Izzy owned a small deli in Stamford Hill, London. One day, a tax inspector knocked on his door and questioned him about his recent tax return. Izzy had reported a net profit of $250,000 for the year and he wanted more information. Izzy explained, "I work like a maniac all year round, and my family helps whenever they can. My deli is closed only five days a year. That’s how I made $250,000."
"It's not your income that bothers us," said the taxman. "It's the business travel deductions of $80,000 that worries us. You entered on the tax return that you and your wife made 28 business trips to Israel, Italy, Switzerland, France, the USA, Hawaii, and the Caribbean Islands. Why all those trips?"
"Oh," said Izzy, smiling. "We also deliver!"
This week's Torah portion, Acharei-Kedoshim, contains a simple verse that represents an extraordinary truth about Judaism.
You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances, which a man shall do and live by them. I am the Lord.
The Talmud comments: “You shall live by them—and not die by them.”
The significance is great. Many religions still equate G-d with a fascination and obsession with death. Muslim killers blow themselves up and declare “Allah Akbar,” G-d is great! G-d, for them, is found in death. To die a martyr while killing infidels is a sacred goal.
However, the Torah is largely silent about the afterlife, because we find G-d in life. We find God in love and joy. G-d is here and now. “You shall live by the Mitzvot,” not die through them. If your religion creates a culture of death, you have lost the way. Terror in G-d's name desecrates His name.
The words "V’chai Bahem," "and you should live by them," tell us that every Mitzvah is to enhance and celebrate life. The Mitzvot are here to make us live—not to make us die. Judaism is the Divine blueprint to live life to the fullest, to say “L’chayim” on life itself!
The Chatam Sofer presents a marvelous interpretation to another verse referencing Shabbat, “For it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I, the Lord, make you holy.” How do we know that we are holy through the Shabbat?
No question, the building of the cosmos was the greatest project ever undertaken. Yet, the Torah teaches there is something even greater than the universe. In Genesis, the Torah devotes 31 verses to describe how G-d created the world. In striking contrast, the Torah devotes 371 verses to describe how the Jews created the Tabernacle in the desert!
This seems profoundly strange. The universe spans some 176 trillion billion miles, and is an awesomely complex structure. We have not yet mastered the secrets embedded in a single cell. The Tabernacle, on the other hand, was around 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. It was an impressive structure, but essentially a small tent. Why would the Torah be so expansive about the creation of a humble, albeit splendorous, tent?
The answer is that the universe is the home G-d makes for man, while the Sanctuary is the home man makes for G-d. It may be smaller and simpler, but it is more prominent.
Yet, there is something even greater than the Sanctuary. The construction of the Sanctuary had to be suspended for this reality: Shabbat!
Even to construct the Sanctuary, we may not desecrate Shabbat. The preciousness and sanctity of Shabbat trumps the Sanctuary, which trumps the universe. This tells us something about the infinite greatness of Shabbat. But wait, there is something even holier than Shabbat! For that even Shabbat itself needs to be shattered and destroyed.
What is it? The Jewish person. Shabbat must be violated to save a life. Even if there is only a 1% chance that a life may be saved, even to just prolong a life by a few minutes, all the laws of Shabbat must be broken.
This, says the Chatam Sofer, is the meaning of the words “Shema Yisrael Hashem…” Shema consists of three letters, which are an acronym for “Shabbat, Mikdash, Olam.” Shabbat, the Temple, and the world. These are in descending order the three most precious items in existence.
Yet above all three is (Shema) Yisrael—the Jew himself! For the Jew is literally one with G-d in his very essence. Yisrael is part of “Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad.”
A teenage boy in Israel, a learned Yeshiva student, was terminally ill. The end was very near, and the boy had shut everyone out of what was left of his life. He had given up hope and lay there waiting to die. His parents just wanted one simple conversation, to talk to him, to say goodbye. They asked the well-known Rabbi Tauber to visit him and try to infuse their son with "life," albeit temporarily.
