Dear Friends,
As a rabbi, I do a lot of lifecycle events. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, baby namings, funerals. In fact this Sunday I have both an Upsherin (the first haircut for a 3-year-old boy) and a wedding.
Officiating a wedding is a very great honor. You are uniting a couple as they embark on their life together. But before those two souls can stand together under the Chuppah, an awful lot of planning goes into the date, the location, the invitations, the food, the photographer, the DJ, etc., etc. People getting married want their big day to be perfect, so they obsess over the details.
And then the day arrives, and there's magic in the air, and the couple has stars in their eyes. They arrive as two separate individuals, and they leave as one. Many go on a honeymoon to extend the magical feeling and bask a little longer in its glow.
But no matter how long or lavish the honeymoon, come Monday morning, someone needs to take out the trash.
Bills need to be paid, groceries need to be bought, laundry needs to get done. And suddenly, there's not as much magic in the air. (Although as long as someone took the trash out like I said, it shouldn't smell too bad.)
The point is, the wedding is beautiful, but it was never the main event. The life you forge together after is what gives the wedding purpose.
The receiving of the Torah is compared to a wedding between God and the Jewish people, a miraculous event that was detailed in last week's Torah portion. And then after all the hoopla, this week's Torah portion begins with “these are the Mishpatim,” the civil and interpersonal laws that govern everyday life. Honesty in business, responsibility for damages, care for the vulnerable, and respect for other people.
Now yes, that may seem a little boring. Especially when you compare it to the earth-rattling, sensory explosion that was the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. But God gave us the Torah so that we could live. Like actually live — day to day, going to work, changing light bulbs, shopping for paper towels.
Sinai taught us that heaven can touch earth. Mishpatim teaches us that earth itself can become holy. It gave us the divine inspiration we need not only to endure the banal moments of daily life, but to infuse them with holiness.
The wedding was just the beginning. But don’t worry — that couple can still look at one another with stars in their eyes. They practiced romanticizing the small things when they obsessed over those wedding details. When napkins and font choices were so much more, because they were emblematic of a deeper connection.
We have the opportunity to make every moment holy. Stop for just a second and really think about that. Every second of every day you can choose kindness, you can choose connection — with one another and with the Divine.
They say don’t sweat the small stuff, but don’t underestimate it either. A favor for someone in need, a moment of patience for your child, a smile to a stranger in line who may be lonelier than you can imagine.
So I challenge you all to stop what you're doing and think of one mitzvah that you can add into your daily life. One small, tiny mitzvah that you can really take and run with. There are 53 in this week's Torah portion, so you've got plenty of options!
As they say, one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, and these are the tiny details that can build a big, beautiful life.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Paint n’ Sip and our Grand Purim Celebration!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos