As I was beginning to write the d’var Torah today I got a notification that a wonderful woman had passed away last night. The notice said that her levaya (literally ‘accompaniment’ but we would say ‘funeral’) was in 20 minutes. I went to the graveyard but I couldn’t find anybody. I didn’t know where else to look so I went instead to the grave of a tzaddik that many people go to in the hours before Shabbat comes in. As I was about to leave, a woman implored me to say some tehillim (psalms) for two young men who had a court hearing on Sunday. Now, I know that I might seem sweet and loving (which I totally am…or at least try to be), but I have a very deep sense of justice in me that can be both beautiful and harsh. It is something I consciously work on at every opportunity (beezrat HaShem). So, my first reaction to this woman’s request was a string of questions about why they were in ‘trouble’ and what they did and so on and so forth because I wanted to know whether their punishment was just. None of this actually made it out of my mouth, however, because as soon as I thought it, I remembered what this month is all about, and how it beautifully connects to this week’s parsha…. This week is a double parsha, Nitzavim and Vayelech (‘[you are] standing’ and ‘and he [Moshe] went’) and is our last reading right before Rosh HaShana (coming up this Wednesday evening…more on that to come). As usual, there is a lot to say, but I want to speak about something timely and important. The beginning of our double parsha has Moshe, on the last day of his life, assemble everyone and initiate them for the last time into a covenant with HaShem. What is different about this covenant than the other times he did this is the concept of ‘arvut’ or ‘responsibility’ for one another, under which every Jew is obligated to help others observe the Torah and to restrain them from violating it (artscroll). I know a wise man who often says something along the lines of, “If you’re not hurting anybody…” as a guideline for an individual’s necessary or unnecessary involvement in other peoples’ different practices and ways of life. This is very true. We just don’t know how true it really is because, and I’ve said this many times before, we are all one. The Talmud says the entire world is one person. What this means is that we are all interconnected; cells and organs pumping and working, each at its own pace and according to its purpose. If one of these little cells doesn’t work properly, the whole system can malfunction. Ever stubbed your pinky toe? Yeah…you know what I’m talking about…. That being said, it’s quite obvious that we each matter. That when someone does something that may not seemingly directly affect you, the TRUTH is, it affects the whole world – even YOU. And so, here Moshe tells us that we all have to take care of everybody else. When someone is doing something great, we should encourage him to continue and give him praise. And when someone is doing something detrimental to himself or his surroundings or completely disregarding Torah law, we are OBLIGATED to show him the a different way. (Please note, this is to be done AFTER carefully checking the situation, making sure your own ego is not involved, doing it in a way that the ‘wrongdoer’ is capable of receiving it and will lead to a change…otherwise you do more damage than good. We don’t make a bump on our foreheads go down by hitting it with a bat…we have to gently put ice on it…get it?) So there I was, at the grave, a woman hands me this book of tehillim, and my questions begin to melt away as quickly as they came. Why? Because even though we all have to be careful about what we do and how we do it and not to hurt anybody and help the world and so on and so on and so on…….we also have to remember that HaShem is MERCIFUL! This world is NOT a clock, running on physical order with precise rules that can’t be broken. If so, we would have been out of the game a long time ago (at least I know I would). We are given second and third and 55th and 23425436436243th chances to fix what we broke, to change for the better. And this month is the month of Elul. And the new month, and the new year is just a week away. In the days before Rosh HaShana we read, among other things, the thirteen attributes of mercy. I highly recommend you looking into them because they’re awesome. Basically, they touch on all the ways in which we can get back to where we fell from, and therefore rise even higher; ways in which we are forgiven, and then should in turn use to forgive others. As the Talmud famously says, “Do not do unto others as you would not have done unto you.” I have certainly messed up in my life. And any justice system would have every right to prosecute me accordingly. But I am also not that person anymore. I have changed. We all have the ability to overcome our worst versions of ourselves. In the end I said those tehillim for those boys. They might have done something wrong. They might be totally deserving of punishment. But they also are a part of me. And if I have the ability to be better, or even if I just WANT to be better, than I have to believe that they too deserve the same chance I would want to give myself. Once we realize what we’ve done wrong, we usually want to rectify it immediately. I would want mercy in that moment. Or at least I wouldn’t want strict justice. Moshe reminds us this week that we are all responsible for each other. We have to pray for each other’s well being, hope for each other’s futures, love each other as if they were our own flesh (because they are) and act as if my life matters in the grand scheme of things. I’m asking you, in light of this week’s parsha’s impassioned plea for the Jews to take care of each other, if my weekly words mean anything to you, take on one mitzvah this week. Just try it out. If you want suggestions you are free to email me or get in touch with a local Rabbi or another figure of such sorts. Some people say, “I’m already a good person, what do I need the Torah for?” I hear it. I don’t have time to answer such a deep question, but my response for now is two fold: Great! Keep up the good work AND one-up yourself. I hope I don’t sound preachy…that is never my intention. I just felt like I wasn’t doing justice to the parsha by tiptoeing around it’s actual content, which was for Jews to do mitzvot. Take it or leave it. May we all be so so so so blessed to have the discipline to get things done and at the same time have mercy on each other, mercy on ourselves and enact ourselves in this world according to our highest manifestation on every level. Have a beautiful Shabbat! P.S. Rosh HaShana commemorates the day man was created, aka the sixth day of creation. The first day of creation actually falls out this year on Shabbat! How cool! That means that this Shabbat we are all connected to that original moment of birth, when the world was pure and full of hope and excitement and wholeness. May we all be blessed this Shabbat to connect to that reality and shine forth from it.
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 12:21:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015