Seeing the Bigger Picture

By Avi Eisen
Montclair State University

During the month of Tishrei, we experience many different emotions: happiness from a new year, pleasure from things we have accomplished, sadness from things that have happened, anguish from things we have done to others and hope for the future. The haftarah for Yom Kippur Minhah reflects this high level of emotional turmoil, especially during the High Holidays.

I was a counselor at Camp Ramah this past summer and one of my jobs was that of a mediator, trying to solve problems that arose between campers. Sometimes, a camper would tell me that the decisions I made were unfair and too compassionate to the other person. The haftarah reflects this type of situation through the prophet Yonah, who is sent to Nineveh to inform the people residing there of the error in their ways. Yonah expects God to demonstrate for the people of Nineveh what would happen if they sinned again. Instead, God accepts their repentance, causing Yonah to storm out of Nineveh, grieving for a population he believes has not learned.

God then explains this decision:

"You took pity on the kikayon for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow; which materialized overnight and perished overnight. And I – shall I not take pity upon Nineveh that great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right from their left, and many beasts."

Yonah grieves for a kikayon (commonly defined as a "tomato plant"), which is such a minor thing. Why should he show more grief for this plant than he did for Nineveh?

We grieve for many minor things: test scores, school grades, the loss of a sports game, mistakes we have made yesterday, mistakes we have made years ago and bad hair days. Do we grieve for the innocent bystanders in Iraq who are neither American soldiers, nor Iraqi terrorists? Do we grieve for the Arabs who are neither part of the corrupt Palestinian government, nor the terrorists involved in suicide bombings? Do we grieve for the citizens of New Orleans, who have lost their livelihoods in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? There are so many things that we complain about from day to day that we often fail to see the bigger picture. The final section of Sefer Yonah tells us to be open to the things going on around us and not to mope about our own trivial problems.

We find ourselves in many situations over the course of our lives; situations we are encouraged to reflect upon during Yom Kippur. These things are never easy to do and it takes a lot of inner strength to face these situations. Yonah faces only a fraction of these challenges in the haftarah, showing us that, no matter their status, every person has fears they need to face. The greatest challenge is not just within our lives, but also within us. It is our hope that we confront our fears in order to become better people.

Avi Eisen is a sophomore at Montclair State University, leaning toward a major in education. He has been to Israel four times, one time to learn Hebrew in a Kibbutz environment for five months. Avi has also been on staff at Ramah Berkshires for the past three summers, and works as an assistant to the advisor of two Kadima and USY chapters in Northern Jersey. This is Avi’s first time writing for KOACH on Campus. However, he has written short essays regarding Conservative Judaism for the Shefa Conservative Activist Network. He also enjoys theater, both being involved in the production and being in the audience.

[Posted 9/29/05]