34 | SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020 

O

ne of my favorite tales 
centers around Rabbi 
Chaim of Brisk who 
was traveling on a train, sharing 
a compartment with a group of 
stylishly dressed people. 
The rabbi was dressed 
modestly. 
Throughout the trip 
the passengers made 
disparaging comments 
to one another about the 
rabbi, never attempting 
to talk to him. They only 
talked about him, rudely 
whispering back and 
forth.
Once the train arrived, 
the travelers noticed a 
crowd of people gathered 
around the rabbi to excit-
edly welcome him. Only then, 
they understood how important 
he was. Feeling embarrassed, 
the travelers begged the rabbi 
for forgiveness. “We didn’
t real-
ize who you are,
” they declared. 
The rabbi responded, “Please, 
you do not need to ask forgive-
ness of me. Instead, I suggest 
you ask forgiveness of the many 
good people you thought I was.
”
Judaism is a religion that puts 
tremendous value on words. 
After all, this is how God cre-
ates the world in the very begin-
ning. For God said: “Let there 
be light” and so it was. 
 In this week’
s Torah portion, 
we learn about a sacred cere-
mony focused on words. One 
of the earliest celebrations to 
be observed after our ancestors 
arrived in the Land of Israel 
involved the presentation of 
first fruits to the Almighty. The 
Israelites were instructed to 
recite a short, yet powerful, for-
mulaic summary of Jewish his-
tory. The words hearken back 
to the Book of Genesis, recalling 
Jacob’
s father-in-law Laban, 

who was determined to use his 
words to oppress and annihi-
late the emerging and evolving 
Israelite nation.
Words have power and can 
be used for evil as well 
as good. They can harm 
but they also can heal. 
This is the moment on 
the Jewish calendar, 
as we approach Rosh 
Hashanah, the Jewish 
New Year 5781, when 
we are urged to consider 
seriously every single 
word that comes out 
of our mouths. During 
these Days of Awe, we 
ask forgiveness from 
those who we have hurt 
with our words through 
gossip, slander and other mis-
truths we have spread, both 
accidentally and on purpose.
With the onset of the High 
Holidays, mixed with the over-
whelming stress and anxiety 
caused by the COVID-19 pan-
demic, it is the perfect time to 
get into the habit of consciously 
seeing the absolute goodness in 
one another. 
Building people up with 
loving words is so much better 
than tearing them down. In this 
spirit, may we each create for 
ourselves a space where there 
is no room for put-downs but 
only for put-ups. A put-up is 
an offering of kindness, com-
passion and encouragement by 
telling a family member, friend, 
neighbor or stranger what we 
like most about them.
Imagine how great the world 
would be if we each took a 
moment to offer one sincere 
put-up each day. So, what are 
we waiting for? Just do it! 

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff is the senior 
director at the Jewish Hospice and 
Chaplaincy Network.

Parshat 

Ki Tavo: 

Deuteronomy 

26:1-29:8; 

Isaiah 

60:1-22.

Rabbi Joseph 
Krakoff

Spirit
torah portion

Make Time For ‘Put-Ups’

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