Tomer was a secular young man in Eretz Yisrael, who was in the army. One day when he was on leave, he happened to meet a religious man, David Levi while waiting on line somewhere. The man engaged him in very pleasant, respectful conversation and ended up inviting Tomer to his home for Shabbat.
Tomer thanked him but said it wasn’t for him because he isn’t at all religious, he never kept Shabbat, and he’s not ‘into’ that kind of thing. On Shabbat he’d rather hang out with his friends. Mr. Levi was extremely nice and told him that one Shabbat without hanging out wouldn’t be so terrible, especially since his wife is a great cook, his kids are adorable and funny, and he’ll have a great time. He told Tomer that he’ll have his own room, he won’t have to do anything special that he doesn’t want to, he’ll just be there and enjoy it.
Tomer still didn’t jump at the offer so Mr. Levi said, very nicely: “Are you open-minded?” Tomer answered as quick as can be: “Yeah, sure.” To which Mr. Levi responded: “So be open-minded about this, too.” Tomer was taken off guard and after thinking about what Mr. Levi said, realized that he didn’t have a great excuse now not to come, I mean if he’s open-minded, then he has to be open not only to foreign ideas. If he’s really open-minded he has to be open also to his own people and religion. Plus this Levi guy was so nice, so easy-going and sincere, that Tomer finally said: “Okay… thanks.” And so it was that the next day he found himself for the first time ever in a religious home for Shabbat!
When he arrived, in uniform, he got a grand welcome from the whole family, including really cute kids, and was given a room where he unpacked his duffle bag, He noticed that there were several beds in the room and saw from what was on the walls and some other stuff that this was a kids’ room. He wondered if he would have to sleep with them but found out soon enough that they would be in another room, squeezed in with others siblings so that Tomer could have his privacy.
It was getting close to Shabbat, and things were speeding up in the Levi household, lots of energy as last minute things were taken care of. In the middle of all that Tomer was given with smiles coffee, cake, kugel, a schnitzel, and then before he knew it the atmosphere somehow became totally different, extremely calm and peaceful mode as his hostess began to light Shabbat candles. Since his host and his sons were all leaving for shul, though Tomer wasn’t so interested in going, he figured it would be better than staying in the apartment with Mrs. Levi and the girls, and so he went to shul with his host and his sons. It was actually pretty nice with a very lively Lecha Dodi (song welcoming Shabbat), and the prayers weren’t too long, and then before he knew it, in the middle of many Shabbat Shalom and Good Shabbos wishes among the congregants, he was on his way back to the Levi home, wondering what in the world it would be like.
Once back in the apartment, Tomer was extremely pleasantly surprised by what he saw and experienced. From when he walked in until the end of Shabbat it was actually pretty nice, in fact it was a bit amazing – so different from anything he had ever experienced. It was a totally unusual but great atmosphere. No phones, great food, singing, talking, lots of interesting things about Torah, and the kids had a lot to say with all kinds of written material from their schools. He couldn’t not notice that, there were great interactions in the family – between David Levi and his wife, between them and their kids and even among the kids. Much more quiet and respectful than what he was used to. And at the same time there was lots and lots of positive energy, including some great jokes – most of them spontaneous!
It was really a very nice experience, in fact he even admitted that it was more than nice. It was special. After havdala, separating Shabbat from the upcoming week, Tomer packed up his bag and came to part from his host and hostess and the whole family. And then his host casually took Tomer to the side for some privacy and asked him if he enjoyed Shabbat with them, and Tomer’s eyes lit up as he said, spontaneously ‘Yeah, it was great! Todah rabbah! Thank you very much! And then Mr. Levi asked him, “Would you like to learn more about Judaism, maybe some classes or books or something.” Tomer politely said that that sounded really interesting but he was in the army now and that kept him busy enough, he didn’t really have time for other stuff.
“I can understand that,” Mr. Levi said. And then he said: “Maybe you’d like to just take on something small, a mitzvah that’s easy to keep. What do you think?” Tomer thought and then said, “The truth is that I realize now after this Shabbat that Judaism is really something very serious and real. I’m not ready to make a commitment now, but I am ready to take on one small, easy mitzvah. Something really easy, especially since I’ll be in the army and I don’t want to make waves or stand out or anything.”
Mr. Levi thought for a minute and then said: “I have an idea – an easy mitzvah that no one will even know that you’re keeping.” “Great, what is it?” And to Tomer’s amazement Mr. Levi said, “When you get dressed in the morning, put on your right boot first and then your left boot. And then tie your left boot first and then your right boot.” There was a silence as Tomer thought about what he had just heard. “You’re serious?” he asked. “Judaism tells you things like that?” “Yes,” said Mr. Levi and gave Tomer a short explanation of why we put on our shoes like that. “Okay,” said Tomer, “I’ll do it. You’re sure that means that I’m doing a mitzvah? Because that’s what I want to do. I want to do a mitzvah.” “Yes,” said Mr. Levi, “that’s a mitzvah. Do that, and you’ll have the credit of doing a mitzvah every day.” “Okay,” said Tomer, “it’s a deal. I’ll do it.” And shortly after, he put his pack on his back, got a great goodbye from the whole family, plus some terrific cake to take with him and he was on his way.
Before long Tomer was back in his army base and life continued as usual for him – except for one thing. He always put on his right boot before his left boot and always tied his left boot before his right boot. No one noticed, of course, and he was happy that he was fulfilling his promise to that terrific guy who hosted him so nicely, and also opened his eyes to a world he never knew. Though once in a while Tomer thought about his experiences on that special Shabbat, he made no other changes in his lifestyle – only the boots.
One day when his unit was resting, they were suddenly awakened and told that they had to carry out an important mission immediately. They all jumped up as quick as can be and started to race to their destination. And then somehow Tomer suddenly thought of his boots! He hadn’t put them on the way he promised to. He hesitated, not knowing what to do, and then he suddenly stopped, went to the side, took off his boots and then quickly put them back on the way he was taught to, thinking to himself, a promise is a promise and it’ll only take me a minute, I can surely do this without any problems! But as a result, he arrived a minute or two late to where the others already were. They were quickly boarding a helicopter but Tomer’s commander told him that he was being punished for coming late and he was not going on the mission with the rest of his unit.
As all his comrades took off in the helicopter, Tomer was standing there just watching them, wishing that he too, could have been with them to fulfill his task as a soldier of the Israel Defense Forces. And he thought to himself, “is that how Judaism works? When you do the right thing, even if it’s hard, you get punished?’ His mind and heart were filled with questions because of the seeming injustice. And then very soon, he heard the terrible news – something went wrong and the helicopter that he wasn’t allowed to be on… crashed and burst into flames. All the soldiers in his unit were aboard that helicopter, and they were all killed.
Sometimes when things seem to go wrong in our lives, we can’t figure out the reason, or discern any goodness that might be part of, or a reason for the events or the suffering. And often, in this world, we never find out the reason. And we’re left with questions, including questions about faith, emunah. Sometimes we never get those questions answered, not in this world – though emunah means believing that everything is from Hashem for the good. And sometimes we do get to see the reason and goodness within the pain, as Tomer did. And when we don’t see the goodness or justice, then, too, we must believe that this, too, is for the good.
