The case of “Prisoner X”, Ben Zygier, who was allegedly a Mossad agent until his mysterious death in an Israeli prison two years ago, has been in the news since last week and shows no sign of quieting down.
We don’t yet know exactly what happened, but it is speculated that he compromised Israel’s national security. He was held at Unit 15 in Ayalon Prison, a special wing of the prison reserved for the most dangerous criminals. His cell was isolated from the rest of the wing through a door only prison staff can enter. His death in December 2010 has been ruled a suicide.
The Baal Shem Tov taught us to look for lessons in everything that happens to us and around us.
What can we learn from Prisoner X?
We are about to celebrate the joyous holiday of Purim. Chassidic teaching explains that on Purim the Jewish nation truly accepted the Torah which we received at Mount Sinai. At Sinai, we were charged with a mission: elevate the world. We became agents.
Like Mossad agents who spend years training, our souls spend time “training” before descending into this world and entering our bodies. Our souls spend years basking Divine radiance, learning the sublime secrets of spirituality and preparing for their mission here on earth. Finally, the soul is ready. It’s charged with a sacred task: enter the physical world below and live undercover.
Blend in with society. Live like a regular person, but know that you are not. In fact, Haman himself described it very clearly, as recorded in the megillah: “There is a nation who dwells in your kingdom,” he says to Achashverosh, “but they are different to everybody else.” They don’t eat what we eat. They don’t work when we work and they don't pray like we pray.
Our task is to transform the darkness of the world into light. When we say a blessing on food, and then use the energy we got from eating it to do a mitzvah, we’ve elevated that food. When we do business, but give a chunk of the money to charity, we are elevating it. This is our mission.
But, it’s actually a very dangerous mission. Because every time we lie, or steal, or simply miss out on doing a mitzvah, we actually threaten the security of our entire nation.
We are all connected. We are many individuals, but one nation; one entity. So when one Jew sins in the privacy of his home, he affects not just himself, but the entire nation. In fact, it’s even more serious than that! Maimonides teaches us that the entire world is being judged at all times. There is a giant heavenly scale – on one side it holds all the mitzvot, the good deeds, kindness and Torah learning since the beginning of creation. On the other side sit the sins. At every juncture, we need to envision that the scale is evenly balanced, and our next action could tip it in either direction. So what will I do? Will I sin or do a mitzvah? If I sin, the entire world will be judged negatively. If I do a mitzvah, I can bring Moshiach.
Fortunately for us, G-d is more forgiving than the Mossad. Even if we fail once, He forgives and allows us to repent. He gives us another chance to succeed at our mission.
With Purim right around the corner, this is an opportune time to remind ourselves of our mission and our roles as agents of spirituality and elevation in this mundane world. We have a job to do – let’s hop to it!