Are You Sharing for Attention? - Vayikra

Have you ever posted something meaningful on social media and then kept checking your phone to see who noticed or liked it?

A few weeks ago, I posted something I thought was brilliant. That does not happen every week, so when I write something I am proud of, it feels great. The problem was that I then spent time checking to see if I got feedback, if someone liked my post, or responded to my message. I checked multiple times in anticipation. At some point, I realized I was not thinking about the Torah anymore. I was thinking about the reaction, how it looked, and how I looked. That feeling was human, and honestly, part of it is normal. Sometimes it is okay to want to be seen; the question is when that becomes the main motivation.

In this week’s parsha, we read about korbanos. The more you look at it, the more it becomes clear that the Torah is not focused on the action alone, it is focused on what to bring, how to bring it, and the intention behind it. Two people can bring the same korban, do the same thing, and from the outside it looks identical, but the difference is what is behind it.

Nothing was wrong with what I posted. The words were fine, the idea was real, and everything looked the way it should. Still, my motivation after the fact was not coming from the same place that it usually does. This week is an opportunity to pause for a second before something goes live and ask where the motivation is really coming from. When you share something, what is usually driving it?

Good Shabbos

All the best

Avroham Y Ross