19 Sep HAAZINU: SACRIFICE

The story is told of a man
who wanted to join the
Communist movement in
Russia many years ago. He
sat down with the official
who conducted an

interview.
The official said him, “I want you to
understand what it means to be a
Communist. It means that if you own a
house, half of it is yours, and half is the
government’s.”
The man nodded in consent.
“If you own a farm, half the farm belongs to
you, and half belongs to the government.
“If you own horses, half the horses belong
to you, and half to the government.
“If you own cows, half the cows belong to
you, and half to the government.”
All throughout, the man nodded in
agreement.
Then the official said, “If you own chickens,
then half the chickens belong to you, and half
to the government.”
“No!” the man shouted.

The official was stunned. “You’re ok giving
us half your house, your farm, your horses
and your cows – but not your chickens?!” he
asked.
“Well,” the man replied, “chickens are the
only thing I actually own.”
It’s easy to say that one is committed to
something. But the real test comes when he
has to make a real sacrifice for it, when he
needs to give his “chickens” – whatever it is
that means the most to him, for that cause.
The highlight of the Yom Kippur service in
the Bet Ha’mikdash was a special pair of
sacrifices, involving two goats. A lottery was
held, determining that one goat was
earmarked to be offered as a sacrifice in
the Bet Ha’mikdash, and the other was
earmarked to be sent away to the desert and
thrown off a cliff.
What is the message of these goats? Why
are two goats brought, one offered as
a korban, and the other sent away into the
desolate wilderness?
This teaches us that if we want to come
close to Hashem, we need to take something
important to us and send it away. We need to
be prepared to let go. We need to be prepared

to sacrifice – to sacrifice something of value,
something which we cherish.
The Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashanah
teaches us the way to earn atonement for all
our sins. It says that if somebody gives in, if
he acquiesces when he could have made a
legitimate demand, or a legitimate argument,
then all his sins are forgiven.
There is nothing more powerful than giving
in, than letting go. There’s nothing more
powerful than remaining silent and not saying
anything when somebody does or says
something offensive. There’s nothing more
powerful than letting somebody else have
something which you feel is rightfully yours,
for the sake of peace. When we do this, we
send a goat to desert, we let go of something
very important to us. And when we do this,
then we are able to draw very close to our
Creator.
A man who has a difficult relationship with
his in-laws came to me one year before Rosh
Hashanah to ask for advice, as his in-laws
were going to be staying with him for the
holiday.
I told him, “Every time your mother-in-law
opens her mouth in a manner you find

inappropriate, you close your mouth, and in
your mind, pray to Hashem to help one of
your children succeed. Every time your
father-in-law is about to say something which
makes you uncomfortable, close your mouth
and pray for one of your accounts.”
If we want to draw close to Hashem and
earn His blessing, we need to be able to give
in, to sacrifice. And one of the most difficult,
but most powerful, sacrifices we can make is
sacrificing our ego, remaining silent when we
have a legitimate reason to talk back.
Let’s make a commitment this Yom Kippur
to not just be a little better – but to be prepared
to make real sacrifices, and then we will truly
make this new year something special, one of
real growth and progress, when we become
so much better than we were before.