Reconnecting with true living Torah ideals

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Reconnecting with true living Torah ideals

Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

Torah is eternal, and each word brings with it a special meaning which inspires every new generation. We are links in a chain of eternity, and the flowing energy that keeps us together is the Torah as given on Har Sinai when we first became a Nation.

Given that I have boruch Hashem come to a point in my life where I can bear witness to several generations, I can vouchsafe for this dynamic in the Torah. “Verta” (wise Torah words) that I heard from the mouths of survivors of Churban Europe gave great support when listened to by young attentive ears of first-generation American youth. Now those “verta” ring with new truths, and the lessons they bring today are as fresh to our present situation as they were way back then.

Let me share a poignant example:

“And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt….no man could see his brother, nor could any man rise from his place.” Shemos 10:22.

This verse, said the Rebbe Reb Chanoch of Alexander, teaches us a valuable lesson in our Divine service:

“And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt”….when it is a period of spiritual darkness (the Egyptian experience)….and “no man could see his brother”…when somebody can only see himself and is blind to the plight of others… then “nor could any man rise from his place”….he will not be able to rise from his low spiritual state.

I can’t explain how these words energised a despondent world where so much had been lost by so many. Those neshomahs were so holy, their thirst to create a new reality so great, that a fresh breath of warmth reenergised our very core. Suffice to say that in those difficult times, it was vital that the survivors were able to look beyond their own pain and, by so doing grow.

Today, the darkness lies in a deeper place; it dwells within us in ways never experienced before. We are wavering emotionally because we have become separated from the vitality that built the Torah world from the ashes. Even more, we have allowed our Yiddishkeit to become institutionalised and almost sclerotic. This passage from the Torah is perhaps teaching this generation that one must begin to see one’s brothers and in this way we can illuminate the darkness that dwells within our own hearts. The key to rising above the dreary darkness of our everyday is to look out and extend chizuk to one another.

Mishlei tells us (12:25)

“Anxiety in the heart of man depresses him; but a good word will cause him joy.”

Never has the realm of anxiety and depression been so uppermost in so many lives. This is driven by the lost vibrancy of our connection with Hashem, and our fellow Yieden. The darkness seeps deeper into our core, and we often find inane hours spent on technology or empty moments of loose banter a shallow distraction from the pain.

Nonetheless, says the posuk, a good word from another will illuminate your heart and bring you a sense of hope. When we live in fearful darkness, we can lose sight of others. When we do see our brothers, then hope begins to shine.

In Parshas Bo, we were introduced to the first mitzvah the Jews were given as a nation.

“This month shall be for you the beginning of the months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year.”

The full understanding of the lunar month having significance particular to the Jewish nation deserves some thought. Every Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh, we bless the forthcoming month and call out on which day the event will occur. In many communities, the molad is announced, which indicates the exact moment when the New Moon is born. Each molad moment occurs exactly 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3+1/3 seconds from the last. This small matter makes a lot of difference to our lives. Notice that the month is not a simple thirty-day cycle, something that would make life extremely easy to calculate. No, it’s some 11 hours short of what we perceive as perfection, and because of this, our calendars are changed, Yom Tovim moved, whole months added.

Now, a simple question could be posed: Hashem created this cycle in the first place, why didn’t He just make it simple? What’s behind the half-day “short change”?

A gutta Yied explained that in truth, we are being given a huge lesson here. The perfect cycle is as Hashem created it, exactly 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3+1/3 seconds. Our problem is that we perceive it should be different. Everything in life is perfect according to our tikun, our needs. However, we don’t understand this; we want things to be as we think they must be. Hashem tells us that I want you to make the New Month yours by working on the difference between Hashem’s perfection and our perceptions. That is how we make the month ours, and so too our lives.

This brings us back to the aspect of darkness that dwells within. Life doesn’t always seem perfect, and often as not, this creates a feeling of dread and hopelessness. But that is just the point; when we acknowledge this, we can grow. If we reach out from this position and bond with others, if we seek good words that offer hope, then we will see a world illuminated with true Yiddishkeit, the sort that brings a Kiddush Hashem into a dark world.

Our present Golus is calling us to reconnect with true living Torah ideals, to create a gleam of light through shared words of chizuk and mutual brotherhood, striving for real connection.

We see all too many living in inner darkness, not allowing themselves to even reach out for a good word. People go through the system that is communal life without life. The parshios of Shemos tell of exile and redemption. They are relevant just as much in our time as they were then.