Yom Kippur-- "Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler
Yom Kippur
This is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement. This period between these two high holidays is known as the Days of Awe, time for good deeds, prayers and repentance. A time to reflect on our lives and our purposes, a time to ask for forgiveness and be thankful to the Lord, for “On Rosh Hashanah they (Souls) are inscribed and on the fast day of Yom Kippur they are sealed: How many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die? Who shall be tranquil and who shall be harassed; who shall enjoy well-being and who shall suffer tribulations; who shall be poor and who shall be rich; who shall be humble and who shall be exalted?
Repentance, Prayer and Charity, avert the severity of the decree!”
It is easy for us to understand the concepts of repentance and prayer; charity is different. The sages were able to distinguish between many levels of charity and philanthropic models. The emphasis is usually on the motives of the givers and the state of mind of the recipients. It is one thing to give; it is entirely a different story however, how you give and why. One may for instance embarrass the recipient and his/her family, if the charity is given in public and with much attention. Also when put in such situation, the recipient may feel uncomfortable and indebted to the giver.
The book of Ruth describes in a most beautiful way the custom of giving the opportunity to the needy (in accordance with the word of God) to harvest with the workers (Ruth 2:2). What a magnificent way to be charitable without making the needy have to beg and be embarrassed.
Charity is God’s most favorite trait of mankind, he who is charitable and kind to others will never be forsaken!
The following is a true story I heard from my Rabbi that made me think real hard about charity, especially during these Days of Awe – charity and the way it relates to the faith in God.
In a small town in Poland lived a rich man who was known as the miser of the town. He was cheap; he never gave any charity or offered to help the needy and poor… And there were plenty of them in that town. He hardly had any friends or associates; no one wanted much to do with him, while many had a lot to say behind his back. The man had a daughter but no sons to carry on his name. When this man died, the Jewish burial society of the town decided to treat him in his death the same way that he treated others during his life. They buried him in the cemetery’s section that was designated for those who lived their lives among the wrong elements of society. In this part of the cemetery there were buried thieves and other undistinguished members of the community. No one seemed to have known what ever happened with the man’s wife and daughter who couldn’t stand the treatment they received from their neighbors and fled way.
In the weeks that followed the man’s death, the poor and needy of the town suddenly realized that the charitable portions of food that were always available to them were all but gone. The town’s butcher, the grocer and the fisherman that made sure that those who were in need could always come and collect from their shops, no longer had these portions available. Neither the clothing store owner, nor the shoemaker that also had their goods available to the less fortunate offered their help anymore.
The poor and the needy demanded to know why no longer the butcher, the grocer, the fisherman and all the others were helping as they had done before. The answer they got shocked them all; do you think the charity you received came from us, asked the merchants? You are all but wrong, it did not come from us, they continued, it all came from the man you buried in the bad part of the cemetery. This man you buried next to thieves and “low lives” came each and every week to all of us to buy the food and clothes that you all enjoyed while he was still alive.
The story caught the attention of one of the most righteous and famous Rabbis in Poland. Upon hearing the story, this great rabbi immediately declared that when his time comes, his wish was to be buried next to that man. Indeed when this Rabbi died in good age, he was buried in a grave next to the “miser of the town”.
This was not the end of the story. . .
Three generations later, a Baptist pastor from Tennessee decided to participate in an ecumenical conference. At the conference the story of the “miser” was told by the key note speaker who was an orthodox Rabbi. Following the Rabbi’s speech, the pastor, visibly shaken up, asked the Rabbi if he would repeat the story again for him in private. The Rabbi complied with this strange request and told the story again to the pastor, this time in one of the conference’s private offices. By the time the Rabbi finished telling the story again, the pastor’s face was washed with tears. This is my story said the pastor to the surprised Rabbi. You see the pastor continued, my mother was married to a Baptist pastor in Tennessee, and in fact it was his church that now I am the pastor of. I heard this very story from my mother over and over again, she used to tell me the story with tears in her eyes since I was a little boy. When my mother died, in her final moment she held my hand and said Shma Israel Adony Elohainu Adony Echad! (Hear, O’ Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is one) I am a Jew she said to me and so are you. Completely shook up by the experience, the pastor looked at the rabbi and said, I think that I am the grandson of the “miser of the town” who had no sons to carry on his name.
Years later, on a visit to Jerusalem, the Rabbi was standing in prayer next to the Western Wall, as he noticed a bearded man (like many others at the Wall) staring at him, as if waiting for him to finish. In fact, upon finishing his evening prayers, the man approached the Rabbi and asked, do you remember me? The Rabbi said no, he couldn’t place the face anywhere at all. I am the pastor from Tennessee said the man, I came to see you a few years ago, after you told the story of the “miser’s burial” in Poland. After our meeting, the man continued, I began an extensive search into my genealogy and I found out that I was right when I said to you then that . . . that was my story. I found out without a shadow of a doubt that this man in Poland was my grandfather! I live now in Jerusalem with my family as a Jew and I proudly carry his name.
“And, All living things shall forever thank you, and praise Your great Name eternally, for You are good, You are everlasting salvation, blessed are You Lord, Beneficent is Your Name and to You it is fitting to offer thanks.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Ron Wexler
President/ CEO
Ten Commandments Commission
www.TenCommandmentsDay.com
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you" (Psalm 122:6)
"Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler The "Shabbat Shalom!" weekly teaching is published every Friday and contains a short commentary by Ron Wexler, President/CEO of the Ten Commandments Commission on verses and teachings in the Old Testament, that are read in Synagogues during Sabbath services around the world.
