Among the priests’ sacred tasks: to remove the ashes from the altar and deposit
them outside the camp. Before gathering
the sooty remnants of the previous night’s burnt offerings, the priest dons linen
clothing. Anyone who has worn linen
knows that it looks pristine for a few minutes; then it turns to a wrinkled mess.
And that ash stains.
It’s counterintuitive, then, for the priest to wear linen
for this particular job -- unless, that
is, he is supposed to get stained
from this sacred work.
What’s true for the priests of old is true for us
today: we are supposed to get stained. Many of us give tzedakah – it’s easy to stay pristine while dropping a dollar into
a slot or making a donation on line.
Many of us perform acts of g’milut
chasadim – feeding stray animals or returning shopping carts. That might wrinkle your clothes a little. But
the priest’s example should inspire us to do even more: to roll up our sleeves and be permanently
changed by helping others.
What do I mean?
Sitting with a friend as she gets chemo.
Cleaning out a senior’s rain gutters.
Inviting a single parent’s kids for a sleep-over. Speaking with a pan-handler human being to
human being. Teaching someone to
read. Building a house. Give of yourself till you feel it start to
change your soul. Then give more.
Shlomo Ben Meir Ha-Levi of Karlin taught:
“If you wish to raise a person from poverty and trouble, do
not think that it is enough to stand above and reach a helping hand down to him
and her. It is not enough. You must go down to where the person is, down
in the mud and the filth. Then take hold
of him or her with strong hands and pull until both of you rise into the light.”
So I ask you: What
will you do for others that is sufficiently substantial and intense that it
changes you, that you’re left with stains to show for it?
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