Since most of our children study out of town, Dobi and I truly enjoy the holidays of Pesach and sukkos, not only because of the holiday but also because we have all our children home for these few weeks. It’s great family time: the little ones enjoy their big brothers and sister and as parents, we just kvell with nachas. (Yes, we try to focus more on the pleasure than on the noise levels or the triple loads of laundry and cooking.)
As everyone was due to leave on Monday, we planned a family horseback riding trip on Sunday, and when canceled due to weather, we scrambled for something to do. We ended up settling on visiting the Exquisite Creatures exhibit at Crystal Bridges.
The show attempts to “reveal the intricate beauty and diversity of nature through three-dimensional works comprised of animal, mineral, and plant specimens arranged in precise, geometric compositions.” It’s a beautiful display and one we thoroughly enjoyed (at least until the little ones got bored of it….)
It usually doesn’t take much to tell apart the animal specimens from the plant and mineral ones. It’s easy to see the difference between a lizard and a seashell, yet a few items were confusing, and it was hard to decide if this was a bug or a rock, or some other unique creature that looked like both a plant and an animal.
Take for example, the leafy seadragon. When I first looked at it, it looked like an interesting plant; but when I took a closer look, I noticed an eye, and when I read the museum label on the side, it confirmed that this was indeed a sea creature that just looked like a plant.
It only looks like a plant, but it is a fish.
‘Don’t just a book by its cover’ is a statement we all heard a thousand times growing up, and ‘do not look at the vessel, rather look at what it contains’ is an important teaching of the Talmud.
This doesn’t only apply to how we view others, this also, and perhaps first and foremost, applies to the way we view ourselves.
When we look at ourselves, we know what is on the inside; yet we often tend to ‘forgive’ ourselves by looking on our ‘outside.’ How many times have we dismissed attempts to do something important or improve something we’re doing by saying ‘I’m too clumsy,’ or ‘I’m not capable,’ ‘I will never get it done’ etc. etc.
We know we have the power to do it, we might be lacking the will. It is critical that we take a close and honest look deep into ourselves and properly analyze what we possess inside of us, and then we must act on it. That defines success.
This week’s Torah portion begins with a statement “Kedoshim Tihiyu.” Generally, we translate that as an instruction, “You should be Holy.” G-d wants each one of us to be holy, to act above and beyond the letter of the law in the way we deal with our physical lives and needs; we should not overindulge in materialism, even when ‘legal and ethical.’ We should be holy and value our spiritual wellbeing and success.
Yet, this verse can also be read as a description or a promise: You WILL be holy, because I, G-d, am Holy.” G-d is telling us that each and every Jew possesses a spark of G-d within themselves and therefore, we are holy.
And if we are holy, we should act holy.
I’ve heard so many Jews tell me over the years statements like “I’m not so religious, this isn’t for me;” or “I am not familiar with this tradition” and many similar lines.
If our holiness was an outcome of what we did, then there might have been different classes of Jews; but our holiness as Jews isn’t a result of our deeds; on the contrary, our deeds are a result of our holiness. If you are born Jewish – you are already holy; and if we are holy, shouldn’t we do something about it? We should live the way G-d wants us to because we are holy.
Wouldn’t it be a pity if a person that has a million dollars in the bank ignores it and lives like a pauper? Or if someone had a great talent but refused to ever put it to use? We would all tell them what a shame it is not to take advantage of the gifts they have.
We all possess a spark of G-d’s holiness, and we are all inherently holy. It’s only rational to make good use of it by doing another Mitzvah today.
Don’t be fooled by the many ‘leaves’ of the seadragon; look out for his eye. Look at yourself in the 'eye' as well, find your inner Jewish spark and when you find it, you will know that you are holy.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mendel Greisman