ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה ... (י-יב)
MASHAL: R’ Yehoshua (Shia) Freund zt”l was considered one of the most influential Rabbanim in Hungary in the late 1700’s. The King of Hungary adored him and enjoyed hearing his opinion on matters of the Kingdom. In return for Rav Freund’s expertise in many matters, the king decided to make a unique scepter, fit for a king, for his close confidante, Rav Shia Freund. It was constructed of pure gold, and included a number of exquisite drawings on it. The only problem was that the scepter was topped with a cross!
The rabbi contemplated long and hard what to do about this predicament. To meet the king without this special scepter was unthinkable, yet walking around with a scepter that contained a cross on it was also not an acceptable option. Ultimately, his Fear of Heaven prevailed and he removed the cross that was on the top of the scepter. He placed his full trust in the Hand of Hashem. Whatever will be His will, will be so for a purpose and only Hashem knows.
The next time he went to see the king, he walked in with the scepter, well aware of the consequences that awaited him. Sure enough, the king noticed right away and inquired about it. “Your majesty,” Rav Freund replied, “the scepter was too tall for his servant, so the top was removed.”
Naturally, the answer didn’t sit quite well with the king. “Why didn’t you chop off the bottom?” the king asked.
“Well,” replied the rabbi, “his majesty surely understands that the problem is with the top - it was too short!” For some reason the king understood his line of thought and let him go.
NIMSHAL: Real Yiras Shamayim means placing the will of Hashem above all other objectives in the world. Anything and everything a person does should be for the honor of Hashem. If it isn’t the absolute will of Hashem it is an unthinkable course of action to take.
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