I recently returned from a spectacular Shabbat in St. Louis. I reconnected with old friends, made some new ones, spoke many times, and gave a number of �Spirituals.� My hosts went out of their way for me in every way but one. They made sure I was comfortable, and that I had plenty of gluten-free food. A friend of theirs brought over some of the most awesome meringues I have ever eaten. Now, you will agree, I�m sure, that it�s only fair that the gluten-free treats should be reserved for the person who can only eat gluten-free; after all, everyone else can eat almost anything. Sadly, my hosts, as attentive as they were to everything else, allowed their daughter to openly steal some of my meringues! I suspect that you are as shocked as I!
I decided to keep my eye on the thief; one can never be too careful around meringue thieves! Can you believe that the thief began asking questions about Halacha? I wanted to lecture her on, �Do not steal,� but was uncomfortable pointing out her terrible sin in front of her parents. Is it possible for a meringue thief to truly care about Halacha?
She certainly is sincere. She is meticulous in everything she does. She has a great mind and a huge soul. She is passionate about God. It seemed that the only chink in her armor was her meringue stealing. I generously decided to give her the benefit of the doubt: There is an Halachic concept that could lead her to believe that she was doing a Mitzvah.
A host must go out of his way to make his guest comfortable eating as much as he wishes without feeling that he is eating too much. The host should provide a sense of plenty so the guest will not hesitate to eat. The meringue thief wanted me to feel that there were enough meringues for everyone so I could eat as many as I desired.
God did this in Eden when He presented �Every tree pleasurable to see and good to eat,� insisting that Adam sample all, before restricting him from the single Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
God did this at Sinai when He said, �You shall be to Me a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation,� before He made any specific demands. First, the sense of unlimited possibility.
The Ten Statements begin with, �I am God, your Lord, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery,� a celebration of freedom and potential before, �You shall not recognize the powers of others in My presence.�
My meringue thief is the magnificent person she is because she was raised with that sense of possibility, potential and plenty. She was only trying to share it with me. I just wish she stole something else, a vegetable perhaps�
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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone� is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.
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