This morning, David, an exterminator originally from Romania, came to my house to spray some pesticide. Earlier this week our landlord had a tree removed which must have displaced an army of ants, and it seemed that they all decided to decamp to our home.
It didn’t take too long and he was done but he wasn’t ready to leave - he had a Jewish question. With the Menorah in front of our house, the mezuzahs on every door and the yarmulkah on my head - he somehow deduced that I’m Jewish. He wanted to know if we believe in the New Testament and the so-called Messiah that it promotes.
I explained that we do not believe in him - not as a so-called Messiah, nor a prophet and of course not the “son of god.” And we consider the New Testament to be a fictional work, at best. He was shocked! I had confirmed all the rumors that he had heard about Jews.
But he was very curious as to why we believe differently than him and we had a very respectful conversation. As sensitively as I could, I explained that as Jews we follow the Torah - what he might refer to as the Old Testament. And being that the Torah tells us not to follow false prophets, who tell us to change the Torah - even if they perform miracles - we wouldn’t follow his so-called prophet/Messiah either. We discussed what the Messiah is supposed to accomplish and noted that none of it has yet occurred.
I shared with him some resources for further study and then he left. As he left, it occurred to me that it’s perfect timing to be discussing the details of the imminent arrival of the true Messiah and the belief in the one true G-d of Israel. You see, this week’s Torah portion contains the prophecy of a non-Jewish prophet named Balaam. He is the one who first prophesied about the future redemption.
Additionally, this weekend begins the Three Weeks, a period of mourning and introspection commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. But it’s not only about mourning the past, it’s also about looking toward the future - anticipating the ultimate redemption with Moshiach. The very destruction and devastation contain the potential for the renewal and rebuilding.
Everyone knows that as Jews we don’t proselytize; we don’t seek out potential converts to Judaism. We’re comfortable enough in “our own skin,” we don’t need to get everyone to agree with us. But many people are not aware that we do have the responsibility to promote the belief in one G-d; the idea that this world was created with a purpose and it’s up to us, collectively, to fulfill it.
But in order to teach and share, we have to be aware - we must be well versed in our own heritage. Expanding our Jewish literacy is so integral - it’s literally the key to the future. How can we raise proud Jewish children, if we don’t know enough ourselves? How can we properly answer a question from an exterminator (or anyone else that asks) - if we’re not experts in our own heritage? How can we be proud and observant Jews if we don’t know what it is all about?
It’s always a good time to add in Torah learning, but this season it is even more relevant. Take out your calendar and look at it; find some time in your day and schedule it. We schedule meetings and doctors appointments - why not schedule Torah study too?