Near Conversion, part IV
Peter’s kippah takes leave of his head as it begins an airborne escape down Pratt. A chase ensues. It is Shabbat morning, and Peter with tallit trailing behind like a super hero’s cape, looks as comical as he is eager to capture his displaced kippah.
Triumphantly Peter captures his kippah. He repositions the kippah and his face glows as he contemplates his manager’s comment yesterday. "Imagine!" Peter's manager declares, "What a day it is when an observant Jew can openly wear a kippah and dispatch unruly, uneducated movers!” Though secular and unobservant, Peter’s manager is a Jew. Peter latches onto the label “observant Jew.” He thinks about these words as they offer him a sense of belonging and identity.
After service, Peter remains at the shul for Kiddush and warm cholent. One of the community members offers a d’var Torah related to הַחֲסִידָה (ha-chasidah, “stork” in Lev 11:19) and its uncleanness.
“הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah) is the feminine form of chasid (pious/merciful one),” Rich* explains. “Why is the stork called הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah)?” he pauses. “Because it shows kindness to its offspring and to the offspring of other stork parents. Storks live in colonies, and the parent storks will feed the offspring of other parents. Also, the stork walks uprightly or piously and so it is הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah),” Rich stops again.
Rich asks, “Why if הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah) is such a noble beast, is it unclean?” The question is rhetorical, and he resumes, “The הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah) is kind to its own—to its own species. However, הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah) does not care for others outside of its own kind, its own species. This is why she is unclean.”
Rich’s homily is then applied to family and congregational cliques among Jews. He asks for those present to consider other Jews who might be in need of compassion in order to reach out to them.
Peter’s mind grasps the imagery of הַחֲסִידָה (chasidah). Peter finds the intra-Judaic horizon of Rich’s homily too narrow and far from the mark idealized in the prophets. Peter mentally connects passages:
מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים, וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ “Kingdom of priests, and a holy nation…”
לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם “…a light to the nations…”
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid.”
The warm April wind presents a challenge to Peter’s kippah and this last passage compels Peter to thought. It is a statement from Yeshua recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.
* Name changed to protect privacy.
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2 comments:
Sounds like a "Spirit breeze" came along with the April wind, directing your thoughts towards Yeshua.
What is cholent?
Did the non-observant Jew resent you being observant?
Hello Maureen,
Cholent is like a stew that is cooked on very low heat and eaten for Shabbat lunch in Ashkenazi homes. It can be made of any meat-vegetable combination that you could imagine. Our's was typically beef, potatoes and carrots.
No, the non-observant person never resented me. I later took his job when he stepped down! And he worked under me. He always respected me for my Torah observance both as a conversion candidate and as a believer in Yeshua.
kol tuv,
PeterS (Tzuriel)
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