Friday, May 22, 2015

Chag Shavous?

I was headed home from getting a (much needed after 50+ days) haircut on erev erev Shavout. I was waiting to turn on to the road from the shopping center when a car passed me and someone screamed out "YOU SHOULD BE IN JERUSALEM". It took me a second to realize what exactly just happened. I didn't see the face of the person who screamed it, but there were two realistic options of who it could be. It was either a Jew or a Christian. Neither were good, but let me break them both down for you:

Jew:
If it were a Jew, that would mean he was most likely a non-religious Jew who knew the commandments and knew that we have an obligation to go to Jerusalem on Shavuot and was scolding me, as a religious Jew, for not following them. Why do I assume he was a non-religious Jew (as opposed to a religious one)? Almost every religious Jew ignores this mitzvah and assumes it is something that is supposed to be done "when Moshiach comes" (the usual excuse that golus Jews use to avoid following uncomfortable Mitzvot). It is the non religious Jews who know the commandments and don't find excuses through our "rabbis" not to follow them.

Christian:
If it was a Christian who screamed that out to me, that would have been such a terrible chillul Hashem that I was creating for so many reasons. Were this man a Christian, he would have known that our holiday starts shortly, and that this is the holiday that the Chosen People, the Jewish people, receive and accept upon ourselves all of G-d's commandments. One of those commandments is that we are commanded to go to Jerusalem three times each year and one of those times is Shavuot. Therefore, on the holiday that we are supposed to be showing our full acceptance of the Yolk of Heaven, I showed the exact opposite to this Christian who saw me blatantly ignoring this commandment, thus creating a major chillul Hashem. Why do I assume it was a Christian and not a Jew? If it were a Jew, he would have said "We should...", not "You should".

Either way, I am now entering this holiday ashamed and embarrassed of myself as I have shown to the gouyim the complete disregard that a Jew has for Hashem's commandments, on the holiday that I should be showing the exact opposite, full acceptance of G-d's commandments. May we all merit on this holiday to accept all of G-d's commandments fully, wholly, and unconditionally, including and especially those that make us feel less than comfortable.

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