Parsha Emor
Shabbat Iyar
16/17 5773 April 26/27,2013
All beginnings are difficult. In starting
any new venture, we have to be prepared for the inevitable setbacks. Almost
always, new methods are not as efficient as the old, tried and true ones we are
used to, until the kinks are worked out!
Like the old saying goes, “Practice
makes perfect”, or “try, try again!” Or
the famous quote from Gene Kranz, of Apollo 13 fame, “Failure is not an option.”
I agree 100%! Religion is no
different, as we have our ups and our downs, and our starts and our re-starts.
Let’s examine the Passover Sedar.
The Sedar has many beginnings as well as many endings! It is made up of eating special foods,
telling the story of the mass exodus, and that of praising G-D. Each section
has many starts. We wash our hands, but we do not fully do so because we recite
no blessing. We partake of the karpas,
and it can be seen as kind of an hors d’oeuvre, and do not continue our meal as
of yet. We break the matzah, but we do
not eat, as of yet. We hear the 4
questions, but do not answer them immediately.
We begin by sharing how we were slaves, and then interrupt it with
another 4 inquiries of the four brothers; the wise, the wicked, the simple, and
the son that does not even know how to ask.
We then begin to tell the story again, only this time around, we say, “In
the beginning, we were Idol worshippers”.
Similarly, we begin praising G-d by reciting the 1st 2
paragraphs of the Hallel, and then we eat the meal, and then finish the hallel
AFTER the meal! Begin, interrupt, and
begin again.
We can see there are many beginnings,
as the Sedar shows us. It is parallel to
our relationship to G-D. There are many
facets and strands: Our need for meaning, purpose, partnership, feeling of
oneness, and many more. However, there
are many people that don’t realize that they can start over again and again. We
always have and need to reassess, recommit, & relearn.
That’s what the Sedar is teaching
us. As free people, living in a free society, we have the ability to reevaluate
and reconnect with G-d. There are low
points (as we perceive) and obviously some very high points. It always grows stronger and stronger as time
goes on. Sometimes when we’re down, we
feel our relationship with G-d is almost not there, and that is just not true.
It was struggle receiving the Torah,
as we slid a bit backward, but we did not give up. Moses did not return, the
Jewish people built the golden calf.
That was not the end of their relationship with G-d; it allowed a new beginning!
Moses went back and brought a 2nd set of tablets and this set
endured. Lesson is that people should
not give up, and it’s okay to start, or I should say, “re-start” .
There is always a new beginning
awaiting and possible. There is always a
solution to a problem, we just need to search and resolve and then re-start and
re-devote ourselves.
I sincerely hope and pray for all of
us, that when we fall and scrape our knees, both literally and figuratively, we
get back up, dust ourselves off, and re-evaluate, re-assess, re-condition,
re-learn, and start again, as a new beginning. G-d is present and The Torah is
here to help us!
Good Shabbos and Shabbat Shalom!
-Amen-
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