Shmelke of Nikolsburg

I have to admit that when I read Rabbi Shmelke’s conversation I had my eyes opened a little bit wider than usual. I’ve always thought that the matter of dealing with “the wicked” or people who do wrong has been an interesting topic. There are so many diverse opinions on the matter and it is hard to say which one is right. And it isn’t often that I think about it myself, either. I don’t often come face-to-face with wickedness or am forced to have an opinion of what I think should be done in that sort of situation. However, after reading Shmelke’s passage it is much easier to see a clear way of emotionally dealing with wickedness.

Shmelke’s last statement says that the our souls came out of the original soul and because of that we should treat each other with the same respect in which we would treat that original soul. How simple and yet profound. It is easy to hear the words “we are one” or “God is in us” and the like, but to truly apply it to the very way we treat each other – not just ourselves – was, I have to say, a new perspective for me. I’ve had a bumpy religious ride and haven’t fully embraced one religion over another and in doing so I’ve inadvertently blocked out a lot of amazing wisdom. Many religions have the mantra of “we are God” and “God is in you” but it never meant much to me because I never thought too much about it. God is in me, but I’m not sure I even believed in God, so what about it? But for whatever reason, Shmelke’s words got to me and connected the saying to someone other than myself, which is usually how I take God to be … within myself. Perhaps I just never thought about it so it never occurred to me that, duh, if it is in me it must be in you or anyone else. And who is to say I have to believe in any specific God to understand the concept that if we are all part of the same thing – no matter what that is – we should treat each other the way we’d treat that mysterious thing for what it is instead of being blinded by people’s superficial appearances. Obviously it was naive to think, but I’m glad I was able to find something to help me see more clearly.