english YOM KIPPUR 2013
THE WORLD’S GREATEST SMUGGLER
At the Shabbat table, my 10 year old boy tells me Israeli jokes. He cracks up every time. But there are two jokes that I will not forget. Here is one of them…
An Israeli soldier stood guard at the Israel – Jordan border. He had the early morning shift. His job was to thwart attempts at illegal entry and to prevent smuggling of drugs, weapons, and the like. One day, an old Arab with a friendly smile pulled up in a shiny, clean tractor. The tractor’s shovel was filled with sand. The Israeli soldier stared at it suspiciously. “Odd. Don’t we have enough sand in Israel? For sure, this guy has drugs in the sand,” he thought to himself. “Halt! Sir, empty out all your sand and flatten it to the ground!” The Arab said he did not see what the problem was. “No excuses, sir.” The Arab emptied out all the sand. Clean, fine sand. That’s all. The Israeli soldier double-checked, examined the papers, scratched his head, and then sent the Arab on his way. The next morning, the whole scene was repeated. “Oh, he thinks that if I check the sand every day and find it clean, eventually, I will stop checking … and then he will be able to smuggle drugs inside the sand…. “Halt ! Sir , empty it out ! I am going to check your sand everyday! You will not bring it in without it being thoroughly searched.” When his meticulous checking turned up nothing, the soldier let him go. This happened every day for a month. Eventually, the two became somewhat friendly.
The Israeli soldier could not figure it out. He got curious as to why this Arab was bringing clean sand into Israel each morning. So, the next time, he called the friendly Arab out and offered him a cigarette. As he lit up, the soldier asked the Arab, “Tell me, you look like a smart guy. You come every day with the sand. Do Israelis really need sand from Jordan?”
The Arab took a deep puff. He looked to the right. He looked to the left. No one was around at this hour to hear the conversation. He whispered to the soldier, “I tell you. But you tell nobody. I am not smuggling sand. I am smuggling tractors.”
And here is the second…. In Ben Gurion Airport, there are two customs entries into Israel – red and green. Green means that the traveler has nothing to declare. Red means you have something for which you would like to pay customs. A man in the attire of a religious Jew made his way to the green lane, schlepping with him five refrigerators. The secular customs control officer did not like what he saw. Who needs five refrigerators for personal use? This man must be smuggling in refrigerators. “Sir, I need to ask you, where do you think you are going with those?“ The religious fellow smiled and started to explain. “As you see, I am a religious man. The Halacha says that we cannot have meat and milk together. I am ultra religious, and I have two refrigerators at home, one for meat and one for dairy. This way, for sure they won’t mix.” The custom patrol officer put his hands on his hips. “And what about the other 3?” The religious fellow smiled. “Oh, didn’t you ever hear of Passover? We religious Jews are very particular to keep chametz away from our Passover foods. I need two fridges for Passover, as well: one for meat and one for milk.“ The officer rolled his eyes. “Sir, and what about the fifth refrigerator?” The religious looking traveler snapped back at him – “ Oh, come on. Are you really going to make a big deal because of just one refrigerator?”
Time is limited between now and the end of these Days of Repentance. Many Jews are looking to do Teshuva in the time that is left. We search and search for what to repent on, for what to change in our lives, but many times do not see what it is that can or should be changed. In reality, the underlying problem many face is that in order to do Teshuva, one needs awareness. Awareness of our actions. And awareness of how much the Evil Inclination has affected our decisions. The Yetzer Hara always finds a way to get us to let the big things pass inspection. He gets all manner of transgressions past our “check point”, past our standards and past the inspection of right and wrong. Past what we believe in. And worst of all, in order for our Evil Inclination to complete his trap, he diverts our attention away from the most central, essential issues. He tries to smuggle anti-Torah beliefs over the border of our good judgment. He tries to insinuate into our thoughts that if we have sinned, just one more won’t make that much of a difference…
For instance. G-d waits during these days for his children to repent. His greatest will is that we enjoy serving Him. Our souls came here for that purpose. One day, to achieve enjoying serving G-d. These are fundamental tenets of our religion… Serving G-d means living as a Jew is supposed to live. Praying, as a Jew is supposed to pray. Believing, as a Jew is supposed to believe. These are the fundamentals of being a Jew… The Yetzer Hara concentrates his fight on the fundamentals: he fights until Jewish identity is lost. He fights to alter our beliefs and to get us to accept his beliefs, beliefs such as : “Studying Torah daily is not for me.” Or, “The rabbis do not understand the people or the times…I am not good at the religion thing…If I have sinned, then G-d looks at me as if I am a permanent sinner… G-d expects too much, so I will only do what works in with my lifestyle… G-d has favorites- all those who are successful…” It is these beliefs and the like that the Evil Inclination most wants to make part of our psyche. And they are more dangerous than the sins that he may or may not get us to do. They define the identity of a person and his belief system and are the greatest effect on one’s life decisions. And they are the big wins of the Evil Inclination.
The passuk says יעזוב רשע דרכו ואיש און מחשבותיו the wicked shall abandon his ways, and a strong-minded man (shall leave) his thoughts. The passuk here is describing two types of teshuva: teshuva from sin and evil ways, and teshuva from thoughts and beliefs that are invalid – those that are against Torah principles and therefore, also against the truth. For example, says R’ Ovadia Yossef, Shlita, a person who thinks, even for a minute, that learning Torah is not saving the world, that learning Torah is not keeping our nation alive must do Teshuva for such thoughts. For this goes against the teachings of our Rabbis, אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חוקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי . This is one of the fundamental thoughts and beliefs which are of paramount importance, because they determine the way we are going to feel and behave. All G-d wants from is our attempt to change for the better; all He wants is for us to become what a “Jew” is supposed to be. And being a Jew is not genetic alone. It is a way of life, a belief system and a system of values….
