Labor
Day came and went. With it went summer vacation. After the annual sleepless
night before the first day of school, our kids woke up and braced themselves
for another school year. Besides the anxiety of
a new grade, a new set of expectations, new teachers, renewing friendships, there is the anxiety about
recess and who plays with whom, who socializes with whom, and the politics of
the playground. Of course, within the
hallowed halls of the classroom, some information is transmitted. However, the
playground is the place where wisdom and life experience is obtained. Of course
this is very different than the information transmitted in a classroom. The
playground is the place where life’s lessons occur including: “finders keepers
losers weepers” or “might make right”.
As we watch children at play during recess or in real playgrounds, it is
interesting to note how different such playgrounds are compared to a Jewish
Playground. What is the difference between a playground and a Jewish
playground? Most Jews who did not grow up in the Yeshiva world would assume
that the first lessons learned in Mishnah or Gemarra would be dealing with the
issues of Shabbat, Idolatry, or Torah. However, such a person would be sorely
mistaken. The first piece of Mishnah traditionally taught to a Jewish child
from the tractate of Baba Metziah. Shnayim Ochazim B’Talit, - If two persons are holding a cloak – Zeh Omer Ani M'tzatiha v’Zeh Omer Ani
M’tzatiha – and one says ‘I found it’
and the other says ‘I found it’, Zeh
Omer Kulah Sheli v’Zeh Omer Kula Sheli – and one says it ‘the whole thing belongs to me’ and the other says the
‘whole thing belongs to me’ Zeh
Yishavah Sh’Ein Lo Vah Pachut Meichetzya, v’Zeh Yishavah Sh’Ein Lo Vah Pachut
Meichetzya – each shall swear that
not less than half belongs him, V’Yachaloku
– they shall divide it in half [each
gets half the value of the garment] (Mishnah Baba Metziah 1:1). Judaism doesn’t
teach one of the fundamental laws of The Playground, “finder’s keeper’s loser’s
weepers”. Assuming that both have an equal and valid claim, our sages teach us
to share the value of newly found object. Judaism puts a premium on returning
lost objects to their rightful owner. Ownership is not nine- tenths of the law
although from a cynical perspective, that is what we learned on the playground
and generally speaking, that is what our children learn on the playground or in
outdoor recess.
This week’s Parsha is Ki Teitzah. Moshe continues
teaching the Tachlis, the practical mundane everyday laws that must exist for a
society to function with itself. Certainly the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten
Commandments receive bigger billing. Certainly discussions about Idolatry,
God’s oneness, and the timelessness of God’s covenant with B’nai Yisroel
strikes greater awe within us. However the mitzvot concerning lost objects goes
to the very heart of a community and the high level at which it community
members work within that community and contribute to its holiness.
Interestingly enough it is not enough to return a lost object to its rightful
owners. Lo Tireh et Shor Achichah O et Seiyo Nidachim v’itlamtah Meihem Hasheiv
T’shiveim l’Achicha - You shall not see the ox of your brother or
his sheep or goat cast off and hide yourself from them, you shall surely return
them to your brother (Deut.22:1). We don’t hide from it, we do not pretend
to ignore and continue on our way. Rather we are commanded to do everything we
can to return that lost object to the owner. We do not hide from the lost
object. We don’t avoid the tsuris of another. The commentators explain that
laws concerning lost material are not only applicable to material objects but
intangible ones as well.
On the secular playground our children learn about self-protection,
and self-defense. On the secular playground our children are focused upon
themselves as individuals or as individuals within the context of the group.
However on this Jewish Playground, the focus is not on the individual per se;
but rather the role of the individual as part of something much larger, the
community. On the Jewish playground, the individual is merely part of the
community. Certainly the individual can enhance the community or detract from
the community but everything is in terms of the community. Whether it’s the
finding of a lost item, claiming a lost item, or the obligation to return the
lost item to the rightful owner; eventually we all find things and we all lose
things. Instead of the anxiety of worrying about the lost item ever being found,
or jumping to the conclusion that the misplaced item was stolen; both the Torah
(the written law) and the Talmud (the Oral Law) understand that the secret to “community’.
Community is built upon a sense of trust that exists within it and the sense
that each individual has an obligation to enhance the community in which he/she
lives, works, or learns. Hopefully, our children will remember that as they
enjoy their time on the playground.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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