This is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement. This period between these two high holidays is known as the Days of Awe, time for good deeds, prayers and repentance. A time to reflect on our lives and our purposes, a time to ask for forgiveness and be thankful to the Lord, for “On Rosh Hashanah they (Souls) are inscribed and on the fast day of Yom Kippur they are sealed: How many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die? Who shall be tranquil and who shall be harassed; who shall enjoy well-being and who shall suffer tribulations; who shall be poor and who shall be rich; who shall be humble and who shall be exalted?
Repentance, Prayer and Charity, avert the severity of the decree!”
It is easy for us to understand the concepts of repentance and prayer; charity is different. The sages were able to distinguish between many levels of charity and philanthropic models. The emphasis is usually on the motives of the givers and the state of mind of the recipients. It is one thing to give; it is entirely a different story however, how you give and why. One may for instance embarrass the recipient and his/her family, if the charity is given in public and with much attention. Also when put in such situation, the recipient may feel uncomfortable and indebted to the giver.
The book of Ruth describes in a most beautiful way the custom of giving the opportunity to the needy (in accordance with the word of God) to harvest with the workers (Ruth 2:2). What a magnificent way to be charitable without making the needy have to beg and be embarrassed.
Charity is God’s most favorite trait of mankind, he who is charitable and kind to others will never be forsaken!
The following is a true story I heard from my Rabbi that made me think real hard about charity, especially during these Days of Awe – charity and the way it relates to the faith in God.
In a small town in Poland lived a rich man who was known as the miser of the town. He was cheap; he never gave any charity or offered to help the needy and poor… And there were plenty of them in that town. He hardly had any friends or associates; no one wanted much to do with him, while many had a lot to say behind his back. The man had a daughter but no sons to carry on his name. When this man died, the Jewish burial society of the town decided to treat him in his death the same way that he treated others during his life. They buried him in the cemetery’s section that was designated for those who lived their lives among the wrong elements of society. In this part of the cemetery there were buried thieves and other undistinguished members of the community. No one seemed to have known what ever happened with the man’s wife and daughter who couldn’t stand the treatment they received from their neighbors and fled way.
In the weeks that followed the man’s death, the poor and needy of the town suddenly realized that the charitable portions of food that were always available to them were all but gone. The town’s butcher, the grocer and the fisherman that made sure that those who were in need could always come and collect from their shops, no longer had these portions available. Neither the clothing store owner, nor the shoemaker that also had their goods available to the less fortunate offered their help anymore.
The poor and the needy demanded to know why no longer the butcher, the grocer, the fisherman and all the others were helping as they had done before. The answer they got shocked them all; do you think the charity you received came from us, asked the merchants? You are all but wrong, it did not come from us, they continued, it all came from the man you buried in the bad part of the cemetery. This man you buried next to thieves and “low lives” came each and every week to all of us to buy the food and clothes that you all enjoyed while he was still alive.
The story caught the attention of one of the most righteous and famous Rabbis in Poland. Upon hearing the story, this great rabbi immediately declared that when his time comes, his wish was to be buried next to that man. Indeed when this Rabbi died in good age, he was buried in a grave next to the “miser of the town”.
This was not the end of the story. . .
Three generations later, a Baptist pastor from Tennessee decided to participate in an ecumenical conference. At the conference the story of the “miser” was told by the key note speaker who was an orthodox Rabbi. Following the Rabbi’s speech, the pastor, visibly shaken up, asked the Rabbi if he would repeat the story again for him in private. The Rabbi complied with this strange request and told the story again to the pastor, this time in one of the conference’s private offices. By the time the Rabbi finished telling the story again, the pastor’s face was washed with tears. This is my story said the pastor to the surprised Rabbi. You see the pastor continued, my mother was married to a Baptist pastor in Tennessee, and in fact it was his church that now I am the pastor of. I heard this very story from my mother over and over again, she used to tell me the story with tears in her eyes since I was a little boy. When my mother died, in her final moment she held my hand and said Shma Israel Adony Elohainu Adony Echad! (Hear, O’ Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is one) I am a Jew she said to me and so are you. Completely shook up by the experience, the pastor looked at the rabbi and said, I think that I am the grandson of the “miser of the town” who had no sons to carry on his name.
Years later, on a visit to Jerusalem, the Rabbi was standing in prayer next to the Western Wall, as he noticed a bearded man (like many others at the Wall) staring at him, as if waiting for him to finish. In fact, upon finishing his evening prayers, the man approached the Rabbi and asked, do you remember me? The Rabbi said no, he couldn’t place the face anywhere at all. I am the pastor from Tennessee said the man, I came to see you a few years ago, after you told the story of the “miser’s burial” in Poland. After our meeting, the man continued, I began an extensive search into my genealogy and I found out that I was right when I said to you then that . . . that was my story. I found out without a shadow of a doubt that this man in Poland was my grandfather! I live now in Jerusalem with my family as a Jew and I proudly carry his name.
“And, All living things shall forever thank you, and praise Your great Name eternally, for You are good, You are everlasting salvation, blessed are You Lord, Beneficent is Your Name and to You it is fitting to offer thanks.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Ron Wexler
President/ CEO
Ten Commandments Commission
www.TenCommandmentsDay.com
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you" (Psalm 122:6)
"Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler The "Shabbat Shalom!" weekly teaching is published every Friday and contains a short commentary by Ron Wexler, President/CEO of the Ten Commandments Commission on verses and teachings in the Old Testament, that are read in Synagogues during Sabbath services around the world.
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