A waiter approaches a table in a Kosher restaurant where three Jewish ladies are having lunch. With a smile on his face he asks, “is anything ok over here? He knew that their motto was “Born to Kvetch.”
In this week’s Parsha the Torah lists the species of birds that are not Kosher. One of them is called Ra’ah. It is a bird of prey like a kite or a falcon. It is called Ra’ah because of its excellent vision, sighting its prey from a great distance. To convey this idea the Talmud states that a Ra’ah has such good vision that it can be “situated in Bavel - Babylon and see a carcass in Eretz Yisrael.”
The Baal Shem Tov points out that this is why (spiritually) the Ra’ah is a non-kosher bird. It looks at Eretz Yisrael, a place that is saturated with holiness and positivity, and all it sees is a carcass.
Some refer to this a the “missing tile syndrome.” This is the tendency to focus only on the negative or what is missing rather than to consider the overwhelming presence of positives.
We would be well served to train ourselves to see people and situations in a more positive light. It allows to experience more joy and gladness of heart. It is a gateway to a greater degree of gratitude in our lives, which leads to fulfillment and satisfaction.
The Baal Shem Tov adds a nuance to his teaching. Bavel in Hebrew comes from the same root as the word for confusion or chaos. When we are in Bavel, meaning that we are confused about priorities in life and in a state of spiritual chaos, we tend to see positive things or people, indicated by the term Eretz Yisrael, as lowly carcasses.
In fact, this is because we are seeing ourselves in that person or situation. We confuse the tranquility of holiness for the chaos of prioritizing materialism. If all we see is a carcass, that is most likely because we are living carcass-like lives.
In order to have “Kosher vision,” we must train ourselves to have a more positive perspective on life and everything that we encounter. Our lives will be richer, more meaningful, and more G-dly.
As we are just a month away from Rosh Hashanah, this might be a good lead on a New Year’s resolution that can be kept!
Shabbat Shalom and may we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year filled with good health, prosperity, meaningful spiritual growth, peace and security, and the complete and final redemption.
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin