Scooby Doo and Yom Kippur Too
Whenever we take a long-distance family trip, one essential item which we make sure to travel with is a portable DVD player and a nice, big pile of DVDs to keep the kids occupied for the 7-plus hour drive.
I have spent many years of fatherhood at the wheel of our various cars while the movies played in the background. Granted, from the vantage point of the driver I can only receive the audio component, but nonetheless I have become very familiar over the years with a number of children’s shows. For example, the plot in Scooby Doo movies is always EXACTLY THE SAME! Someone sees a ghost, they call in the “gang,” Shaggy and Scooby are hungry, Fred sets a trap that fails, Shaggy and Scooby accidentally catch the “ghost” who is not actually a ghost, but is really Mr. Fluttermutter who was just trying to scare the locals etc. Be that as it may, as annoying as those videos are, the sweet sounds of Velma and Shaggy are music to my ears when compared with the grating noises of children fighting with each other over who saw the truck first, among other hotly debated issues.
With that being said, it is a long-standing tradition that before a trip we head to the local library to pick up a collection of DVDs, the thought process being that getting them from the library is more educational. Oh, and they are also free.
The problem is that I have actually had to spend quite a decent sum of money over the years to pay for these “free” videos. You see, too often my wonderful children will misplace some of the DVDs resulting in overdue charges and, on more than one occasion, charges for being lost completely.
All too frequently I would come to the library to check out some new items only to be rejected by the librarian for having too large of a fine to pay. After recovering from my shock at how much I owe, I will usually ask if there is a way to get the fine reduced. Some librarians have been more flexible than others (shout out to Marlene from the UH library!) and others have stuck to their guns.
On one occasion I was told by the librarian that while she could not reduce the fines for me, the library was offering a program where for every can of food that a patron brings in they will take off a dollar from the balance.
I went home, faced with the choice of taking a second mortgage on the house in order to pay the fines or tracking down every can of food in the house that was not being used anyway so that I could trade it in at the library.
In an effort reminiscent of the search for chametz, I set out to find those cans of food to be traded in. Bag in hand, I began my search. Can of carrots? Into the bag. Two cans of peas? Into the bag. Canned artichokes? Definitely into the bag. Can of little chocolate pieces? Straight into … the pantry. (Duh!)
Loot in hand, I headed to the library to clean up some of my balance.
Enduring the shame of the librarian looking up my account and announcing (seemingly in a voice meant for the entire library to hear) that I owed quite a hefty sum, I handed over the bag of goodies.
When all was said and done the fines were reduced to a more manageable amount until the point where taking a second mortgage was no longer necessary (although finding a second job still was).
We stand now during a period of the Jewish calendar which is woefully misunderstood and drastically underappreciated.
The High Holidays is a time when Jews of all stripes, backgrounds, upbringings and levels of observance come together to pray. But how many people actually appreciate this season? Most people I know dread it. They come to shul because this is what their parents did and/or they feel that it is a mandatory rite of passage as an upstanding member of the Jewish people.
In reality, this is the most amazing time of the year! Let me explain.
Throughout the year all of us accumulate tremendous “fines” and “debts” to G-d by virtue of shunning the blessings He bestows upon us and repaying him with flaunting His will and not following His commandments. By the time the year is complete we are so far in debt on the spiritual ledger that a second mortgage wouldn’t BEGIN to cover it!
So G-d gives us a 10 day amnesty period every year, beginning on Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur. He tells us, “Go home and gather some good deeds and positive lifestyle changes that you can 'trade in' for the upcoming year and I will wipe away some of that debt.”
In essence, G-d is granting us the incredible opportunity to go home and collect the “peas” and “carrots” and other cans which have anyway been sitting on the shelf collecting dust, i.e. some small changes in our lifestyle that we can tolerate “giving” to G-d (careful, of course, not to part with the precious chocolate bits or other goodies, i.e. mitzvot that we feel are too hard for us to sincerely accept at this moment). And, in His infinite kindness, G-d allows us to bring this bag of rejected “cans” to Him as we trade them in for a chance to wipe away some of the balance. In fact, G-d says “My child, I see that you are really trying to improve. I will consider the debt completely wiped away on account of those few cans of peas and carrots and we can begin the New Year with a new slate!”
Is this not reason enough to celebrate this time of the year as opposed to dreading it?! What an incredible opportunity!
So as we stand now just days away from the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, I encourage you to search through your inner “pantry.” Take an inventory check and see which paltry items you can bear to part with this coming year. Maybe it’s trying to observe a little more of Shabbat. Or kosher. Or charity. Or being kind to someone else. The list is endless.
Just take that first step.
And when you come to the synagogue on Tuesday night for Kol Nidrei you can hoist that bag up onto the counter and tell G-d that you are ready to make the exchange. Sounds like a sweet deal to me!
(Just make sure you don’t include the Scooby Doo video. I’d hate for you to not know how it ends.)
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
