Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah
September 26, 2024
23 Elul 5784
Selichot
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilech
I just finished story time with our pre-K students. It is one of my favorite activities of the week. With Rosh Hashanah fast approaching, I read them a version of I.L. Peretz’s short story, “If Not Higher.”
The basic premise of the story is that the rabbi of a small shtetl called Nemirov would disappear for a few days before Rosh Hashanah each year. The residents of the town believed that he spent those days in heaven praying on their behalf. A skeptical newcomer decided to secretly follow the rabbi to see what he was really doing. It turned out that the rabbi dressed up as a non-Jewish woodcutter and brought firewood to a poor sick woman at no charge.
From that day on, whenever the skeptic heard someone say that the rabbi spent the days before Rosh Hashanah in heaven, he would respond with the words, “If Not Higher.”
Of course, I like any story that makes a rabbi look good. However, this story is not just about rabbis. It’s about how all of us should spend the time leading up to Rosh Hashanah.
For 30 days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, we add Psalm 27 to our liturgy twice a day. We continue for the first 10 days of the new year for a total of 40 days. That number is not a coincidence. It’s supposed to remind us of the 40 days that Moses spent on Mt. Sinai (twice) before receiving the Torah. During those 40 days, Moses was closer to God than any other human being described in the Torah.
The best known verse of Psalm 27 says: “One thing I ask of Adonai, only that do I seek: to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of Adonai, to visit God’s palace.” In a sense, we are asking for the opportunity to be close to God just like Moses.
As I.L. Peretz reminds us in his classic short story, the way to be closer to God and visit God’s home is to be kind to others without worrying about credit or reward.
So, in the few days before Rosh Hashanah, I invite everyone to emulate the rabbi of Nemirov. Let’s all lift up the members of our community who need a little extra support without seeking public recognition, just because it’s the right thing to do. Perhaps, we’ll discover that through these acts of kindness, we too can find our way to God’s abode—if not higher.
Shalom,
RAF.Higher -- CHRONICLE Online/The WORD 09/26/24
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