A troubled man visited the Rebbe and expressed his frustration with his life. “Why can’t it just be simple and easy?,” the man asked.
The Rebbe, before addressing the question, asked the man if he had a hobby. The man replied that he loved drawing paintings. The Rebbe then asked him, “what’s more accurate, a photograph or a painting?”
“A photograph, of course,” the man answered. “A photo captures every detail, something that a painting can never do.”
“Which one is worth more?,” the Rebbe continued.
“A painting. An amazing photo can cost you a few hundred dollars, but a painting, depending on a variety of factors can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.”
“Why?,” the Rebbe asked. “Shouldn’t the more accurate photos sell for more money?”
“Well,” he said with a smile. “A photo is simply capturing the scene as it is. There’s no room for mistakes, so the accuracy is effortless. A painting, on the other hand, is a man made subjective interpretation, recreating the scene. And the more uniqueness it conveys, the more it is valued. That’s what makes it art.”
“Exactly,” the Rebbe explained. “You see, that’s the difference between an angel and a human. An angel’s perfection is effortless. It can’t help but reflect the divine reality, but a human struggle and attempt to reflect the divine reality in our own unique way, that’s what creates the ultimate art and beauty.”
Because it isn’t easy, because it takes effort and application, the picture we make and the reality we create is worth far more. There’s a fascinating Gemara in Nedarim which tells us that Moshe became a wealthy man from the remnants of the second luchos. The first luchos were presented to Moshe by Hashem, but the second luchos were carved out by Moshe from sapphire.
This is what Moshe refers to when he says in the parasha, “Hashem commanded me to carve out for yourself.”
Hashem told Moshe to keep the psoles, the chips of sapphire, that were carved and cast away for yourself. And it was these leftover shards that made Moshe extraordinarily wealthy. The Rebbe Rishab points out a beautiful insight on this Gemara.
This difference between the two luchos, that the second were man made and the first were divinely crafted, is not only a technical detail, but rather reflects the spiritual state of the Yidden at the time. Initially, the Yidden weren’t a place to accept the luchos that were made by Hashem. They were pristine and pure.
But after the sin of the golden calf, after their spiritual failure, they could not receive luchos that were made by Hashem. So they had to receive luchas that were man made, luchas that were carved out with remnants cast to the side reflecting the mistakes and shortcomings that don’t make it into our luchas.
It is from the psoles, the remnants that Moshe became wealthy. It is from the struggle and pain of failure that we encounter an opportunity for the greatest treasure. It is our darkness that leads us to the greatest light. It is our setbacks that spring us forward to heights beyond our imagination.
Perfecting our imperfections is truly the most elevated and gratifying experience to our Father in Heaven and lends the ultimate beauty to the tapestry of life.
Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos.
