בס״ד
Within the vast warehouse of trivial information that I have stored in my cobwebbed attic of memories, is an old Firestone Tires advertisement: “The name that’s known is Firestone…Where The Rubber Meets the Road.”
“Where the Rubber Meets the Road.” That’s the way I feel when we come around to Shabbat Bereishit.
I’ve been pounding my chest since the 17th of Tammuz, all the way through the three weeks, and Tisha B’Av. This was followed by Elul, culminating in a week of early morning slichot, Rosh HaShanah, the 10 days of Teshuva, and Yom Kippur. Then came the simcha gauntlet. I took my Lulav and Etrog in hand. I ate, slept, and learned in my sukkah for a week of the most wonderful Sukkot weather in living memory, leading inevitably up to Hoshanah Rabbah and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah.
And now, finally, we come to Shabbat Bereishit. We start the reading of the Torah again, literally, from the “Beginning”.
This past Friday night, I found myself making the usual kiddush - remembering the Creation of the World, on the very day when we read that portion from the Torah once more.
“It was evening and it was morning” - we have struggled from the night of the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. Through the flames we have cleansed ourselves and crawled up towards the light of day, and reconnection with our Creator.
“And the Heavens and the Earth were finished”. We have been recreated. We are new creations. Hopefully, in a form closer to the image of God than before.
Really? Am I really different? Have I identified all the flaws that I needed to discover, and have I rectified them. Is my relationship to man and God “new and improved?”
It is odd, but I find Shabbat Bereishit more challenging than all that preceded it. Why? Because this is “Where the Rubber Meets the Road.” This is where, in the words of Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, I get to “show my quality.” Boot Camp is over. Now it’s time to go out into the “shetach” with my new weapons and armor and see what I’m really made of. Here comes the shakedown cruise.
It's scary. I think I’m ready, though that’s probably an illusion. This last year was one of considerable personal struggle and growth. And most of that coincided with and occurred, astonishingly enough, from the month of Tammuz onward. And for that I owe a debt of gratitude to someone who shook me to my roots, and sent me spiraling into a place that forced me to finally forge a truer relationship with my Creator. Except for “thank you for rebuking me”, that’s all I’m going to say about that. But as my youngest child once reminded me, our tests and trials are not bumps in the road; they ARE the road.
And think about this: We have nine months between now and the next Tammuz. Nine months of gestation before again being forced out of the womb, out into the flaming darkness, to be melted down and reforged once more.
Avraham Avinu underwent ten trials. Rashi and Rambam enumerate them differently. If you combine both opinions, they add up to fourteen or fifteen. I heard an amazing dvar Torah over the Yomim Tovim that made quite an impression. (Of course, I don't remember who said it, or on what day, or else I would give the appropriate attribution. If I do recall, I will update accordingly.)
The speaker pointed out that when God rescinded his command to Avraham to offer up Yitzchak as a sacrifice, it is only then that God says "now I know that you are a God-fearing man". There have already been nine trials. Is it possible that only now God knows Avraham's true nature? Hasn't he proved himself already? The speaker's answer is astounding. The tenth trial was really designed to see what Yitzchak would do. If Avraham could pass on to his child his attribute of complete devotion, then Avraham must truly be completely devoted. It took the actions of Yitzchak to ultimately prove Avraham's nature.
And so it is with us. If we can look out upon the ripple effects - at least the ones we can observe - of our thoughts and actions, then maybe we can get an inkling of how well we're doing.
Avraham Avinu underwent ten trials. Rashi and Rambam enumerate them differently. If you combine both opinions, they add up to fourteen or fifteen. I heard an amazing dvar Torah over the Yomim Tovim that made quite an impression. (Of course, I don't remember who said it, or on what day, or else I would give the appropriate attribution. If I do recall, I will update accordingly.)
The speaker pointed out that when God rescinded his command to Avraham to offer up Yitzchak as a sacrifice, it is only then that God says "now I know that you are a God-fearing man". There have already been nine trials. Is it possible that only now God knows Avraham's true nature? Hasn't he proved himself already? The speaker's answer is astounding. The tenth trial was really designed to see what Yitzchak would do. If Avraham could pass on to his child his attribute of complete devotion, then Avraham must truly be completely devoted. It took the actions of Yitzchak to ultimately prove Avraham's nature.
And so it is with us. If we can look out upon the ripple effects - at least the ones we can observe - of our thoughts and actions, then maybe we can get an inkling of how well we're doing.
I can only hope that when the rubber meets the road, I don't leave too many skid marks.
Or is it just me?
