Rav Avigdor Miller on the Great Middah of Loyalty

There’s a statement in the Gemara (Arachin 16b) that a person should not change the place where he stayed.  I’ll give you a mashal. The Chofetz Chaim zichrono livracha always came to Bialystok to print his seforim. And he used to stay at a certain place, a certain house. He paid them money. And he never changed that place.  For years and years, he always went to the same place.

Now, you understand that if you went to a certain place and you paid him money to stay at his house and the next time you come you stayed somewhere else, he feels somewhat slighted.  Why did he drop me?  Why did he change? So you are loyal; you always go back to that place.

And Hakodosh Boruch Hu says that’s called emunah.  Emunah means loyalty.  Loyalty, steadfastness, is a middah gedolah ad me’od.  Once you have a place where you’re accustomed to stay, don’t go anywhere else.  Going away is a lack of steadfastness, a lack of character.  לא ישנה אדם מאכסניה שלו

The same thing is also if you have a certain store that you always shop there. Unless there’s a big bargain elsewhere; otherwise always shop in the same store that you started shopping in.  Let him see that you’re loyal to him.

Now you might say, “What’s wrong? There are so many stores.  Today here, tomorrow someplace else.”  But you have to know, training in loyalty is training in emunah.  Emunah doesn’t mean belief, no.  Everybody believes.  Emunah means to be loyal.  והאמין בה׳ – Avrohom was loyal to Hashem, ויחשב לו לצדקה – and Hashem considered that a righteousness. So you see it’s a righteousness to be loyal to Hashem.

Am Yisroel is loyal.  And when Moshiach will come, there’ll be an announcement: “פתחו שערים – Open the gates, ויבוא גוי צדיק שומר אמונים – and the nation that kept their loyalty to Hashem should come in (Yeshayahu 26:2)

And the Gemara (Shabbos 119b) adds a peirush on that: אל תקרא שומר אמונים אלא שאומרים אמן – Instead of reading the it ‘who guard emunim,’ read it ‘that say amenim; the people who say ‘Amen’. That’s also a loyalty.  When the shatz says, boruch ata Hashem mevorech hashanim, you say “amen”.  You’re being loyal.  It’s a sign of loyalty. Yes.

Because loyalty is a very great middah even being loyal with ‘Amen’ is valuable.

That’s why Yankev Avinu when he went out from the house of Lavan, so not only did he dream of malachim like first when he came to Lavan, he dreamed, but now he saw real malachim. Because for so many years he was trained in loyalty.  He was loyal to his employer, Lavan, so he became much greater.

A man who is loyal to his job – let’s say a melamed; he’s always careful to do his work. He doesn’t walk out in between to talk to the melamed in the room next door and meanwhile the boys are breaking the benches.  No; the melamed is always in the room watching.  He’s doing his job. He’s a loyal melamed.

Loyalty is a very great middah.  And Hakodosh Boruch Hu said that עיני בנאמני הארץ – My eyes are on the loyal ones in the world (Tehillim 101:6).  Hashem looks at the loyal ones. Because, of course, if we are loyal to Hashem, that’s the best loyalty.

And one of the best forms of loyalty is to remember always that Hashem is giving you all these good things; and you always recognize it comes from Him.  The world is yesh me’ayin.  Only Hashem made everything.  It doesn’t come from anywhere else.  And since all comes from Him, we are always loyal to Him and we are always thanking Him.

TAPE # E-168 (December 1998)