The parents out there know, that inevitably there is going to be some time spent at the ER with your kids. By the grace of G-d, we have not had a ton of ER visits in our family over the years (excluding COVID tests). Last week one my daughters injured her finger while playing ball. We took her to the ER. The took some x-rays and, a bunch of hours later, they determined that she had a slight fracture. They put her finger into a splint, and left us with instructions to follow up with Orthopedics.
Yesterday, we had the follow up appointment and, thank G-d, the finger is healing very nicely. They taped it up leaving the knuckle exposed, and told her that she needs to move the finger often to keep the joint from stiffening up. With Hashem’s help she will all better soon.
Thinking about what the NP told her about making sure to bend the finger every so often to keep it from stiffening, I thought about how this was a valuable lesson in our service of Hashem.
We get into a groove in our Jewish practice. Things become automatic – almost by rote. How do we ensure that the “joint” of our connection to Hashem and Judaism doesn’t become stiff and ineffective? We have to keep exercising it. What is the way we can keep our joints moving and well exercised? The answer is Torah study and paying attention to our prayers.
When we get emotionally involved in prayer, this keeps us invested in our relationship with Hashem, moving it beyond the automated by making things fresh and exciting. When we study Torah, the material that we absorb, maintains our enthusiasm and invigorates our practice of Judaism.
So take the doctor’s advice and make sure that your Jewish joints are not getting too stiff.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin