A
Thought Before the Pesach Holiday
The
Ben Ish Hai Quotes the Gemara Brachot Daf ה
Amud
ב a
story of a king who had two advisors, one a Jew and one a gentile.
The king wanted to be certain that these two trusted aids would
continue to be around to give him good council.
One
day, the king seized the infant sons of both advisors. The king
ordered the gentile baby circumcised so that no one would be able to
tell the children apart. He told the advisors that the babies would
be raised personally in the palace by himself and the queen, and that
thy would be returned in six years.
The
Jewish advisor protested, using as a pretense that his son must eat
only kosher food. The king responded that both children would be fed
only kosher food. There was nothing that the poor father could do. He
told himself and his family that at least the child would be returned
in six years.
At
the end of 6 years, true to his word the king summoned his two
advisors to retrieve their children. The king pointed to two young
boys resplendent in royal robes. The Gentile went and took one boy
at random.
The
Jewish advisor sat down and began to weep. The king, concerned, asked
what was the matter. The Jewish advisor told his king that he cannot
choose at random as the gentile did, he requested that his child be
returned to him.
The
king, not understanding, said that the two boys had been raised
together as brothers, and were the same. No one could differentiate
between them (remember: this was in the time before anything was
known about genetics or DNA testing).
The
Jewish advisor was adamant, and told the king that he had a plan to
determine which boy was his son. The king was intrigued and allowed
the Jew to arrange his experiment.
First,
with force of the kings law, he ordered the gentile advisor to return
the child he had taken.
Next,
two rooms were set up, each containing one gold plate full of
separate grapes and one containing a large cluster of grapes.
The
Jewish advisor explained that the his son would take from the cluster
while the gentile child would take from the plate of individual
grapes. The boys were led into their respective rooms, and observed.
As
the advisor had predicted, one boy took from the grapes, one from the
cluster.
The
king was surprised and demanded an explanation. The Jewish advisor
explained that inherent in the Jewish psyche is the reality of being
part of the group. The nations revel in individualism, as the
individual fruits in the bowl, without any group consciousness.
Jews
are different in that, although we are individuals, there is also
the experience of being part of a larger entity, Am Yisrael.
In
this Spirit, Hasdey Avot has distributed Kimhe D'Pischa packages
including Shmura Matza, Meat, Chicken, eggs, and other items
necessary for the Seder and Hag to nearly 2000 deserving families.
Our
recipients include large families living at or below the poverty
line, Single parent families, and families struggling to pick
themselves up after tragic loss, or, the dislocation brought about by
Israel's abandonment of Gush Katif and Northern Shomron.
To
fulfil this Mitzva, without leaving anyone out, Hasdey Avot, has
taken on considerable debt.
These
debts must be repaid so as not to hinder our many other charitable
works.
We
are appealing to you to give generously, to help us to help those in
need living in and around the holy city of Kiriat Arba/ Hevron.
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