Holy Ashes

Cleaning out the grill at the end of any usage, or even kashering the grill for pesach, is not a chore which I thoroughly enjoy (yes there are chores I thoroughly enjoy). I understand the importance of it. I know that cleaning will prepare the grill for the next fun usage.

I remember the first time I noticed the mitzva of how we treat the ashes on the Mizbeach.1  It was about 45 years ago when I was studying in yeshiva in Israel and a group of us went to Bet El for shabbat. When I studied this parsha and didn’t understand the verses about the ashes, there was a young teenager who explained the concept. Aside from the shock of some kid being able to explain the concept to me, the concept itself fascinated me. Even after the holy sacrifices were burnt on the Mizbeach, their ashes retained holiness and warranted respectful treatment.

What's more, the Sefer Hachinuch adds, removing the ashes is considered as beautifying the Mizbeach.2 But even though the Mizbeach was the real focus of attention, the ashes themselves were also treated with respect. They could be removed only to an area that was deemed ritually pure and was not allowed to be removed to an impure area. Even after the sacrifices were brought and burnt, these ashes retained their holy character and importance. It is not a pretty task but one that must be performed. We are expected to perform this mitzva even if it is dirty - a true lesson in humility. We are not above these tasks.

As a therapist, I wasn’t taught about humility until I studied logotherapy. Even in discussing his own logotherapy, Dr. Viktor Frankl says that he doesn’t believe that he has all the answers. He says that logotherapy is not a panacea.3  And furthermore, he adds, “I tried to forget what I had learned from psychoanalysis and individual psychology so that I could learn from listening to my patients.”4 He saw clients as true teachers and thereby he models the humility that he expects logotherapists to show towards their clients.

The humility that we are taught by treating the holy ashes with respect and in getting dirty while beautifying the altar has a message for us all. We can lend a hand to a person in need. We can show our humility in being empathetic. We can now do those tasks which may seem dirty - throw out the garbage, change a diaper, clean the grill - with humility. 

Shabbat shalom and chag kasher vesameach.

Image by Philip Pena from Pixabay

Footnotes

  1. Vayikra 6:3-4
  2. Seher Hachinuch – Mitzva 131
  3. Frankl, Viktor E.. The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy (p. xviii). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
  4. Frankl, Viktor E.. Recollections: An Autobiography (p. 73). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.

 

Have A Great Shabbat!laughing

For More Information On Logotherapy And How You Can Create A Fuller, More Meaningful Life, Or To Book An Online Session,

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