This week, we showed a film at Chabad, Outback Rabbis, which follows two young Chabad emissary (Shluchim) couples, in their quest to reach and connect with Jews living in the most remote areas of the Aussie outback.
There are many ways one can prepare for a life committed to serving the Jewish community: Brushing up on communication or counseling skills, Jewish scholarship, Public speaking skills, etc. While they are all important, I think there is something far more important than all of that.
When I was a Chabad yeshivah student, like most of my fellow Yeshiva students, I spent summers and Passovers taking part in the ‘Roving Rabbis’ program. We would visit remote areas, communities and countries, seeking isolated Jews and doing our best to connect them with their heritage – Through performing Mitzvos together and spending time with them, we would work to rekindle the Jewish spark.
How far would we travel to find them? As far as they may be! If we could not verify they would be home, we would still travel an entire morning, with the hope of meeting and being able to engage with them.
This taught me that serving the Jewish people, means cherishing and being 100 percent there for the individual Jew.
In this week’s Torah portion, Va’erah, G-d begins to show Pharaoh an awesome display of strength with the first seven plagues. Moses’ introduction to Pharaoh, following G-ds instruction was: “Send out My child [Israel] so that he will worship Me”
Notice that G-d doesn’t say my people or my nation, but my son in the singular form.
Each of us is G-d’s only child.
It is not enough to be proud of and love ‘The Jewish People’, we must show unconditional love to the individual. Each one is G-d’s only child!
When asked how many children I have, I sometimes respond “I have one of each”
Love is amazing. It defies all logic and rules of mathematics. Like all parents I loved my first child with every fiber of my being, I didn’t love him 99%, I loved him 100%. There was no room for more. Then we had our second child and I loved him 100%. I didn’t have to divide my love, I loved each one 100 percent. Each was and continues to be the entire universe to me
It doesn’t matter how many children you have, each one is an only child. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the nature of love.
G-d works the same way.
This is why the word “your” in the first of the Ten Commandments, “I am the Lord YOUR G-d”, is written in the singular form (in Hebrew the word “your” can be written in plural or singular form).
The Torah was not given to “a people”, it was given to each individual.
G-d doesn’t ask the Jewish people to light Shabbat candles or to put on Tefillin, He asks you his only child.
Often, I get the request, “Rabbi can you pray for me?” “Sure,” I say, “but, G-d would love to hear from you too – you’re his only child”
If G-d had many children, your mitzvah would be dispensable, but he doesn’t, he only has you. No one can light YOUR Shabbat candle, no one can don YOUR tefillin or say YOUR prayers or eat YOUR kosher.
Can you imagine a child saying, my mother has other kids to hug her, she doesn’t need my hug! I don’t need to call her, she has other kids who call her.
G-d wants your hug. He wants your Mitzvah, he wants to hear your voice and he wants to be involved in your life.