Toras Avigdor Junior
Parshas Chayei Sara
Yitzchok In the Field
“Ashrei yoshvei veisecha, od yehalelucha selah,” said Avraham and Tzvi as everyone in shul started davening Mincha.
A few seconds later, the two boys looked up at the sound of a loud booming voice coming from the bimah. To their astonishment, standing there was “Tzadok Hatzadik” – the man who used to sell fake segulos outside of their shul.
“Oh Hashem,” cried Tzadok. “I know I did aveirot, but now I want to do teshuvah. Thank You so much for making the judge rule that I wasn’t sane enough to be found guilty and letting me out of jail. Oy, I have so much hakarat hatov to You that I want to only do mitzvot. In fact, I am mekabel bli neder to eat sufganiot every day from now until after Chanukah so that I will continue to remember the miracles that You do for me and the Am Yisrael.”
The entire shul was now staring at Tzadok as he continued to talk out loud to Hashem. A few people said “shhh!” but Tzadok kept going on.
“Thank you Hashem for my fingernails,” Tzadok said, holding out his hands. “They allow me to scratch my head when it itches. And thank you for creating frogs and bees and trees and my knees!”
Finally Avraham and Tzvi’s Totty walked over to Tzadok and put his arm around him. “Is everything okay, Tzadok?” asked Totty softly.
“Oh yes,” said Tzadok. “I never actually talked to Hashem like this before, it’s wonderful!”
There was another minyan for Mincha in a half-hour, so Totty figured he’d wait until then to daven.
“Tzadok,” he said. “Why don’t we go talk outside so everyone else could daven undisturbed.”
“Sure,” Tzadok said with a smile. “I just finished my davening anyway.”
“Tzadok,” Totty began once the two men were outside of shul. “Maybe you shouldn’t be talking out loud like that when everyone else is trying to daven?”
“You mean I am only allowed to say to Hashem what it says in the siddur?” asked Tzadok. “Because I looked through the entire siddur and nowhere does it mention anything about frogs or bees.”
“No,” Totty said gently. “Everything you said to Hashem was wonderful. Well, except for maybe your kabbalah to eat sufganiyot – that’s not really a mitzvah. But in shul we usually daven together as a tzibur. If you want to shout to Hashem, perhaps it would be better suited when you are alone, maybe in a field somewhere?”
“You mean like Breslov?” asked Tzadok.
“Like Breslov?” said Totty. “Like Jews! The possuk even says about Yitzchok Avinu that he went to talk to Hashemin a field.”
“Yitzchok Avinu was a Breslover?” asked Tzadok, surprised.
“No, no, this has nothing to do with Breslov,” Totty patiently explained. “Rav Avigdor Miller explains the passuk of וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה that it is a very important thing to have actual conversations with Hashem. To spend time alone talking to Him and thinking about the best ways to serve Him.”
“So I shouldn’t talk to Hashem if I’m not in a field?” asked Tzadok. “What about when I’m in a cave, looking for the hairs from Bilaam’s donkey? Am I allowed to talk to Him then?”
“Of course – you can talk to Hashem anywhere!” Totty said. “You can also do this while you’re alone in a room or even when you’re waiting in a doctor’s office – although when other people are around, it’s probably best to talk quietly so you don’t disturb others.
“But there is a big advantage to talking to Hashem specifically when you’re outdoors, in a field or a park. That’s because in those places you can more easily look around and see the amazing wonders of Hashem’s world. And when you see all of the incredible things Hashem created, like bees and trees and flowers and butterflies, it helps you gain a tremendous appreciation of everything Hashem does in this world.
“When you see a beautiful flower growing, or little tiny ants scurrying around gathering food, you should always be thinking ‘wow, Hashem created all of these amazing things just so I can appreciate how great He is.
“The important thing is that you take the time to develop a real relationship with Hashem. The more you think about and talk to Hashem, the closer to Him you will get and the greater you will become.”
“Thank you,” said Tzadok. “I will go find a field right now. And I’m going to speak there with Hashem and try to become as great as Yitzchok Avinu!”
Have A Wonderful Shabbos!