A little over a week ago, the United States and many other countries observed the 10th Yartzeit of the 9/11 attacks. Two of our children were born after 9/11 and one was only a couple of months old when the attack occurred. It is hard to imagine that ten years have passed. We have all grown up and aged. Now I have to explain 9/11 to my children. I have to teach them that there are people out there who hate them because they are American, that hate them because they are Jewish. I have to teach them that we always need to be careful and alert. So the war on terrorism continues. Our nation carries the scars of that horrific day. The wounds lie just below our national surface. Yet those scars and that pain govern so much of American life. We are also keenly aware that we are in a very special time of year. We are in the midst of a very spiritual time of year. This Motzei Shabbat (Saturday Night) we begin, in earnest, the High Holiday season. This Motzei Shabbat we will gather together late this Saturday night and daven the Selichot service. This is a service that consists of psalms and prayers in which T’shuva is the main focus. This Motzei Shabbat we begin the spiritual process of returning to God after a year of drifting away. This Motzei Shabbat we begin the spiritual process of returning to that which is holy in us and in our fellow human beings after a year of drifting away and witnessing a rather dark side of the human nature. This Motzei Shabbat, when we begin the Selichot service, we begin a process of striving for spiritual clarity, a state of being in which we learn that no matter the pain, anguish, and emptiness, our soul’s can remain content and able to always focus upon the goodness in life. For a nation that just revisited that horrific day by commemorating the 10th Yartzeit, we are reminded of the importance of finding meaning where there is tragedy; in having clarity where there is the murkiness of tragedy. Sometimes, clarity comes at one's impending death.
In this week’s Parsha, Va’Yeileich, Moshe is now experiences for the last time a tremendous moment of clarity. However of all the moments of clarity including: the Burning Bush, the Revelation at Sinai, the Personal Revelation when he saw the back of God while defending B’nai Yisroel following the episode of the Golden Calf; it is the moment of death to which we can all relate. It is at the moment of impending death that Moshe has perfect clarity. He sees and understands the anguish that his children will experience as they drift towards and away from their Covenant with God. He sees all that his life has been and he recognizes that while his life will be no more, there will be closure. Ki Yadati Acharei Motie Ki Hashcheit Tashchitun v’Sartem Min HaDerech Asher Tziviti Etchem V’Karat Etchem Ha’Ra’Ah B’Acharit Hayamim Ki Ta’Asu et Ha’Rah B’Einei Adoshem L’Hachiso B’Ma’Asei Y’deichem – For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and you will surely act corruptly, and you will stray from the path that I have commanded you, and evil will befall you at the end of days, if you do what is evil in the eyes of HaShem, to anger Him through your handiwork (Deut.31:29). We should note that closure does not necessarily mean that the content of the closure will be positive; however the process of closure is always positive. Our sages are adamant about the vital importance of closure. When a person engages in Tshuvah, a spiritual return to God holy presence, or Vidui, the confession immediately prior to death; these actions are tantamount to a person who has returned to living a life of Mitzvot. In moments of clarity, certainly such a moment exists at death, Moshe has the opportunity to make that moment holy, sanctified, an un-wasted moment.
On this Shabbat, as we prepare for Selichot and the season of T’shuvah, let us be reminded and strengthened to accept moments of clarity. Over the course of a year in mourning, let us be wise enough to look back and learn. Let us be pro-active enough to take advantage of moments of clarity by moving towards our loved ones. Let us be spiritually aware enough and realize the absolute importance of moving towards God. Let us not wait until we become aware of an impending loss. Instead, during this final week of Elul and the upcoming Yamim Noraim, we should be spiritually clear enough to see every moment, as an opportunity to return to that which is holy.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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