The Hardest Word

There is a cute book that often surfaces around the High Holiday season called the Hardest Word. It’s a kids book although it might as well be a book for adults as well and the hardest word is; Sorry.In this weeks Torah portion we open the third book of the Torah, the book of Leviticus, Vayikra. In it we read about the sacrifices that were offered in the Mishkan and later in the Bais Hamikdash (the Temple in Jerusalem).

Although, the Bais Hamikdash no longer stands, we still have the spiritual offerings of the sacrifices, which in many ways was the ultimate purpose of the sacrifices in the first place.

To that end, perhaps there is something harder than the hardest word. Perhaps the greatest sacrifice is not speaking at all.

This has two aspects to it. Sometimes we want to say something because our ego feels a need to justify ourselves or our actions or to get something off our chest despite that it will end up burdening someone else. In other words, unloading what burdens us so that it is off our heart but it now becomes someone else emotional burden. We justify the unloading that it is the right and correct thing to do. We tell ourselves that it is ok to do this because it will make us healthier people. Often, this is just the ego trying to create more strife and not at all bringing healing but the opposite.

A second more difficult type of not speaking at all is when we feel a need to stand up for an injustice, a wrong that is being perpetrated. Now, don’t get me wrong, i’m all for standing up against injustices and tyranny etc. But it’s very important to ensure that the motive is pure. It’s important to ensure that we are not feeding some self righteous indignant endeavor.

(Sometimes at the end, even if you have ulterior motives it is still the right thing to stand up and speak up, but make sure you know which of your voices is the correct one and make sure you are honest with the voice that is actually speaking.)

Animal sacrifices were coarse, big animals. Incense sacrifice was refined and delicate. The spiritual sacrifice is the most difficult of all.
Have a great Shabbos.

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman