Our Sedra is chock-full of mitzvot - more than 50. Remember, however, that not only is every mitzvah a mitzvah, each one is also an opportunity for spiritual growth. Each one is also a lesson to be learned in how G-d runs the world.
The Torah tells us that a murderer is liable for the death penalty. Yet, if the slaying is accidental, if "Elokim causes it to come to his hand," then the person guilty of manslaughter is not executed. Rather, he flees to a City of Refuge and must reside there.
This phrase, ?V?Elokim Eena L?Yado? (And G-d causes it to come to his hand), is curious. Why not just say that the death was accidental? Why, suddenly, is Hashem being brought into the picture? Chazal (our sages) explain that therein lies G-d's cosmic system of justice. Nothing ever happens "by accident." There is a rhyme and a reason to the flow of history - both individual and collective history. One who was killed "accidentally" deserved his fate. His killer, in turn, was selected as the instrument of justice, for he too had a debt to pay. In the final analysis, though we can rarely see the whole picture, justice and fairness prevail, and Tzedek (righteousness) reigns. The word "eena" in the above phrase, says Rashi, means, "prepared." All is prepared by the Master Planner in Heaven.
I was recently told about a young man named Kurtis, a grocery stock-boy. He took a liking to Brenda, the check-out girl, and asked her out on a date. She was reluctant, as she had two children from a previous marriage and not enough money for a baby-sitter. So Kurtis said he would pay for the sitter. However, when he came to the house, Brenda told him the sitter had canceled.
"No problem," said Kurtis, "we'll take the kids with us!"
Brenda put her head down, saying "How can we do that?" and she introduced Kurtis to her son, a paraplegic in a wheelchair.
"That's why my husband left me," she cried.
Kurtis was unfazed.
"No problem," he said, and he lifted the boy out of his chair, took him to the car and proceeded to attend to his every need throughout their evening together. Brenda knew this was the man she would eventually marry.
"I don't care that you're a stock boy," she said, "to me you're a wonderful hero."
Kurtis did not remain a stock-boy for long. Kurt Warner was soon discovered by the St. Louis Rams, became the best quarterback in football and took his team to two Super Bowls. He and Brenda suddenly found themselves in a rather unlikely spot: On top of the world. Fame and fortune took them from the supermarket to stardom.
Hashem has His own infallible way of "evening the score."
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Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
The Torah tells us that a murderer is liable for the death penalty. Yet, if the slaying is accidental, if "Elokim causes it to come to his hand," then the person guilty of manslaughter is not executed. Rather, he flees to a City of Refuge and must reside there.
This phrase, ?V?Elokim Eena L?Yado? (And G-d causes it to come to his hand), is curious. Why not just say that the death was accidental? Why, suddenly, is Hashem being brought into the picture? Chazal (our sages) explain that therein lies G-d's cosmic system of justice. Nothing ever happens "by accident." There is a rhyme and a reason to the flow of history - both individual and collective history. One who was killed "accidentally" deserved his fate. His killer, in turn, was selected as the instrument of justice, for he too had a debt to pay. In the final analysis, though we can rarely see the whole picture, justice and fairness prevail, and Tzedek (righteousness) reigns. The word "eena" in the above phrase, says Rashi, means, "prepared." All is prepared by the Master Planner in Heaven.
I was recently told about a young man named Kurtis, a grocery stock-boy. He took a liking to Brenda, the check-out girl, and asked her out on a date. She was reluctant, as she had two children from a previous marriage and not enough money for a baby-sitter. So Kurtis said he would pay for the sitter. However, when he came to the house, Brenda told him the sitter had canceled.
"No problem," said Kurtis, "we'll take the kids with us!"
Brenda put her head down, saying "How can we do that?" and she introduced Kurtis to her son, a paraplegic in a wheelchair.
"That's why my husband left me," she cried.
Kurtis was unfazed.
"No problem," he said, and he lifted the boy out of his chair, took him to the car and proceeded to attend to his every need throughout their evening together. Brenda knew this was the man she would eventually marry.
"I don't care that you're a stock boy," she said, "to me you're a wonderful hero."
Kurtis did not remain a stock-boy for long. Kurt Warner was soon discovered by the St. Louis Rams, became the best quarterback in football and took his team to two Super Bowls. He and Brenda suddenly found themselves in a rather unlikely spot: On top of the world. Fame and fortune took them from the supermarket to stardom.
Hashem has His own infallible way of "evening the score."
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Rabbi Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.