Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Social
Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/Ashar
STAM
TORAH
ROSH
HASHANAH 5773
“QUALITY
NOT QUANTITY”
It was a beautiful August day in Camp
Dora Golding, during the summer of 2000/5760. I was walking from the Dining
Room to learning groups with my Rebbe and a few other staff members. As we
passed the lake, I felt a sting on the back of my neck. I instinctively slapped
at my neck but, in the corner of my eye, I saw something fly away. It felt like
a good pinch and it hurt quite a bit but I didn’t think much of it, and so I
continued walking. I stopped by my bunkhouse where I was the counselor, to shoo
some of my campers out to their learning groups. Then, I went to the staff
learning group and sat down in my usual seat in front of my Rebbe.
While my Rebbe was taking attendance, my
face began to feel hot. A friend sitting next to me, asked me if I was okay
pointing out that my face had turned dark red. I replied that I thought I was
alright but I wasn’t sure. He immediately jumped up and ran out to flag down
one of the Camp Administrators who had an in-camp
vehicle. Meanwhile, my feet began to itch uncontrollably and I began to feel
dizzy. I quietly walked out of the room and waited outside.
A long minute later, one of the Division
Heads drove up and I jumped on. Although the drive to the infirmary takes about
two minutes, it was one of the longest drives of my life. By the time we
reached the infirmary, I was completely dizzy, my vision was clouded, and I only
saw black and white. The most alarming symptom however, was that I felt my neck
begin to close up.
The nurses who had already been alerted
about my condition via radio, immediately called 9-1-1. When I came in to the
infirmary, one of the nurses sprayed my neck with an anti-inflammatory spray and
gave me two Benadryl tablets to take orally. However, it would take a few minutes
for the Benadryl to kick in and, meanwhile, it was becoming increasingly
difficult for me to breath. I remember vividly that the room began to swim as
the nurse administered an Epipen into my leg.
A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived
and the medics rushed to take my pulse and vitals. They quickly strapped me to
a stretcher and wheeled me into the ambulance. As the ambulance roared down the
old country rood with its sirens blaring, they hooked my arm to an intravenous.
By the time we arrived at the Emergency Room of Pocono Medical, I was beginning
to feel better. Still, I was hyperventilating out of panic from the whole
situation. After a few hours of being monitored to ensure that there were no
further complications, I was released that same afternoon and I returned to
camp.
A few days later, the medic who accompanied
me in the ambulance, came back to camp to tend to another emergency. When
things had calmed down, I approached him to thank him for his help. I mentioned
how lucky I felt because of what could have happened had I not received that
Epipen shot within a few minutes. He looked at me and replied, “Son, you were
lucky by less than a few minutes!”
Whenever I reflect upon that frightening
experience, I cannot help but be amazed by the fact that a minuscule insect,
probably no bigger than my fingernail, almost killed me!
On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we read
the Torah’s account of the Akeidah. In addition, numerous times during our Rosh
Hashanah prayers, we invoke the merit of the Akeidah. However, after the
conclusion of the Torah’s recounting of the Akeidah, the day’s Torah reading
continues with a short sequel of the Torah’s discussion of the descendants of
Avrohom’s brother, Nachor.
“And
it was after these happenings (i.e. the Akeidah), it was told to Avrohom
saying, ‘Behold! Milkah has also begot children for Nachor your brother. Utz
his first born, and Booz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram.
And Keshed, and Chazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaf, and Besuel. And Besuel begot
Rivkah; these eight Milkah has given birth for Nachor, the brother of Avrohom.
…[1]”
It is essentially nothing more than a list of names of Nachor’s children and
grandchildren.
This seems to be an incredibly
anti-climactic sequel. After recounting one of the greatest acts of selflessness
in the history of the world, why is it necessary to list the whole family tree
of Nachor on the second day of Rosh Hashanah[2]?
The Akediah concludes with a beautiful blessing
that G-d promises Avrohom, “For I will surely bless you, and I will increase
your children like the stars in heaven, and like the sand on the shores of the
seas, and your children will inherit the gates of their foes. And through your
progeny all nations will be blessed, because you have listened to My Voice.[3]”
Almost immediately after recording this
magnanimous blessing, the Torah segues into its recounting Nachor’s many
children and grandchildren. One must wonder, what happened to the blessing of
Avrohom? The great Avrohom has one unmarried son while Nachor is enjoying
numerous grandchildren.
On the concluding words, “And Besuel begot
Rivkah”, Rashi states, “This entire lineage was only written because of this
pasuk.” Utz and Booz and all of their brothers would have remained obsolete
were it not for the fact that they had a niece named Rivkah who would become a
matriarch of Klal Yisroel.
In explaining the purpose of these verses,
Rashi is revealing a fundamental insight. When G-d promised Avrohom that his
children would be like the stars and the sand, He did not necessarily refer to a
quantitative counting. Klal Yisroel is a nation of qualitative eternity, which
can not be measured in human terms. The verses following the Akeidah
demonstrate this concept. True, Nachor had far more descendants than Avrohom,
but all of them were only worthy of mention because of Rivkah.
