You light up my life | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Tetzave

קטגוריה משנית

In today’s Ask the Rabbi, I write about the
mystical Urim & Tumim ("lights" & "truth") that
were part of the Choshen, the breastplate that
adorned the Kohen. The Urim & Tumim were a
conduit to knowing G-d’s will, lighting up the
letters of the Choshen’s precious gems in order
to answer pressing questions posed through the
Kohen Gadol, such as whether or not to go to war, etc.

Many of us are familiar with the famous story
told by the Vilna Gaon. When Chana came to the
Mishkan praying for a child – apparently a rather
unusual occurrence – Eli the Kohen Gadol
consulted the Urim & Tumim to see if her request
would be granted. The letters Hay, Kaf, Raysh &
Shin lit up, & Eli unscrambled them to form the
word, "Shikra," or drunkard, & so he dismissed Chana.

But when Chana did eventually give birth, Eli
(whose Ruach HaKodesh was apparently flawed)
understood that the letters actually formed the
word, "K’Sheyra," fit to have a child (or better,
I suggest, "K’Sarah," like Sara, who also gave birth at a very advanced age).

The child born to Chana was Shmuel. He would go
on to become the greatest Navi besides Moshe
Rabbeinu. But when Hashem sent Shmuel to anoint a
successor to King Shaul from Yishai’s family,
Shmuel first chose Eliav. Said G-d: "Do not look
at someone’s outer appearance, do not look only
with your eyes; I see into one’s heart." And so
David, Yishai’s youngest son, was chosen as King.

There is a powerful lesson here. All of us,
because we’re human, tend to focus on the
superficial, the outward appearances we see:
one’s age, height, weight, color or style of hair
or the clothes one wears. We may see, but we
comprehend very little about the person in front
of us. The true essence of a person is invisible;
we can’t know their honesty, integrity,
intelligence, courage, charm, insightfulness or
kindness until we actually get to know them
better. And, sadly, we very often misjudge them.

So many of the young people who have gone to war
may have seemed like run-of-the-mill, simple
kids. But the war has revealed just what brave,
selfless, astute super-heroes they actually are.
In effect, Gaza has been a kind of "Urum v’Tumim"
that confirm our younger generation in uniform as
Tzadikim G’murim, the truly righteous who, like
Rabbi Akiva, are prepared to give their all for us.

David had a favorite son, Shlomo, considered the
wisest of all people. But Hashem did not bless
Shlomo only with wisdom; G-d gave him a "lev
chacham v’navon, a wise & understanding heart."
If we learn to see with our heart, as well as
with our eyes, the truth will light up for us as well.