The Pasuk in Shemos (3:5) tells us: Vayomer al tikrav halom; shal na’alecha mei’al raglecha, ki hamakom asher atah omeid alav admas kodesh hu.
There is a quiet thought that visits people often: If only my situation were better, then I could really grow. If only things were easier. If only the setting were different. If only the challenges were lighter.
The Chofetz Chaim taught that this pasuk is telling us how mistaken that thinking is. Hashem did not tell Moshe to search for holiness elsewhere. He told him to stand exactly where he was and recognize that the ground beneath his feet was already holy. The place where a person is standing right now, with its pressures, limits, and responsibilities, is not an obstacle to growth. It is the custom-designed setting in which he is meant to grow and fulfill his personal tafkid.
Imagine someone arriving at the airport after a long flight. He stands by the luggage carousel as suitcases roll past him — sleek, shiny, brand-new bags. He looks down at his own suitcase. The wheels squeak, the fabric is worn, and it looks nothing like the others. Mine is so old, he thinks.
Then, by mistake, he picks up one of the shiny new suitcases and brings it to his hotel. When he opens it, the disappointment is immediate. Not a single item of clothing fits him. The shirts are too tight, the pants are too long, and the jackets sit awkwardly. What looked perfect on the outside is completely useless to him. His old suitcase may not have been impressive, but everything inside fit him exactly.
Life often feels like that carousel. We watch other people’s baggage go by and assume theirs must be better. But what looks polished and enviable often does not fit our size, our strengths, or our mission. Only our own baggage was packed with us in mind.
Each morning we recite the bracha She’asah li kol tzarki, thanking Hashem for providing all our needs. Chazal associate this bracha specifically with shoes. At first glance, that seems curious. Why shoes? Why not food, clothing, or shelter?
My grandfather, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, relates that someone once asked Rav Zishe of Anipoli how he could recite this bracha. Rav Zishe lived in extreme poverty and did not even own a pair of shoes. “How can you say that Hashem has given you everything you need?” the man asked.
Rav Zishe answered with a simple parable. If someone is offered a suit worth one hundred rubles for thirty, he will gladly buy it and tailor it to fit. But if someone is offered shoes at a bargain price and they are too big or too small, they are worthless. Shoes cannot be adjusted. They must fit perfectly from the start.
That, Rav Zishe explained, is the meaning of the bracha. Shoes represent something that must be made exactly for the person wearing them. So too, everything Hashem gives a person — his circumstances, challenges, abilities, and limitations — is tailored precisely to what he needs at that moment, even when he does not yet understand it. Hashem is the ultimate designer.
Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa taught that if people were given the chance to exchange their life’s burdens with others, they would ultimately choose to take back their own. Deep down, the neshama knows that its load was measured exactly for its strength.
The suitcase may not look impressive. The shoes may not sparkle. But they fit. And the ground beneath your feet, exactly where you are standing, is holy.
Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber is a rebbi at Yeshiva K’tana of Waterbury and a division head at Camp Romimu. He also shares shiurim on Torah Anytime and 24/6, and can be reached at mdheber@ykwaterbury.org.
