‫בס"ד‬

‫פרשת שמות תש"ע‬ ‫שיחות רב עוזר‬

Insights into Torah and Halacha from Rav Ozer Glickman ‫שליט"א‬
‫ר"ם בישיבת רבנו יצחק אלחנן‬
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Leaving on a Jet Plane: ‫הרהורים בהרף עין‬

֖ ‫עוֹמד ָע ָ֔ליו אַדְ מ‬
‫ַת־ק ֹדֶ שׁ הֽוּא׃‬ ֣ ֵ ֙‫ֲשׁר אַתָּ ה‬
֤ ֶ ‫ ִכּ֣י ַהמּ ָ֗קוֹם א‬N‫ מ ַ ֵ֣על ַרגְ ֶ֔לי‬N֙ ‫ם שַׁל־נְ ָע ֶ֨לי‬Sֲ֑ ‫ו ַ֖יּ ֹאמֶר אַל־תִּ ק ַ ְ֣רב ה‬
Standing in line waiting to put my carry-on bag on the belt, I avoid looking any-
one in the eye. I am slightly embarrassed standing there in my socks, my shoes in the
bin with my belt and jacket. There is a certain measure of humiliation being forced to
partially undress in a public place. For some unknown reason, I find removing my
shoes to go through security a much greater inconvenience than I know that it is.
It occurs to me that the day of an airline flight has become like a ‫ יום טוב‬morning
on which there is ‫ברכת כהנים‬: I must carefully pick a pair of socks without any holes. The
analogy is tragically ironic for I can think of nothing more profane than the reason I
must remove my shoes: there are people who want to kill me and my fellow passengers
in the name of God.
My socks today are new and yet strangely I still feel undignified huddling there
among the other passengers shoeless. Another thought wanders into my mind. I recall
‫ רבי יהודה‬witnessing ‫ חליצה‬in the presence of his teacher ‫ רבי טרפון‬and how the great sage
told all the ‫ תלמידים‬to call out "‫ חלוץ הנעל‬,‫"חלוץ הנעל‬. I remember the clever explanation of
the ‫ משך חכמה‬as to why: throughout the Torah's exposition of the ‫מצוה‬, an active verb is
used since the requirement is for the ‫ דיינים‬of the ‫ בית דין‬to conduct the procedure. At the
end, however, the ‫ נפעל‬appears, implying that he is to be called ‫ חלוץ הנעל‬by everyone
present. I picture the recalcitrant ‫ יבם‬who has refused to fulfill his responsibility to his
deceased brother as the ‫דיינים‬, their apprentice ‫תלמידים‬, and his sister-in-law heap abuse
on him and I feel for a moment a connection to the ‫ פסוק‬in ‫כי תצא‬.
Unbidden into my mind come images of my wife and her mother and brothers
shoeless, sitting as ‫ אבלים‬just weeks ago. My mind flits across the centuries and I think of
‫ רבנו בחיי‬and his perspicacious explication of ‫מצות חליצה‬. The ‫'יבם‬s decision to leave his
brother childless signals that the deceased is now truly gone without a remnant in this
world. His widow removes her brother-in-law's shoe to remind him that he is now truly
an ‫ אבל‬for his brother is completely irretrievable to him. I think of my own children and
grandchildren and know that I have tasted a measure of immortality. I re-think the
scene at the ‫ בית דין‬of ‫ רבי טרפון‬and wonder if the calls of ‫ חלוץ הנעל‬are recited more in sad-
ness than in derision.
Thoughts of my wife remind me of her telling me that one can tell a lot about a
man by his shoes. It occurs to me that shoes represent a man's dignity and the ‫מלבי"ם‬
comes quickly to mind. The great ‫ פרשן‬explains that his brother's widow removes his
shoe to diminish his dignity. He is not entitled to simply walk away.
‫ משה רבנו‬must relinquish a measure of his self-possession as he approaches the
‫ שכינה‬near the burning bush. Sacred ground requires self-effacement, a quality that
seems to be lost in Jewish suburbia. Holiness of place is difficult to preserve in a place in
which we are so comfortable that we do not hesitate to profane it with idle conversation
and gossip. I wonder if we can regain the ability to perceive ourselves in the Divine
Presence in a culture whose discourse is all about rights rather than responsibilities.
Security personnel interrupt my thoughts. I know the drill: hold onto my board-
ing pass and wait for the officer to signal me through the metal detector. Like sheep
passing under the watchful eye of the shepherd through a narrow gate, I wait patiently
to be called.
Sitting at the gate moments later, I am comforted. I realize that wherever I go,
there is a respository of ‫ קדושה‬within me, the sacred words and thoughts of ‫ תורה‬I have
been privileged to learn. They are the coffeespoons by which I measure my own life.
‫ משה רבנו‬removed his shoes in the place where he first encountered the Divine, begin-
ning a lifelong conversation that has resulted in the unbounded dignity of those who
have followed.
‫שבת שלום‬
These sichos are published by students of Rav Ozer Glickman shlit"a. We can be reached at ravglickmanshiur@gmail.com
Rav Glickman can be reached directly at ozer.glickman@yu.edu

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rebecca.goldberg@yu.edu
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