For the Refua Shlema of Mordechai Tzvi ben
Sara & Binyamin ben Blanka.
People always
say: its my life, let me do what I want, OR why do you care what I do, OR its
none of your business, leave me alone.
In Masechet Berachot there is a Limud (piece
of learning) that is a little difficult to understand at first. The Gemara
explains that if one eats food or enjoys a beverage without saying a Beracha
then he/she STEALS from Hashem (which is logical because if Hashem owns/creates
everything, then by eating from His creation and NOT saying a Beracha on it,
one is stealing from Him) AND from
Knesset Yisrael, which means all of Israel. So one asks him/herself: By not
saying a Beracha how am I stealing from other people? It is known that one’s Koach Dibbur, or power of speech, is
infinitely great in the spiritual world. When one says a Beracha (blessing),
he/she brings Shefa (positive
spritiual power) into the world for EVERYONE to enjoy. So when one refrains
from thanking Hashem from consumption of a food/beverage by not saying a
Beracha, he/she is stopping that Shefa from coming to the world to benefit
everyone. This is why it is so grave not to say a Beracha (besides for stealing
from Hashem Himself, it is a sign of selfishness to your friends and family and
all of Am Yisrael).
The concept of caring for others is HUGE in
the Torah. This is also interlinked with the famous quote from Masechet
Sanhedrin: Kol Yisrael Arevim Ze LaZe,
or All of Israel are responsible for each other’s actions. This can go both
ways, for the good and for the opposite.
Let’s start with the negatives: In Yehoshua
(Joshua), the first book of Nevi’im which continues the life of Am Yisrael, our
ancestors, after Yetziyat Mitzrayim and right before the entrance to Eretz
Yisrael, there are many battles. After Perek Shishi (6th Chapter),
Hashem instructed Am Yisrael not touch any of the spoils of war. In the
beginning of Perek Shvi’I (7th Chapter), Yehoshua is intrsucted to
battle with Ai, the second city to be conquered. After a great victory with
Yericho (Jericho), Am Yisrael expected a quick win. However, they encountered
36 deaths IMMEDIATELY. 36 deaths.
After a whole process of finding what caused
such damage (which also teaches us that if anything happens ‘wrong,’ then we
need to look at our past actions to see what WE did wrong, and not blame anyone
else), Yehoshua the leader found out that ONE
MAN, only a single Jew, touched the spoils of war (for benefit). This
caused THIRTY SIX people’s deaths as a result! We see from here alone that everything
one does can affect the world THIRTY SIX TIMES for the negative (minimum).
Let’s look at it in the positive:
Miriam, Moshe Rabbenu’s sister, was struck
with a disease after saying ‘Lashon Hara’ (cannot be compared to actual Lashon
Hara because her intentions when speaking about Moshe Rabbenu were positive and
this is a piece of history simply to show us the stringency behind speaking
about another person). After this disease began to affect her body, all of
Israel waited for her to heal for SEVEN DAYS, imagine millions of people with
babies and elderly, etc. all waiting for A SINGLE WOMAN to be healed! All of
Israel are responsible for each other, this shows the unity and love Am Yisrael
had for eachother in the time of the journey in the Midbar (desert).
We are SIX days before Rosh HaShanah. What
does this mean? It is time to care about other people and do your BEST to show
them (religious-non-religious, man-woman, Bucharian-Polish, doesn’t matter!)
that we need to do TSHUVA by being an example on the street. We never know what
a single action can cause one to do or how to act in the future. In spiritual
terms to care means to get closer to Hashem and pray for others.
Judaism is Real. Judaism is THINK. Judaism is YOU.
Rosh HaShanah is 6 in days.
Have
you prepared at all?
It’s not too late.
SHABBAT SHALOM!
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