Succos 5785

This Shabbos we will read Sefer Koheles, which says (11:1) “Send forth your bread upon the surface of the water, for after many days you will find it.” The Sifsei Chachamim points out two problems with this pasuk. First. If you send out your bread across the waters, how will you be able to find it? Second, why should you bother sending something out if you will find it again anyway? Wouldn’t you be better off not sending it out in the first place?

Rashi answers allegorically. One should do chessed (act in a kind way) to a person even where one’s heart tells him (or her) that one will never see this person again. This is like a person who sends out his bread on the surface of the water, knowing that he will likely never see the bread again. Nevertheless, Koheles continues that “after many days you will find it.” How is that possible? Rashi says that time will pass, but at some point, one will receive compensation for the kindness that one does. In other words, even though one may give away valuable time and money in doing chessed, it will ultimately not result in a loss. On the contrary, Hashem orchestrates the world in such a way that when one acts in a kind manner, sometime in the future that act of chessed will come back to benefit the giver.

Rashi gives an example from Shemos (2:20). When Yisro told his daughters to find the Egyptian stranger (Moshe) who helped them and to offer him bread, Yisro thought he would never see Moshe again after that. Nevertheless, the end result was that Moshe became his son-in-law and the leader of Israel, he brought Yisro to Hashem, and Yisro’s descendants became great sages who were part of the Sanhedrin. Yisro’s small act of chessed offering Moshe bread ultimately brought Yisro tremendous reward.

Why did Rashi bring this example? Yisro wasn’t Jewish – he was an idolatrous priest. Moreover, Yisro had an ulterior reason to offer Moshe bread – he was actually looking for a good husband for his daughters.

It appears that Rashi picked this example to illustrate the tremendous power of chessed. Even though Yisro at the time was an idolatrous priest, and his act of chessed was not altruistic, and he initially only offered Moshe bread, Yisro received incredible benefit for his efforts. We can therefore conclude that if we do selfless acts of chessed to help others, how much more reward will we be entitled to. As we start the new year purified from the Yomim Noraim (High Holy Days), we should undertake to increase our efforts to do more chessed to help others. In the merit of sending bread “on the surface of the waters”, we should see Hashem’s blessing of “after many days you will find it” resonate for us and for all the Jewish people.