One afternoon this week, while driving my car, as soon as I stopped at a red light, the air conditioning began blowing hot air. It was a hot day, and the air conditioning was on at full blast, so the effect of the hot air was immediate. As soon as I began driving again, the air reverted to being cold.
A few summers ago, the air conditioning in the same car stopped working altogether. It took a while before my mechanic properly diagnosed the problem and was able to fix it. Throughout that time, my drives were hot and sweaty. So when the air began blowing hot air at every stop, I was annoyed and concerned.
I drove to the mechanic and described the problem. He popped open the hood and peeked inside. In under a minute, he surmised that the fan that circulates the cold air was not working properly, so the air wasn’t blowing. While I drove, the air blowing against the car was able to push the fan and circulate the air. My mechanic assured me that the fan would likely stop working altogether within a few days.
What’s $500 between a mechanic and a client? My mechanic ordered the new part and installed it, and thankfully, my drives are cool and comfortable again.
It was intriguing that although the air conditioner was producing cold air, I wasn’t able to feel it because the fan wasn’t circulating that air.
The Jewish People are the Chosen People. Many Jews have no idea what they are chosen for. Some feel we were chosen to be targets for the world’s enmity and derision, and therefore they try to escape their chosenness.
The truth, however, is that we were chosen to be the ambassadors of G-d in this world.
King Louis XIV once asked the 17th-century Roman Catholic philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal for evidence of the supernatural. Pascal replied, “Why, the Jews, Your Majesty, the Jews!”
G-d created the world and entrusted us with the mission to spread His word and His presence throughout the world. Truthfully, our mere survival is the clearest indication that there is a divine hand guiding the world. But it is our Torah observance and tenacity in maintaining our heritage and traditions that demonstrate divinity in the world.
The Kotzker Rebbe quipped that “G-d is to be found wherever we let Him in.”
G-d created the world with the potential to be a medium of holiness, but He left it in our hands to promulgate His Presence. In a sense, it is our mission to be the fan that spreads the spirit of G-d throughout the world.
One of the many lessons our rebbe, Rabbi Berel Wein zt”l, would often repeat was that every Jew must feel a sense of mission and purpose. We can’t just leave divine matters to the Divine and assume Heaven will take care of it. Rather, Heaven has endowed us with the awesome responsibility to partner with Him.
The Mishnah states, “The Name of G-d should be loved through your efforts.”
Rabbi Wein would note that the barometer we use to decide how to conduct ourselves must always be, “Are my actions spreading love of G-d in the world?”
In his commentary at the beginning of Parshas Shoftim, Seforno notes that after delineating laws that apply to individuals, the Torah now begins to address the mandates of leaders—those who implement and enforce the laws of society.
One can never think that those laws don’t apply to him because he is just a layman. Every Jew must feel that he is a leader in whatever manner he can influence.
The month of Elul is a time for introspection and contemplation about whether we are living up to our own aspirations and potential. That includes reflecting on how much we are carrying the torch and reflecting Torah values in our daily conduct.
We are not fans in the sense that we are not spectators. But we are fans in the sense that we bear the formidable responsibility to circulate divinity wherever we go and in whatever we do.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is a popular speaker, columnist, and author. He is a rebbe at Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, NJ. and principal of Mesivta Orchos Yosher in Spring Valley, NY. Rabbi Staum is also a member of the administration of Camp Dora Golding. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and at www.strivinghigher.com.