Turn Your Gold Into Silver
by Rabbi Moshe Peretz Gilden
Chaver Kollel
The Magen Avraham (OC 581: 9) records the Shelah Hakadosh revealing to us a powerful way to prepare for a blessed year. The Chazan for Rosh Hashanah and the Ba’al Toke’ah (Shofar blower) are enjoined to intensify their abstinence from all forms of defilement beginning three days before Rosh Hashanah. The Chasam Sofer explains the significance of abstaining for specifically three days. Our sages teach us that when a seed is planted, it can germinate in as little as three days. We are presented with the opportunity to plant the seeds of Teshuva and Ma’asim Tovim for three days, in anticipation of the sprouting of one’s salvation on Rosh Hashanah.
It seems elementary to me that this opportunity is not only reserved for the Chazan and Ba’al Toke’ah. Rather, as indicated by the Chasam Sofer, anyone who wishes can take advantage of planting seeds which will bear fruits of a gut yohr.
For better or for worse, we can get used to anything. Listen carefully how the Torah, in this week’s Parshas Nitzavim (Devarim 29:16), describes the abominations of Mitzrayim to which the Jewish people were exposed.
וַתִּרְאוּ֙ אֶת־שִׁקּ֣וּצֵיהֶ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת גִּלֻּלֵיהֶ֑ם עֵ֣ץ וָאֶ֔בֶן כֶּ֥סֶף וְזָהָ֖ב אֲשֶׁ֥ר עִמָּהֶֽם׃
“And you saw their [idols abominable as] insects, and their [idols detestable as] dung, their idols of wood and stone, silver and gold that are with them” (based on Rashi’s commentary)
Horav Shraga Kallus (a popular teacher and Posek in Eretz Yisroel) exposes a message found here, hidden just beneath the surface of the simple meaning. When our nation first came to Mitzrayim, they saw abominable activities which were as interesting to them as lowly insects. Our ancestors found no benefit in these acts, and they dismissed them with a wave of the hand. However, persistence prevails, and the Egyptian practices became something significant. Although metaphorically foul smelling and disgusting, our nation gained appreciation for them. They recognized the practical functions of idols, just as dung is detestable yet a necessary byproduct.
Overtime, the Jewish people adapted further, seeing these customs as beneficial as wood, and then as stone and then even as valuable as silver. Finally, their attitude changed to the extent that they saw the Egyptian idols as precious as gold, worthy of being kept safely in their private homes. How far the Jewish People had fallen!
In every part of life, we have no choice but to engage with both the holy and the mundane. Whether we embrace the upcoming days of closeness to our Father our King with excitement over our privileged connection to him, or with awe and fear over our standing before Him, we must examine not only the content of our actions, but the state of our attitudes. The joy must not leave us free-spirited, and the awe must not cause us to despair. We are implored to measure carefully whether our perspectives are in line with those of the Torah. The challenge is that we become accustomed to who we are, and what we do. Our service to Hashem, which encompasses both our relationship with Him and our interactions with others, may not occupy the place of honor which it truly deserves. On the flip side, perhaps we esteem our necessary pursuit of worldly matters beyond what is appropriate. In these days preceding Rosh Hashanah, and throughout the Ten Days of Teshuva, we have an opportunity to plant the seeds of a clearer outlook. Let us take an accounting of what things we view as gold that in truth are silver and what things we treat as mere silver that are actually precious gold.
Ke’siva Va’chasima Tova.