Rabbi Perl said something today that I really connected to our study of Kohelet. He said that, in Yom Kippur davening, there is a verse that says that, "I had no purpose before I was born and now, I still have no purpose." This concept of having a purpose is one that people of all faiths struggle with. If they happen to be learning Kohelet at the same time, then they have probably struggled with this more than others have. In the past week, we have learned the basics of the first perek of Kohelet. Shlomo, in his reflective state, has said that everything is "Hevel." Okay. He then continues by giving examples of how nature follows an extremely structured cycle; water flows downstream and then returns to its source. The same is true about the wind and, with a logical leap, man. Man is also stuck in this cycle. We come into this world, flow downstream through life, and then return to the source - we return to the ground from whence the first people came. I think that most people have come to terms with the cycle of life. So what is Shlomo's issue? He is/was grappling with the idea of man's purpose on Earth and with leaving a legacy and making his life matter. Man can live a life of "accomplishment" and no one will remember his name or what he did within two generations. How is this the role of man? What is the role of the individual?
Shlomo's question could not be more relevant to Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we ask G-d to write us into the book of life. We repent for all of our sins and come closer to G-d to sustain our relationship with him. We ask G-d not to slate us for death this year and pray that we can become better people. About two years ago, I spent the entire Yom Kippur wondering what this was all for. I davened because I was scared not to. At the same time, I couldn't understand why we were doing this. What is each individual life worth? This leads to the much bigger question of what the meaning of life is. I clearly can't answer that question in a blog post. Living every day to its fullest potential is the goal here. Shlomo was struggling with the role of the individual in the grand scheme of all of mankind. Yes, that may seem very daunting. It is very daunting. On Yom Kippur, that will all change for me. If one voice isn't loud enough to be heard, then how about the entire nation? When we are all davening for the fate of our own souls, what are we actually doing? In my opinion, we are all calling out to Hashem and asking him to send us a role to fulfill in life.
I wrote the beginning part of this blog before Yom Kippur. Now, on Sunday, after the tragedy that happened in Jacksonville, Florida to a friend, I have much more to say.
As most people already know, Orly Ohayon and her mother were hit by a car as they crossed the street on the way to shul for Kol Nidrei. Mrs. Ohayon was immediately killed and Orly sustained severe injuries. By Saturday night, she had already undergone several surgeries and is now expected to recover quickly. Doctors say that she will be walking within the next twelve weeks. Thank G-d she is alive. This tragedy hits close to home because I know Orly personally. While I was on GIVE this summer, Orly was on Michlelet with Racheli. When both programs went to greet the Nefesh B'Nefesh charter flight on July 23rd, Orly reached out to me without ever having mat or even heard my name before. She was so warm and caring; I can see exactly how she has managed to impact the lives of so many people. On Saturday night, as news of the accident spread via Facebook, the NCSY community and Orly's friends sprung into action. Within a few hours, tehillim groups were set up and people were planning on going to the Kotel to have a tehillim session for the aliyah of the soul of Esther Bat Yosef (Mrs. Ohayon) and the refuah shelemah of Orly Bat Esther. At 8:30 PM Israel time, a group of about 100 NCSYers gathered at the Kotel and said tehillim for her. I was on the conference call, so I heard everything that was happening. In the wake of Yom Kippur, after each of these individuals had taken an entire day and dedicated it to building a stronger relationship with G-d, each person was using their strength to ask Hashem to heal this wonderful and inspirational girl. I believe that Orly has found her role in life: she will inspire the world to turn back to G-d. Now, at nearly 16 years old, she is already well on the road to doing that. Why do bad things happen to good people? I don't know. When bad things happen, is it an indication that everything in life is "Hevel" or worthless? No. Just looking at the immense kindness that has sprung up in the wake of this tragedy is enough to show me that life is definitely worth something.
Please keep Orly Bat Esther in your prayers.
Sarah, I loved how you connected what we learned this week to the tragedy that took place on Yom Kippur. I didn't know Orly, but within any community, especially Jewish communities, it doesn't really matter if you know someone personally. This situation reminds me of what happened on 9/11. It seems as if history is repeating itself, though thankfully, on a much smaller scale. When the Twin Towers were hit on Septemeber 9, 2001, New York City came together like never before. While people were crying out to G-d, asking him how this could have happened, something extraordinary was taking place. All of New York City came together to help each other. When a tragedy like Orly's occurs, we can really see how the entire Jewish community can come together to help one another.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shani. When tragedies strike, you can either look at them in one of two ways. You can look at them in a a way that everything is worthless, or you can look at in a way that helps you grow as a person. Although I unfortunately do not know Orly personally either, I feel like I know enough about her to know what she is like. In Orly's case, it seems like although this is such a devastating time, she will use this as a way to make her even stronger and better. Instead of giving up and thinking that everything is worthless, I hope Orly finds the brightness in the situation. I hope she recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to say that I am so sorry about what happened to your friend. It is truly a terrible tragedy. When I first heard the news, even though I had never met this girl, I couldn't help but feel deeply saddened, even to the point of tears. I cried for this girl and her family. I could never imagine what she now has to go through and overcome after such a tragic incident.
ReplyDeleteCombined with my sadness, I was angry. I was angry at G-d. I was angry at this world. I hated the world we live in. How could something so horrible happen to someone who is clearly an amazing, genuinely good person? I think this is a natural response when tragedy strikes. I once attended a class on an NCSY shabbaton entitled "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." I couldn't help but feel disappointment when this class failed to provide, in my opinion, a satisfying answer. The classic response is that we don't know why, that G-d has a reason for everything and we just have to accept it. This answer is so hard for me to accept. I can't imagine a good enough reason to justify good people dying every single day.
It's hard to focus on the positive in situations like this, but it's the only way to keep moving along. There is a Facebook page dedicated to saying Tehilim for Orly that currently has 1,623 members. The fact that so many people, most who likely had never met Orly, came together to pray, donate, and do kind deeds in her merit is absolutely incredibly. This is what we must focus on. No matter what, no matter how hard it may be to find, there is always good in this world. There is worth in this world.