Posted on 09/16/22
Earlier this week I had the privilege of attending and participating at a Bris, celebrating the arrival of another precious Jewish soul and its entree to the journey of a life in service to G-d.
Having been honored with giving the name I recited with great enthusiasm and hope for this child, the concluding sentiment of this special prayer with the words: Just as he entered the covenant, so may he enter into the Torah, the marriage canopy, and good deeds.
Ironically, later that very same day I was privileged to lead the burial of a cherished friend, an elderly woman who lived an inspiring life, who happened to be related to the family of the little boy who underwent his Bris earlier that day, who would have otherwise certainly been in joyous attendance of that celebration.
At the funeral I recited a very different — although equally meaningful — sentiment: A man whether he be a year old, or whether he lives a thousand years, what does it profit him? — As if he has never been shall he be... Blessed is He, for His judgment is true, He scans everything with His eye, and repays man according to his account and just sentence... Great in counsel and abundant in deed, Your eyes are open upon all the ways of the children of man, to give man according to the fruit of his deeds.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Each morning we express in the blessing of Elokai Neshamah gratitude to G-d for restoring our vitality in the morning with a soul of pure, heavenly origin, and for sustaining us in life and health.
The ‘Mechaber’, Rav Yosef Karo, in his commentary Beis Yosef, records the principle that all blessings must have an acknowledgment of G-d’s מלכות — sovereignty, and asks why in this blessing of Elokai Neshamah it is missing, with no mention of G-d as King?
He answers that the mere notion of G-d as the creator of all souls, Who infuses the soul into our bodies with His breath, retrieving them and restoring them daily, is the greatest testament to His dominion as the ultimate מלך — King. (טור או"ח סי' רי"ד בית יוסף ד"ה ומ"ש)
But it is not just about not taking for granted our existence.
Too often we tread onward in life forgetting our humble beginning, neglecting to ponder our inevitable end, and more significantly, the lifelong mission that links the two: והכל לשמו הודיה יתנו — All must give His Name acknowledgment.
Blessed shall you be בבואך — when you enter, and Blessed shall you be בצאתך — when you go out. (דברים כח ז)
Rashi quoting the Talmud, interprets this verse as referring to how fortunate is one ‘who exits this world free of חטא — sin, just as he came in without sin.’
Just as a child enters the world with a pure soul untainted from sin so may we leave the world as pristine.
Is that our greatest aspiration, to simply avoid sin? What about accruing merits and developing our character in achieving great accomplishments in the realm of Torah study and good deeds?
Several verses later, where the Torah discusses the lot of those who do not adhere to His call, it states: Accursed will you be בבואך — when you come and accursed you will be בצאתך — when you go out.
In light of the previous understanding that'בבואך' refers to the state of purity of our unsullied soul upon entering the world, how can we ever describe that as ‘accursed’? Is anyone ‘accursed’ from the get-go?
Additionally perplexing is the concept of the blessing of being free of sin at birth. A child has no choice, his lack of sin is meaningless until he becomes an adult and chooses to do what is right and avoids sin.
The word חטא more literally means ‘missing’ or ‘removed’. It is used to indicate sin because one who sins has erred and ‘missed’ the target and ‘removed’ himself from G-d.
Perhaps the message therein is not the lack of ‘sin’ upon entry to this world, as much as it is referring to having been born complete, not lacking anything in terms of being equipped to achieve perfection in cultivating one’s unique soul and elevating it towards exquisite closeness to G-d.
The Holy Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berditchiv taught that a child cries upon birth because he left a wondrous world where one basks in the greatest pleasure of sensing the Shechinah — the Divine Presence without any barrier between them.
The Talmud records a debate whether it was better not to born — basking in heavenly bliss upon high, than to be born into a world of temptation that prevents us from perceiving G-d so easily — something to truly cry about.
Our challenge remains whether those tears of frustration will transform into tears of longing — compelling one to ‘seek’ G-d even amidst the morass, or will it degenerate into tears of dejection — leading us down the path of apathy and hopelessness.
The privilege of being gifted with a ‘perfect’ soul is a double-edged sword.
It is up to us to determine whether we choose to be inspired toward greatness — blessed, or to view it as an overwhelming burden requiring tedious effort and challenge — accursed.
It is said in the name of the Holy Arizal that who who does not cry at some point over Rosh Hashanah is evidence that his soul is defective or sealed off.
The Chassidic masters assert that the verse in Tehillim (תהלים ב ז), בני אתה — My son you are, אני היום — I have this day, ילדתיך — begotten you, is alluding to Rosh Hashana, the day of Adam’s creation, which affords each one of us an opportunity for rebirth as well.
Perhaps that same frustration and tears that Adam shed after being driven out of Gan Eden, is echoed by every child that enters a world where G-d his hidden and not as evident as in the world they just descended from.
On Rosh Hashana that primal cry of frustrations echoes once again.
One who does not shed a tear reflects on a blockage in the Neshamah.
May we cry like a baby, yearning for a life where we can reconnect to the source of all life, ever remaining conscious of our mission, and merit even when the going gets tough, to always feel blessed in that divine privilege bestowed upon us.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן