פרשת ויקרא
ונפש כי תקריב קרבן מנחה לה' סלת יהיה קרבנו ויצק עליה שמן ונתן עליה לבנה | ויקרא ב', אי
When a person offers a meal-offering to Hashem, his offering shall be fine flour; he should pour oil upon it and place frankincense upon it
The korban mincha is the only voluntary korban where the donor is described as נפש, a soul.
Rashi, quoting the Gemara explains that this very inexpensive korban was generally brought by a poor person who could not afford a more expensive korban of a goat, sheep, or bull, or even a pair of turtledoves or pigeons. Therefore, the Torah emphasizes how greatly pleased Hashem is with this poor man’s korban, which is considered as if he had sacrificed his very soul to Hashem.
There is a very practical insight to be learned from Rashi’s words. One cannot negate the efforts made by those who sincerely desire to do good but lack the financial or intellectual wherewithal to do so.
When an appeal is made in shul or by a mass mailing, some people hesitate to respond. “What difference will my few dollars make to cover the massive budget of this yeshivah? How will my small donation help this organization repay their debts? Let the rich people give the big money!”
It is true that a poor man’s few dollars might not make a difference for the yeshivah. Nonetheless, Hashem treasures the sincere efforts of those who strain themselves to give, even if it is a mere handful of flour mixed with a log of oil.
So too, should a person contribute whatever he can to tzedakah, even if it is a minimal amount and would seem not to make a difference.
Similarly, in a classroom there are students of various levels of intellectual ability. It is unfair to give a grade of 60 percent on the report card of a scholastically challenged student who does his best and yet can get only a 60 on a test. He deserves a mark of 90 percent because he has performed as well as can be expected from him. The grade of 90 percent is a realistic assessment of his growth and accomplishment. Hashem certainly holds precious the child’s efforts to learn and grow, as limited as the success may seem to be, and a rebbe or teacher should do the same for the child!
MESSAGES FROM RAV PAM
ע' מורה צדק דף קי"א
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.
