A man is walking down the street when he sees a magnificent new car. It has just come from the factory and is still wrapped in protective plastic. For no apparent reason, he picks up a stone, throws it at the windshield, and shatters it.
The owner jumps out, furious.
“You insolent fool! Did I do anything to you? Do I even know you? Why did you break my window?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the man replies. “I regret it. Truly, I don’t even know why I did it.”
“Regret is not enough!” the owner shouts. “You broke the window, so you will pay for a new one. Is that clear?”
“Yes, it’s clear. How much does a new window cost?”
“Twenty thousand shekels.”
“Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? I don’t have it.”
“That doesn’t interest me. As far as I’m concerned, go wash stairwells if you have to. I want my twenty thousand shekels.”
The man takes out his wallet, unzips it, and begins rummaging through the coins. Curiously, he never touches the compartment in the back where the bills are kept.
After searching for a few moments, he pulls out a one-shekel coin.
“Here is one shekel toward the debt. The rest is a bit much for me right now. I don’t have any more at the moment.”
“Are you out of your mind?” the owner explodes. “What do I need your one shekel for? Am I a poor man collecting charity? You broke my window, and now you treat me like a beggar! Pay what you owe!”
My friends, that is the mashal.
It is not difficult to understand the car owner’s reaction. After suffering such senseless damage, who would consider a single shekel to be meaningful payment?
And what about us?
HaKadosh Baruch Hu has given us life in abundance. Hashem has given us a world and everything within it so that we may serve Him properly. And what does Hashem ask of us? Simply this: Take care not to destroy My world.
When a person sins, damage is done to the world, much like the man who picked up a stone and shattered the magnificent windshield.
Then Rosh Hashanah arrives.
A person stands before Hashem and says, “Master of the Universe, it is difficult for me to change. It is difficult for me to undertake significant resolutions.”
The person searches for some small kabbalah to accept—something that will not dramatically alter the course of his life.
It seems almost like the man who shattered the windshield and then produced a single shekel, asking that it be accepted toward his enormous debt.
And on the strength of that single “shekel,” a person turns to Hashem and asks for an entire year of blessing: a good year, health, parnasah, and blessing for himself and his entire family.
What tremendous kindness Hashem shows us!
Instead of rejecting that small offering as insignificant, Hashem gives us the opportunity to return. Every sincere good resolution, even a small one, can transform the person who accepts it into a baal teshuvah—someone who has begun the journey back to Hashem.
A person should enter Rosh Hashanah recognizing the extraordinary kindness contained in this opportunity. Our small beginning is not dismissed. Hashem allows us to offer that first “shekel,” to take a genuine step toward change, and to begin again.
Rabbi Leeor Dahan, a graduate of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim/RSA, is a noted scholar and teacher, well-versed in halachah. He currently leads Kehilat Avodat Hashem in Hillcrest, Queens, inspiring his congregation to delve into Torah study and embrace its eternal teachings.
The Great Kindness Of Rosh Hashanah
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