את ה' אלקיך תירא אותו תעבד ובו תדבק ובשמו תשבע וגו' (י-כ)
MASHAL: Traveling between two countries requires time, effort, money .... and a visa. Just the process of obtaining a permit alone, to enter another country could take someone weeks if not months. Some never receive a visa at all.
A blind man applied for a travel permit and waited for months before he was fortunate for it to be granted. When he arrived at the border with his trusty aid at his side, he presented his visa and expected to be let across. But the guards stopped him and said, “You’re permit is okay. But we’re afraid this young man accompanying you has no permit. He cannot cross the border with you!”
The blind man was irate. “Are you crazy,” he screamed, “The only way I can navigate across is with my helper at my side, leading the way. Without him, what’s the point of me going across in the first place!”
NIMSHAL: Chazal learn out from the words: "את ה' אלקיך תירא" - to include Talmidei Chachamim and Torah scholars. One must honor and respect a scholar as he does Hashem. How can a human being be compared to the Almighty? Answers the Dubner Maggid ZT”L, because the only way that a Jew can truly understand how to fear and serve Hashem, is by following the lessons of our Torah leaders and emulating their ways. Without them, we are no different than a blind man crossing the border alone.
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