The sacrifices of the nesi'im exemplified something
very Jewish. Twelve different people executing identical acts
in succession. The same sacrifices, the same order. And yet,
each one is unique, specific, disparate, and bears the name
of its separate donor.
The Ramban explains why the Torah elaborates upon every
detail with each of the Princes from two vantage points. Both
explanations combine to teach an important lesson derived
from their similarities.
He writes: "Hakodosh Boruch Hu metes out honor to
those who fear Him, as it is written, `For those who honor Me
will I honor.' And here, the nesi'im all brought the
sacrifice which they had jointly agreed upon. It was
inevitable that one should precede his fellow prince and so
those whose banners were first were honored with seniority
rights. But the Torah wished to mention them all by name and
to specify their sacrifices, not to itemize the first and be
done with an all inclusive dismissing `and so did the rest
bring.'
"There is another reason as well. Each one of the princes
conceived of the idea to bring a gift of those particular
specifications to the dedication -- and all happened to be
identical. Nachshon had his particular thoughts and intents,
while each of the other tribes also had their individual
reasons for the very same offering. In fact, the Midrash
elaborates on the different thoughts behind each tribal
offering. This, then, is why each tribe was mentioned
separately, distinctly, in detail, since his offering was
unique and characteristic to him.
These thoughts actually symbolize the life
goal of every Jew on earth. On the personal plane, every
person may at some time secretly entertain the idea that he
is inconsequential. Who am I? What am I, after all? I am
but a drop in a sea of multitudes; everyone is keeping the
identical 613 mitzvos, the same Torah, the same
routine.
In Pirkei Ovos, Hillel the humble stands up boldly and
declares, "If I am not for myself, who shall be for me?" In
other words, no one on this world can replace me for I have a
particular mission on earth. Everyone has his role to
play.
"Do not look at his outward appearance -- for man sees
through his [mortal] eyes [whereas] Hashem looks into the
heart." These were Hashem's words to Shmuel Hanovi. From all
outward appearances, it seemed that Yishai's sons were
equally fit. Such a notion can result in a helpless attitude,
a defeatism that, if I can't accomplish something, another
person will come along and do it instead. To combat this,
Chazal say: "If I am not for myself, who shall be?"
"Why was man created single? Because each and every person
constitutes an entire world."
In reality, each of the princes had completely different
kavonos from one another. And Hashem discerned them
all, for He reads hearts.
Just as a person will not make the mistake of thinking that
different products with the same wrapping are identical
inside, so can we not lump together or, alternately, compare
the mitzvos of different people, since their spiritual
execution, the thoughts that spur and motivate a person to do
them and that bind him to Hashem in the process, have a
completely invisible dimension that only Hashem can discern
and appreciate.
Who can measure a mother's love and who can measure the place
that each child takes up in her heart? This is an invisible
dimension which we cannot measure.
We can now infer particulars from the generality. Prayer, for
example, three times a day, seven days a week, thirty days a
month, is a patent repetition. The same words each time,
no?
And yet, "From the very time that the prayers were
established and up till the coming of the Redeemer, no one
prayer recited ever identically matched [or will match] the
recital of its fellow prayer, not before nor after. This is
why Chazal interpreted Shlomo's teaching of something that,
`Is distorted and cannot be mended' as applying to one who
has omitted a single recital of krias shema or
shemone esrei in his lifetime. He cannot make amends
because he has lost out on that particular opportunity and it
cannot be retrieved. A chink in the continuous chain
(Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar II, chap. 13).
One prayer omitted can never, ever, be rectified or
compensated for. The deformation exists and the fact that a
wholesome prayer session precedes the omission, or a
wholesome prayer session succeeds it, has nothing to do with
it. The flaw remains a flaw. The outward form of the princes'
offerings were identical, seemingly, but this did not reflect
the difference that existed from within, in depth, in a
dimension which only Hashem could fathom and measure, a
dimension of the heart.
Each day is different from its predecessor, despite its
outward monotonous appearance. "Each day and its
accomplishments endure, each day without accomplishments is a
day lost for all time. `A day unto its day' and not `A day
unto another day' (Zohar, part III, 105).
"For from his day of birth, man is expected to make specific
amends for that particular day, since this is the purpose of
his creation, and each day is different from its fellow day.
This is why it is vital for a person to pay heed lest his
days are wasted, G-d forbid, and he should not rely on coming
days to make amends, for a day lost, is lost forevermore. How
can he retrieve what is gone forever?" (Avodas Yisroel,
Pirkei Ovos).
The practical application can be found in Mishnas R'
Aharon: A person should judge himself at every moment as
if his entire spiritual situation and his entire obligation
in serving Hashem at that given moment, his very purpose in
life, hangs in the balance at that very moment in present
time -- for the reality of the next moment will be completely
different, and the lost moment preceding it will never be
retrievable. This is the interpretation of the words, "In
minutes do You test him."
