Like many people, I spend a good chunk of every day working at the computer. All our contacts are safely stored on my computer data base, in fact our entire Chabad operation is pretty much dependent (in a lot of ways!) on the computer. Moreover, because it’s usually so reliable, I’ve become dependent on it. Bottom line is, my computer is indispensable.
But this week it happened, I finally faced the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death. If you’ve ever faced it, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The computer encounters a critical error from which it cannot recover and simply shuts down—and not in the good way. Often nicknamed the BSOD, it gets its name from the color of the screen generated by the error. So I desperately tried turning on and off my computer, but it was a no-go. I knew I needed someone more experienced to look at it, so I called my friend—a computer expert.
Thank G-d, most of my documents are saved on an online storage system, so that wasn’t an issue. But without my computer I essentially can’t work. I needed it fixed!
So, my friend came to my office and performed a number of tests on my hard drive, and then took it with him. A few hours later, voila! He returned my computer in perfect working condition!
“How did you do such magic on my dying computer?” I asked him gratefully.
“My tests showed that your hardware and software are in order; sometimes a computer just needs to switch off, be rewired, and then it’s like new again. I basically just wiped your computer clean and then reinstalled everything,” he explained.
When he said that, I was reminded of this week’s Torah portion and the lessons we learn from it.
We learn that the punishment for speaking slander and gossip is white spots similar to leprosy. It was a spiritual ailment, not contagious leprosy. When a person was infected with this leprosy, he or she was banished outside the camp for seven full days—basically, solitary confinement. During those seven days, the gossiper would have time to focus and reflect on the gravity of the sin and the rifts he or she caused.
When the seven days were over, the offender would be able to return to the camp, rewired, revamped, re-energized. In order to slander another, the slanderer is obviously in a bad place himself! He tried to create animosity between people, so he is banished to be “rewired.” He needs time to deprogram, clean out, and then reprogram himself correctly. The seven days of banishment creates an environment conducive to self-reflection, change and focus.
The truth is, most of us could use some time out as well. We’re busy, we’re tired, we work hard. We rush from home to work to meetings to coffee to TV shows. We drive our kids to ballet and basketball and yoga and soccer. Even when we go on vacation, we don’t really switch off.
Sometimes, we need to take a conscious step back to escape the daily rush. Like the computer, we need the occasional shut down so that we can continue working and living at full capacity.
We don’t have leprosy to shut us down, so we need to do it ourselves, and we can do it in a positive way. We have shul. We have Shabbat candles. We have tefillin. We have the nightly shema. Coming to shul is a great way of shutting down and tuning into ourselves. Lighting Shabbat candles and saying the nightly shema really allow us to turn inwards—we even cover our eyes. Putting on tefillin each day gives us a daily energy boost. When we switch off, and focus on the mitzvah we’re doing, we’ll emerge re-energized, calmer and more peaceful—all without being banished from the community for seven days!
Sandy Finkelstein wrote...