With many freshmen starting university this month, parents know there is a big difference between entering a new dorm room and actually fully moving in.
This week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins: "When you come into the land that G-d is giving you."
The Hebrew word Tavo means "you come" or "you enter."
But starting to enter the Promised Land isn't full "entering". The verse continues, Veyarshta veyashavta bah ("You shall take possession of it and settle in it").
What this means is that when the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel in 1273, that didn't happen overnight. It took seven years to conquer the land and another seven years to divide and settle it among the tribes.
Entering was only the beginning. For fourteen years they were in Israel, but they weren't yet fully settled there (and therefore certain parts of Jewish life and law were not yet applicable)
This dynamic between entering and arriving helps us appreciate a special day on the Jewish calendar that we celebrate this coming week (but you might not have heard of yet).
The date affectionately known as 'Chai Elul', refers to the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Elul, and is the birthday of two large historical personalities who changed Jewish life and Jewish thinking forever.
The first of these figures was Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, born on this day in 1698.
On his 36th birthday, he began publicly teaching a new approach to Jewish life. He taught about the preciousness of every Jew, the power of simple faith, love for another person, and serving G-d with joy. In short: infusing soul inspiration into Eastern European Jewry.
It was revolutionary. Within a relatively short time, the Chassidic movement spread across Eastern Europe and transformed Jewish life. (read more on this epic part of history here )
Then, on this same date in 1745, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad school of Chassidic philosophy , was born.
He took the Chassidic revolution further into new vistas of human development and actualization.
He felt that faith and inspiration are wonderful. But what happens when the inspiration wears off? Or if you move out of the warm Shtetl life into an unfamiliar environment (like millions of Jews did in the 1880s when they immigrated to the USA and Western Europe from Eastern Europe)?
Rabbi Shneur Zalman taught that the deepest ideas about G-d, the soul and the purpose of life can actually be studied and understood by our minds. They can move from something we believe or feel into something we think about, understand and make part of ourselves.
(That's actually what the word Chabad means. It is an acronym for three Hebrew words CHochmAh, BinA & Daat, describing the mind's wisdom, understanding and knowledge.
And that is the connection to this week's Torah portion of KI TAVO.
It's possible to enter a land without yet being settled there.
And it's possible to encounter a powerful idea without allowing it to really enter our lives.
We all have moments of inspiration. A meaningful experience. A powerful idea. A moment when we feel connected to G-d or recognize something larger than life or deeper within ourselves.
But Tavo ("entering") is only the beginning.
Full entry means Veyashavta ("to settle in") — arriving fully, with your full self and all parts of yourself.
It means taking the big ideas and enormous potential of our souls and translating them into every part of regular life, even into our patterns of thinking.
How we speak to someone at home. How we begin our morning. How we respond when we're frustrated. How we make time for helping others. How we bring a little more G-dliness into our ordinary work day.
Because the deepest ideas aren't meant to remain somewhere above us. They're meant to change how we actually live.
So perhaps the question of Chai Elul is simple:
What is one idea you believe deeply, but haven't yet fully "moved into"?
And what is one small thing you can do this week to make that idea part of your everyday life?
Shabbat Shalom/Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yitzi Hein
P.S. If the notion of bringing soulful ideas into everyday life speaks to you, you might enjoy a daily Zoom class I lead on the Tanya, the classic work of Rabbi Shneur Zalman.
We meet Monday–Friday, 9:10–9:30 AM, discussing Tanya in English and in simple, practical terms that connect to everyday life.
Join us anytime at JewishPittsford.com/zoom. If you want to get text reminder before the class text 585-286-6147 PLEASE ADD ME TO CLASS LIST