Sunday, May 23, 2004
Sparks From Israel
The Workings of Heaven
They say there are many gates in Heaven. These gates open and close all day long receiving guests and prayers and sending billions of angels on deliveries with little motorcycles like they have in Tel Aviv. At different times in our lives we may feel imprisoned, or between doorways, or going from one chamber to the next.
I read once that one who does charity, and especially one who ‘feeds’ the community, is judged mercifully because of their special merit and the gateways of heaven open easily for them. I think others too must have read this, because even in Tel Aviv, which to many is synonymous with ‘secular’ Judaism, there are many people who make banquets in synagogues every Shabbat for the congregants. And so this begins the story of a shul Gabbai, one who sets the table for those who come to pray.
As the chulent was being passed around he announced to everyone to listen closely to a true story that had happened to him recently. ‘He was the Gabbai of one of the oldest synagogues in Tel Aviv. Every Friday afternoon when he arrived to prepare the synagogue for Shabbat, he found on the doorstep a box full of catered food for the congregation. One Friday he arrived slightly earlier and for the first time he saw a young man placing the box there. He called to the man, and the startled man rushed off. He said, ‘wait, what’s your name, we can at least mention your name at the Torah reading’. The man pointed upward, as if to say, ‘He knows my name’, and fled.
A few weeks later, a friend of his called. He wanted to do a mitzvah that day and he asked his Gabbai friend to come to a shiur with the 95-year-old Rabbi Rokovesky. The Gabbai answered he would like to, but he couldn’t because that day he was scheduled to appear in court. (A few years before he became a Gabbai of a shul, he was a secular Tel Aviv restaurant owner, whose business went bankrupt.) The judge had no mercy on him, and demanded he pay $5000 immediately or be thrown into prison. He frantically left messages with his friends, but to no avail.
In the end, he was forced to tell the judge he could not pay, and was then taken to prison. He passed through doorway after doorway, each one being locked with yet another key and led through many different corridors by different guards until the last guard who wore a kippa opened the final door of an overcrowded holding cell. The Gabbai appealed to him, that he was a Baal Teshuva (a newly observant Jew). How could he observe Shabbat here? The guard hesitated then said ‘follow me’ as he took the prisoner through another series of doorways to another guard. ‘He’s a good guy, put him in the dati cell.’ He said to the other guard.
When the door shut behind him, he looked at the room full of prisoners, and one stood out from among them. It was the man who brought food to the synagogue every Friday. He had run away so quickly he never saw the Gabbai’s face, but the Gabbai recognized him. ‘You’re the man who brings food to our shul each Shabbat, now I can thank you.’ The man’s face turned red. The Gabbai looked for a place to sit, but there was none. The man motioned for him to follow, as he led him to another room inside the cell. The room was full of cans of food and there was a table and chair. ‘Are you hungry?’ said the man. The Gabbai hadn’t eaten all day.
After serving him a three course meal, he asked him if he wished to shower and shave before Mincha. The Gabbai thanked him and after being fed and refreshed proceeded with his prisoner friend to Mincha. After the prayers, his name was called by one of the guards. ‘Your free’, he was told.
Standing outside of the prison perplexed, the Gabbai looked down at his watch and realized there was still time to make it to the shiur. When he arrived it was explained to him, that when the Gabbai’s friend appeared at the shiur distraught, the Rabbi asked everyone to donate what they could, and in addition he used the funds dedicated for re-tiling the synagogue floor. They rushed down to the prison and miraculously released him. In the end, the Gabbai did the re-tiling job and so it all worked out.
What is the meaning of this story? Number #1 – Even when times are difficult and judgments are cruel, one who tends to the needs of the community is given a special status above and gateways are opened below. Number #2 – We all go through periods of judgment, but the judge above can override the judge below reducing a sentence of 3 years to 3 hours. Number #3 – Blessed is the ‘true’ judge, who gives, and takes, and restores to each man according to divine justice.
I suppose it was decreed that he go to jail, but only long enough, to have a good meal, take a shower, pray Mincha, and be back in time for a Torah lesson – I’m sure he got one. Who was the guardian angel in prison? This remains a mystery. And so, these are some of the workings of heaven.
