Everyone in the world is a slave to something, whether they admit it or not. Some are slaves to pop culture, and their lifestyles imitate that which the media portrays. Others are slaves to being "non-conformists," and we all know that all non-conformists dress exactly the same. Every master has details dictating how to serve properly. A child in school is ostracized for wearing the wrong brand of jeans, or sneakers, because those aren't the ones the popular media personality wears. There is a lingo for every slave; a rebellious child swears a lot, the preppy child not at all. Whatever the stereotype is, we all find a way to conveniently "fit in." These details fill no purpose other than peer acceptance. A person feels good about himself when he "fits in." He feels like a somebody when he obeys the structured details. But a closer look at why we obey these societal details will reveal that at the end of the day... who cares?!
People feel a desire to identify with something bigger than they are (It says in Mishlei, "HaNefesh Lo Temalei"). Whether it's a company they work for, or a nationalistic pride, or support for the local sports team, everyone finds something to make him part of a bigger group, something more important than just little old him. The question isn't, "Do I identify with something bigger than me?" The question is, "What do I identify with?" Is it going to be a master that is a passing fad? Or do we identify with a master who is lasting? If you identify with the latest popular media personality, if your identity is the latest trend and your identity will change with the coming of the next, who are you? If your identity is simply, "not what everyone else is," who are you? Even if your identity is "An American," what is that? It's not what it was in the fifties, that's for sure. This is a very depressing question, but we all have to think about it. Who are we?
The Jewish idea has always been that we are more than just a passing fad. Our master is a lasting one, he is infinite, he lasts longer than forever. And just like all other masters have structured details, so does ours. Our details are called Halacha, and it guides our every action, and thereby our every thought. People sometimes ask, "Why are their so many silly, little details?" People never ask this when they get dressed in the morning and wear a certain brand of shoes, and only a specific kind of shirt. They don't ask this when they speak a certain way around certain people. People fail to recognize all the "silly, little details" they observe all day, because they are so brainwashed by society. They don't stop to think, "Maybe it doesn't have to be this way." The Jewish people only ask, "What does Halacha say?" Because these are the details we have to live by, for they were given by the highest source. The Jewish people refuse to be slaves to anything other than that which they have to be enslaved to. Why be a slave to a slave?
G-d's details aren't there to make people more popular. They aren't there to help you "fit in." G-d's details are a means (aside from a few specific exceptions) to the goal of perfection of the individual, and thereby the Jewish people, and thereby the world. Whereas society gets caught up in the various details, the Jewish people are to use G-d's details as a means to a goal. For example, we have an obligation to visit the sick. Why is it an obligation? People would visit the sick anyway, right? Yes, but only when they want to, only when it makes them feel good (not to mention those goodie-goodies who do things they hate, because it makes them feel SO good...). The Torah commands us to visit the sick, so that we will do it when we don't want to. Because by doing things when we don't want to, when it's difficult, we build our personality. The first time someone goes to visit someone in the hospital, they don't enjoy it much. It has that weird smell and there are sick people all over... The next time he also doesn't enjoy it, but it's a little easier. The next time he kind of enjoys it. By doing all these external details, these Mitzvos, we build our personality. Doing the right thing when it's not easy, is what builds us. But why? The goal isn't to enjoy it, we don't internalize these values so that we can all be goodie-goodies. We do it because we want G-d to be in our world, in everyday reality, and these details are the only way we can do it, because these are the details that G-d has given us.
In this weeks Parsha we have one of the most famous lines in the Torah, "Shema Yisroel, Hashem, Elokeinu, Hashem Echad." This phrase is speaking in the philosophic sense. Hear, in your innermost self...
The next verse, that is not in the Parsha, is "Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuso LeOlam Vaed." Rav Blachman explained this verse as follows: Whereas the first Pasuk is speaking in a metaphysical sense, this one is speaking in a realistic sense. It means, "G-d, I wish I could see you in the street." In the metaphysical sense, I know you are out there somewhere, but I wish you would come down here where I can see you. When a Jew identifies with something greater than himself, he identifies with G-d. But sometimes, especially in this generation, when everyone is out to prove that life is all about having fun, and there is no such thing as responsibility, it's really hard to see Him. Sometimes, when we are really down in the dumps, we look up at the stars and say, "I wish I could see you down here." Some explain that Baruch comes from the word Berech - Knee. It means, bend down Hashem, come down here.
This generation has a hard time internalizing the idea of a transcendent reality. And for thinking people, it's a real problem. Conceptually, they understand that there is this thing called G-d, but it doesn't effect them in the least, because they can't relate to it. And their life lacks purpose because of that. Their lives are filled with meaningless details, and they know it. So they spend most of their time getting drunk (Either literally, or doing those things that allow you to not think as much as possible). They can't translate G-d into their everyday lives, so they fill their lives with whatever everyone else does. They become slaves to slaves, to the popular fad, as we explained before. They don't realize that if they would use the details, it would put G-d into their lives.
If a person wants to reveal G-d in the world, he has to put Him there. You can see G-d in the street, but you have to be looking. If you want to see G-d in a pickle, go find out what the Halachos are, relating to a pickle. G-d has given us details regarding every aspect of our lives. Eating a pickle can be a spiritual experience. Not because you sing for an hour first, we're not talking about an emotional experience, we mean a real, spiritual one. A spiritual experience by definition is one which G-d dictates. So what does He say about a pickle? Well, for starters there is a Bracha. "Baruch Ata Hashem..." Come down here G-d, I want to see you in this pickle. And there is a Bracha AFTER eating it too! For every action, there are Halachos, there are details, because it's only through these details that we can see G-d in the world. We have to want to see Him in the street, then once we want to, we have to look for him. The way we do it, is with silly, little details. We express him in every action we do. He's there somewhere without us, but he's not expressed in the world unless we express him. The Religious experience is expressing G-d in the world, bringing him into the street, seeing him in the most mundane of places. We have Halachos for EVERY aspect of life, no matter how low and mundane, because the Jew's job in the world, his identity, is bringing G-d into the world. What a Jew identifies with, is Halacha, because that is who he is, it is G-d's wisdom, it is bringing G-d into every corner of man's experience, it is bringing spirituality into mundane reality. That's the way we do it, with silly, little details.
When you really love someone, you desire to (and actually do) see them everywhere you look. Everything that we think and do can be an expression of our love for G-d. Halacha gives us that pleasure. There are so many details, because that's how much we love Him.
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