“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Noach
3 MarCheshvan 5776/ October
16, 2015
Part of the Chol Hamoed experience includes
‘back of hand stamps’. At many parks and recreational facilities, the policy is
that if you need to leave temporarily after entering the park, before doing so
you need to get your hand stamped. Just before the exit, there is a highly
trained attendant who knows how to delicately and precisely apply the stamp to
the back of your hand. Then when you are ready to re-enter, the employee at the
entrance gate looks for the stamp. If it’s there you are permitted to re-enter
without repaying the entrance fee again.
If you go on different trips during the
days of Chol Hamoed, by the time Chol Hamoed is over the back of your hand can
look like a coloring book with different stamps from various locations.
Some of the stamps fade away immediately
while others linger for a few more days before they too disappear completely.
During the winter a few decades ago, I
and a friend were staying at the home of a classmate in order to attend the bar
mitzvah of another classmate. Before Shabbos, as my friend’s father showed us
to our room, he also showed us something else which was stored nearby – his fully
intact esrog from Succos a few months earlier. He revealed to us the secret –
he placed his esrog in a sealed glass jar along with a wax candle, and stored
it in his garage. The result was that the esrog looked as fresh as it did when
Succos ended.
A few years ago I related the secret of
successful esrog preservation to my children. Our older children were very
excited and wanted to see if it worked. So now in our garage we have several
jars of preserved esrogim, each labeled with the year and whose esrog it was. They
look like specimens from a laboratory. The oldest esrog is from three years ago
and is indeed fully intact.
Parshas Noach relates the tragic story
of the flood. The Torah states that “it erased all that existed.” The week of
Parshas Noach is the first full week after the holiday season has drawn to a
close. As we recount that catastrophic deluge which eradicated all that existed
prior, we hope it is not also when all that we have accomplished these last few
weeks becomes erased as well.
Part of the post Yom Tov challenge is to
maintain the inspiration we gained from the Yom Tov (even as we try to shed the
calories that we gained at the same time). Our goal is that the inspiration
shouldn’t fade like the nebulous stamp on the back of our hands. In order to do
so we need to seal it within our hearts and focus on all we have attained and
achieved.
Noach saved the world by bringing
everything worthy of salvation into the taivah (ark). The Ba’al Shem Tov
related that the word taivah also means ‘word’. A Jew is able to maintain inspiration
by holding on to ‘words’: Words of Torah and prayer, and words of encouragement
that we share with each other. All of such words help maintain a connection with
our personal growth throughout the months of Elul and Tishrei.
If we are able to retain the joy and
connection of Elul and Tishrei, then when we prepare to light the Chanukah
candles in a few weeks, we will find that the inspiration of Succos is vibrant
within us. This despite the fact that the succah has long before been dismantled
and our lulav and esrog have dried out, unless you try my method to save
your esrog.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum