כָ ל דִ כְ פִ ין יֵ יתֵ י וְ יֵ יכֹל
Anyone who is hungry let him come and eat...
Having founded an organization called Shabbat.com which provides a person with a place to spend Shabbat and enjoy the warm ambiance of another family anywhere in the world, countless lives have been changed. Being that I myself have many guests in my home each week, I decided that it would be a smart idea to host the Shabbat davening in my home as well. I therefore began to look for a Sefer Torah I could purchase. Researching the matter, I found an ad which said that a Sefer Torah was being sold for $35,000. Without further delay, I proceeded to head for the home it was located in.
As I entered inside, I was greeted by an old, secular Jew married to a gentile. He sat me down and we began to talk. After some time, I asked him, “How do you have this Sefer Torah?” “Well,” he said, “my grandfather inherited it from his father who was a religious Jew and had a little Shul in the Catskills. After the Shul closed down I inherited it from him. Here I am now stuck with a Sefer Torah which I haven’t opened in years and know nothing about. I do not learn Torah and have no connection to it.”
Hearing of this man’s predicament, I began to give him an inspirational talk I normally would give to irreligious Jews. I lectured him about Torah and the power of it bringing people back to their heritage. I as well explained how I wanted to have a Sefer Torah in my house so I could use it for the Shabbat davening and return Jews back to their roots. By the time I was done talking, he was in tears. He said to me, “I wish I had a rabbi like you sixty years ago. Now I am already an old man. But you know what? I want you to have this Torah for free. I want this little Torah to be put in your house and bring back as many Jews as it can.”
Unbelievably, I walked out of this man’s home with a $35,000 Sefer Torah for free. Now, all I needed to do was find an Aron Kodesh to store the Sefer Torah. And so, I went online to see if I could find one. After some time, I saw the title, “Religious Christian Aron Kodesh for sale.” I didn’t know what to make of it and if it would be worth my while to try, but I decided I would head over to the place where this Aron was being kept.
As I arrived, I was met by a Christian fellow. “Do you have the Aron?” I asked. “Oh, yeah, I have it. I received this Ark from a rabbi in Europe. It was an Ark which was taken over by the Church, and as you can see they put a little cross on top. Do you want it?” I wasn’t sure what to respond. Looking closely at the Aron, however, my eye caught sight of some inscription on the bottom. Bending down, I was able to make some words out: “Hinei lo yanum v’lo yishan shomer Yisrael” –“He [G-d] does not sleep nor slumber, the Guardian of Israel.” It was a Pasuk from Tehillim (Ch. 121). I was amazed. I immediately told him that I would take it. And with that I headed back home.
When I returned home, I removed the cross and placed it down in my basement. Putting my newly received free Torah in this Aron which had gone through Christian hands, I said to myself, “Isn’t this incredible? Here we are returning this Torah and Aron Kodesh to where they belong. We are uniting them and bringing them home despite all the trials and tribulations they have gone through. What a home this is going to be.”
Sukkot time arrived and I was approached by someone with a question. “I have this girl who is a mess. She is a misfit, on drugs, rebellious against her family and has run away from home. Could you take her in for Sukkot?” “No problem,” I happily said, “she can have a room in my basement.” As I took her into my home, I was in for a surprise. She sat at my table with her head down. She did not speak one word to anyone and was socially inept. I myself approached her and spoke to her a little bit, but otherwise she remained to herself.
By the end of Sukkot, however, she was a different person. She was talking, having a good time, eating with everyone, enjoying Yom Tov and doing all the requisite mitzvot. I didn’t know what to make of it. And so I went to ask her. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to you? When you came here you were ignoring everybody and you looked miserable. Now you seem to be the happiest person.” “Let me tell you,” she began.
“You put me in a room in your basement downstairs. As I was there and noticed the Aron and Sefer Torah, I began reminding myself about the story you told me about them. I was thinking of how they had gone on a long journey and finally returned home. And so, every night at midnight when everyone else was asleep, I would go over to the Aron and Sefer Torah and cry and talk to G-d. I said, ‘G-d, if You can find a home for this Aron Kodesh and Sefer Torah after being far away from their rightful home, You can do the same to me. You can bring me home too.’ With tears in my eyes, I told this to G-d every night. Now I feel like a new person. I have decided that I am going to be like that Aron Kodesh and Sefer Torah and return home.”
As we invite “everyone who is hungry to come and eat” we ought to remember that it is not merely a call for one to enjoy the Paschal Sacrifice and Yom Tov meal. It is a call for every Jew to nourish their hungry soul for Torah and reconnect to their Father in Heaven. We can never know what will bring a person back home to Yiddishkeit. Even one completely distant from any relationship with Hashem has hope of returning. No Aron Kodesh, Sefer Torah or Jewish neshama is ever to be given up on. Our loving Father always welcomes us home and tells us, “No matter where you are, you can return to Me and I will embrace you.”
