{"id":13039,"date":"2025-08-28T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T06:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?p=13039"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:46:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:46:54","slug":"no-excuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/no-excuse\/","title":{"rendered":"No Excuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Deadline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may know from past experience that I write a Parshah (weekly Torah portion) sheet each week. I\u2019ve been doing it since 1999, and I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to complete it in a timely fashion, as well as providing original content each week. I have a specific time each week I send it out, and I hate being late. When I am, I feel under the gun to get it out and e-mailed or uploaded to where it goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One item I publish doesn\u2019t affect the majority of my readers and subscribers. I include the Shabbat-related times for where I live. This way, in my house at least, we know when Shabbat starts and ends, as well as the times for reciting Shema and Shemona Esrai. I know some other people look at it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Excuses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, this week, I made a mistake. I was rushing and forgot to update the times so they still showed last week\u2019s numbers. While that wasn\u2019t such a big deal for the end of Shabbat, it was a huge deal for the beginning because it showed candle-lighting ten minutes later than it should have been. When I caught this mistake, perhaps twenty minutes before candles, I was horrified. It was too late to do anything about it. I quickly updated the times and printed a few copies for my shul<\/em>, but I was very shaken. What if I was responsible for someone violating Shabbat God forbid?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in my defense, I was traveling this week. I was moving non-stop in a different time zone, barely sure of what day it was, and I mostly wrote the parsha sheet in an airport during a layover. It\u2019s understandable that I could have made this mistake, as I\u2019m only human. I was tired, a bit muddled, and it’s not that big a deal; I mean, seriously, do I even know that anybody only relies on my times? There were certainly a number of possible ways to excuse the error. But I wasn\u2019t having it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Truly Loves Me<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It reminded me of a story. The Baal Shem Tov was once traveling on a Friday, and the roads were very wet and muddy. It was raining heavily, and he finally arrived at an inn where he stayed for Shabbat. Upon his return, he mentioned to his followers that he was afraid perhaps it was already Shabbat when he arrived there, as because of the darkness of the cloudy day he couldn\u2019t tell for sure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His followers jumped to reassure him. \u201cCertainly, the Ribono Shel Olam (Creator of the world) would not let such a tzaddik (righteous man) as you come to desecrate the Shabbat, God forbid! Surely it was only the darkness of the weather that made it appear later than it was.\u201d One follower, however, remained silent. He was Rabbi Zev Wolf Kitzes, known for his extreme piety and devotion to the Baal Shem Tov, as well as his acute truthfulness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Baal Shem Tov<\/em><\/em> looked at him and asked, \u201cNu? What do you think?\u201d R\u2019 Wolf softly replied, \u201cIt would appear to me that the Rebbe must do Teshuva (repent).\u201d At that, the Baal Shem Tov\u2019s face lit up.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see?\u201d he asked the men. \u201cYou all claim to love me so much, but only R\u2019 Wolf was honest enough to say that I should do Teshuva for perhaps desecrating Shabbat. He cares about me more than all of you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solutions, Not Excuses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If I were to excuse what happened, I would not reflect on the matter and wonder why it happened. I would not regret what happened and try to prevent a reoccurrence. It appears to me I need to improve my shmirat <\/em>(keeping) Shabbat<\/em>, or perhaps my kavod<\/em> (honoring) Shabbos<\/em>, or something along those lines. I haven\u2019t fully delved into it, but if I were to look for excuses, I would not think about it, nor wonder why Hashem (God) made this happen. Everything happens measure for measure, and it\u2019s up to us to look for our shortcomings and repair them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I read an amazing story. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein z\u201dl used to pray and say Tehillim that he should pasken<\/em> (rule) correctly when people sent him questions. Early one morning, during summer break, R\u2019 Moshe was seen walking outside and saying Tehillim. Someone asked him why he didn\u2019t take advantage of the schedule change to sleep in a bit. R\u2019 Moshe responded that he knows people from around the world send him questions and he needs to pray that he not make mistakes and mislead anyone. (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sweet New Year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

R’ Moshe understood the gravity of his decisions, and knew he had to be correct. Not only would he not offer excuses for his mistakes, but he would take steps to ensure he made none (which included reviewing Shas (Talmud) and halachic works constantly.) I may not be R\u2019 Moshe, but I am no less obligated than he to work on avoiding my own mistakes. As we begin the month of Elul, we ought to take responsibility for our actions. Instead of excuses, let\u2019s come up with solutions. Those will stand us in better stead when it comes time to be judged by Hashem. On Rosh Hashanah, if we are able to say, \u201cYes, I found a problem; it was my mistake, but I\u2019m making sure it will never happen again,\u201d then Hashem will have no reason, and maybe even no excuse, not to grant us a sweet new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Want to learn more about Jewish Ideas? Join TorahMates today to learn from home, with your own study partner!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Gewirtz (Operation Inspiration<\/a>) welcomes comments and feedback. Write to him at info@JewishSpeechWriter.com<\/a> to share your thoughts. You never know when you may be the lamp that enlightens someone else.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Deadline You may know from past experience that I write a Parshah (weekly Torah portion) sheet each week. 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