ChinuchAtHome

This sweet-smelling, spotless stack of clean linens went through the wringer to achieve its present, pearly-white status. First of all, it was drenched in 140 F' water, tumbled hundreds of times, exposed to soap and bleach, spun-dry at 500 rpm's, and then dumped in a hot-air dryer for more punishment. If that wasn't enough, each piece of this stack was then sentenced to a steam iron for more purgatory-type punishment. You'd think that nothing would remain of these linens, but finally, they're folded and placed in a place of honor, fit for a king's linen closet. There's no easy shortcut for achieving impeccably white linens.

With the above in mind, we're better prepared to understand what King Solomon wrote in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), 9:8, which we'll be reading this Shabbat in the synagogue - "At all times shall your clothes be white." No, King Solomon was not peddling washing machines; he was referring to the soul.

A negative thought, utterance, or deed all cause blemishes on the soul. A transgression of one of the Torah's commandments is to the soul what a giant mud or grass stain is to a freshly-laundered garment. During the previous six weeks that included the month of Elul, Rosh Hashonna and Yom Kippur, almost all of us experienced an unusual amount of trials and tribulations, both in quantity and in intensity. This was laundry time for the soul, to prepare us for Succos.

The Zohar teaches us that not only do the souls of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, Aaron, Joseph, and David visit us in the Succah, but the Shechina HaKedosha, or the holy Divine Presence, does so as well. To receive such honored guests with soiled garments is an embarrassment that defies description. Therefore, since we didn't have the strength to do the level of tshuva that would really cleanse our souls, Hashem helps us along and does the laundry for us. The rough times - the hot water, the wringer, and the hot iron - are all for our own good. Just as the laundry is certainly not angry at the washing machine, dryer, and iron, we shouldn't be angry at Hashem for our difficulties in life; they're all for our ultimate benefit.

Happy Succoth and Shabbat Chol HaMoed. Enjoy your taste of the World to Come.

--- source: ---

--- LazerBrody.net ---

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