Congregation Beth Shalom

Torah Portion: Ki Tavo
Book of Deuteronomy
Chaps. 26:1-29:8
September 16, 2011

One trait that unites all humanity is our unique differences.  Each of us possess talents, abilities, and skills that set us apart from others.  The root cause of much unhappiness is the desire to become something we’re not.  An ancient rabbinic story is told of the final hours of 1st century b.c.e scholar, Reb Zusya.  He laid on his death bed surrounded by students.  One student noticed tears welling up in Zusya’s eyes.  He asked him, “Reb Zusya, why are you crying?  You, who have been like a Moses in your time, what have you to fear of death?”  In one of his final breaths Zusya replied, “God will not ask me, ‘Zusya, why were you like Moses?,’ rather ‘Zusya, why were you not more like Zusya?!’

The Torah states, “The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.  And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Lord’s name is proclaimed over you (Deut. 28: 9-10).”

As unique as each person is, so, too,  are all peoples.  The Jewish people are a collection of individuals who, together, are defined by God as a holy people bearing the special responsibility of modeling a moral/ethical lifestyle for a world in search of wholeness.  In describing the reality of the Jewish people, the late Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel called them “messengers who have forgotten the message.”

The teachings of Judaism have had a profound influence.  Over the centuries, those enslaved or oppressed have cried the words of Moses, “Let my people go!” People seeking freedom from tyranny have declared the words of Torah, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and to all its inhabitants thereof.” Rabbi Brad Artson writes, “Unexceptional as an entity in so many other areas, the Jews are a rich and fertile source of spirituality and religion for all humanity and ourselves.”

A messenger without a message is hardly a messenger!  The Jew bears the special responsibility of learning the message and transmitting it-by example-to a world sorely in need of moral/ethical guidance.

Rabbi Howard Siegel