Founder’s Blog
The Hunger of Man
For all you Yom Kippur well wishers, those of you that posted notes on blogs, Facebook, and closed out our conversations, with "May your fast be easy:" Thank you. It was a great fast and an absolutely beautiful Yom Kippur. For me it was a day of being spiritually refreshed and was a time to re-focus on God.
Our services were a marathon--our morning service was the longest, it was three hours of prayer, repentance and Torah reading. The Haftarah reading for Yom Kippur, which came from Isaiah 58, was a very appropriate read during a day of fasting. These verses stood out to me in particular the phrase, "Is it not to share your bread with the hungry..."
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6-7)
Throughout the day I reflected on these words, and when time allowed I grabbed some books off the shelf to consider other views on this text. Here is a small section of the commentary found in the Artscroll Transliterated Linear Makzor (pg 256):
The verse, "Surely you shall divide your bread with the hungry," has a deeper meaning beyond the literal. The word bread can refer to Torah knowledge, as in the prophecy, "Behold days are coming, and I shall cause of famine in the land, not a famine for bread nor thirst for water, but there hear the word of HaShem" (Amos 8:11). Thus Isaiah is instructing us that if one is privileged to possess the bread of Torah knowledge, he should use it to enlighten others. The Rabbis continue and assure us that as a result of sharing one's Torah knowledge; one's own insight and wealth of Torah knowledge will be increased. Thus the responsibility of man to man on Yom Kippur includes the halachic concept of spiritual arvus, namely our responsibility for our neighbors' observance of Torah and mitzvos.
This commentary was encouraging to me, especially in light of my pre-Yom Kippur post, "Closing the Gates." I am ready to get back to the mission of sharing and teaching the wonders and beauty of the Torah to the people of God. In the morning service of the Yom Kippur Makzor that First Fruits is slowly developing we include this verse in a series of repetitions and reminders,
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth... (2 Timothy 2:24-25)
We have a lot of bread to share--let's work to satiate man's hunger. Practically, we can feed the needy participating in what James the Tzadik calls, "true religion." Spiritually we can share the bread of life, the Messiah Yeshua, to those that are lost and without hope. Pragmatically, we can live out the commandments of God being a light to all.
Let's share some bread with someone today.
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