This past week has been quite busy to say the least, for good reason, thank G-d: On Tuesday morning just after midnight our latest addition arrived, a sweet little baby boy! Thank G-d mom and baby are well and we’re gearing up for the Bris next week.
Important milestones in life tend to trigger reflection about life in general and all the important themes that relate to it. Especially the birth of a child, even when it's not child #1 – it never become routine :-).
Every parent has dreams about how they wish their child to grow up; every parent hopes that their child will be a source of nachas.
It’s no coincidence that this week we begin the third book of the Torah, Vayikra. In Rabbinic literature it is referred to as Torat Kohanim, the laws pertaining to the kohanim, the priests who served in the Temple. This is also where the name Leviticus, which roughly means “relating to the Levites,” is derived.
There is an important lesson that the Rambam (Maimonides) shares (Hilchos Shmita 13:12-13). In discussing the reason that the tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance in the land of Israel (or spoils of war), he writes: “Because they were set aside to serve G-d and minister unto Him and to instruct people at large in His just paths and righteous judgments.”
After elaborating a little about the Levites, the Rambam concludes: “Not only the tribe of Levi, but any one of the inhabitants of the world (note – he specifically doesn’t limit this to Jewish people) whose spirit generously motivates him and he understands with his wisdom to set himself aside and stand before God to serve Him and minister to Him and to know God, proceeding justly as God made him, removing from his neck the yoke of the many reckonings which people seek, he is sanctified as holy of holies.”
My greatest wish for my newborn son, and all my children, is that they should live to personify that which the Rambam writes and, to paraphrase the Rambam, I hope that they have the strength of character and spirit to successfully remove from themselves the expectations of this physical world and it’s short-lived thrills and pleasures and dedicate their lives to serving the Almighty.
And I hope I can do this too!