Second week into the Corona era. Maybe actually already the third week, I've lost track of time a bit. Here are some things we learned in the last few days in the practical workshop that the Lord of the Worlds is taking us through:
1.
Let's start with this concept, "Sovereign of the World." Another thing I've said casually thousands of times and suddenly I'm paying attention to it. What does the word "sovereign" actually mean? Here's the dictionary definition: "Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographical area or group of people, such as a country or tribe.".
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Beautiful. An accurate definition of what we all feel these days regarding the sovereign of the world, who has the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographical area. And this geographical area is called the Earth.
In two weeks we will sit on Seder night. Will we even have matzah? I estimate that yes, with God's help. Will we have an egg in the Seder marks? Will we be able to buy new clothes? Will we be counted for the holiday (and for the days of counting the Omer)? These are more difficult questions.
But one thing is clear: The people of Israel are about to enter Passover more prepared than ever. They come to the holiday of faith believing as perhaps they haven't since the parting of the Red Sea.
2.
And another lesson we learn in the workshop: Rahmaana Liba Bai. God wants the heart of each of us. The innermost. It's amazing. Precisely in a generation of Jewish prosperity and Jewish pride, of impressive events, of mass prayers at the Western Wall, of Shas graduations with tens of thousands in stadiums, it suddenly becomes clear that heaven wants our prayers and our Shabbats and our joys and our Seder night in the most boutique format.
Families who are used to celebrating the Seder with a huge group of the entire tribe will probably be sitting alone at home this year. I know this contradicts everything we were raised on: "In the majority, with a king's honor," "It's just a matter of time," "Nisa's advertisements," but this time it will be a little different.
Will everyone be able to come? Not really. That is, it is clear that this year too we will not forget those who do not have and need help, and we will try to ensure that everyone has a place and a way to do the seder, but no, not everyone will be able to enter our private seder. Even for Elijah the Prophet, we open the door carefully.
And listen, it's not certain that it's going to be as bad as you think. After all, in recent days, and especially in recent Shabbats, we've discovered the magic of family intimacy. The magic and the challenge: How do you fill the prayer with content when you can't rely on the synagogue or the community or the cantor? How do you read a weekly portion from the Pentateuch? How do you say the blessing of the month alone in the messy living room?
They took away all our decorations and everything around us and told us: Now it's just you, you, you. Grow up to God with me and let His name alone be exalted.
3.
On the other hand, and forgive me for speaking to the Creator of the world in the second person (you know, this is a time when we all become a bit of a Bratslav), look, Father, at your beloved children. After all, today we all understand how, from a dry halachic perspective, it is possible to keep your commandments at the bare minimum.
What is Kabbalat Shabbat? It's all about reciting a few Psalms. What is a wedding? A ring, a ketubah, two witnesses, and you're consecrated. What is a Seder? Passover, matzah and maror.
And yet, look how much, in that era, in the pre-Corona days, we did everything on a grand scale. We sat for hours in Shabbat prayers in the synagogue, we held weddings with lots of people and with joy and dancing, we had Sheva Brachot feasts with many (mid-day) sermons, we brought the whole tribe together to the Seder table. We didn't just want to do our duty.
Not only weddings now, but also the redemption of the son during the #Corona pic.twitter.com/lapHOBYIWJ
— Yinon Idan (@yinon_idan) March 22, 2020
One of the videos that moved me the most during this period actually didn't get much publicity. It shows a man and a woman dressed festively, standing in the yard of a house in the United States with a fashionable stroller.
In front of them stands a man with a mask on his face and gloves on his hands. The father is holding the baby and they look very excited.
For a moment I didn't understand the meaning of this situation in the courtyard, but then the father says in an American accent: "This is my firstborn son and he was conceived by his Israeli mother and the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded his redemption...".
The man with the mask asks: "What is the matter, Tefi? Should I give you my firstborn son or redeem him for five shekels as required by the Torah?""
The father answers, gives the coins to the priest, and blesses "for the redemption of the son" and "for his life." The priest blesses the baby, "May it be so that as he entered into redemption, so he may enter into Torah, the wedding, and good deeds." Then he takes out a cup, blesses "Creator of the Fruit of the Vine," and that's it. The ceremony is over. Redemption duration: one minute and thirty-eight seconds!
I think everyone who saw this video was moved to tears. In my opinion, it is a historical milestone in the annals of the Jewish people. No less. In the exhibition that will be presented here for future generations, it will be presented as an example of the way in which Jews were careful to observe all the commandments and joys according to their custom, without giving up the thorn of the Law, even in the commandment "and you were very careful for your souls.".
So Lord of the worlds, I thought to myself, look how much business we do these days, as usual, with every mitzvah and mitzvah. If it weren't for the damned Corona, this dear pair of parents, who have entered my heart like this, would have rented a hall and catering, and there would have been sermons and songs and maybe even a souvenir from the event. Even though just a moment ago they had solemnly made a vow to a child.
Because that's who we are: we simply love to rejoice in the mitzvot, to celebrate them.
So okay, Lord of the Universe, we have learned the lesson. From now on, we will try to find the inner, personal content in every commandment and commandment. But now let us get back to keeping the commandments as we know and love to do. Not in a minute and thirty-eight seconds.
4.
This week we also learned a lesson about the disconnect between the media and the people. We thought we had seen it all, but then came Dana Weiss' interview with the Prime Minister.
On the one hand, Benjamin Netanyahu. He is not a religious person, we know that. But the strong leader, who always talks about the strength of the State of Israel, its resilience, its high-tech nation and its Iron Dome, was asked, "What can you say to the citizens?" and simply raised his hands, raised his eyes to the sky and said: "First of all, with God's help, I hope, we all need to pray to the Creator of the world.".
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I know Netanyahu's mannerisms very well. He doesn't buy me easily. But this time it wasn't an election speech in which the phrase "with the help of God" is woven into it to try to win over a few more traditional votes.
In my opinion, it was a completely real, authentic and rare moment, for someone who sits in the most dramatic meetings with senior doctors these days, and these nights, and recognizes that we do not run the world.
But the presenter only heard the name "Shmayim", and immediately jumped. She had to protest. "For now, the Weizmann Institute is more... the answer is in the Weizmann Institute," she interrupted the prime minister, adding: "You know, I'm always asked where the modern temple of Zionism is, I say it's in the Weizmann Institute.".
Well, I don't know who exactly is asking Dana Weiss where the modern temple of Zionism is. No one has ever asked me, but the attempt to turn Netanyahu into some primitive is amazing. As if prayer and the Weizmann Institute are in conflict. As if there are no religious scientists at the Weizmann Institute. As if the secular scientists at the Weizmann Institute aren't praying these days.
I suddenly felt as if I had been thrown into changing the rule of Mapai. In a moment, they would be cutting off Netanyahu's Yemeni wigs.
There is hardly a Jew, excuse me, hardly a human being, who does not raise his eyes to the sky during this turbulent period. The entire world is crying out, "There is no one else but Him." But Dana Weiss, uninformed as she is, is entrenched in the studio and trying to educate the Jewish people and their Prime Minister in outdated values. You know, whenever I am asked where the Temple of the Last of the Infidels is, I answer: In prime time.
Believe me, even when the Messiah arrives, they will complain bitterly about the traffic jams at the entrance to Jerusalem.
• The column is published in the newspaper 'Bisheva''
