Coming or Going? (adapted from Rabbi Y. Tauber)

Now here’s something interesting:
 
This week’s Torah Portion begins: "When you  go out to war on your enemies..."
 
Next week’s Torah portion begins: "When you  come in to the land...."
 
That’s right. Whenever we do anything, we're either going out, or coming in. And there’s a proper time and place for both these modes of being.
 
The bulk of our time on this earth is meant to be occupied by effecting a change and ‘waging a war’. Whether that change be earth-shattering or one that is scarcely felt, we can only make a difference if we’re willing to “go out” and leave our comfort zone.
 
The enemy we’re facing may be an antagonist armed with guns and hate. It may be a conspiracy of ignorance and apathy. Or it may simply be the status quo, the "way things are." We are all supposed to be warriors, for we each harbor that G‑d-given conviction that we were born to make a difference.
 
But not every moment of life is a “going out” moment. There are also times when we must “come in”.
 
There are times when we turn the arrow of life inward to our own center and essence, and to the center and essence of the people, objects and phenomena in our lives. When we desist from the quest to "make a difference" and seek, instead, to uncover and strengthen our essence within — the Divine changeless essence that has always been there and always will be, and which requires no action to actualize, only a settling in to its tranquil core.
 
King Solomon, the wisest of all men taught us: "There is a time for war and a time for peace."
 
While, the bulk of our lives ought to be consumed with the endeavor to “go out”, to wreak change, and to better the world, there is a time “come in”.
 
“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest”. In order to be effective in our ‘wars’, G‑d has given us the gift of Shabbat; that weekly opportunity to regroup; to form an island of tranquility.
 
Indeed as we prepare to enter this 25 hours oasis, let us collectively and individually recommit ourselves to our mission, replenish our ammunition, revitalize through Torah and prayer, and prepare for the year when we’ll finally win the cosmic war and bring about the ultimate change – the coming of the righteous Moshiach!
 
Fruma and our children – Malka, Yankele, Shimi, Mendel, Mushka, Riva & Rachmiel –join me in wishing you a Shabbat Shalom. May you and your family be inscribed and sealed for a Shana Tova – a sweet new year!