A fellow once approached a Jew he met in a synagogue and asked him to point out the “tzaddik” (saintly person) of the congregation. “Don’t ask me such questions. I’m not a regular here,” he responded.
It’s unclear to me why this response bothered him so much, but in any case, he wrote a letter to the Rebbe asking for guidance in understanding the significance or inner meaning of the exchange. Here is a free translation of Rebbe’s answer written in Hebrew short-hand.
“There is an important lesson here. No need to search for the Tzaddik in another Jew. Rather, find the Tzaddik within your own soul. As described in the Talmud, before your birth the heavenly court administered an oath to your soul to be a Tzaddik and you were provided the necessary strength to fulfill this oath. You just need to reveal it practically.”
This week, in addition to reading the weekly Torah portion of Mishpatim during synagogue services on Shabbat, we will read from a second Torah a portion titled Shekalim. In Holy Temple times there was an obligation for every Jew to contribute the value of a half shekel to a communal fund that paid for the daily communal sacrifices in the Holy Temple.
Our sages relate that when G-d commanded Moshe “Let each one give to the L-rd an atonement for his soul…half a shekel,” he had a hard time understanding the commandment until G-d showed him a fiery half-shekel coin taken from under G-d’s throne.
Moshe knew what a half-shekel coin was but he was perplexed by a curious law about this mitzvah. If a Jew refused to donate the half-shekel coin to the Holy Temple the authorities were mandated to seize it from him by force. How could a forced donation serve as an atonement for the defiant Jew’s soul?
The vision of the fiery half-shekel illustrated that the annual half-shekel was not about money or obedience. It represented the Jew’s soul - often called “the flame of G-d”; the essential connection to G-d which can never be diminished nor quantified. Everyone gave the exact same amount and it could be seized involuntarily because at our core we are all the same, whether we accept this fact or not. We only need to reveal the divine flame within.
Certainly, we must seek out role models and learn from teachers and mentors how to be better Jews, but never forget that the essential connection to G-d depends on you alone. And if you encounter someone who has no interest in Jewish living and you encourage them to begrudgingly do a mitzvah, know that that mitzvah is invaluable to G-d and will eventually reveal the passionate Jew within.