This past week, I have had 2 positive customer service experiences. No one likes having to call customer service, and I imagine no one LIKES being the person that GETS called when customers need service. When people are calling to speak to customer service, there’s a 99% chance they’re already irritated before they even speak to a customer service agent.
This past summer I had a job that wasn’t customer service, but ended up feeling like it. I was the first line of defense for my organization and therefore got a lot of the brunt of people’s frustration. I think I’ve always had empathy for customer service agents, but after that it was x1000000.
So when I had 2 excellent agents assisting me, you bet I (1) filled out surveys commending my assister and (2) sent a - way too detailed and long - note to the customer service emails lauding said assister.
Why did I do that? Because I was procrastinating writing this? NO!!! (maybe) Because I know that being the first line of defense is hard and if every other person that day was rude to them, at least they received some chizuk (encouragement) for a job well done!
I am really not patting myself on the back because I don’t exhibit this kind of empathy in all areas of my life (though I do work on that), but this idea of having context for others’ lives is something that pops up a lot in the second parsha of this week’s double portion.
In my humble opinion, the #1 character trait that objectively “good” people share is theory of mind. Theory of mind meaning possessing the understanding that other people's thoughts and feelings may be different from your own. You can call this lack-of-self-centeredness, you can call this empathy — whatever it is, at its core, this trait is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
But does good = holy? If we give words moral value, I guess something that’s good is holy and vice versa. But why do I bring up holiness? Because our second parsha is all about holiness — Parshat Kedoshim.
Kedoshim opens with: “And G-d spoke to Moshe saying, 'Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy for I, the L-rd your G-d, am holy.'"
“You shall be holy because I the L-rd your G-d, am holy” — קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י ה' אֱלֹקיכֶֽם
Well that’s a big ask!!! How does one “be” holy??? This word for “to be” - תִּהְי֑וּ refers to a state of being… just existing in holiness?? Well lucky for us, the rest of the parsha essentially answers our question. We have 51 mitzvot essentially straight listed. (This is not the highest number of mitzvot per parsha, but it IS the most mitzvot DENSE parsha. As in mitzvot per pasuk - line.)
Our first mitzvah that makes us think about others is the first one we’re given - revere your mother and your father. That one is simple - your parents ALWAYS had a harder day than you did. It’s a scientific fact.
Then later, we’re given tons of mitzvot back to back that are specific instructions of how to give to the poor. Leave the edges of your field for the poor, leave the veggies / fruits that you dropped while harvesting, leave part of your vineyard for the poor, leave fallen grapes SPECIFICALLY for the poor. Giving to the poor is totally theory of mind! That’s saying, “Hmm… If I didn’t have money to buy food, wouldn’t it be great if this field / vineyard I’m walking past would have some perfectly good food for me to glean?”
Cont’d…
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