Please allow a personal note.
This week was my Mom’s yartzeit. The anniversary of her passing.
“Elisheva bas (daughter of) Dov Ber”.
And this Torah Minute is dedicated to her memory.
… A shopper at a mall hears an announcement over the P.A. system.
“The person who lost $5000 wrapped in a yellow rubber band?
Please come to the service desk.
The shopper says to himself, “Wow! How refreshing.
My faith in humanity has been restored”!
That is… until he hears the end of the announcement…
What was it?
We have your rubber band”!
… Sometimes we meet someone for the first time.
And we make a snap judgment about them.
Based on how they look. Or what they’re wearing.
We don’t wait to get a look at what’s inside. What they’re really like.
And just look at the wrapper.
At the rubber band!
And we forget about what’s inside each and every person.
The Divine Image!
… I grew up in a Torah observant home.
But my Dad didn’t come from an observant background.
And had very little Jewish education.
What happened?
He met my Mom, who did!
They met at a time that most American Jews were drifting away from Judaism.
Certainly the younger generation.
My Mom wouldn’t compromise on her Torah observance.
There were “deal breakers”.
Like a Kosher home. Shabbat. And Jewish day school for the kids.
Not where most American guys were headed in the 1940’s!
It didn’t seem to make sense!
… But Mom didn’t just look at the rubber band.
She looked deeper. Saw my Dad’s qualities.
And saw his potential.
Her conclusion?
“He’s a natural for Torah”!
And she inspired him! Not with books. And not with lectures.
But with her love for Judaism.
Because it was contagious!
… If you enjoy the Torah Minutes?
Thank my Mom for the fact that I have any Torah to share with you!
And next time we make a snap judgment about someone?
Let’s look a little deeper!
All the best,
