Community Magazine September 2012

Dedicated inmemory of Mr.&Mrs. Jacques&Rachel Gindi  Tipping the High Holiday Scales G ravely ill, to the point of near death, Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, the famous 13 th -century Spanish kabbalist, dreamt of a heavenly scale that had two sides – one with his missvot, and the other with his demerits. In his vision, the scale was perfectly balanced, and no side conclusively weighed down the other. When he awoke, he mustered whatever strength he had left to ask that his tefillin be brought to him. He put on his tefillin , whereupon he miraculously recovered from his illness. The rabbi later explained to his disciples that seeing his judgment hanging in the balance, he realized he needed just one more missva to tip the scales in his favor, so he could merit additional time in this world. Our Day in Court Like in this story, the Rambam famously describes the judgment of the High Holidays as the weighing of two sides of a scale. All our missvot are piled onto the right side of the scale, and all our sins on the left. If the side with our missvot weighs down the other side, then we are inscribed for a year of life and wellbeing. But if, Heaven forbid, our missvot are outweighed by the other side of the scale, then we receive the difficult judgment we deserve, Heaven forbid. This is why the zodiacal sign of Tishri is Libra, the scales, as this is the month when our deeds are being weighed in the heavens to determine our sentence for the coming year. The Rambam adds that this system is actually more complex than it seems. This is not a simple computation of how many missvot we performed and how many sins we committed. Some missvot are worth much more than others, just as some sins have a higher weight than others. For example, a Jew in Flatbush certainly receives reward for eating only kosher, but a Jew in Albuquerque, who has far less opportunities for kosher shopping and dining, will receive much more credit for kashrut observance. Conversely, the Jew in Albuquerque will be charged with a “lighter” demerit for eating in a non-kosher pizza shop than his friend in Flatbush. Since the challenge of kashrut is understandably much greater in areas with limited kosher opportunities, failure to meet that challenge is treated with less gravity. Religious background also plays an important role in the “weight” of a missva or a sin. If a person born and raised in Bnei Brak knowingly violates Shabbat, his violation is deemed much graver than that of somebody who did not receive a Torah education. By the same token, when somebody from a non-observant background makes the courageous decision to begin living a Torah lifestyle, the missvot he performs weigh heavier on the scale than those of a person born and raised in a Torah family and in Torah schools. Another example of this concept is charity. Imagine two people who donate to a charitable cause – one donates $1, and another donates $100. The first man struggles mightily to support his family, works long hours, does not own a car, does not travel for vacation, and buys simple, inexpensive clothing. His $1 donation is cherished by Gd and will carry significant weight on the High Holiday scales. The second fellow, by contrast, is a billionaire whose children have already married, moved out of the house, and established successful RABBI ELI J. MANSOUR 16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE