i-Thank-Morning Blessings-Elul Kavanot-As To A Friend

The Dubner Maggid offered the following parable: A politician ran for office, and to gain votes, he became friendly with every voter in his district. His wife protested, “I saw you speaking in a cordial and friendly manner to a ragged man. Is it not beneath your dignity to do so in public?”

“By no means,” replied her husband. “He has a vote, and it might be the very vote which will bring about my election.”

The Maggid derived the following lesson: From this we learn that we must combat even the least transgression and strive to perform the least mitzvah. In the scales on which our good deeds and misdeeds are weighed on Rosh Hashanah, these may decide the balance in our favor.”

I would like to suggest another lesson that can be derived from this parable: we are instructed to recite the following before we begin our morning prayers: “I accept upon myself to fulfill the mitzvah of loving my friends.” Rashi teaches that the “friend” refers to God! Is it not beneath His dignity to refer to Him as a “friend?”

When we remember that each of us has the opportunity to perfect this world, we remember that each of us, even the lowest of the low, has a “vote,” a mission that can make all the difference to God’s Creation!