blogs/rabbi-huberman

When she pulled the broach pin out, she realized that she had stabbed a snake which had been hiding in the wall.

The snake had been poised to strike her in the chair where she had originally been seated. But because she had moved from her original place to help the homeless man, it was she who killed the snake, rather than the other way round.

Rabbi Akiva sighed, and then smiled. "You have done a good deed, an act of charity," he said. "And charity can save us from death."

In other words, we can, through acts of kindness, re-master whatever fate awaits.

There are two reasons that the story of Rabbi Akiva's daughter is one I like to tell this time of year.

This Wednesday, Yom Kippur, as was the case last Monday and Tuesday on Rosh Hashanah, we look to the future, and ask the heavens during the U'ne'taneh Tokef prayer, "Who will live and who will die?"

The prayer, likely written about twelve hundred years ago, ends with a mysterious triad. It tells us that Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah (Repentance, Prayer, and Charity) can positively influence God's decree.

Is that what we believe? Can it be so simple?

I cannot say for sure, but this is what I know.

When we repent -- that is, when we say we're sorry and mean it -- or when we sit down with someone with whom we've had a misunderstanding and work things out, I believe we can clear our hearts of the rubble which steers us off a pure, centered, and peaceful path.

And when we pray -- when we focus on our souls, rather than our physical needs -- I believe that we can "return home" to the best that we can be.

And when we give to others -- time, money, love, compassion -- we rid ourselves of egotism, cynicism, and self-absorption.

Perhaps, as the story of Rabbi Akiva's daughter teaches, when we incline ourselves to hear the pain of others, we can actually alter our mindset and our fate.

The story of the ancient bride also reminds us of one of the most important Biblical readings of the year.

This Yom Kippur, following the formal Torah reading, we will chant the Haftorah which is pulled from the pages of the Book of Isaiah.

It questions whether God is satisfied if all we do is fast. Asks Isaiah, "Is this the fast I desire, a day for people to starve their bodies?" Rather, says Isaiah, it is more important "to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the poor into your home, and when you see a naked person -- clothe them." (Isaiah 58:5-7)

Our tradition teaches that we must never perform a mitzvah with the intent of receiving a reward. Yet the Yom Kippur liturgy goes to great pains to remind us that -- while fasting, tapping  

our chests and repenting may be good for the soul -- God's creation is best served when we focus on others, particularly those in need.

The Kabballah, our mystic tradition, teaches that, while we may not directly benefit from our good deeds in this lifetime, all the positivity that we place into the world floats into the world to come.

Once we are gone, we are reunited with that energy. We call that space heaven.

During this time of introspection, on Shabbat Teshuvah -- the Sabbath of Return -- let us consider how much soul space is being taken by the needless grudges and conflicts we carry.

It's time to come home.

Let us have the courage, particularly from now to Yom Kippur and beyond, to say a quiet prayer as we commune with God, the creator, as we reconnect with that quiet voice within.

And let us consider changing the destiny of another person, and perhaps our own, by donating time or money, or by visiting the sick or saddened, and, as Isaiah reminds us during our time of reflection, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and improve the lives of the homeless.

Rabbi Akiva's daughter provides us with an example of how whatever destiny awaits this coming year, we can potentially enhance it by placing others first.

By so doing, we can improve our lives in ways which only the heavens can know, as we seal our own fate in the Book of Life.

On this Shabbat, I remember the daughter of Rabbi Akiva. We may not know her name, but her example endures forever.

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Shabbat Shalom. G'mar Chatimah Tovah. May we all be blessed and sealed in the book of life, happiness, health and peace.

Rabbi Irwin Huberman