A Full Deck

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Editor’s Note;  this was in my queue and I debated publishing it.  When I passed it around to a few folks- and they asked if they could share it, I decided to post it.

A few days ago was Ta’anit Esther- the Fast of Esther.   As in the Queen to Achashverush, the protagonist of the book of her name. This minor fast is to remind us that we Jews, as a people, fasted and prayed for salvation from the pogrom/holocaust planned by Haman, the right hand man of the king.  Except this fast we commemorated weeks ago actually  occurred around Pesach (Passover) and was three days long.

But, that really is not why I am writing this post.  No, this fast reminds me that 52 years ago, my grandmother gave me my first pair of tfilin (phylacteries).  These are the ritual straps that we (Jews) wrap about our arm and wear upon our head and forehead.  Attached to the straps are two “houses”, black boxes that contain the scriptures that are part of our Sh’ma- the proclamation that Hashem is one forever, as well as the commandments to wear these articles.

Tfilin (phylacteries)
Tfilin

She gave me these articles on that day because the holiday of Purim is one where the different traditions between Ashkenazic and Sfardi Jews are most prevalent.  To remind me that I was to wear the tfilin every day (except for holidays, which, of course, includes Shabat).  And, to remind me that our existence as Jews requires diligence (as the holiday of Purim itself reminds us). It didn’t hurt that it was 6 months before my bar mitzva, when I would become a “man”, obligated to fulfill the laws and rituals of Judaism.   (This gave me six months to figure out how to easily don- and remove- these straps long before I had a religious obligation to do so.)

The donning of these straps involves manifold rituals.  Which way do you wrap them (in or out), what letters do you spell out when you fold them about your fingers, the order of placement.  All of which, being rituals and not laws, involve different traditions.

I follow that of my family and the Sfardi rituals.  But, it’s the prayers that I say as I wrap these straps on my fingers that stick with me each day that I wear them.  (Yes, I’ve been putting them on each morning for my prayers for 52 years now.)   These special prayers are taken from the book of Hoshea (Hosea), Chapter 2:

  •  I will betroth you to Me forever.
  •  And I will betroth you to Me with lovingkindness, mercy, righteousness, and justice.
  •  And I will betroth you to Me with absolute faith and trust, and you shall know Hashem.

This is a statement of the betrothal of Hashem to the Jewish people.  Perhaps the only reason that our minority, oppressed people have survived the millennia.  But, as anyone who reads the bible knows, it’s a two-way street.  We have to perform for this promise to hold.  (This reminds me of the story why a certain agnostic follows the Jewish laws.   His answer?  Should he find Hashem upon his death, he didn’t want to find out that his doubts [and inactions] would be a problem.  He needed to hedge his bets.)

It’s that basic statement that guides me each and every day.  To keep me grounded in my actions.  To work for tikun olam, working to make the world a little better each and every day.  To not just understand that the concept of the ‘1%’ is not just wrong, but must be eradicated.

It’s why the basic concept behind tzedaka, which means both righteousness and charity, is to not give people money.  One of the greatest Jewish rabbinical leaders, the Rambam (Maimonides) explained the eight levels of charity.  The top level is to assist someone (preferably without knowing who is doing the helping) by training them to perform something that will render them self-sufficient.  (It’s from where the statement “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach the man to fish and you feed him for life” is derived.)

But, there’s another reason my grandmother chose this day to have me start wearing tfilin.  Because this holiday of Purim (and the book of Esther) is the only one lacking a direct mention of Hashem.  Where we need to perceive the presence of the Supreme Being, to discern Hashem’s influence in the story.

Pretty much what we have to do each and every day of our lives.  Because the presence of Hashem is not fully announced or pronounced.  It’s our job to seek out those little miracles that affect our lives.

Whether it was the rainbow Hashem sent when I took my PhD exams, the quick repair my daughter demonstrated within 24 hours of being born with an APGAR score of 1, the birth of my other children and my grandchild, and how they’ve turned out to be shining lights in this world.

How do you discern the presence of the Supreme Being in your daily life?

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6 thoughts on “A Full Deck”

  1. This is a wonderful article which I will need to re-read a few times. There is so much that seems to have been left out of the Christian Bible during the many translations…And if we look back to Noah, then it is easy to see that we are all “part Jewish” if there is such a thing. From Abraham to Noah, to today, it’s part of our DNA but as “Christians” most fail to see that we should be living by the same laws. We call him by a different name but he is the Same Supreme Being with one set of laws and commandments for everyone

    1. Thank you so much for those kind words, Chef William.
      I think the King James was meant to be a very simple to read translation; there are some that work really well.
      And, there definitely is one Supreme Being- with but a myriad of names.

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