Stones of Heart
"Some people have hearts made of stone. These (stones of the Kotel) are stones made of heart" (Rabbi Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, to the British High Commissioner of Palestine.)
There is a Mitzvah for a person who loses a close relative to "sit Shiva". One of the Shiva observances is to "tear Kriyah", which means to tear one's garment near the heart, as an outward expression of the grief felt in the heart. Some people tear a tie or a ribbon placed above the heart. Ideally, one should tear the actual garment (shirt and/or jacket) covering over the heart. On occasion, if somebody asks me my advise, whether or not to actually tear their shirt or just tear the tie or ribbon, my response is that the memory of dear, departed relative is worth a good shirt.
A lesser known Jewish Mitzvah is the custom to "tear Kriyah" when a Jew arrives at the Kotel and sees the stones of the last remaining wall of the Temple Mount. Yes, we have been mourning the loss of Holy Temple for 2,000 years, and Jews have been tearing their shirts for Millennia to express this loss at the sight of those precious stones.
As a closet hoarder (pun intended), I never throw any of my old, faded shirts out (or anything else in my clset, for that matter. So, I retain a collection of my I refer to as my: "Kotel shirts", meaning, old, faded shirts that instead of throwing out, I'll save them for my next trip to Israel, and I can wear and tear an old, faded shirt, instead of a good one. I guess I wasn't listening to and applying my own advise, that the memory of our Holy Temple is worth a good shirt...
One of the lessons that Charile Harari taught us on our most recent (AWESOME!) Israel trip, was to keep our eyes open for "HP moments", moments when we see incidents of Hashgacha Pratis, Divine Providence.
Here's (one of my) Israel HP moments: The last few times I was privileged to come to come to Israel, I brought along an old faded shirt to "tear Kriyah" at the wall. Mysteriously, each time, something happened to that shirt and I was forced to tear my good shirt. Last time, the shirt somehow ripped. This time it got left behind on the airplane. So, I ended up tearing a good shirt, I felt the pinch for a few moments, but then felt really good about it. I had sacrificed something valuable for a truly higher purpose. Lesson duly noted: Tear a good shirt next time. (In honor of my wife, another lesson duly noted: Clean out my closet - learn how to purge once in a while!)
HP moments happen everywhere, especially in Israel! Let's keep some Israel inspiration alive here in CLE, and bring some Israel home with us by keeping our eyes open for HP moments. When you notice it, log it and please share the moment with us.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Koval
