Encouragement power: Rosh Hashana reflection
When I was studying for semicha, one of my rabbis faced a frightening trial. His wife suffered from heart failure, and the doctors recommended implanting an LVAD, a left ventricular assist device, to mechanically support her heart.
The technology is remarkable, but it demands constant vigilance. The patient must remain connected to computers and heavy batteries, with sterile dressings changed regularly.
Before the surgery, the hospital social worker asked what seemed like a routine question: “Do you have someone who can support you during this time?” His wife answered, “Yes.”
But my Rabbi pressed further: “What would happen if the answer was no? What happens to patients who do not have support?”
The answer was stark. “Then we do not implant the device. That is hospital policy.”
He was stunned. “You would just let them die?”
“Yes,” the social worker said. “This procedure is too demanding. Without someone to encourage and assist, the patient simply cannot survive. We do not proceed.”
The lesson is clear. Even our most advanced medical devices cannot function without human support. The machine that keeps the heart beating depends on the presence of hearts that care.
• • •
This truth is expressed in Parshat Ki Savo, which describes the mitzvah of bikkurim, the first fruits that farmers would bring to Jerusalem. The procession was grand, with music, parades, and joy. Yet the Gemara in Chullin (54b) notes something extraordinary. Normally, Halachah forbids workers from interrupting their labor, even to rise for a Torah scholar, because every moment belongs to their employer.
But when farmers came with their bikkurim, the workers were required to stop and greet them warmly: “Welcome to Jerusalem. How was your journey?”
Why the exception?
Rashi explains that if the farmers were ignored, they might not return the next year. The Torah insists that their efforts be acknowledged, that they feel honored and valued. Without encouragement, even a mitzvah as holy as bikkurim could falter.
Seen together, the LVAD story and the mitzvah of bikkurim highlight the same truth. Whether a matter of physical survival or spiritual devotion, the success of the human endeavor depends on the presence of another person offering strength. Our bodies and our souls both require encouragement in order to endure.
This theme is reinforced throughout Tanach. Mishlei (12:25) teaches: Da’Agah B’Lev Ish Yashchena (When worry is in a person’s heart, a kind word can bring relief.” The Rambam (Hilchot Avel 14:1) writes that comforting the vulnerable is not simply an act of kindness but a fulfillment of the mitzvah of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. The Midrash in Vayikra Rabbah (34:14) goes even further, teaching that one who lifts the spirit of another is considered to have given life itself. Judaism insists that words of encouragement carry real spiritual and emotional power.
• • •
As we approach Rosh Hashana, this lesson becomes especially urgent. These are days of awe and reflection, when we stand before G-d in judgment.
Just as the LVAD requires a companion to sustain life, and just as bikkurim required greetings to sustain devotion, so too we are all sustained by the encouragement of others. There are singles who feel forgotten, spouses who feel unseen, children who long for validation, and neighbors who quietly shoulder heavy burdens. All of them depend on us to help them carry on.
When we strengthen others, we imitate Hashem Himself, who is described in Tehillim (147:6) as Me’Oded Anavim, (the One who upholds and encourages the humble).
Rav Dovid Feinstein zt”l was once asked: “If you could share a meal with any three people, who would you choose?” Many would have answered with great figures from Tanach or with philanthropists who could build Torah institutions. Rav Dovid answered differently: “Three poor people who need my support the most.”
This is our mission for the year ahead. Who are your three? Which three people can you think of right now who need your support, your encouragement, your validation? If each of us chooses three and commits to strengthening them, then the new year will not only be one of personal renewal but also of communal healing.
May we enter this Rosh Hashana ready to strengthen one another. May we embody the divine trait of encouragement, and may we all be written and sealed for a year of blessing, health, and peace.
Rabbi Benny Berlin is spiritual leader of BACH Jewish Center in Long Beach.
Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com
