We received a very nice message a few days ago from one of the parents of somebody killed at the Nova festival.
I'm sure that line got your attention.
My apologies for being MIA over the past three weeks. All the kids were off then, and the only happy people in Israel during that time were teachers, since they did not have to work when the rest of us still did.
It was a busy time. I got to meet and speak to Aharon Razel (of music fame) and surprised him with my love for Metallica, we visited a small "settlement" right outside of the city of Beitar where somebody from my wife's work lives (they live off the grid). We spent a day in Yerushaliyim, a day in Petach Tikva, a day in Tel Aviv, a day driving on the Lebanese border to visit some of the harder-hit places from the war, a day in the Hula Valley, and had the honor of having my rav and his wife from America for five days, which was a real treat. I got to hear a lot of his stories which I never heard before (which his wife clearly thought were "old man ramblings"), and I learned that even at 80, it's possible to still be young at heart.
Anyhow… where was I. Oh yes. The Nova festival.
My youngest son was born only three weeks after October 7th. As he was being delivered, the first deaths of the Gaza war were being announced, and the incoming flights of medevacs were constant. Everybody was still on edge. Especially, if the Lebanese border was going to open up as a ground war as well. We named our son after the entire situation. His first name, we'll call "Ploni", since I don't want my kids name on here, and his second name is "Ariyeh" (lion). Both representing the rise of the Jewish people from the ashes.
My wife had another reason in mind as well.
A young man was killed at Nova. He came from a frum home, and left the fold, since he couldn't fit in. He had no negative feelings against the religious world or his family, and it was clear that he was still attached to Hashem in many ways, but he found it hard to keep to rules and regulations. After it became clear that he was killed, videos of him, I believe his last, circulated around the country, of him singing a bracha from the morning davening. Some clips went around with him with tefillin on and another five-minute clip went around with testimony from friends and family on what type of person he was. It became clear that it was somebody with a lofty neshama.
After deciding on the name for the above mentioned reasons, my wife sort-of had in mind that our son, who has the same name as this boy, should grow up and be a consolation for his neshama.
Fast forward to now.
My wife's friend from work, who lives in the middle of nowhere, explained to my wife how every Rosh Chodesh they have 70-100 people in their home for a special meal, singing, dvrei Torah, etc., and before October 7, this young man and his friends would come each and every month (she is close to the family). When he was killed, this get-together continued in his memory, and his friends, who are not religious, show up religiously.
My wife told her that we know of him, and that my son carries his name, along with the additional name "Ariyeh" The woman was in shock and said, "if there is one word to describe him, it would be that, a lion." She asked permission to tell his parents, who even today, felt that they have lost him forever, and a few days later, we received a very nice message from the father in which he said, "if there is one word to describe, him, it would be that he was a lion." We're told that his sister also asked for our number to contact us. When I went back to watch the tribute from his friends and family, his friend said something I didn't catch earlier, "He was a 'lion of light'!"
I hope my son should grow up to be worthy of his name.
Okay, that's a long intro.
When in Tel Aviv, we went to the formerly-known-as "The Diaspora Museum," which I highly recommend. Even my kids enjoyed it.
The third floor of the exhibit was dedicated to Jewish influence in the world in general, comedy, music, literature, science, etc. They even had some cartoon music video about all the popular Jews in the past 200 years (best line: "Jerry Seinfeld, who made a show about nothing").
I couldn't help but think on the way home, "Yeah, they had an effect on the world. Some, okay, they entertained, but didn't do something meaningful or long-lasting, and some, like in medicine, DID something useful and long-term, but none of these people did anything JEWISH. Did they do anything to advance the Jewish people? Did they fulfill their role in this world as a Jew?
I'm not saying that people cannot excel in different areas in life, but as Jews, which this museum was celebrating, no matter what accomplishments we have in "the outside world," we still have a more important mission to fulfill in the real world of Hashem.
So, that got me thinking about something that Rav Eliyahu Dessler once said, regarding why we have two days of Rosh Hashana nowadays. He brings in the Zohar that explains that there are two types of judgment. One is more severe, and one is less severe. Similarly, there are two types of ways Hashem interacts with a person. He gives them Personal Providence, where He takes a more "active" role in the person's life or he gives them General Providence, where He "steps back" and lets nature, more or less, run the show.
The more a person takes upon himself to become closer to Hashem, the more Personal Providence, he receives. Just as he comes closer to Hashem, so too Hashem comes closer to him. However, a person who does mitzvos, if he does them, by rote, he shows no real interest in becoming closer to Hashem, so Hashem reacts in the same way, and his lot is more general. His existence in this world is less determined by his relationship with Hashem, but rather his relationship with tzaddikim.
What does that mean? Since he shows no desire to come close to Hashem, his raison d'etre on earth is to then provide support for those who do.
Let's take a plumber, for example. If he's a Jew first and a plumber second and strives throughout his life to become closer to Hashem, he will receive more Personal Providence, based on his own growth. The reason he is here in this world, is because HE desires to serve Hashem. However, if he is a plumber first and a Jew second, or barely even a Jew (in action and thought), then he receives a more General Providence, and his only reason he remains in this world, is to serve (as a plumber) those who strive to become closer to Hashem.
And this is why, spiritually speaking, the Zohar explains, we have two days of Rosh Hashanah. The first, "the real day," of Rosh Hashanah, those who deserve Personal Providence are judged. And they are judged on a stricter, personal level. The second day, is for those who deserve a more General Providence, and are judged on a less severe and less personal level.
And this would explain why, during the times of the Beis HaMikdash, many years would go by with only one day of Rosh Hashana, since most of the nation was on that level. Only as our spiritual level deteriorated, did two days occur more often, leading to a permanent establishment of two days of Rosh Hashanah. The first is for those who desire to become close to Hashem and the second is for those who do not do so.
So, really, the choice is ours. Do we wish to be those who "make shows about nothing," and only exist in this world to help, in some minimal way, those who wish to grow? Or do we wish to be those, who might not make the museum's list of "influential Jews," but in reality, not only receive Personal Providence, but through our growth, give life to those on a lower level?
Something to think about over the next month.
In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful Shabbos!