the Kohen, how is it possible that I will eat it every year?!? His answer is quite beautiful...
The fact that I possess a firstborn means that my cattle has just started to earn me an income - it has started reproducing. I can now let out a sigh of relief and know that money is on the way! Just at that moment, however, Hashem tells me that I must give my cattle away. How will I ever earn money?
Says Rabbi Feinstein, Hashem commands you to give away your firstborn. He then promises you that, if you do so, He will provide you with cattle to eat year after year! In other words, the reward for giving away the little that you have is a gift of having a lot!!
It is easy to give away something that you have a lot of. The challenge is giving away something you have a little of. When a person wins the lottery, he has no problem giving a portion of his victory to charity - but what about before he wins the lottery? Is he willing to give up a portion of his regular earnings if he isn't rich?Hashem is teaching us that we don't have to wait until we win the lottery to give charity. Give it now and your reward will be the fact that you never need to win the lottery!
May we all have the emunah to give even that which we do not have. As a reward, may Hashem bless us with an abundance of wealth, health and prosperity; and in the z'chut of our giving - may we merit to see the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days!
Shabbat Shalom!
May we a
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