You Are a Star

In this week’s Parshah the Torah tells us how the Ribono Shel Olam instructed Avraham Avinu to go outside and count the stars in the sky. He then promised Avraham Avinu, “כה יהיה זרעך” – “So will be your offspring.”

The Baal Shem Tov asks, what is the comparison between Klal Yisrael and the stars? It is true that there are countless stars in the heavens, and Hashem was promising Avraham many children, but what is the deeper connection the Torah is teaching by drawing this comparison?

The Baal Shem Tov explains that just as a star is a huge entity that comprises immense galaxies in the universe, so, too, each and every person contains huge potential. However, just as a star appears very small when we look into the sky from down here on Earth, so, too, a person from the distance may also appear to be of tiny insignificance in our eyes. Every person is a star and should be treated with the due respect that befits the stature of who he really is.

There was a meeting of gedolim on behalf of Chinuch Atzmai. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l and Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky zt”l, the two gedolei ha’dor of the generation, were waiting for their driver and having a heated discussion. The driver arrived and exited his car to greet them, and he saw that they were arguing passionately. He asked them what the argument was about.

They answered, “We’re discussing who needs to get out of the car first, because whoever will get out first should really be sitting in the back, because once he gets out, if he would be the one sitting in the front, then the rabbi in the back will be looked at as having his own driver, and we don’t want to treat you as a driver.”

It is mind-boggling to get a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and actions of the gedolim and see the great lengths to which they go to honor a fellow human being.

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that as Avraham Avinu was gazing at the stars, the Ribono Shel Olam was conveying a very important message that would become the motto of Klal Yisrael for all eternity: Your offspring are going to be like the stars. They may appear small and insignificant to an outsider, but they carry huge potential for greatness. When they utilize their strengths, they will be capable of great achievements.

When we have this attitude and we view other people with the perspective that Hashem gave to Avraham Avinu thousands of years ago, we will find that it will enrich our relationships and change the way we deal with one another.