They’re only warts

My little sister lost her homework and had a meltdown.  My father; “she lost her homework and then she lost it!”.

How often do we lose it and then lose it? We get angry and then we get angry that we got angry? We are frustrated and then we get frustrated that we are frustrated?

It’s almost as if we are defining our own worth by these occasional behaviors that are pretty much external and superficial.

The Chasidic Masters teach that our faults are part of the intended Divine structure for our journey on this earth.  So not only is it not of benefit to meltdown that we melted down, but it’s also not a true definition of who we are.

In fact although we are accountable for our actions, we are not what we do!  The real “I” is essential and removed from the external manifestations of our human experience.

The real “I” is always perfect, always worthy, a beacon of light and warmth for the world.

In this week’s Torah portion we read about the ancient miraculous malady called Tzaras.  This was a form of leprosy that existed only during times when the Jewish People were on an elevated holy status.  The Torah indicates the unique state of the Jewish People by using the word Adam to refer to humans as opposed to one of the lower names used to describe people (Ish, Enosh, Gever).

The Torah is conveying the above message; although we may have some external faults, shortcomings and even warts, they are all external to the real “I”.  Although, we need to take responsibility for our actions and constantly work at growing, our true essence is always pure and pristine.

Have a good Shabbos!

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