On Sunday night, September 29, Let’s Get Real with Coach Menachem hosted Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Rav of Congregation Beth Jehudah in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rabbi Twerski spoke about preparing for Rosh HaShanah by truly seeking meaning in life.
He shared that maybe Hashem isn’t asking us to take on more, but to go deeper and discover greater meaning in what we are doing. He shared a powerful mashal. A king has a beloved friend whom he appoints as general over his armies. The friend conquers country after country and the king becomes very wealthy. The friend is a gifted craftsman, and he carves an ivory throne for the king. In one war, the friend’s son is taken captive. The friend doesn’t ask for help until he is on his deathbed and then he asks the king to rescue his son after he is dead.
The king rescues the son and showers him with everything. When the king sits on his ivory throne he always judges in favor of this friend’s son, as the throne reminds him of the friend who died. He allows his friend’s son to sit on the ivory throne. The son wants money and doesn’t think to ask the king. Instead, he chips away at the throne and sells parts of it for money. Then he gives away the throne to the king’s archenemy. He then appoints himself king.
Enemies of this son bring a case against him and the king no longer has the throne to sit on. The son’s defense is gone.
Rabbi Twerski explained that the Avos were the dedicated longtime friend in the mashal. They established a throne for Hashem. Hashem’s throne is made up of Tzedek and Mishpat. Hashem says that generations after Avraham should be dedicated to tzedek and mishpat. Every time there is a harsh judgment against klal Yisrael, Hashem sits on His throne and, for love of the Avos, He judges us favorably.
We chip away at the tzedek and mishpat. We sell the throne to our enemies. An example of this is taking a Jewish cause to a non-Jewish court.
The point of the throne is that it is a source of identification for the person sitting on it.
In this world, we have opportunities in our interactions with the physical world and we can create a place to bring honor and glory to Hashem. Each interaction we have with others and this physical world and how we conduct ourselves in our daily life offers an opportunity to create a throne for Hashem.
He pointed out that the Avos were shepherds, they were working people, and they uplifted the world to Hashem. That created a throne for Hashem. We live in a time with many physical comforts and conveniences. With this comes an opportunity to turn the world, in all of its beauty, to sanctify Hashem’s name. Every aspect of our lives is an opportunity to turn it into the Kisei HaKavod. Our job is to restore Hashem’s throne.
It’s an attitudinal change. We need to recognize the blessings Hashem gave us and that he gave them to us to bring honor to His name.
T’shuvah restores the relationship. When a person acts opposite of what he did wrong, then he rectifies the sin. When a Jew does t’shuvah, there is no remnant of his sin.
Suffering, he taught, comes from a place of love. Hashem wants to make us better people.
He shared how he had an uncle who, though blind and living in poverty, was able to see Hashem in every detail in his life. He saw life as an opportunity to connect to Hashem.
When a person focuses on his mission in life and recognizes the miracle of being able to bring kavod to Hashem and to perform His mitzvos, then nothing will bother him.
When we find ourselves derailed, it means we have lost sight of our mission in this world, and we are not appreciating the opportunities Hashem gave us.
If I wake up in the morning, then it means Hashem has faith in me. If He grants me another year, it’s the greatest vote of confidence in a person.
He pointed out that change is hard to measure. A person will know he did t’shuvah if he is placed in the same situation and refrains from sinning. “Stop blaming circumstances of your life and do what you have to do; that’s t’shuvah.”
When a person doesn’t succumb to a test, that is the most incredible connection a person can have.
He shared that t’shuvah is so far-reaching that it wipes out what we did wrong, and it even credits us for missed opportunities as though we grabbed them.
The way to do t’shuvah with love is to think how Hashem will turn our sins into mitzvos.
By Susie Garber