“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Vayigash
10 Teves 5781/December 25, 2020
Fast of Asarah b’Teves
To be added to
my “Striving Higher” WhatsApp chat with periodic chizuk clips, or
my “Power Parenting” WhatsApp chat with weekly ideas about parenting,
text me at 845-641-5094.
CUTTING EDGE
After
spending a beautiful Shabbos Chanukah with our family in Toms River, NJ, we
capped it off with an enjoyable family event on Motzei Shabbos. We ate pizza,
played games, ate chocolate coins, laughed, ate latkes, and then ate donuts.
But the highlight of the night for our children was undoubtedly receiving
individual presents from their grandparents.
Gavriel
and Michoel, our four-year-old twins, received a package of match box cars.
They were very excited with their gift and were eager to begin playing with
them. The problem was that the cars were secured to the box they came in with
what felt like barbed wire. It would have been easier to break out of Fort Knox
than to unfasten those cars from their cardboard casing. My real car didn’t
come with as much security as those toy cars.
I took
out a pair of scissors and began cutting. It took a lot of effort to cut
through one of them. It was then I realized each car had two wrappings around
it. I lost patience with the scissors and asked my sister-in-law where her
kitchen knives were. In the back of my mind, I thought that it wasn’t such a
good idea, but impatience overwhelmed common sense (story of our lives). After
I was able to cut through the first cord easily, I was happy with my brilliant
idea to use a kitchen knife. But the second ring I tried cutting wasn’t opening
as easily. So, I pushed a little harder on the knife. Three minutes later, I
was in my brother-in-law’s car where he was speeding down the Lakewood roads
towards Urgent Care, while I was firmly pressing a pile of paper towels against
the deep wound.
A
tetanus shot and three stitches later, we were back on our way home. I was
under strict orders from the doctor to never bathe our children or do dishes
ever again (or maybe it was for a week, I can’t remember minor details).
The
worst of all was that my wife told me that right after I left, one of the
children at the Chanukah party looked at the match box cars and said, “oh these
are easy to open”, and proceeded to open them all in under two minutes. I
couldn’t even have the satisfaction of knowing that my pain was for any useful
purpose.
Special
shout-out to SYC who quipped right after I left to get stitches that he would
probably be reading about the ordeal very soon. Indeed!
As I sat
in the Urgent Care waiting room, I contemplated what lesson I could learn from
the experience. Yes Mommy, I know what the obvious and practical lesson is. But
I mean an additional lesson connected to Chanukah.
Historically,
the Chanukah story has a rather tragic ending. The Gemara[1] relates that there are no
living descendants of the Chashmonaim. The heroic family that fought the
Hellenists and saved the Jewish people, eventually Hellenized and died or were
killed out.
Rav
Nosson Wachtfogel explained that the descendants of the Chashmonaim destroyed
the legacy of their illustrious ancestors. The Chashmonaim/Maccabees carefully
portrayed themselves as faithful defenders of the honor of Hashem. They did not
depict themselves as militants or fighters for civil liberation. Their sole
objective was freedom to serve Hashem and observe the Torah.
Their
descendants however, assumed the throne and portrayed themselves as everything
their forebearers did not. In so doing, they essentially destroyed their own
legacy and were eventually wiped out physically as well.
There is
a time and place when one must act in an unusual, and sometimes even radical
manner. Desperate situations call for desperate measures.
The Mishnah[2] discusses the concept of עת
לעשות לה׳ הפרו תורתך, that there
are times when one must “breach” certain accepted Torah norms in order to
preserve Torah observance. (The Mishna’s example is when Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi
recorded the Oral Torah, which until then was only studied and transmitted
orally.)
However,
there is a great inherent danger involved in such breaches in that it can be
hard to maintain a sense of balance, and not take it too far. It’s analogous to
using a sharp knife to cut through barriers. It doesn’t take much to cut too
far and too deep.
On the
calendar as well, the joy of Chanukah seems to quickly segue into days of
darkness and tragedy. The fast of Asarah b’Teves commemorates three tragedies –
the writing of the Septuagint (which was the precursor to the New Testament),
the death of Ezra HaSofer, and the beginning of the siege around Yerushalayim
by the Babylonians who eventually destroyed the first Bais Hamikdash. It feels
strange to recite selichos and fast with maoz tzur still ringing in the
back of your mind.
The
challenge of life is always about finding the proper balance. There’s a time to
sing and celebrate and a time to fast and introspect. There’s also a time for
unusual and extreme action, but such action must always be tempered and
measured.
On
Chanukah we are reminded to be careful with fire, and as Chanukah gives way for
Asarah b’Teves, we are reminded of the dangers involved when handling sharp
objects.
Have
an easy and meaningful fast,
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum