“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos
Kodesh parshas Vayelech – Shabbas Shuva
5 Tishrei 5783/September
30, 2022
PEELER PROBLEMS
In my previous article I wrote about
how it became my practice to make the cholent for Shabbos in our home.
During the summer, we have the great
fortune to be at Camp Dora Golding. During that time, we enjoy Chef Yosef
Oldak’s delicious food, including his cholent. So, for two months our crock pot
lies in solitude, eagerly awaiting our return.
The first Thursday night after we
returned, I made sure I had all the ingredients I needed and began preparing
the cholent. All was well until it was time to add the potatoes. We had
potatoes of course, there can hardly be a cholent without them. In fact, some
of our children insist on only eating the potatoes from the cholent, and so I
add extra potatoes. But alas, I could not find the peeler. I called for backup.
But no one was able to locate any of our elusive peelers. They seemed to have
escaped during the summer.
It was quite late, and I was
beginning to feel uneasy. How can we have a cholent without potatoes? It would
be like Rosh Hashanah without honey, Chanukah without latkes, and Shavuos
without cheesecake. It was simply inconceivable. It was so frustrating. The
potatoes were right in front of me. But if I couldn’t peel them, no one would
eat them.
Fortunately, our daughter was out
with a friend who offered to lend us a peeler. Thankfully, the catastrophe was
averted and on Shabbos we had our cholent with potatoes.
Perhaps you’ve had enough hearing
about my cholent, but I think there is a symbolic lesson to be gleaned from
this incredibly exciting incident.
The month of Elul is a time when we
focus on Hashem’s love for us- His nation. This is demonstrated by the noted acronym
of Elul – “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li – I am to my beloved and my beloved
is to me.”
We refer to the holiday of Succos as
the season of our joy. Physically, we celebrate harvesting the produce of our
fields, and spiritually, we bask in the repentance we have achieved on Yom
Kippur. Many commentaries explain that during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we
engage in repentance out of fear for the exacting judgement. Then on Succos we
engage in deeper repentance, one that emerges from feelings of celebratory love
and joy.
If Elul is a time to reflect on our
loving relationship with G-d, how does it differ from Succos, the holiday when
we celebrate our loving relationship with G-d?
Before one begins preparing anything,
he needs to have a vision of the desired result. Before beginning construction,
one needs to have blueprints, before writing a book one needs to have a plot in
mind, before heading into a potential sale one needs to know his purported
target, and before cooking/baking one needs to know the recipe. In the words of
Stephen Covey, to be successful one must begin with the end in mind. Every
Friday night we express this concept eloquently when we state that the holy
Shabbos was, “last to be created, first in thought.” The goal of all creation
was for holiness, encapsulated by the sanctity of Shabbos.
In Elul we focus on the recipe and
goal. If we do teshuva, we are assured that we will achieve a renewed
relationship with our Creator. We then chart our course to achieve that renewed
connection through the challenging process of teshuva.
Once we know the recipe, we ‘gather
the ingredients.’ On Rosh Hashanah we proclaim the majesty of G-d and accept
His eternal monarchy upon ourselves. It’s been said that it’s far easier to
proclaim G-d as King of the entire universe, than it is to proclaim and accept
Him as King over ourselves. The main ingredient necessary for connection with
G-d is accepting His monarchy over ourselves. We then spend the days leading up
to and including Yom Kippur peeling away the external peels we have allowed to
amass upon our souls throughout the year. Once we have peeled away the shells
and peels, we are ready to cook the dish. Succos is when we reap the benefits
of our efforts. In Elul we envisioned the goal and end result. At that point we
imagined how delicious the dish would taste if we followed the recipe. On
Succos, we actually taste it. After undergoing the arduous, yet gratifying
process of teshuva, on Succos we bask in spiritual bliss and rejoice in that
opportunity.
And that in a nutshell – or rather a
crock pot – is a symbolic presentation of our pathway during Elul and Tishrei.
I should mention that when making the
cholent that first week, my wife informed me that she had frozen onions in the
freezer that I could use. I didn’t look closely enough and inadvertently added
frozen mushrooms to the cholent. Believe it or not, it was quite tasty. And
being that my kids wouldn’t touch it, I had it all to myself. I’m not sure what
the lesson is, but I conclude by blessing us all that our efforts to do teshuva
mushroom into even greater spiritual heights.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
G’mar Chasima Tova,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum