What I am referring to here is a living parent who has lost a living child and a living child who has lost a living parent. A living death is sometimes more painful than physical death, when the body is buried and the soul ascends to its Maker.
Have you ever thought about how our Heavenly Father must feel when He sees His children adopting every other parent but Him? Or how the children feel when they see their parents opening their hearts to children who do not belong to them, embracing them with love while causing their own children to feel abject rejection?
Some years ago I spoke at Binyanei Hauma in Jerusalem. Looking out at the audience I noticed many religious Jews, including chassidim. I decided to tell a story based upon something I had just explained.
“There was once a father,” I began, “who had twelve beautiful, gifted children. Over the years, one by one the children left home and disappeared from sight into a deep forest.
“One son, however. remained home. He was determined to take care of his beloved father. Every morning, every afternoon, every night, he would come to his father’s chamber and serve him the most delectable meals, sing songs to him, and try to entertain him. He openly proclaimed his abiding love, but his father remained forlorn.
“ ‘Why,’ the loyal son wondered, ‘is my Father sad? Haven’t I demonstrated my commitment, my love?’ ”
I looked out at the audience and continued: “Had this loyal son taken a few moments and pondered these questions, he would have realized that a father cannot be happy if his children never come home, never call, never visit.
“There is only one thing that would make a father happy – if that loyal son were to say, ‘My beloved father, do not despair. I will bring my brothers and sisters home even if I have to go to the ends of the earth. I will bring them home and all your children will sit at your beautiful Shabbos table. Together we will sing zemiros – the songs you taught us – in your Honor.’
“Until such time that the loyal son gives this assurance to his father, the father’s pain will not abate.”
Surely you understand that the father in this story is our Heavenly Father and the loyal son is the observant Jew who comes to serve his Father with love and praise three times a day without fail – and yet the Father is not rejoicing.
The great celebration of the revelation of Mashiach is something we have yet to behold. How can we make that stupendous event come to pass? By bringing all our brothers and sisters home for Shabbos.
Let us join in a partnership and do this as one.
To make this happen I offer you the help of our Hineni organization. We stand ready to welcome every Jew. I promise my readers that I will make a point of personally greeting and reaching out to everyone you bring.
On Thursday, September 10, we will have a High Holiday Seminar Dinner following which we will hold classes on multiple subjects pertaining to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Classes will be held simultaneously and each participant will have an opportunity to choose the seminar of his or preference. This will be a time learning that will connect us to our Heavenly Father and bring joy to Him.
The event is sponsored in memory of an amazing lady, a beautiful eishes chayil – Chaya Golda Feigel bas Yitzchok. To reserve your place, call our Hineni office at 212-496-1660.