“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Vayetzei
8 Kislev 5782/November 12, 2021
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לרפואה שלימה נטע יצחק בן רחל
BROAD
SHOULDERS
The
other day I was sitting at my desk and wanted to grab a book that was just out
of my reach. I stood up quickly without realizing that my jacket pocket was
caught on the arm of the chair. In sports vernacular they would say that it was
a career-ending injury for my suit jacket.
It
forced me to do something I hardly do – go deep into the bowels of my closet to
see what was in there. Lo and behold, I found a nice suit I had forgotten
about. To be honest, it was a little snug (they don’t make them like they used
to…) but it still was a good fit.
The only
issue was that I noticed a faded stain on the shoulder of the jacket. I
realized it must have been from a few years earlier when our twins were still
infants. I must have been holding one of them over my shoulder, without a cloth
diaper. You can always tell parents of infant children from the spit up stains
on their shoulders.
We don’t
think much about our shoulders. Shoulders have the widest range of motion of
any joint in the body. They allow us to be flexible and to extend ourselves.
For the same reason, shoulders are very prone to injury.
In
sports shoulders play a vital role, such as swinging a tennis racket, pitching
a baseball, or shooting a basketball.
Football
players notoriously wear huge shoulder pads to protect themselves. During the
1980s NFL players would wear extra shoulder padding to make themselves appear
even more intimidating. That stopped when players realized that the added
padding impeded their ability to play their best.
In
hockey, a player can check an opposing team’s player into the boards by
lowering his shoulder and skating into his opponent’s chest.
A friend
related that his basketball coach always reminded him to use his shoulders when
driving down the lane, shooting, or playing defense.
After I
began working on this brilliant article, my students informed me that during a
recent NBA game, last year’s MVP, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, lowered
his shoulder and charged into another player from behind, violently knocking
him to the ground. It was an act of retaliation for the other player fouling
him first. Both players were immediately rejected.
There
are two Hebrew words for shoulder – kasef and shechem. Shechem is
also the name of a city in Eretz Yisroel with a storied history. On the one
hand, great tragedies occurred there, including the abduction of Dinah and the
sale of Yosef. On the other hand, there were positive events that occurred
there as well.
The
first place Avrohom went to when he arrived in Eretz Yisroel was Shechem
(Bereishis 12:6). When Yaakov returned to Eretz Yisroel he came to Shechem.
After miraculously leading the nation across the Jordan River, Yehoshua brought
the nation to Shechem, for the epic event upon Har Grizim and Har Eval.
Another
place where shoulders are significant in the Torah is after being reunited,
Yosef and Binyamin cried upon each other’s shoulders, each weeping for future
losses of the other, not for their own pain.[1]
The Navi
(Zefaniah 3:9) prophesizes that in the future “I will change the nations to
speak a pure language, so that they will all proclaim the Name of Hashem, l’avdo
shechem echad – to serve Him as one group.”
One of
the commentators notes that shechem also refers to a shoulder. The prophet is
saying that in the future all nations will turn their shoulders together to
bear the yoke of serving Hashem.
Like the
city of Shechem, the shechem (shoulder) in the body can be embracing or
distancing, it all depends on one’s attitude and approach.
How one
“uses” his shoulder dictates his approach and relationship with others. One can
lower use his shoulder to push others away, or check them into the boards,
physically, spiritually, mentally, and psychologically creating distance or
friction. On the other hand, one can offer his shoulder for another to cry on
or “spit-up” on. He can lower his shoulder to embrace others and allow others into
his inner circle.
In the
city of Shechem great tragedies occurred when individuals selfishly turned
their shoulders away, to ostracize or failing to recognize how their own
selfish gratification would affect others. But in the same place, there was
potential for unity and holiness, when there was selflessness and a desire to
unite.
We all
have broad shoulders. It’s up to us to decide how to use them.
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
[1] The pasuk there
actually says they fell on each other’s neck(s). It’s understood that it refers
to their shoulders. It is worthy of contemplation as to why the Torah says they
fell upon each other’s necks and not shoulders.