Parshas Toldos

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda...

 In perek chaf zayin posuk tes vav the posuk says, "Vatikach Rivka es bigdei Esav b'na hagadol hachamudos asher ita ba'bayis vatalbeish es Yaakov b'na hakatan."  "Rivka took her older son Esav's clean garments which were with her in the house and clothed Yaakov her young son."  The Medrash Raba brings down, Reb Shimon ben Gamliel said, "All my life I served and took care of my father, yet i was not "mishameish" him one one-hundredth of the amount that Esav served his father.  When i served my father, I would wear my dirty inexpensive clothing, and when I'd go out I would put on my clean fancy clothes.  Esav, however, would wear his "bigdei malchus" clothing fot for royalty when he was being "mishameish" Yitzchok.  He felt it would not be proper to wear anything less."  The Rosh Yeshiva Ztl asks a seemingly obvious question.  Reb shimon ben Gamliel was praising Esav for serving his father while wearing nice clothes, while he wore his dirty clothes. Why didn't he learn from Esav and just start wearing his nice clothes since he knew that would elevate the level of his Kibud Av?  The Rosh Yeshiva explains that Reb Shimon ben Gamliel realized that although it would raise the level of his Kibud av, he was not holding on the same madreiga as Esav in this inyan.  If Reb Shimon's father would have soiled his fancy clothes while he was serving him, it probably would have bothered him and gotten him a little upset, and he would have lost out on some of the mitzva.  Esav however would have been happy that he was zoche to have his clothes soiled while he was serving his father.  The Rosh Yeshiva explained that we can learn from here how important it is not to jump madreigas and do things that we are not holding by.  Yes, it would be great for Reb Shimon ben Gamliel to wear nicer clothes while serving his father, but he knew he wasn't holding there and trying to squeeze himself into that level would have just be detrimental in the end.  Many times people think "Ok i'm not holding there right now, but ill do it anyway and ill get there eventually" this is usually an incorrect idea.  "Tafasta M'ruba lo tafasta", if u try to grab too much you end up with nothing.  The key is to grow little by little and eventually when you look back at where you are in comparison to where you once were, you will see the tremendous growth you had, because you understood that true growth comes from taking one small step at a time. . . . Good Shabbos.