We are at the halfway mark in counting up to Matan Torah. With eagerness and anticipation we look forward to Chag Shavuot. When we interview prospective students for the school we ask them what is your favorite chag (holiday). Most girls answer Chanuka or Purim. You can certainly understand the reasons why - gifts, fun, food and family get-togethers. If anyone would ask me what my favorite chag is - I actually have two - Shavuot and Yom Kippur. Now that I think about it, they are actually two sides of the same coin.
I enjoy Shavuot because as the member of the household with most of the responsibility of cooking, cleaning and preparing for chagim, Shavuot is the easiest chag to prepare for, especially after Pesach. The holiday meals are mostly dairy and who doesn’t like a good cheesecake! Please don’t think I am superficial, after all this week’s parsha reminds us to always judge people favorably. Shavuot is celebrated with increased learning, even through the night. It is a time to rejoice on having received the Torah and all of the mitzvot. As is written at the conclusion of each Perek of Perkei Avot, Rabbi Chanania ben Akashia says “Hakadosh Baruch Hu wished to confer merit (le’zakot) upon Yisrael and therefore gave them an abundance of Torah and mitzvot as it says:''Hashem desires for the sake of [Yisrael’s] righteous, that the Torah be expanded and strengthened.” What an amazing concept - the taryag mitzvot provides 613 opportunities for us to gain rewards. Even by not transgressing, but not doing anything, we can gain extra points in our mitzvah bank. Now isn’t that something to celebrate?
In counterbalance to my enjoyment of Shavuot, I actually really look forward to Yom Kippur as well. No food to prepare (or eat), no company to worry about, seemingly no special preparations. However, the no preparation part is simply not true, because in reality, I do have to prepare myself, emotionally and spiritually. Once again, taking from this week’s parsha of Kedoshim we learn about many of the mitzvot, especially between person to person, that we should be following so that we may emulate Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Rashi explains HaKodosh Boruch Hu proclaims, “You shall be holy, yochol kemoni;'' You (we) have the ability to be holy like “Me”. How can we attain such elevated heights? Talmud lomar—(“talmud” has the root word “lemod”, to get used to), we need to get accustomed to saying , “ki kodosh ani”—I am holy. Not just saying, but feeling holy and acting holy. How do we do this - by following the precepts of the Torah including V'ahavta l'reacha Kamocha. Loving your fellow man as yourself. Kamocha, Kamoni. We can infer from this- that Loving your neighbor, treating him/her with respect as you would want to be treated, raises you up to a level of holiness, as is Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Yom Kippur then gives me the time to sit in shul, alone, not worried about taking care of mundane things, and just reflecting on what I did wrong over the year and how I can be a better person, a better Jewish woman. It gives me the opportunity to once again strive for that status of kedusha.
Now I ask myself, why wait for Yom Kippur or Shavuot to reflect upon and to celebrate our opportunities to do mitzvot. Why wait for Achrei Mot to be Kedoshim? I will start now, one mitzvah at a time, to perfect myself. Will you join me in this endeavor? What mitzvah will you be working on? Pick anyone from kedoshim (charity, favorable judgement, not keeping a grudge, etc) and you will certainly gain that inner feeling of spirituality. When you pay it forward it certainly elevates you, for your own self esteem as well as in the eyes of Hashem.
Wishing everyone a peaceful Shabbos
Rochelle brand, Ed.D
Head of School
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