The Workings of Heaven
They say there are many gates in Heaven. These gates open and close all day long receiving guests and prayers and sending billions of angels on deliveries with little motorcycles like they have in Tel Aviv. At different times in our lives we may feel imprisoned, or between doorways, or going from one chamber to the next.
I read once that one who does charity, and especially one who ‘feeds’ the community, is judged mercifully because of their special merit and the gateways of heaven open easily for them. I think others too must have read this, because even in Tel Aviv, which to many is synonymous with ‘secular’ Judaism, there are many people who make banquets in synagogues every Shabbat for the congregants. And so this begins the story of a shul Gabbai, one who sets the table for those who come to pray.
As the chulent was being passed around he announced to everyone to listen closely to a true story that had happened to him recently. ‘He was the Gabbai of one of the oldest synagogues in Tel Aviv. Every Friday afternoon when he arrived to prepare the synagogue for Shabbat, he found on the doorstep a box full of catered food for the congregation. One Friday he arrived slightly earlier and for the first time he saw a young man placing the box there. He called to the man, and the startled man rushed off. He said, ‘wait, what’s your name, we can at least mention your name at the Torah reading’. The man pointed upward, as if to say, ‘He knows my name’, and fled.
A few weeks later, a friend of his called. He wanted to do a mitzvah that day and he asked his Gabbai friend to come to a shiur with the 95-year-old Rabbi Rokovesky. The Gabbai answered he would like to, but he couldn’t because that day he was scheduled to appear in court. (A few years before he became a Gabbai of a shul, he was a secular Tel Aviv restaurant owner, whose business went bankrupt.) The judge had no mercy on him, and demanded he pay $5000 immediately or be thrown into prison. He frantically left messages with his friends, but to no avail.
In the end, he was forced to tell the judge he could not pay, and was then taken to prison. He passed through doorway after doorway, each one being locked with yet another key and led through many different corridors by different guards until the last guard who wore a kippa opened the final door of an overcrowded holding cell. The Gabbai appealed to him, that he was a Baal Teshuva (a newly observant Jew). How could he observe Shabbat here? The guard hesitated then said ‘follow me’ as he took the prisoner through another series of doorways to another guard. ‘He’s a good guy, put him in the dati cell.’ He said to the other guard.
When the door shut behind him, he looked at the room full of prisoners, and one stood out from among them. It was the man who brought food to the synagogue every Friday. He had run away so quickly he never saw the Gabbai’s face, but the Gabbai recognized him. ‘You’re the man who brings food to our shul each Shabbat, now I can thank you.’ The man’s face turned red. The Gabbai looked for a place to sit, but there was none. The man motioned for him to follow, as he led him to another room inside the cell. The room was full of cans of food and there was a table and chair. ‘Are you hungry?’ said the man. The Gabbai hadn’t eaten all day.
After serving him a three course meal, he asked him if he wished to shower and shave before Mincha. The Gabbai thanked him and after being fed and refreshed proceeded with his prisoner friend to Mincha. After the prayers, his name was called by one of the guards. ‘Your free’, he was told.
Standing outside of the prison perplexed, the Gabbai looked down at his watch and realized there was still time to make it to the shiur. When he arrived it was explained to him, that when the Gabbai’s friend appeared at the shiur distraught, the Rabbi asked everyone to donate what they could, and in addition he used the funds dedicated for re-tiling the synagogue floor. They rushed down to the prison and miraculously released him. In the end, the Gabbai did the re-tiling job and so it all worked out.
What is the meaning of this story? Number #1 – Even when times are difficult and judgments are cruel, one who tends to the needs of the community is given a special status above and gateways are opened below. Number #2 – We all go through periods of judgment, but the judge above can override the judge below reducing a sentence of 3 years to 3 hours. Number #3 – Blessed is the ‘true’ judge, who gives, and takes, and restores to each man according to divine justice.
I suppose it was decreed that he go to jail, but only long enough, to have a good meal, take a shower, pray Mincha, and be back in time for a Torah lesson – I’m sure he got one. Who was the guardian angel in prison? This remains a mystery. And so, these are some of the workings of heaven.
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