As is Jewish custom, the first
Mitzvah we fulfill after Yom Kippur is putting up the Sukkah for the holiday of
Sukkot. It is a great time for the community to come together. At this
gathering a gentleman came up and introduced himself as “Glen”. After looking
at the Hebrew inscription on his wedding band, I took him for one of the
members of the Jewish community I had yet to meet. In our discussion, he asked
me why the Sukkah was not out in front, for everyone to see. I gave him my
reasoning and to my dismay and embarrassment, it turns out that this mild
mannered man was, in fact, the new command chaplain (i.e. my boss).
In Judaism, we teach that you
should assume that everyone you meet could be the messiah. By doing that, it
sets you up to speak to everyone with the utmost respect, patience and love. I
did not say anything “wrong” to the command chaplain, I was simply less formal
than I would have been had I known.
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