Dvar Torah Parshat Tzav: Making Room in our Hearts

Parshat Tzav:  Making room in the heart

My heart was once just like a home

With many rooms and open doors

And I always let love in

It would change the rooms around and then

Leave them empty

'Til one by one I locked each door

And soon forgot what love was for

But I never gave up hopin'

So I left just one door open

In case you found me

So there's a room in my heart for you

If your trust has been stolen too

If you walk softly on this worn out wooden floor

And leave behind you the hurt you've had before

There's a room in my heart for you

We'll paint the walls from blue to white

And set the mood by candlelight

Together we'll keep out the cold

And I'll still be there when we're old

If you'll let me

So there's a room in my heart for you

If your trust has been stolen too

If you walk softly on this worn out wooden floor

And leave behind you the hurt you've had before

There's a room in my heart for you

(-Faith Hill)

With terrorists dealing out death and destruction to innocent civilians here and abroad, recently more than 30 murdered at the Brussels airport and metro on the same day, with a presidential campaign that has been charged, emotional, and often challenged the grand spirit of thoughtful debate laid out by the likes of the great Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over 150 years ago, we may feel overwhelmed by the amount of loss, by fear of the unknown, to the point that our hearts feel numb, and so we turn inward, turn up the music, turn up the TV, drown out and distract ourselves from the world’s painful noise.

We find in our prayers and in our  parasha today a call to action to do just the opposite.  

Take a look with me at the Second paragraph of Alenu, the section of this daily prayer that turns our attention outward to the world.  We ask God to perfect the world, that the wicked of the world will turn to God in repentance, that we will be humble and remember that we are mortal, finite, flesh and blood, each of us with unlimited potential to do good, each of us a blessing. 

While the heinous actions of terrorists such as those who perpetrated the attacks in Brussels and elsewhere do not deserve an iota of our compassion, there is still a chance, however slim, that we could influence those who might turn to terrorism to choose a different path.

Alenu demands from us that we at least pour our hearts out in this hope, however faint the hope may feel.

Alenu demands from us we leave one door of our hearts open.

Today we read God asks of Moses, “Ve’et kol ha’edah hakhel el petach ohel mo’ed.”  Gather the whole community in the tent of meeting – Now this tent for sure cannot hold the entire nation…right?

The Rabbis see it differently:  The Great Rashi brings down a Midrash, as the Rabbis teach us, the Tent of Meeting is one of the places where despite its small size it can somehow accommodate many more people than we think. 

What an amazing thought, that the holiest of places, by a miracle, can make room for everyone, that the Mishkan/Tabernacle/The Tent of Meeting, the physical and spiritual heart of the nation as we wander the wilderness, can make room for the entire people – everyone – the good, the wicked, the repentant, the as yet unrepentant, believers, non-believers, children, grown-ups, seniors, everyone.

Now the prophet Jeremiah knew, as we do, that, quote, “The heart is devious or capricious of all things…who can understand it?” (17:9)

Our attention is often short, our ability to process the most painful news and images is not unlimited.  We have to keep our feet planted on the ground so we can be available to ourselves and to those we love.

Still, we have more room in our hearts. 

When we recite Kaddish today – let’s open up a place in our hearts for the victims in Brussels, and push back on the fear instilled by terror, we’ll keep out the cold, and send the love out.