No man is an island. I am not alone, nor are you. We are all part of community that relies on one another. This week’s parsha, Matot, stresses the tension that exists between individual needs and passions, and communal responsibilities. God tells Moses that he must wage war against the people of Midian. This, however, puts Moses in a serious bind. His problems are twofold. One, he has a close connection with the Midianites, as his wife is one of them. And two, Moses knows that after he completes the job God tasked him with, that he himself will die. God makes this abundantly clear. Even with these personal conflicts, Moses immediately obeys God’s command. It is in this parsha that the Torah teaches us the important lesson of knowing when to put the community before your personal desires.
Think of the soldiers that are fighting for their communities right now. Specifically, think of all of the Israeli soldiers that have put aside their old lives in order to follow through with the responsibility they accepted to protect their country. They put their personal passions that they had before the army on hold and realized what their communal duty was. People that we all know and love have been a part of this. We are blessed with the presence of seven wonderful Israeli staff members that know the struggles of putting your life on hold for the army. My co-counselor from last year and a girl that was in Tuscarora with me both realized their responsibility to their community and joined the army.
Now, I am not telling you that risking your life in battle is the only way to put the community before yourself. Next time your bunk is in a fight, take a step back and think is there a way to improve the community of O-1 or M-4 or whatever your bunk may be? Challenge yourself to compromise and simply let your bunk-mate have a piece of candy if that is going to bring peace. Challenge yourself to be a leader in your village during fight song prep if other campers are complaining. You may not like it yourself, but your positive attitude will be contagious. So with the few days left of the session think about this—am I putting myself before my bunk, village, camp, or Jewish community? And more importantly, how can I change that? Because no man is an island.
David Jevotovsky
Judaica Director
