FOR LECH LECHA
BUGGING REMINDERS
Earlier this week, I was in the North Georgia Mountains on a routine Kosher-supervision commitment.
As it turned out, I was not the only guest to arrive in that region. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources had just released hundreds of thousands of Asian ladybugs onto the mountain. And they are simply everywhere. They fly, they crawl up and down sides of building facing the sun, and they easily enter homes.
The Department of Natural Resources hope the ladybugs will make their ways to the trees. Threatening and plaguing the Hemlock trees – a type of evergreen – are small insects called “Hemlock woolly adelgid.” This exotic pest, which made its way from Asia, is found today in the Eastern United States.
This species of ladybug feeds exclusively on this wooly tree-eater insect. Mass releases of hundreds of thousands of ladybugs have netted positive results in previous years.
The ladybug is unique in that it is not harmful or annoying to human beings in any way, unlike many other insects. It is, in fact, immensely helpful to people. Despite its tiny size, it consumes large quantities of plant pests, especially aphids. They are also remarkably “friendly” insects. They can be held in the hand without flying away, and they will crawl freely over people without stinging, biting, scratching or tickling. People are not “grossed out” from them. Some actually consider them a good omen.
It is possible that their polka-dotted wings gave them a name as “lady.” In Yiddish, as well as in modern Hebrew, their name is associated with Moses – to this day!
Their greatness notwithstanding, they were very much in the way this past week in the mountains where they were released. People were wondering how to get rid of them from the walls and windows. Those who realize their immense benefit, though, were careful to escort them away from human homes and into the woods. Most people appreciate seeing them around, since they serve as a reminder of their immense benefit to nature, and ultimately to people as well.
Reminders should always appreciated. Reminders, of course, can also be annoying. Items such as alarms, phone calls, and people popping in, can rub people the wrong way. But that is the idea: not to forget, not to be late, or not to miss something important.
Reminders and signs are prominently featured towards the end of this week’s Torah portion, “Lech Lecha.” The Torah records two instances of physical signs being impressed upon the patriarch Abraham.
The first sign, or reminder, came when the Almighty promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants – which, according to the Torah, was Abraham’s son, Isaac, his son Jacob, and to all his children. In the words of the Torah: “G-d said to him (Abraham), ‘I am G-d… giving you this land as an inheritance.’ He (Abraham) said, ‘Almighty G-d (give me a sign) through which I can know that I will inherit it.’ He said to him, ‘Take for Me three heifers, three goats, three rams, a turtle-dove, and a young bird.’ Abraham took all these, and he cut each one into two parts…. Then a smoking furnace with a fiery torch (signifying G-d) passed between these parts. On that day, G-d struck a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘I have given this land to your descendants.’” (B’raishis (Genesis) 15:7-20.)
The Almighty promised the Land to Abraham previously, as recorded in the Torah. This, instead, was a covenant. An unbreakable commitment between the Almighty and Abraham and his descendants. Possession of the Holy Land of Israel was obviously that important to both the Almighty and to Abraham. Not only did Abraham not suffice with the Divine promise by requesting a sign, the Almighty, knowing the importance of the Land, obliged to do this unusual physical act, and then had it recorded in the Torah.
That is, though, just the first sign. A second sign is featured two chapters later: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, G-d appeared to Abram, and said to him: ‘I am the Almighty G-d! Walk (in my ways) before Me, and be perfect. I will place My covenant between Me and you…This is my covenant… You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it will be the sign of a covenant between Me and You. At the age of eight days, every male shall be circumcised.” (Chapter 17.) To this day, circumcision is simply called “Bris,” or “covenant.”
The Almighty made two covenants with Abraham, first using animals, and then on the actual skin of the person. The first covenant was for the Land and its connection with the Jewish people, and the second was for the personal relationship with the Almighty.
The difference between the two is in the reminder: the first covenant was a one-time ceremony. It is recorded in the Torah for posterity, but there is no constant reminder of it. The second one is on the person’s flesh. There is no getting away from that reminder.
It is clear and obvious that the Holy Land is crucial and vital to the Almighty, to Abraham, and to his descendants. The promise of the Holy Land of Israel to the Jewish people is the singular, most discussed issue in the Torah. The Land occupies such importance that of all things promised, Abraham requested a Divine sign for it.
Yet, the Jewish people have managed to continue as a people even in the unfortunate absence of the Land. As critical as the Land is, it is not a constant necessity. A one-time reminder and sign, plus a continuous repetition in the Torah, are sufficient to emphasize its importance.
In order to be a Jewish people, however, a direct and constant bond is necessary. And that comes with a steady, unbroken, and persistent reminder. Because, without the consistent connection, there is no G-d and there is no people. [According to the Talmud, women are born with an innate reminder, unlike men who, in addition to the perpetual reminder, are obligated to perform more obligations than women for the same reason.]
Like everything else, reminders come and go. The alarm clock does not ring all day. The messages stop after a while. The ladybugs move on to the trees to eat their favorite bugs. The greatest connection of all, however, between man and the Divine, can never, and will never, be separated.
SUMMARY:Some reminders in life come and go. Some are more annoying than others. The Bris reminder is constant, because its message is for all eternity.