by Rabbi Daniel Huebner

Our founding father Abraham made it his mission to spread the message of monotheism in a pagan society. He also proved to be a fearless fighter for justice, putting his own life on the line to save his nephew Lot, when Lot was taken captive in the world war of that day.

It was after Abraham rescued his nephew that the King of Sodom thanked Abraham for liberating other prisoners of war, the king's soldiers and citizens, at the same time. The king offered Abraham the spoils of war, and asked only to have his men back. "Ten li hanefesh," he said, "Give me the people (soul), and take the possessions for yourself."

One year, on Simchat Torah, amidst the lively celebration of the gift of the Torah, the Rebbe appealed for charity to be given in a heightened spirit, beyond the normal limitations. Later, he explained his call to have been one of ten li hanefesh, which, literally, means "give me the soul." It was a special moment. What he was demanding of his followers was a genuine outpouring of soul, a sincere act of pure faith, beyond reason and issues of affordability. The Rebbe had called for a total, unconditional commitment.

The call, "Give me the soul," continues to be a powerful message, and it applies to all areas of our life. We all have a body and a soul. More often than not, our physical selves get all the attention while our spiritual side falls by the wayside. How many times do we hear Jews, especially young Jews, complaining, expressing the idea that Judaism lacks spirituality? And then we bemoan them trekking off to other ideologies to find purpose, depth, and all the things we never gave them.

How many bar mitzvahs and weddings have been reduced to materialistic festivities, with friends and neighbors compelled to outdo each other, while missing the whole point of what the celebration is about?

And G‑d calls out, "Give me the soul! Give me back what is mine." Put some spirit back into Judaism. Enough with the superficial rituals with all the focus on the materialistic elements of the celebration. Give me some soul!

When our faith is superficial, we look as foolish as the thief described in the Talmud: "The thief, at the mouth of the tunnel, calls out to G‑d." Here is a lowly criminal, about to enter the tunnel he has dug to rob someone, but before he goes in, he prays to G‑d for success. What a chutzpah! He is about to violate G‑d's express command not to steal, and has the audacity to ask G‑d to help him do the job?!

But such is the effect of superficiality. He has faith. He simply hasn't let it have a meaningful impact on his life. Because his shallow religiosity hasn't connected with his inner being, he is blissfully unaware of the hypocrisy of his actions; "So what's wrong with stealing and praying at the same time?"

The truth is that we all believe, even the more superficial among us. The challenge is to internalize this belief, for the faith to reach into our core, to touch our souls and for us to live in line with our ideals. Let us heed the call, "Ten li hanefesh, Give me the soul." Let us move beyond superficial Judaism to something deeper, profound and more real, which will touch our own souls and inspire ourselves and those around us.

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Rabbi Daniel and Raizel Huebner moved to San Miguel from New Jersey in 2018 with their family to start Chabad SMA. They enjoy living in San Miguel and integrating with the community through classes, Jewish activities and social events.

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