The ways of the Yetzer Hara can only be seen “out of the box” – they can be recognized only when presented totally out of context. And that is why I needed to bring you a “mashal” like that of the tractor or that of the fellow with the fridges. The worst belief that the Yetzer Hara can persuade you to accept during these days is: Why try to get better, if I will probably fall again? Why be wishy-washy? Try and be more religious and then fall again? Just be straight, consistent and don’t try any more. I have already tried so many times to get better, and I just cannot make it. If I give up trying to get better, I will stop failing and be happier, as I accept myself for who I am. You failed so much, don’t make a big deal of just one more failure, one more day of leaving everything status quo…
This is the worst belief of all, the worst tractor, because it sounds like a legitimate claim. But in reality, it is not that way. Teshuva is just so simple; it is so beautiful. It is for everyone, and every day makes a difference. Because the call for Teshuva does not mean to take on challenges that you have been unable to meet year after year. Instead, try something small…very, very small….and achievable. Last year, I tried to take upon myself smiling more at people. That’s all. Just smiling. Of course, I was not smiling all the time. But I am happy that I tried. Because I know that is all G-d wants from us, to try. Not even to try our hardest. Just to try… That’s one of the things that a Jew is all about.
SHORTCUT TO FORGIVENESS
Not many hours lie between us and the sealing of our fate for the upcoming year. We cannot afford to waste time. This situation causes pressure for many of us. How are we going to complete our “teshuvah agenda” by Yom Kippur?
Our Rabbis teach that there is a kind of shortcut: .כל המעביר על מדותיו מעבירין לו על כל פשעיו Loosely translated, this means: If a person overlooks his natural tendencies (middot) and forgives those who have wronged him, G-d will overlook all of his sins (Rosh Hashanah 17a). G-d is willing to judge us the way we judge others. If we treat others strictly, that is how G-d will treat us as well. This is not a punishment. Rather, it is the most precise way of executing justice. Each person’s actions are judged in accordance with that person’s perception and standards. (Interestingly, this can result in a situation where two people with identical merits and sins get entirely different judgments.)
But it’s not quite that simple. As Rav Chaim Friedlander reminds us, this “shortcut” is not available to one who forgives those over whom he/she has no power. It is reserved for the person who has power over the one who wronged him – such as an employer or teacher vis-à-vis an employee or student – but grants forgiveness anyway. When a powerless person turns a blind eye to the one who has wronged him, this does not qualify as overlooking one’s natural tendencies. Allow me to elaborate.
Anger, for example, is a place where one’s middot (natural tendencies and character traits) are clearly visible. Why do we get angry? It usually stems from the feeling that someone stepped on us or our principles. And that is exactly how we are measured! How much we can forgive and how much can we overlook. This may be the reason why the word middot also means measures. Upon becoming angry one reveals where the limits of his/her endurance are. Through one’s middot one can reveal the limits of spiritual growth that can be achieved as well.
Taking control of our middot is so important because they not only led to our past misbehavior, but they also dictate how we will act in any given situation in the future. That is why we are judged on our middot on Yom Kippur, and that is why Hashem grants atonement to one who overcomes anger. Such a person has overcome his middot and essentially become a different person. For him or her, past misbehavior is no longer a sure indication of future misbehavior.
The Satan testifies on Yom Kippur that the Jews are angelic for overcoming anger and letting bygones be bygones. For if we can learn to understand and accept, we are displaying angelic behavior. We are no longer judged by the pettiness of our own “rules and regulations.”
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The days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are a time when G-d is especially close to us, and when it is easy to call out to Him: דרשו ה’ בהמצאו קראוהו בהיותו קרוב Where exactly do we find G-d? The Baal Shem Tov offers a Chassidic approach based on the passuk, שויתי ה’ לנגדי תמיד (I place G-d before me at all times). The termלנגדי (before me) can also mean opposite me. G-d is to be found opposite you, in your “opponent” – the person whom you feel is the hardest person in your life to deal with. G-d put the annoyance in your life to see how you deal with it. And He is right there taking notes.
This is the secret of the Selichot prayers and the repetition of the Thirteen Divine Attributes. The repetition is intended to help us internalize the awareness that the greatness of G-d lies in His finding a way to forgive us. Our obligation is to emulate Him and His Attributes of Mercy. As one Rabbi put it, G-d sends us annoyances to overlook so that we can understand His greatness in overlooking our sins.
This may be the secret of the mikveh as well. It is customary to immerse oneself in the mikveh on Erev Yom Kippur. There is an old saying: Although sadness is not a sin, it can take the person further from G-d than the worst sin. And there is a similar Chassidic saying about the mikveh. Although immersing oneself in the mikveh is not a mitzvah, it can bring one closer to G-d than the greatest mitzvah. The mikveh has the segulah to be able to help one refrain from anger. The numerical value of mikveh (מקוה) is 151, and is almost identical to the numerical value of כעס (anger). What is the connection?
The mikveh is a place where one purifies oneself, but this can only be achieved if one is entirely immersed in water. Any separation between the skin and the water disqualifies the immersion. According to Halachah, though, only something that one is particular about not being on the skin is considered a separation. On the symbolic level, then, the mikveh teaches a person not to get hung up or angry about the things that could cause division between himself and others. There is no separation: I am selfless. This is the shortcut to atonement on Yom Kippur.
