Hi! I'm Tzippy the bird. I was flying by when I heard how love and awe of Hashem are compared to wings of a bird! Every Mitzvah that you do is precious and when you do it with love and awe of Hashem, the love and awe become wings for the Mitzvah and they help your Mitzvah fly straight up to Hashem.
My trip to Florida will have to wait. I want to help teach the children about the third of the Aseret Hadibrot, "Do not make an oath using the name of Hashem, your G-d, in vain," and I want them to understand how it relates to awe of Hashem.
The last time I flew by you learnt about how much Hashem loves you from the first two of the Aseret Hadibrot. Hashem loves you like a parent loves his child. He took you out of Egypt with love and doesn't want any form of idol worship to get in the way of your relationship with Him.
There is another emotion that you need to feel, that can be learnt from the third of the Aseret Hadibrot. Lightening, crashing waves, a rainbow, sunset... this evokes... Awe, Respect and Fear before Hashem!
Imagine hiking in freezing cold weather. You see a warm blazing fire at the campsite ahead. You wish you could fly, but run instead, towards the fire to warm yourself up, but you also know to be careful, from fire you need to be fearful. The same is true with your relationship with Hashem. You need to express your love by doing Mitzvot so that you could get as close as you can to Hashem. At the same time you need to express awe, respect and fear by not swearing in the name of Hashem for no reason.
It was fun watching a game where the kids had many different cards with examples of oaths. They divided them into four categories. Obvious facts, false facts, Impossible actions, and swearing not to do a Mitzvah.
Here are some examples of oaths that I won't make.
1. I (will not) swear in the name of Hashem that I have two wings.
2. I (will not) swear in the name of Hashem that I have four legs.
3. I (will not) swear in the name of Hashem that I can make a scrapbook.
4. I (will not) swear in the name of Hashem that I won't help and care for other birds.
You should also treat the written name of Hashem with respect. If a book with Hashem's name falls on the floor you should quickly pick it up and kiss it. The Torah scroll is covered with a beutiful velvet covering and is kept in a special ark. When the Torah is taken out, you all stand up and kiss it lovingly. The Mezuzah is kissed whenever you enter or leave your homes (or nests) and the Tefilin is also kept in a special velvet bag and kissed when you take it out and before you put it back.
When holy books, Torah scrolls, Mezuzot and Tefilin can no longer be used they are called Sheimot which means names (of Hashem) and are not thrown out in the garbage. Instead they are placed in Geniza, which means hidden, a special place designated for Sheimot, or they are buried under the ground.
The kids had fun picking up all the papers that were scattered on the floor,(it's too bad that there weren't any papers on the ceiling,) and deciding which papers could go in the garbage and which should go into the home made foam Sheimot box. When no one was looking I peaked into the garbage and there were some papers with interesting words on them, like peanut butter, socks, chocolate chips, ketchup and crayons. Do you think you could explain those words to me in bird language?
Bye for now! Tweet tweet tweet!
No comments:
Post a Comment