Arriving at the hospital room, Rabbi Tauber was not prepared for what he saw. The boy was a mass of skin and bones, his face contorted in agony, his eyes staring into space. Next to his bed sat his mother, whose tear-stained face told the entire story. Amidst her weeping, she would whisper to her son, "Do you need anything?” There was no response—just staring.
Rabbi Tauber turned to the boy and quietly said, "Shalom Aleichem." No response—only continued staring. Again, Rabbi Tauber said, "Shalom Aleichem." Same non-response. This continued twice more until finally, Rabbi Tauber said, "I came quite a distance to see you. It was not easy. The least you could do is answer me." There was a glimmer of movement from the boy's eyes. It was not much, but it was more than before.
"Let me ask you a question," Rabbi Tauber began. "You are a Yeshiva student. I am sure you have studied Talmud and Jewish law. Perhaps you can clarify a law for me. A thief approaches a Jew and demands he transgress a prohibition of the Torah or hand over all his money. Say if he eats pork, he can keep his money. If the Jew can’t escape or fight off the gangster, what should he do?"
Slowly the boy's lips began to move, as he forced himself to speak. "He gives up his money, but no Mitzvah may be transgressed."
The rabbi continued: "Perhaps this applies only to one who does not have much to lose, or who lives alone and only supports himself. What if the victim is a wealthy man who supports a multitude of organizations and people.... Will this ruling still apply? Should he be forced to relinquish everything, and jeopardize the livelihood of so many, rather than transgress a prohibition of the Torah?"
"Yes," he replied. "The ruling is regardless of consequences. Torah law may not be transgressed even if it costs one everything. Your relationship with G-d is worth more."
The Rabbi continued: "What would be the law be if, rather than having one's wealth threatened, it was his life that hung in the balance? Say the gangster says, I will kill you if you do not eat pork?"
"In such a case, human life takes precedence. Under no circumstances may one's life be put in danger (except for the three cardinal sins of murder, idolatry and adultery). G-d wants us to live through the Mitzvot, not die through them," was the boy's response.
The boy was getting into it. "For instance, if the Shabbat desecration was a surety, but the chance of saving life was, at best, doubtful, will life still prevail?" asked Rabbi Tauber.
"Yes," said the boy. "Even the slightest doubt that affects human life renders it more important than any prohibition," he replied.
"Tell me, my young scholar," Rabbi Tauber continued, "What is the law in a situation where someone lies deathly ill; indeed, there is no hope for him to live more than a very short time. How about for him? Are we to desecrate Shabbat just so his life can be extended for a few hours?"
The boy, no fool, smiled. He got the message.
If I own $40 billion I must be ready to give it all up so as not to violate Shabbat! Shabbat trumps $40 billion. Yet, to extend a life for a few minutes, I have to give up Shabbat! What does this tell us? That life is G-d's greatest gift, and every moment of it is holy beyond holy, transcending every other holiness. One must desecrate Shabbat to keep one alive—even for a short time. We may not fathom the significance of life, but the entire Torah is pushed aside to save a moment of life.
Rabbi Tauber bent down and kissed the boy on his forehead. As he parted from him, he said: "It is no secret that you are undergoing indescribable pain. I am so sorry. I will never understand why. But do not give up. The flow of life that still courses through your veins is something of infinite value. No human mind can fathom how special and precious it is. G-d is willing to have His holy Shabbat desecrated even for the slightest chance, albeit doubtful, of sustaining a life. As long as you are alive, embrace that gift with love."
The boy gave a weak smile. The rabbi went on his way.
A few days later, the boy passed away. When Rabbi Tauber visited the family during the Shivah, the seven-day mourning period, the mother told him, "From the time that you spoke with my son until the bitter end, he was a different person. He was no longer just lying there waiting for the Angel of Death to come take him. He spoke; we communicated. We said good-bye.” The mother could not thank him enough for what he had done.
SHABBAT SHALOM,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
Tom Peacock wrote...