Who Am I?
They tell the story about the "wise man" from Chelm. He worried that when he went to the public bathhouse where everyone is unclothed he wouldn't know who he was. Without his own personal set of clothing to distinguish him from others, he might suffer an identity crisis. So he devised a plan. He tied a red string around his big toe so that even in the bathhouse he would stand out from everyone else. Sadly, when he was in the shower, the water and soapsuds loosened the red string, and it slipped off his big toe. To make matters worse, the red string floated along to the next cubicle and twirled around the big toe of the fellow under the next shower.
Suddenly, our Chelmer genius discovered that his string was gone. He started panicking. This was a serious identity crisis. Then he saw that the fellow next door was sporting his red string. Whereupon, he ran over to him and shouted, "I know who you are, but who am I?"
Weeks sometimes go by and we might experience ‘spiritual amnesia’. In the course of our busy schedule we seem to forget our family, our history, or our identity. "Who am I? Where do I come from and where am I going?"
Unfortunately, all too often it takes something negative to give us a jolt and remind us. But on this Shabbat, as we now find ourselves in the most joyous month of the year, just 9 days before the most joyous holiday – Purim, let us celebrate who we are through joy.
Each of us is a child of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sara, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. We have a rich heritage and a G‑dly destiny. So let’s act upon it and let us let who we are become revealed in all that we do. Let’s do a mitzvah today!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
