Rabbi's Corner

We find the following in this week's parashah, Parashat Ki Tavo: "Cursed is the one who does not uphold the words of this Torah to perform them." (Devarim 27:26)  It is a sad fact that a few ultra-observant Jews tend blame non-observant Jews for much of the suffering within the Jewish world.  Their "proof" is this verse which declares that non-observant Jews bring a curse upon the People Israel.  But, the question that must be asked is this: "Is this really true?"  The Talmud answers this question in the negative by telling us that every Jew is obligated to say "The world was created solely for me." (Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 37a)  Looking beyond what appears at first glance to be an intense self-centeredness on the part of anyone who says these words, we must realize the lesson they teach is that every occurrence that happens in our lives is a learning experience from which we are supposed to grow, to improve ourselves, and to extend ourselves to others. 

Soon after the 1929 Arab anti-Jewish riots in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) which claimed the lives of so many of our people, the question arose as to why HaShem allowed such devastation to ravage the Holy Land.  A number of people gathered in the home of Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld to seek an answer to this question.  One man suggested, "Perhaps it is because of the soccer matches that are taking place on Shabbos," looking to Rav Sonnenfeld for approval of what he had just said.  Rav Sonnenfeld slowly rose from his seat and loudly declared, "Absolutely not!  Most of the people who are engaged in these soccer matches on Shabbos had previously been drafted into the Russian army and forced to desecrate Shabbos.   They were forced to eat non-kosher food, and were not allowed to perform any mitzvot.  After returning to their homes after their service, they were subjected to mass pogroms in which many of their family members were murdered.  And now you think that it is because these people who were forced to abandon Torah and mitzvot under these conditions that they are responsible for the punishment the entire Land has suffered?!"  The room fell silent as Rav Sonnenfeld continued, "Perhaps it is we who live here in Jerusalem who are to blame!  We have not suffered as have these people, and yet we also have not taken note of the great Torah scholars who live among us, and we do not follow in their ways.  Because more is expected of us, we are more to blame for not fulfilling our potential despite the great opportunity we have to do so by being Jews living in the Holy City of Jerusalem!"

Especially at this time of the year, during the month of Elul, each one of us must evaluate our own actions or non-actions so that we may admit how we may have caused problems for the People Israel, be they in our own families, in our own communities, or in our own Synagogues.  When all is said and done, the answer to the question is that all of us are to blame.  The real blessing is that all of us can be the solution as well.  And that solution can be found only in the Torah.