It so happens that I’ve had this Lego block at my place for most of this Yom-Kippur. It’s one of the effects of having High Holiday services in a home where children play around a lot. As we read the story of Yonah at Mincha of Yom-Kippur, the following Lego lesson occurred to me:
Every Lego piece, or nearly every Lego piece, has built into it, both giver and taker, that trademark protruding piece as well as the recessed intake. The Rebbe would often emphasize that all people are givers and takers, that’s what makes the world go ’round. Our calendar follows both the sun and the moon (unlike Christians who follow a strictly solar calendar, or Muslims who strictly follow the lunar cycles) in part to teach us, says the Rebbe, that each of us ought to be both a giver of light as well as a receiver of it. And like Lego blocks, this is wired into human nature, this is built-in and part of who we are. Each person is both teacher and student. Even one who may be ignorant in one field, has one to share in another, even the poor have something to contribute.
One more thing about Lego is that each piece (in addition to being part of a greater system of givers and takers) also has its own color, size and shape, and sometimes special features. Your personality and character are an important piece of this giant puzzle of life. Whether you are a long blue piece, a short red one, one of those famous yellow Lego hands, a flat green or grey base board, or a wheel – all that is crucial.
We see the same two messages in the Book of Yonah. Initially, Jonah the Prophet was sent on a mission to share, to give G-d’s message to the wicked people of Ninveh. He was obviously the teacher, they were rebellious students. Along the way, Jonah learned a great deal himself: from his ordeal aboard the ship and in the belly of the fish, from the amazing turnaround of the people of Ninveh, from the overnight Kikayon. Yonah was both a teacher and he was also a student in this story. And the text goes to great lengths to tell us about Yonah himself, his struggles, personal dilemmas, because more than just conveying the Divine Message – the story of the messenger is also a big part of the Torah narrative. Who we are, and who we become is a big part of the story.