Last week I spent a day in Washington DC and observed many fascinating, beautiful and historic icons and buildings. It was a cloudy day and the sun hardly showed itself, but it was 57 Fahrenheit and warm enough to be outdoors for many hours.
As I walked and learned about modern American History and saw the many monuments and edifices that tell the story of America today, I found myself contemplating the journey of American democracy and the society that we live in today. The history of the past along with the messages that these figures and buildings represent, made me reflect on the progress, beauties, successes and indeed challenges that we face in our society today.
At one point as I walked in a green area right in front of the Capital Building, a pink rose caught my eye as it stood out in it's beauty, juxtaposed with the Capital Building that was behind it. I observed the rose shining in its glory in the middle of the Winter with its dazzling colors, and it seemed to be a reminder of the tremendous inherent potential and beauty that our world and society contain, no matter the circumstances.
It reminded me, of a famous Chassidic discourse that I am currently studying "Bati Legani", "I came to my Garden", which is based on a statement first written by King Solomon thousands of years ago.
The discourse quotes a Midrash which explains, that this statement is an allusion to G-d who is referring to the world as "his garden" and being the place where G-d wants to hang out. The discourse explains, that although through history there have been times where the world doesn't always look like G-d's garden as a result of the certain behaviors of man, our job in this world is to cultivate it and to bring out its true beauty and potential, which is always and often waiting to be discovered.
The beauty that makes G-d's garden beautiful is not simply about majestic mountains and roaring oceans. Rather the beauty of the garden is expressed best by the people who live in it and by their actions and choices which make it into a beautiful lush and fertile garden and in doing so, create the perfect harmony of a beautiful world physically and spiritually.
There have been times in history, in recent as well as in ancient times, when we find it hard to relate the "Garden" concept, and sometimes it feels like a "Jungle" is a better description of what is happening. Yet the truth is and will remain so, that this world and humanity who are in it, are the garden and its cultivators, and together we can and will transform it into becoming G-d's beautiful garden.
Each positive action and Mitzvah that we do is another flower in the garden, each life that we touch is another sapling which is being primed to flourish and grow, and even the acts of self control that no one will ever know about, represent the pruning and weeding of the garden to help the good continue to flourish and grow.
It is now the middle of the winter and physical gardening may be a challenge, nevertheless the reminder that I got from the rose in front of the Capital Building, reminded me of the conceptual "garden" of humanity and our world, which is always there to work on and waiting to be cultivated.
Good Shabbos and Shabbat Shalom
Yisroel