Rosh Hashanah is G-d’s re-coronation over
the universe, as it were. Chazal teach us that we do not recite supplications
on this awesome Day of Judgment, despite the fact that our futures hang in the
balance. The day is dedicated to prayers imploring the Almighty to reveal His
Presence to the world so that all of mankind will learn to praise and serve Him
in unison. The greatest merit we can have during the awesome judgment is to
demonstrate that our sole concern is for the Glory of G-d. We are ready to put
all of our personal petitions and requests on hold, to prioritize our hopes for
universal realization of the omnipotence of the Almighty King of Kings.
Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the
creation of mankind and therefore is also the day that the Kingship of G-d was
established. Only when mortal man accepted the Yoke of G-d, was His Kingship
vindicated, as it were. Therefore, on the anniversary of its establishment, it
is appropriate for man to declare his continued steadfast dedication to the
Eternal Monarchy. One of the reasons the shofar is sounded, is to reflect the
coronation, much like trumpets are sounded on the day of a human king’s
coronation.
The overwhelming majority of humanity is
completely unaware that anything significant is transpiring as they go about
their routine business on Rosh Hashana. It makes us wonder: if the purpose of
the day is to reestablish the kingship of G-d, can that be accomplished by a
handful of Jews?
The answer lies in the eternal words of
Rashi, “This entire lineage was only written because of this verse.” The re-coronation
is indeed accomplished by a small percentage of humanity.
We state in the Mussaf prayer of Rosh
Hashanah, “Hayom haras olam- Today is
the anniversary of the world”. Perhaps, a brief study of geology and astronomy
will convince us of the veracity of this concept:
Our solar system, the Milky Way, is hardly
a speck in the universe. Within our galaxy, there are (as of this writing)
eight planets and countless asteroids, moons, shooting stars etc. floating
through space. Of all of the myriad objects floating through space, only one
small planet has the capacity to sustain life. All other planets are either too
close to the sun or too far away.
On planet earth itself, there is a
relatively miniscule surface area on which mankind can survive. Planes do not
fly above the Troposphere, the lowest level of the atmosphere, less than ten
miles off the ground. Yet, planes require pressure and temperature controlled
cabins because of the lack of oxygen and sub-freezing temperatures at that
altitude.[4]
Below the crust of the earth, there is a
‘mantle’, a layer of rock so hot that it has the texture of melted plastic.
Below the mantle is the core and, below that the inner core. The inner core is
a solid size crystal, the size of the moon. The Mariana Trench is the deepest
part of the Pacific Ocean and reaches a depth
of 36,205 feet. It is a mile deeper than Mount Everest,
at whose altitude one requires a metallic mask to protect from radiation and
frost bite. At a depth of 12,000 feet into the ocean, the pressure is
equivalent to the weight of five battleships. IF one would be able to
descend to the Mariana Trench, the pressure would be absolutely unbearable.
Still, the Mariana Trench remains above the mantle, under which lie two more
layers.
Even earth, the only place in the universe capable
of sustaining human life, is itself only able to promote life in a relatively
insignificant area. Yet, the whole world, with all of its galaxies in a yet
expanding universe, was only created for that one small area where human beings
can live.
On the birthday of the universe, the
universe itself is a living example of the potency and importance of Klal
Yisroel. One nation among billions, who uphold their centuries-old traditions, and
for them alone the world endures.
The creation is our parable and we are the
moral of the story. We are the infinite descendants of Avrohom which G-d promised
after the Akeidah. Perhaps, small in number but of infinite value!
Perhaps, this is why we read this sequel on
Rosh Hashanah day. Just prior to the recitation of Mussaf when we proclaim our
allegiance to the Majesty of the Eternal G-d, we strengthen ourselves by reminding
ourselves that the continuation of the entire universe rests upon our efforts. We,
the qualitative equivalent of stars and sand, carry the world on our shoulders.
In our world, we do not need to be taught
about the powerful effect individuals can have on the whole world. In the
twentieth century, two of the worst human beings in the annals of mankind,
Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin, were responsible for the deaths of over fifty
million people.[5]
In contemporary times, nine wicked individuals shook the world, when they
hijacked four planes on September 11th, 2001, using box cutters.
However, their nefarious deeds taught an invaluable lesson about what a few
people can accomplish with determination and courage!
In the completely opposite manner, we have
that same ability. We remind ourselves of this at the conclusion of the Torah
reading on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.
“Today
is the birthday of the world” and all of it…
…“was
only written because of this verse!”
[1]
Bereishis 22:20
[2] We could
have easily worked out five aliyos (men called to the Torah) within the
recounting of the Akeidah itself?
[3] 22:17
[4] The
highest level of the atmosphere, the exosphere, begins three hundred miles from
the ground and cannot maintain life
[5] Fifty
million…the number is unfathomable!
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