B'nei Israel Congregation - San José, Costa Rica |
by Rabbi Daniela Szuster
- translated by Phil Gelman -
During the Yamim Noraim we take stock of the year that has just passed. We revisit our roots, we take the courage to face the adversities of life, upright like the trunk of a tree, we raise our arms and our faces to the sky, as if they were branches in the wind, and we look forward to a better year, one in which we can harvest the fruits of our labors.
During the High Holidays, we are like trees.
During these Yamim Noraim we would like to learn from the Tamar of the judge Deborah, from the Eshel of Abraham Avinu, from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from the tree of Gopher wood with which Noah built his ark, from the Kikaion of Jonah, from the bush of Moses which burned and did not turn to ashes, and from the Tree of Life.
On this Yom Kippur day, I invite you to reflect on the Biblical story of the burning bush for a few moments.
Recalling the story a bit, we remember that Moses grew up in the Egyptian empire, and as a young man, one day he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses cannot control himself as he comes to the defense of the Hebrew, killing the Egyptian in the process. The following day, he sees two Hebrews fighting. He intervenes, and he is reproached.
From a young age, Moses seems to feel that he has a mission in life. He is sensitive to human suffering and feels an overpowering need to do something to prevent injustice from governing society. Because of his actions in this regard, Moses must flee Egypt. And perhaps with this flight, he was also fleeing from that sense of mission growing inside him.
We are all born with a mission, and we tend to flee from it.
While in Midian, Moses goes out to tend the sheep and observes a bush that burns, yet is not consumed. He cannot understand, and he approaches the bush. There he experiences divine revelation.
What does the bush represent? Perhaps G-d is trying to teach Moses, and us, the importance of a fire that is not consumed. Fire as a symbol of those things that impassion us, that make us different and special. Fire as a symbol of our life’s mission.
Every time a human being is born, something new, a chidush, enters the world. If there were already someone exactly the same, then our creation would not be necessary.
A midrash teaches that unlike an earthly king all of whose struck coins are the same, G-d, starting with a single model – the first person – produces completely unique models with each subsequent human being. (Sanhedrín 4: 5).
Each of us has a unique soul. Each of us, surely, has a mission in life. On this solemn day, when our names are sealed in the heavenly book, it is an appropriate opportunity to ask ourselves:
How am I different?
How am I special?
What are the things that impassion me?
What have I done with my inner fire?
How can I keep it burning and not allow it to consume me?
At the beginning, Moses permitted that fire to be consumed, and he fled, until he encountered the bush that burned and was not consumed. It was then that he understood he had to be the leader to liberate the people of Israel from slavery.
The prophet Jeremiah tried to flee from his prophetic responsibilities. The Biblical story relates that Jeremiah felt a fire in his heart that burned to his very bones, and obliged him to reassume his mission (Jeremiah 20: 9).
Yom Kippur is the day to ask G-d – and ourselves – for forgiveness for our numerous flights, for not having enough courage to keep our internal fire burning without being consumed.
It is a day for asking for forgiveness, and it is also a day for thinking about recovering the fire. Sometimes it is not easy to identify, but if we pay attention, we see it every day.
Perhaps your mission is to make others smile, or to bring joy with your voice or your body, perhaps to teach children from your life experiences, or to give hope to those in despair.
There are as many missions as there are people in the world. When we carry them out, we satisfy our souls and make our contribution to bettering the world.
The mission of humankind is the repair of the world. Each of us contributes to this mission in his or her unique, singular manner.
Let it be G-d’s will that during this new year, we recognize our inner fire, if we have not yet done so.
Let it be G-d’s will that we are able to keep our fire burning, those things that impassion us, without it being consumed, or consuming us.
Let it be G-d’s will that we will be able to complete our mission, that mission that each of us has sealed in our souls, and that humanity longs for us to achieve before we depart this world.
Let it be G-d’s will that our lives be significant in His eyes and in our hearts, and to tikkun, the repair of humanity.
Address:
700 meters West of Pops in the Sabana, on the old road to Escazu, corner building at your left.
Tel. 231-5243 /
Fax: 231-5787
/ E-mail:
congbnei@racsa.co.cr
Inés Gutiérrez
baumgut@racsa.co.cr
Last updated:
October 19, 2004