20 Feb 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 sleep-
away 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 Jungreis zt”l, set me up.
My date and I agreed upon a time to meet,
and my beloved grandmother, Mama,
volunteered to be there when he arrived.
Knock knock… It must be him. Mama
opened the door, graciously invited him
in, and offered a drink. I quickly emerged
from my room. After exchanging hellos,
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 go”.
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 parsha, Tetzaveh, continues
where last week’s left off. Parshas
Terumah informed us about the Mishkan,
and all of its vessels. This week, the
parsha 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 kedusha,
holiness. Just think of how different we

feel when we dress for Shabbos, a
wedding, or special occasion.
Even when they removed ashes
from the altar – a seemingly menial
task – the Kohanim donned special
clothes, albeit a different set.
Nothing was beneath them. 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 glamorous. At times, we have
to get our hands dirty, and then
come to realize even mundane tasks have
their purpose too.
Pirkei Avos, Ethics of our Fathers teaches:
“Shemayah says, ohev es ha’melacha,
love work”. (Avos 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 melacha for
work, rather than the more common
term avoda, labor. The word melacha is
also used to describe HaShem’s work
in creating the world. “And HaShem
concluded on the seventh day His
‘melacha’ that He performed, and He
abstained on the seventh day from all
His ‘melacha’ which He had done.”
(Bereishis 2:2)
If we view our melacha, 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 shul had one custodian who didn’t
work on weekends. The shul had a full
attendance on Shabbos, followed by a
kiddush. The accumulated garbage had
to be taken out, rather than letting it sit

in the inside trash cans until Monday.
Being the only available shul employee,
the rabbi would take out 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 kedusha 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.
The Rabbi commented that a “janitor” is
sometimes referred to as a “custodian”.
He noted that a custodian is one who has
custody, who maintains a responsibility.
While being a custodian wasn’t what he
expected when he became a rabbi, he was
grateful to have found purpose even in
taking out the 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 should 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
mitzva, an opportunity to be helpful.
And how beautiful is that.