Just this week, I read a powerful piece by Rabbi Yogi Robkin from Plano, Texas. I was just blown away by his introductory quote from Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, over 120 years ago.
“If I had the power, I would provisionally close all synagogues for a hundred years…Jews and Jewesses without synagogues, desiring to remain such, would be forced to concentrate on a Jewish life and a Jewish Home. The Jewish officials connected with the synagogue would have to look to the only opportunity now open to them—to teach young and old how to live a Jewish life and how to build a Jewish home. All synagogues closed by Jewish hands would constitute the strongest protest against the abandonment of the Torah in home and life.”—Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (as quoted in the “Introduction by Translator” to Horeb, “The Classification of the Mitzvoth”).
Of course, Rav Hirsch wasn’t talking about our current battle with coronavirus. His message was for all generations. Rabbi Hirsch’s point is that Judaism and Torah need to be brought to life specifically in our homes if we want them to shape the next generation of Jews. We need to get the Torah out of the ark and into our living rooms! Shul is important, but home is where we’re most able to transmit our values and keep ourselves strong. Home is where it all begins.
This week, we welcome Shabbat HaGadol, when we recognize a great miracle. While we were still an enslaved people, Hashem commanded that on the tenth of Nissan (Shabbat HaGadol) we must each take a lamb, which was the deity of the Egyptians, walk it openly in the street, bring it into our home, tie it to a bedpost and then slaughter it on the fourteenth of Nissan. This took tremendous courage and emunah, but we followed the word of Hashem.
The Midrash explains that taking the lamb in this open way removed us from avodah zarah. Really? What kind of avodah zarah were the Jews serving just days prior to the redemption?
Rav Avrohom Schorr explains in the name of Rav Klominus Kalman Shapira (Piaseczna Rebbe), that the term “avodah zarah” means “a service that’s foreign.” In our service to Hashem, we may sometimes be foreigners—we may be physically serving Hashem, but our minds and hearts may be elsewhere. Hashem was telling us to make our serving of Him real; to really feel what we are doing!
Our home is the venue where we can make it all happen. As Rabbi Robkin says so well, “Get the Torah out of the Ark and into our living rooms!” Instead of our home being a place of isolation, we can make it a place of brachah. We control what we see and hear. Many organizations are increasing their online presence, and the plethora of learning opportunities available for download or live-zooming on our digital devices allows for a steady stream of inspiring and spiritual thoughts to fill our homes. It is within our power to turn this period of global uncertainty into a precious opportunity for familial value-sharing and growth.
Imagine what a powerful pedagogical impression we can make by utilizing part of our days or nights to study Torah at the dining room table or by finding ways to use our free time to express our values. As we all know, it is what our children actually see us do that makes all the difference in the transmission of family values. So now is the ideal time to up your Jewish game and bring it to life in your home.
On our last night in Mitzrayim, we took the blood from the korban Pesach and smeared it on our doorposts. This act ensured the angel would skip our homes during the Plague of the Firstborn. Although this commandment only applied back then, not for future years of Pesach, I’m sure many feel like we could use that protection now!
Keeping in mind that Shabbat HaGadol this year falls out exactly on the tenth of Nissan, let this Shabbat HaGadol be a time when, while we isolate ourselves in our homes, we conduct ourselves in a way that makes our Shabbat especially meaningful. In the coming days, too, we can role model for our children the correct use of our time, in both learning together and helping with Pesach preparations.
Rav Hirsch said it well 120 years ago. The home is the center. Hashem has put us where we need to be. It is activities in the home that make the most lasting impressions. Let’s take the time to create some impressions that last a lifetime.
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. PTI has attracted people from all over northern New Jersey, including Teaneck, Paramus, Fair Lawn, Livingston and West Orange. He initiated and leads a multi-level Gemara-learning program. He has spread out beyond PTI to begin a weekly beis medrash program with in-depth chavrusa learning in Livingston, Fort Lee and a monthly group in West Caldwell. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its full offering of torah classes visit www.pti.shulcloud.com.
