Bulletin10.16.2010 - Lech Lecha.pub

12
Inspiration, Insights & Ideas
Bringing Torah lessons to LIFE!
Continued from p. 11 Recently in the News
Joseph
But G-d, on occasion, does perform “miracles”—events in which the
cloak of consistency and predictability is swept away and His
involvement in our lives stands denuded from the garments of
nature. In this, too, we are enjoined to emulate our Creator: there are
occasions in our lives that call for a “miraculous” response, for a
mode of behavior that utterly disregards the dictates of nature and
convention.
These, however, are the exception rather than the rule, to be
employed under exceptional circumstances in our lives, or by
exceptional individuals whose entire lives emulate the miraculous
dimension of G-d’s relationship with our reality.
Such an individual was Abraham’s great-grandson, Joseph. When
Joseph was incarcerated in an Egyptian prison and did a good turn
for a fellow prisoner, the chief butler of Pharaoh, he availed himself
of the opportunity to request of him:
In three days’ time, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to
your station.... But remember me when your situation is improved.
Pray, do me a kindness and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and
have me taken out from this house.
Joseph, however, is criticized for his behavior; indeed, he is punished
for placing his trust in man rather than relying solely on G-d. “The
chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him,” and he was
left to languish for two more years in Pharaoh’s dungeon.
What for Abraham was desirable behavior and a demonstration of his
faith in G-d, was a breach of faith for Joseph. For Joseph belonged to
that select group of righteous individuals whose mission in life is to
emulate their Creator in the miraculous, rather than the natural,
plane of His relationship with His creation.
The Many and the Few
These two approaches to life were personified by two great Talmudic
sages— Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In the words of
the Talmud:
It is written: “And you shall gather your grain.” What does this come
to teach us? But since it says, “This book of Torah shall not cease
from your mouth [and you shall study it day and night],” I would
have thought that one must take these words literally; comes the
verse to teach us, “you shall gather your grain”—conduct yourself
also in the ways of the world. These are the words of Rabbi Ishmael.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: If a person plows in the plowing
season, sows in the sowing season, reaps in the reaping season,
threshes in the threshing season, and winnows when there is wind,
what shall become of the Torah? But when Israel does the will of the
Almighty, their work is done by others, as it is written, “And
strangers will stand and graze your sheep...”
The Talmud concludes: “Many did like Rabbi Ishmael, and succeeded;
like Rabbi Shimon, and did not succeed.”
In every generation, a few elect “Josephs” rise to a state of utter
aloofness from the ways and cares of the material world,
exemplifying the truth that, in essence, there is literally “none else
besides Him.” But for the vast majority of us, the path through life is
the path blazed by Abraham: a path in which G-d clothes His
involvement in our lives in the garments of nature and we employ
the resources and norms of our physical existence as the implements
of our relationship with Him.
All of Us Are Miners
A Chassidic Parable and the Rescue at Copiapó
By Shais Taub
Making It Out Alive
"O Lord, You have brought my soul from the grave; You
have revived me from my descent into the pit."
T
oday the entire world is talking about a miracle of survival. The
rescue at the Copiapó mine gives us pause to reflect on the
remarkable capacity of the human being to live through
conditions that resemble death itself. While the actual rescue brings
the story to its climax, what is much more amazing is what
happened for the sixty-nine days beforehand – that the miners were
able to stay alive long enough to be rescued at all.
A Lesson in Survival
The Baal Shem Tov taught that from everything that one sees or
hears, one should try to learn a lesson. Thankfully the miners are all
safe, and the harrowing episode is ending in joy and elation. But
what can we take away from our knowledge of this story?
For one thing, this amazing story causes us to consider the question:
What are the most basic needs for human survival? What does a
human being need to live?
The rescue operation didn't just work to provide the miners with
their physical needs such as food, water and air. Experts were
brought in from all over the world to help promote the miners'
mental and emotional health as well. NASA specialists who
monitored the crisis commented that perhaps the most decisive
factor in the miners' survival was that a clear leader stepped forward
early on to organize the men.
Luis Urzua, 54, the shift chief on duty when the mine collapsed,
made the tough decision to ration food – a spoonful of tuna for each
man every forty-eight hours – for the first seventeen days until
contact was made with rescue crew above ground. In the days that
followed, Urzua continued to lead his men, and, under his
organization, various roles emerged. One miner became the group's
spokesman, another saw to their health, and still another was
designated to provide comic relief.
When we consider our most basic needs, most of us probably think
only of bodily necessities like air, water and food. Perhaps this is
because we, who merely ponder this question theoretically, tend to
overlook the obvious. When we look at the men who actually
emerged from nothing less than a sixty-nine day burial within the
bowels of the earth, we see that there may be a need even more
crucial to survival than all others. The need for a leader.
Working in the Mine
On a few occasions, the Rebbe related a Chasidic parable of his
father-in-law's that likens us Jews to a crew of miners. Our souls
descend from on High to do a job down below, the Rebbe explained.
Like work in a mine, our duties are strenuous and the conditions are
dangerous. As we navigate the twists and turns of this life looking
for its treasures, one thing is crucial to our safety and survival. We
must have a leader, and we must follow his direction.
So, in light of this parable, and in light of recent events, let's ask the
age-old question. What is the secret of Jewish survival? Is it anything
like the survival of the thirty-three miners? Could it be that we have
survived innumerable challenges to our existence because, even
when our collective mission has lead us into the deepest and darkest