ENLIVENED YIDDISHKEIT

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ENLIVENED YIDDISHKEIT

Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

Ok so I wear two pairs daily. I’m speaking about socks; I have to wear two on each foot every day. Before you jump to any false conclusions, this is for health reasons not for any Kabalistic secrets known only to me. These are compression socks, and I have been told I need two on each foot. After a severe bout with a “roiz” (cellulitis) the doctors ordered yours truly to be encapsulated with these pressure socks daily. Boruch Hashem things are much better, but the socks are now the rigor.  Compression stockings are called for when the blood from one’s foot needs a bit of chizuk for its return flight up your torso to your heart. This often happens as one’s birth year shows up further down those drop down lists you get when filling in governmental information forms. This new footwear takes some effort, shlepping them on is no easy matter, and they can be a bit uncomfortable at times. Such is the case, but without that extra pressure you become prone to lesions and much more. This all speaks to the realm of the fiscal, however compression and revitalisation is needed constantly in the spiritual domain as well.

Hashem affords us windows of opportunity where we can regroup our spiritual hopes and refocus on what is true. The period when we read the beginning portions of the book of Shemos is just such a time; called Shovovim, it refers to the first initials of the weekly readings from Shemos through Mishpatim. These days are meant to inspire us in becoming more in sync with the holiness and spirituality of a Torah lifestyle. In these special days our efforts towards creating holiness within ourselves is given special help from on high, and “Guta Yidden” have always spoken of such matters during this period. In Parsha Vaeira we read “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” The Gerrer Rebbe Ztl points out that the Hebrew word “sivlos” means not only “burden” but also “tolerance”. Therefore, the passage can be read as “I will deliver you from being tolerant of Egypt.” We can all learn from this nuance in the words. It is very easy to become tolerant of a bad situation, and this is no small form of slavery. We stumble through life tolerating the coldness in our hearts, not being able to stir ourselves from our slumber. These auspicious days are calling us to wake up and rekindle our souls so we can feel our Torah in everything we do.

Okay, so I wear compression socks which heal some extremely serious sores on my legs.  But how do we go about rekindling our spiritual health?

Well, first we must let go of the old lethargy and wake up to a new tomorrow. I once heard from the Kuzimer Rebbe Shlita that in Shmos we are introduced to Moshe Rabbenu. The name Moshe can stand for “Mah Shehoya hoya” which means “what was was”. This means that what has happened has happened and that to grow one must learn to leave the past behind. Remorse can’t mean being stuck in what went before, because that threatens in becoming your prison. Moshe takes the Yidden out of the prison of Egypt, by allowing them to leave the past behind. Whenever they would fail, whenever they would falter they would dwell back in their past, even if it was a false impression of that earlier period.Moshe wanted us to strive towards creating new and more creative connections with the Eibishter. By disconnecting from the past we stood able to connect with new vigor.

Healing is more than a pair of socks, its about a fulsome heartfelt search into ones heart and an escape from past mishaps.I may struggle getting my new foot gear on each morning, and kretzing has become part of my morning routine. Shovovim is about a much higher and more meaningful state of who you are. Yes, pressure may be needed to get the spiritual juices running again, but the enhancement will be all encompassing, and your heart will truly be more enriched.