Newsletter September 8, 2011 - 9 Elul 5771
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Mastering Our Way Out
In Memory of Sarah bat Chaim Leib Taub
May her family be comforted among the mourners or Zion and Jerusalem
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Sometimes the best way to disappear is to make an exit even more impressive than the entrance. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were tossed into a fiery furnace heated 'seven times more than it was normally heated (Daniel 3:19).' They stepped out of the fire, their hair was not singed, clothes were not damaged, and they had not even absorbed the smell of fire. A grand exit it was, and they were promoted, and then, they disappeared.
Years later, their compatriot Daniel was thrown by a heartbroken Darius into a lions' pit. "Daniel was brought out of the pit, and no wound was found on him, for he had trusted God. The king gave the command and they brought those men who had slandered Daniel, and they threw them into the lions' pit, them, their children and their wives. They had not reached the floor of the pit when the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones (6:24-25)." It too was a great exit, but Daniel disappears from the story.
I already hear people speaking of their hopes and dreams for the new year. They are planning their entrance into 5772, but this week's portion, Ki Teitzei, 'When you go out,' reminds us that we have an opportunity and a choice about our exit from this year: We need not end the year with a whisper for we still have the opportunity to make a grand exit, ending the year with a bang; great accomplishments and new heights.
The opportunity is a choice: Many have had a difficult year. Earthquakes, hurricanes, financial challenges, difficult relationships, doubts and failures, can lead us to choose for the person we were to disappear from the scene. These people dream of the future as a new person, unrelated to the past, but the insignificant exit rarely allows for a significant entrance into the new year. Daniel and his friends disappear as major players in the story of Babylon and Persia only after their earthshaking exits, and reemerge in new roles as quiet visionaries. The people who are desperate to exit the year of being the failures they perceive themselves to be will only succeed if they learn how to make a grand exit from this year.
We have regular exits and entrances: We take three steps back before prayer, as if to exit our immediate surroundings, before taking three steps forward entering the world of prayer. We take three steps back at the end of prayer to exit, and then three steps forward to reenter the world changed by our prayer.
Parents escort a child to the Chuppah as she exits their world and enters the world of marriage. Bride and groom enter the Chuppah as an exit, and exit the Chuppah as an entrance into their new life.
The creation story speaks of exits and entrances, "And it was evening and it was morning," the time when one day ends and the other begins rather than, "It was night and it was day." The verses speak of transitions, one day exits as a new day enters. Interestingly enough, evening is first; the exit. We must master the exit before we can enter a new day, year, or world.
Each Shabbat is the end of one week and the beginning of the next. We use Friday night to exit the past week on a high note, preparing ourselves to grow into our higher selves for the coming week. We first master the exit, before we prepare for the entrance.
Whether our year was a fiery furnace or a lions' den, a spiritual Shabbat or a Chuppah of opportunity, we must master the exit to prepare for the entrance into an exciting, fulfilling and blessed future. I wish each of you a grand exit from this year so that you may enter the next with great expectations for an awesome beginning.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg President If you are interested in sponsoring our  winning Newsletter, please email info@thefoundationstone.org Go to our Blog  Follow us on Twitter   Become a Fan  |
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