Shaarei Shamayim

BAMIDBAR 5770

3 weeks ago Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax—a 31-year-old homeless Guatemalan immigrant who worked as a day laborer and often slept in Central Park—was on a street in Queens NY, and went to the aid of a noisy dispute between a man and a woman, where he got stabbed. The woman fled one direction while the man fled another and Hugo walked a bit before collapsing on the sidewalk bleeding to death.

There was a surveillance camera nearby recording what happened on that street. People just walked by on the street and kept walking; others stopped looked at Hugo and then continued on their path. One person took a picture of Hugo’s body while he lay there. Another went up to Hugo, shook his body a bit, discovered a pool of blood and then left. Help came an hour and 21 minutes later! But by then it was too late and there was nothing they could do to save him.

How could this be? Hugo put himself in danger to help another person, but passersby couldn’t make a 30-second call to 911 to save his? Such cases aren’t new. The classic case was the death of Kitty Genovese in 1964, who screamed at the top of her lungs when she got stabbed on the street. 38 people living in the apartments nearby heard her. Not one of them did anything—not even calling the police.

If you were walking by with Hugo lying there, what would you do? Would you help him? Ignore him?

I read a wonderful story recently of a rabbi in a similar circumstance that helped me understand the strange story of today’s Haftorah. Let me read it to you:

A young Rabbi was traveling on the “D” train from Brooklyn to Manhattan in New York City. As the train rattled its way towards its destination, he sat quietly, reading a book, as do most of the other travelers. 2 young men, 6 feet tall in gang jackets, entered the train with a big boom box blasting away.

Near the Rabbi sat a little old lady who probably tipped the scale at 80 pounds and who might have been 5 feet tall, if she stretched. The little old lady didn’t like the noise coming out of the boom box, so she yelled out, “Who’s going to make them turn it down?” Everyone hunkered down in their seats, taking a deeper interest in what they were reading and pretending that they didn’t hear her—including the Rabbi.

One of the young toughs said to the woman, “Lady, if you don’t like this music, you can try to turn it off.” She shuffled across the subway car with her hand in front of her, ready to take his dare. The ruffian put down the boom box and hauled back to deck her. Up jumped the Rabbi and blocked the tough guy’s punch.

The guy was puzzled and he looked down at the Rabbi, who was about a foot shorter than he was and probably weighed only half as much, and said to him, “What’s your problem, boy?” The Rabbi replied with a timid smile, “I have no problem, but just don’t hit the lady, please.” He returned to his seat and went back to his reading. The lady shuffled back across the car.

The young tough flipped the power switch on the boom box again and inundated the entire subway train in full-force, deep-based, woofer and tweeter enhanced, penetrating unmitigated, raucous, deafening noise.

The old lady cried out, “Who’s going to make them turn it off?” Everyone on the train reread their previous sentence with increased concentration. The young tough grinned and invited her over. The little old lady shuffled over and once again, reached to turn off the power switch on the boom box. The young tough hauled back to hit her, the Rabbi jumped up to block. The young tough looked confused, and said, “Now you’re getting on my nerves, boy.”

The Rabbi smiled and said, “Sorry, just don’t hit the lady,” and returned to his seat. The little old lady shuffled towards the Rabbi’s seat and stood with her back to him. And the 2 young toughs thankfully got off at the next station.

As the Rabbi settled back into his book, he glanced up at the back of the little old lady and thought, “Gee, I just risked my life, not once, but twice, to protect her…and she didn’t even thank me.” And then, after 2 minutes of self-righteous indulgence, the Rabbi stopped in his tracks with an incredible realization. “Gd just performed not one miracle, but 2, to save my life, and did I stop to thank Him?”

This story is the key to understanding this week’s Haftorah. The prophet, Hosea, had a wife named Gomer, who betrayed him, who took his gifts and gave them to her lovers. At 1st, he was filled with a towering rage. And then he realized that what she had done to him, we all do to Gd! Gd has given us so many gifts—health, wealth, relationships—and what do we do with them? Instead of thanking Him, we squander His gifts and give them to other gods—to pride, to ego, to vanity, not appreciating our relationships. If we don’t appreciate the gifts that Gd has given us and the favors Gd does for us, how can we be angry at those who don’t appreciate the favors we do for them?

Those 2 toughs on the subway train probably didn’t know much about the Bible. I bet they didn’t even know that the story of Hosea and Gomer is the Haftorah for this week. But nevertheless, they and the old lady taught that rabbi and this rabbi a lesson that is the central lesson of today’s Haftorah. And that lesson is that Gd has your back! You may have, at times, disappointed Gd, but He always loves you and so He watches out for you in so many ways every day.

Tuesday night we begin the festival of Shavuot. Shavuot is different than other festivals. There is no outstanding symbol like other holy days have—like a shofar, or a Sukkah, or a menorah or matzah. And it’s so short—only 2 days. It’s because Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah and there is no symbol for Torah other than our own fidelity to it.

It’s really simple. On Shavuot Gd calls for a meeting to celebrate with us the Torah. How can we not appreciate His greatest gift to us? So come Tuesday night to our Tikun Leyl Shavuot and study some Torah together. The topic is one we all can relate to. Since I’ve been teaching all year about prayer and how to connect with Gd when we pray, my topic will focus on the Amida—specifically, “The Amida: Why 18?” and the 2nd and 3rd blessings that deal with, “What Does a Jew Believe?” and “Is Being Holy For Me?” Come to shule on Wednesday and Thursday and demonstrate your commitment to Gd’s Torah. And on Thursday, the 2nd day of Shavuot, we will recite Yizkor.

When we show up to celebrate with Gd we will then merit the final words of the Haftorah: V’eyrastich li l’Olam, “I will betroth you to Me forever;” v’eyrastich li b’tzedek uv’mishpat uv’chesed uv’rachamim, “I will betroth you to Me with rightness, and with justice, and with kindness, and with mercy;” v’eyrastich li b’emuna v’yadaat et Hashem, “and I will betroth you to me and be faithful to you and you shall know Hashem!” Amen!

                                                            Rabbi Mark Hillel Kunis     

                                                            5/15/10