March -- Kavod / Honor

How many of us love to “people watch?” Airports, malls, maybe even synagogues become viewing centers. We take on the role of expert observer and cast unsuspecting souls as our research subjects. And we judge, and we judge, and we judge. Wow! Who are we to do this? And yet, we make a sport of it.

Our sages teach us that each of us is a holy soul. It is not that we have holy souls, but that we are holy souls. Thus rather than judging, we have an obligation to recognize the holiness in others and treat them in honorable ways. But how do we do this? We may not know many of the people we run into on a day-to-day basis and others we may think we know too well. And yet, it is our sacred obligation to picture others in their holiness, even if they hide it well.

Does this mean we should honor the person who dresses in an outlandish outfit? Yes.

Does this mean we should honor the salesperson who ignores us at the store? Yes.

Does this mean we should honor the person guilty of a crime? Yes; even this person is understood to be a holy soul.

Honoring others is, for some, one of the most challenging Jewish values. And yet, it is at the core of who we are as Jews and it is essential to our own spiritual growth. Seeing the holiness in others is what makes it possible to engage in tikkun olam (social action / healing the world). Acknowledging the holiness in others is what allows us to celebrate life cycle events together. Honoring the holiness of others is what brings us together as a community.

The month of March at TAE is devoted to Honor / Kavod. May we all use this time to recognize the holiness of each other, ourselves, and all the world.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Ted Riter

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Honor (Kavod)                         

According to Jewish teaching, honor is due to each and every human being, not because of what they have achieved, but because they are a human soul. As parents and teachers and therefore models of behavior to our children, we need to develop the habit of honoring others. The first step in that direction is to catch ourselves whenever we are being inwardly judgmental or critical of others. We then need to refocus our attention away from the judgment we are making and back to the essence of that person. Another form of honoring about which Jewish tradition teaches, involves the simple act of greeting people. Jewish tradition urges us to take the lead in greeting any person we encounter.  Be the first to greet, to say hello or even just smile at another person. This is such a simple practice but it is a powerful way we can model honoring others to our children. Encouraging the following behaviors will cultivate children who honor others.

Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
Be kind and polite to others.
Listen to what other people are saying when they speak.
Stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

  

Contributed by -Michelle Princenthal-