08 Feb SHABBOS IS IN THE AIR: TAKING OUT THE TRASH
It was summertime. My parents
were upstate lecturing in the Pine
View Hotel. I was taking courses
in Brooklyn College, and being
that my siblings were in sleepaway
camp, I had the house to myself.
On Fridays, I would head upstate
with my grandparents, for a
family Shabbos.
It was during this time that my
Zeide, HaRav Avraham ben Ha-
Rav Yisroel HaLevi zt”l, set me
up. We agreed upon a time to meet,
and my beloved grandmother,
Mama, volunteered to be there
when my date arrived.
Knock knock… It must be him.
Mama opened the door, graciously
invited him in, and offered him a
drink. I quickly emerged from my
room. After exchanging hellos,
and some small talk, we were on
our way. Or so I thought.
As we were about to leave, Mama
called out, “Young man, don’t forget
to take out the garbage. There
is always garbage that needs to be
removed”.
At the time, I was too young and
naïve to comprehend Mama’s
ways. But with her sage wisdom,
she understood that there are times
in everyone’s life when they have
to “take out the garbage”. Some
tasks are less pleasant than others,
but they are our tasks, nonetheless.
My date proceeded to carry out
the trash bag with a smile. He
passed the test.
That night, Mama called me. “I
liked him. He was tall, friendly,
and took out the garbage.” The
“young man” who took out the
garbage became my husband, Rabbi
Shlomo Gertzulin.
This week’s parshah, Tetzaveh,
continues where last week’s left
off. Parshas Terumah informed us
about the Mishkan, and all of its
vessels. This week, the parshah describes
the magnificent bigdei kehunah,
royal priestly garments
which the Kohanim wore as they
did their holy work. The Ramban
explains that when Bnei Yisroel
saw the splendor of the Kohanim’s
clothing, it filled their souls with
awe and reverence. The Kohanim
themselves were reminded that every
part of their job was infused
with kedushah, holiness. Just think
of how different we feel when we
dress for Shabbos, a wedding,
or special occasion.
Even while they removed
ashes from the altar – a seemingly
menial task – the Kohanim
donned special clothes,
albeit a different set. Nothing
was beneath the Kohanim. No
part of their work was too trivial.
They wore their priestly
garments, no matter what the
task was. A life lesson for us.
Not every part of the job is
gratifying. At times, we too
have to get our hands dirty,
and then come to realize that mundane
moments have their purpose
too.
Pirkei Avos, Ethics of our Fathers
teaches: “Shemayah says, ohev es
ha’melachah, love work”. (Ethics
1:10) Love is a strong and powerful
emotion. We are told to love
HaShem, to love our fellow. But to
love work? Herein lies an important
message about the power of
one’s attitude.
To view work not merely as a
means to earn a livelihood, but as
an opportunity to make a difference
in the world. To see it as part
of our life mission. To look at the
entire job, and everything that we
can accomplish through it.
Shemayah uses the word
melachah for work, rather
than the more common term
avodah, labor. “And HaShem
concluded on the seventh day
His ‘melachah’ that He performed,
and He abstained on
the seventh day from all His
‘melachah’ which He had
done.” (Bereishis 2:2) The
word melachah is used to describe
HaShem’s work in creating
the world.
If we view our melachah, our
work, no matter what it is, as
partnering with HaShem, it
takes on a whole new meaning.
To see in our work the opportunity
to add positivity to
the world. To show kindness
to others and do chesed.
My husband wasn’t the only
one who took out the garbage.
I heard a story about a rabbi
who transitioned from a large
congregation of about 1000
families to a much smaller
shul. The new congregation
had one custodian who didn’t
work on weekends. The shul
had a full attendance on Shabbos,
followed by a kiddush. As
a result of an insect infestation,
the accumulated garbage
had to be taken soon after the
kiddush to the dumpster just
outside the door, rather than sitting
in the inside trash cans until Monday.
As the only shul employee, the
rabbi would take the trash to the
dumpster. While he never took out
the trash even once in 21 years at
his previous shul, he didn’t react
badly to this garbage duty, or considered
it beneath his dignity. But
he also didn’t find it rewarding.
Slowly, he began to see kedushah
in the duty. As with the Kohanim
in the Mishkan, he viewed the
trash as sacred. It was the refuse of
the Shabbos activities in his beis
haknesses, his shul.
In the words of the rabbi, “The
word ‘custodian’ is often treated as
a synonym of ‘janitor.’ However,
if we pay attention to the word, we
will note that a custodian is one
who has custody, who maintains a
responsibility. Being a custodian
wasn’t what I expected when I became
a rabbi, but I am grateful to
have found meaning in taking out
the sacred garbage.”
There is a well-known story about
the great Torah scholar and Rosh
Yeshiva, HaRav Mordechai Gifter,
zt”l. A newlywed student and his
wife couldn’t agree on who would
take out the trash. Each one felt it
was the other’s job, and the daily
disagreement was escalating from
bad to worse.
The husband decided to ask his
rebbi, Rav Gifter, for advice. Rav
Gifter listened in silence and didn’t
offer any comment.
The following Friday afternoon,
while the couple was preparing for
Shabbos, they had a surprise visitor…
Rav Gifter. He told them that
he came to take out the trash.
Ouch!
The Rosh Yeshiva made his point.
It is all part of our work. Helping
one another is never beneath anyone.
View it as a mitzvah, an opportunity
to be helpful. To work on
our middos, our character traits.
And how beautiful is that.
Shabbat Shalom!