Service to G-d and observance of His commandments does not occur in a vacuum. Neither does the overall experience, of all that we define as constituting our “life.” Thus, service to G-d needs to happen in actuality; service goes beyond faith – it is faith in action.
Moreover, without clear social or vocational moorings, and a place in community, Torah observance can become abstract, in terms of only being limited to study, without an actual arena to put one’s values into practice. For, it is only in actuality that one’s values actually take root in one’s character. (I am speaking from my own limited experience).
To put this into other words, “no man is an island;” that is to say, that human beings are relational beings, and the Ten Commandments make it clear that our relationship and responsibilities are to both G-d and man. The first five commandments relate to G-d, and the second set of five commandments have to do with societal laws.
For myself, as an introvert bordering on a recluse, especially since the onset of the pandemic, I do not often have the opportunity to be put to the test in regard to the values that I express in my writing. Furthermore, recently on a seven-week extended journey to the East Coast, it seems that I fell short of the mark on various occasions, whereof I did not exemplify the values that I would otherwise claim as my own.
This became a greatly humbling experience, in recognizing that there was a disconnect between what I studied and wrote about (based mostly on the Biblical principles of my faith), and the actual attempt to demonstrate those values in real life. So, now, I’m back to the drawing board, well, the keyboard and computer screen, admitting my human frailties.
For the religious, the faithful, and the pious, our character is only tested in the real world, outside the pages of Torah, the narratives of the Patriarchs, and the message of the prophets. Yet, we hope to carry their words with us, and one day to have these teachings engraved upon our hearts. Until then, we should pray for that realization, wherein we will be able to take the G-d inspired words of kitvei kodesh (holy scripture) to heart.
Breathing Room 