I recently gave a lecture at the Kfar Shaul mental health facility in Jerusalem. A young girl, who was hospitalized there, raised her hand and asked,“ Am I dispensable to our society? Would you hide Kfar Shaul if you could? I often feel broken and flawed, like a product that was manufactured with a defect.”
“God forbid,” I told her, and suggested that we do an experiment together that a wise teacher once did with my class. I asked the audience, “Would you like to see a one-of-a-kind wonder?”
“Of course,” they replied.
“Look at the tips of your fingers and find your fingerprints.”
Everyone looked at the tips of their fingers.
“Your fingerprint is a one-of-a-kind creation,” I explained, “There is not another one like it in the entire world. There never was nor will there ever be another person with your unique fingerprint. This is an important reminder for us: God created each one of us in His image by specific design, giving us our own unique light to share with the world.”
I invite each one of you to examine your own fingerprints. Let us remember that each and every one of us is wanted, beloved, and important. May we all fulfill our own unique missions with joy.
The Fallen Sukkah of David
During Sukkot, when we recite the Grace After Meals, we add, "May God raise for us the fallen sukkah of David." We ask God to restore the nation of Israel, which has fallen, and lift it up. This blessing is based on a prophecy from the prophet Amos, where God declares: "On that day I will raise up the fallen sukkah of David." But why compare us to a sukkah? Why not a house or a palace, or something else?
Our commentators explain that when a house falls, it is destroyed. You can’t restore it; you need to build a new one, and that takes a long time. A sukkah, by contrast, is flexible. It shudders in the wind, and storms knock it down, but it can always be reassembled – and it is the same with us. The sukkah symbolizes Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Jewish nation.
Rashi explains that this phrase is essentially our story – after all the exile, suffering, and troubles, redemption, comfort, salvation, and revival will come. On this upcoming holiday, too, we plead: “May God raise for us the fallen sukkah of David.”
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin and Janine Muller Sherr
Want to read more by Sivan Rahav Meir? Google The Daily Thought or visit sivanrahavmeir.com