My son has started back to college and it's really bringing back memories for me. One class is Intro to Psych. Same as when I took it several decades ago... lecture is in huge auditorium with 100s (and 100s and 100s) of students. Reading assignments add up to 100s (and 100s and 100s) of pages. I actually never read any assignments in college, relying on picking things up from the lecture and working the homework problems. I discovered to my shock (and, given my immaturity) disdain, that the tests mostly drawn from the reading assignments, only a tiny fraction of which would actually be covered in lectures. I immediately -- filled with righteous indignation -- withdrew; after all, physics majors didn't need that class. My son is neither not so lucky (his major requires psych to graduate) nor so immature (he is willing to do the reading if that's that is required).
As I have mentioned many times, R' Henoch Leibowitz, zt"l, was wont to say, you need two things to survive in this world: faith and a sense of humor. To learn Torah at my advanced age, I had to learn everything via 100s and 1000s of pages of reading -- and in a foreign (to me) language, to boot; just in case I wasn't getting the message. As it turns out, though, I really didn't need that psych class, as Chazal regularly relay insights in the the human psyche. Even better, of course, not based on trial and error experimentation, but simply reporting what our Creator told us about what makes us tick.
We do not currently have the Beis HaMikdash so we can't actually perform the Yom Kippur service in its entirety. Nor do we have a Kohein Gadol. Nor do we, therefore, have the ability to just capital crimes. But if we did, then the Kohein Gadol would not be allowed to serve on the 71 member court required to decide if this year should be a leap year. Right; we rely on him to achieve atonement for the entire Jewish nation on Yom Kippur, but not to help decide if there should be a second Adar or not. You may be wondering how to work that little factoid into conversation or squirreling it away in case you are ever on Jeopardy and the final Jeopardy answer is "Wears a different outfit every Yom Kippur and not allowed to serve as a member of the Sanhedrin for intercalation decisions." Or (much more likely) you are thinking, "Who cares?" Or (most likely), you aren't even dwelling on this fact even that much.
Well... oh yeah!? You should be dwelling on it, as it is relevant to nearly every interpersonal interaction you experience every day.
Why is the Kohein Gadol remanded from that type of court? It is specifically because he performs the service on Yom Kippur. Well... part of the service. It's because he immerses in the mikveh five times during the service. The mikveh is not heated. If we add a second Adar, then Tishrei will be pushed off till the time of year that is usually Mar Cheshvan... so it will be colder. We are therefore worried that the Kohein Gadol will be swayed -- every so slightly -- to vote "no" on the leap year because of personal discomfort that he might endure some eight months hence (since the calendar is decided before Purim).
Now consider... The Kohein Gadol is that person who has been chosen to represent the hopes and aspirations of the entire Jewish nation for a renewed closeness with the Creator. He will be performing that service alone on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. A misstep can be fatal (and it was in years when the person serving in that rule was not fit for the role). You think he is really thinking about the comfort of the mikveh -- a quite minor part of the service compared to everything else. And yet... and yet... Chazal have revealed to us that built into the psyche of a human being is the possibility of being swayed be even such minor considerations that barely break the surface of our conscious mind.
That being the case, when we are judging our fellow Jew -- especially in matters that bear directly on ourselves, be it financial or social or anything else -- we need to be hyper aware of how much our judgement reflects our own attitudes instead of an honest appraisal of the situation. As the Days of Awe are drawing nigh, that thought and attitude needs to be at the front of our minds.
As we judge our fellow to the side of innocence, may HaShem judge us as well to the side of innocence. As we contemplate how we would defend the actions of our fellow, may HaShem (so to speak) contemplate how our actions may be defended.
כתיבה וחתימה טובה
As I have mentioned many times, R' Henoch Leibowitz, zt"l, was wont to say, you need two things to survive in this world: faith and a sense of humor. To learn Torah at my advanced age, I had to learn everything via 100s and 1000s of pages of reading -- and in a foreign (to me) language, to boot; just in case I wasn't getting the message. As it turns out, though, I really didn't need that psych class, as Chazal regularly relay insights in the the human psyche. Even better, of course, not based on trial and error experimentation, but simply reporting what our Creator told us about what makes us tick.
We do not currently have the Beis HaMikdash so we can't actually perform the Yom Kippur service in its entirety. Nor do we have a Kohein Gadol. Nor do we, therefore, have the ability to just capital crimes. But if we did, then the Kohein Gadol would not be allowed to serve on the 71 member court required to decide if this year should be a leap year. Right; we rely on him to achieve atonement for the entire Jewish nation on Yom Kippur, but not to help decide if there should be a second Adar or not. You may be wondering how to work that little factoid into conversation or squirreling it away in case you are ever on Jeopardy and the final Jeopardy answer is "Wears a different outfit every Yom Kippur and not allowed to serve as a member of the Sanhedrin for intercalation decisions." Or (much more likely) you are thinking, "Who cares?" Or (most likely), you aren't even dwelling on this fact even that much.
Well... oh yeah!? You should be dwelling on it, as it is relevant to nearly every interpersonal interaction you experience every day.
Why is the Kohein Gadol remanded from that type of court? It is specifically because he performs the service on Yom Kippur. Well... part of the service. It's because he immerses in the mikveh five times during the service. The mikveh is not heated. If we add a second Adar, then Tishrei will be pushed off till the time of year that is usually Mar Cheshvan... so it will be colder. We are therefore worried that the Kohein Gadol will be swayed -- every so slightly -- to vote "no" on the leap year because of personal discomfort that he might endure some eight months hence (since the calendar is decided before Purim).
Now consider... The Kohein Gadol is that person who has been chosen to represent the hopes and aspirations of the entire Jewish nation for a renewed closeness with the Creator. He will be performing that service alone on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. A misstep can be fatal (and it was in years when the person serving in that rule was not fit for the role). You think he is really thinking about the comfort of the mikveh -- a quite minor part of the service compared to everything else. And yet... and yet... Chazal have revealed to us that built into the psyche of a human being is the possibility of being swayed be even such minor considerations that barely break the surface of our conscious mind.
That being the case, when we are judging our fellow Jew -- especially in matters that bear directly on ourselves, be it financial or social or anything else -- we need to be hyper aware of how much our judgement reflects our own attitudes instead of an honest appraisal of the situation. As the Days of Awe are drawing nigh, that thought and attitude needs to be at the front of our minds.
As we judge our fellow to the side of innocence, may HaShem judge us as well to the side of innocence. As we contemplate how we would defend the actions of our fellow, may HaShem (so to speak) contemplate how our actions may be defended.
כתיבה וחתימה טובה
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