“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Haazinu
12 Tishrei 5777/ October
13, 2016
Once upon a time, there was a family
named The Staums, who resided at 3 Landau Lane in Spring Valley, NY.
This wonderful family was thrilled to
spend its summers at Camp Dora Golding in East Stroudsburg, PA, where Rabbi
Staum served as a division head. Due to the fact that the Staum family was
temporarily residing in East Stroudsburg, they had their mail forwarded from
the end of June until the beginning of the final week of the camp season at the
end of August.
This year, when the Staum family arrived
home after another wonderful camp season, their mail again began appearing in
their mailbox, just as they had arranged. And they lived happily ever after…
until the following week.
After a few days they realized that
their mail had stopped being dropped off. The mailman would pass by their home
and simply drive by. So they called the
Post Office, and after a mere fifteen frustrating tries, decided to go down to
the Post Office in person.
At the Post Office a real live person agreed
to look into the situation. He returned a few minutes later and explained that
there was a simple logical explanation for why the Staums had not received their
mail. It seems Walter, their usual postman, was on vacation when they arrived
home from camp. His temporary substitute received their request to stop
forwarding their mail to East Stroudsburg and did so. But when Walter returned
from his vacation the following week, he didn’t realize that they had returned
(their two cars in front and children running in and out, etc. apparently
weren’t a good enough indication). So he resumed forwarding their mail.
Thus their lost mail was somewhere in limbo
between East Stroudsburg and Monsey. They are still awaiting the grand return
of that week’s mail.
It would seem that this whole ordeal was
just an annoyance that the Staums had to deal with, and, aside for not
receiving some invitations, bills, tzedakah solicitations, and calendars for
the new year, it’s not such a big deal. Or so you might have thought!
However, during that fateful week of
mistakenly forwarded mail, the Staum’s secondary insurance mailed them a
standard letter about a bill they had paid. But that envelope stated that it
was not to be forwarded. As soon as the insurance company received the returned
letter, they came to the immediate conclusion that the Staums no longer had a
valid home address, and they promptly cancelled the Staum’s insurance… the day
before Mrs. Staum gave birth to twins!
So as they received Mazal Tov wishes
from near and dear, the Staums also began receiving substantial bills from the
hospital – somehow those did arrive in the mail.
“No big deal”, you’d think. “Just call
the insurance company and explain their mistake.” But speaking to bureaucrats is
far worse than speaking to a brick wall. And so the Staums await a trial
hearing before the insurance company’s judge, hoping that his/her honor will
admit to the inanity of the situation and have the insurance company cover the
bills they should be covering, so that the Staums, and their twins, can again
live happily ever after.
That whole story is an introduction to
the following question: What is someone’s address? Where does one really live?
Is it the place where your mail arrives
at, and the place where all of your stuff is, or is it more about the place
where your family is located, and the place where you feel secure and settled?
During the Yom Tov of Succos, we
demonstrate that it is the latter. We depart from our homes that contains ‘all
of our stuff’, the one which is listed as our address, so that we can seek
residence in a flimsy succah with our family, basking in the security of the
divine beneath the schach.
Succos reminds us that despite the fact
that we feel secure and protected in our homes, essentially it’s not our roofs or
our security systems that afford us any security. It is only G-d, who is
impervious to the fallacies and follies of bureaucrats, and is also above the
influence of temperamental and untrustworthy candidates, that can grant us any
modicum of serenity.
It is only with a firm knowledge and
resolve in that truth that anyone can truly live happily ever after.
Shabbat Shalom
& Good Shabbos,
Chag Sameiach
& Freilichen Yom Tov,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum