EMBLEM OF ETERNITY

 Sitting in Shul this past week, as world Jewry was commemorating the Churban Habayiswith fasting and praying,  I recognized that we, as Jews, are  connected to each otherVertically,  going all the way back to our patriarchs and matriarchs. We are also connected to each other Horizontally, related to all Jews throughout the world.

            Tolstoy said it well, “The Jew is the emblem of eternity.” Let me add to that quote that ‘The Jew is the preserver of that eternity in a meaningful and glorious way.’

            There is a story of an angry reader who stormed into the office of a newspaper editor waving the current edition of the paper. He was listed in the obituary column as ‘Dead’. The reporter said “We never retract a story, but I will tell you what I will do. I will put your name in the birth announcements and give you a fresh start.”

As I read the KInus on Tisha B’av, I thought of how many times in history the world was writing the obituary of the Jewish People and then realized that only by the Grace of G-D and the Indefatigable Strength of the Jewish people we survived and, even more so, we have prospered gloriously, with the rebirth of the State of Israel.

            We read in this week’s Sedrah, Va’Eschanan, of the glorious time in Jewish History when the Jews stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments,

 “They personified the attribute of “one people, with one purpose and with one destiny.”

This reaction of the Jewish people as they stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, speaks volumes to our generation. When the Jewish People received the Torah, there was a momentous response.

ויענו כל העם יחדו ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ה׳ נעשה 

     The Torah states that “The entire people responded Together;  Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

The word that jumps out at us is Yachdav – the resounding response to G-D’s directive was in One Uniform Voice.   This was the ultimate result of Divine Revelation,which is to Unify the Jewish people under the banner of Torah and under the banner ofYahadut and fulfilling the Mitzvah Bein Adam L’Chaveiro to the fullest extent.  The question I pose is; “Are we ready for such an attitude in life?”  The answer is; “We must give a resounding yes, and we need to begin the process in our own small and humble way.”

    We have experienced this same unity these past few weeks.  The call must go out to the Jewish world: we must never lose this sense of oneness and, in fact we must build upon it - to find more love in our hearts to maintain this unity as we go forward into the weeks and months ahead.  

       Life for the Jew is like a new birth and we must welcome the opportunity with open arms and open hearts. This is a time to rid ourselves of all the hatred, anger, self pity and resentments that muddle our lives and to continue to bask in unity that will herald a magnificent period in Jewish life that will show the world who we are. In this way we will live today in the eternity of tomorrow.

     The Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchik zt”l suggested that “The ultimate goal of a Jew’s life is to merit Divine Revelation.  The revelation at Mt. Sinai was, therefore, a Watershed Event - for during that face to face encounter with G-D, He told us that we must adopt a distinctive life style.”  From the Rav’s words we learn that when this goal is reached, the Jewish people will achieve a status of a Kingdom of Priests and a status of a Holy Nation. This can only be achieved when we live as a Covenantal Torah Oriented Community.

   Permit me to share the following story;  Once there was a leaf that pined for freedom like the birds that flew nearby.  Every day it would watch them as they soared on high, singing their songs as they flew.  The leaf longed to cut himself  loose from the branch that seemed to imprison him and wished to fly like the birds.

     One day, his wish was granted.  A wind storm tore him loose from the branch, and for a fleeting moment the leaf was free, overjoyed, flying through the air.  But it didn’t last long.  Soon the leaf was flat on the ground, and was being trampled on by every passerby. Before long its color was gone and it lay dry, lifeless.  Without the attachment to the tree his responsibility disappeared.

The Jewish people are the leaves on the tree and as long as we are attached, together, to the Tree of Life, our Torah, we will succeed in all our endeavors which will herald the Messianic period.