Miller's Musings Parshas Vayishlach: You Are My Teacher

The choice of surroundings that one makes can be one of the most crucial decisions in a person's life.  The effect that others have on us can never be disregarded despite the disingenuous claims of some that "I don't care what other people think".  There are times however, as in the case of Yaakov living with Lovon, when one is put in such a situation of negative influence out of circumstances beyond one's control.  With this firmly in mind we can understand the testimony of Yaakov that he spent many years with the nefarious Lovon but still "kept the six hundred and thirteen mitzvos". What is less clear is why Yaakov needed to follow up this statement with the claim that he also "did not learn from Lovon", surely something discernible from the fact that he succeeded in holding steadfast to all the commandments passed down from his fathers?

In fact, explains Reb Meir Shapiro of Lublin zt’l, the statement of Yaakov, in keeping with the picture we have of him, was not one of self-praise, but one of self-admonition.  It was true that he had retained his former level of mitzvah observance, but there was a potential for growth that he had missed which he was actually able to glean from Lovon’s behaviour, that of his enthusiasm for his actions.  It is true that everything he did was the antithesis of Yaakov’s own life view, but there was a passion to his acts and a willingness to give everything up for his goals, which was something that Yaakov could have applied to his holy endeavours, which sadly “he did not learn from Lovon”.

At this point in history, when faced with a foe so single minded in their pursuit to destroy all we hold most dear, both in our Holy Land and now extended throughout the Western World, what hope do we have to defeat such a determined threat to our existence? Perhaps Yaakov has given us the key and has taught us that the only path laid out for us is to fight fire with fire by learning from their fanaticism.  If they have such zeal for destruction of life we must battle it with our passion for creating a worthier life.  If they are obsessed with hate, we must be fanatical about spreading love to all.  If we truly believe in Who really runs the world, it is surely the quickest path to our salvation from this evil.

May the serenity of Shabbos spread throughout the world.

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

Miller's Musings Parshas Vayetze: Cause and Effect 101

As is the case with many of the great female personalities in the Torah, Rochel was subjected to a painful existence waiting to be able to bear a child, all the while praying with devotion and acting with total subjugation to Hashem’s Will.  This wait finally comes to an end in our Parsha when Hashem finally “opens her womb”.  The Soforno explains that it was specifically at this time that Hashem chose to listen to her prayers after she had performed two particular acts of ‘hishtadlus’, one’s own effort to achieve an intended goal, in this case being mother to a child.  The combination of her fervent supplications and her own endeavours brought about her salvation. We know that everything comes from the Almighty, which makes it difficult to understand why an act performed with one’s own efforts, which could lead to a false sense of one’s own power, is of a higher level than one done with total belief and reliance on Hashem?

As with all acts of the soul, there are a myriad levels of performance, with an infinite opportunity for self-development and growth.  The Sifsei Chaim explains that the concept of hishtadlus together with prayer in its highest form is the knowledge that in actual fact it is solely the prayer that yields the end result despite the actions that have been carried out.  Although Hashem wants us to invest our own time and energy into making something happen on a physical level, just as He requires us to appeal to Him for this goal, it is in truth not our exertions that ultimately make it happen, but rather our words of beseeching are the actual cause and effect for this outcome.  To achieve this level of awareness of the true nature of this process is an even greater plane of service than relying exclusively on prayer.

The path that we take in our own lives is often to rely on prayer only as a last ditch attempt to resolve any issues, when all other means have been exhausted.  If at this point we finally receive what we have requested, we more often than not attribute it to our own physical energies rather than our prayer.  Yet the more we realise that this is in fact not the case, and that our hishtadlus is only a means in which we can further develop our trust and belief in Hashem as the Provider of all that we receive, the more we will in fact be worthy of receiving the good which Hashem bestows upon us.  Prayer is not for when all else fails, but the true source of all we have. 

May the prayers of Shabbos bring tremendous good to the world.

L'ilui Nishmas Leah bas Avrohom

Miller's Musings Parshas Toldos: Spiritual Magnetism

 

The incident is familiar but perhaps requires fresh investigation.  Rivka, pregnant with twins, but this being unbeknownst to her, feels a strange sensation that seems to be curiously linked to her location.  When she passes a place of ‘Torah’ learning she feels a child struggling to break free and when she is close to a site wherein idol worship takes place, experiences a similar phenomenon.  She is told through a wise man’s prophetic vision that this is in fact due to two children being within her womb, each with a natural inclination to one of the buildings she comes close to.   But can this really be the case that the two foetuses enclosed within a womb can be so drawn to their individual places of interest?

The key to understanding this is found in the realisation that, contrary to popular thought, the spiritual world is in fact the true reality and the physical world a mere shadow is this existence.  Pointing this out, Reb Yerucham Levovitz zt’l, explains that just as the needle on a compass naturally directs itself towards the north pole, so too things of spiritual purity steer themselves instinctively towards other entities of a similar nature and those of spiritual negativity to an object that shares its characteristic.  This is not something that needs to be consciously felt or decided upon, it is an inherent, innate facet of anything that exists.  Yaakov and Eisav may not have been able to perceive where they were with their physical senses, but their inborn inclinations automatically guided them there.                                                                                                                                                                                         

The corollary of this concept, and the message to us, is that the more we imbue ourselves with spirituality, the more we will be inclined towards greater levels therein.  The more we fill our lives with acts and interests of meaningless spiritual voids, or worse, the less we will be disposed to our true purpose.  This goes some way to explaining those who claim to have no attraction to matters of the soul, which may be due to their lack of connection to its yearnings previously and total devotion to the body’s desires.   This is of course a loop in which the only way to enter it is to begin following what the soul longs for, even where the penchant for it is not yet present.  It may not be our instinctive wish due to the choices we have previously made, but despite it all this is in fact what the true us truly wants. 

 

May Shabbos bring help to bring out the true us.

 

L’ilui Nishmas Leah bas Avrohom

Miller's Musings Parshas Chayei Soroh: Let Me Introduce Myself

The rules of good etiquette must surely dictate that the first thing one must do when meeting someone is to introduce oneself.  Yet from reading through our Parsha, it seems that Eliezer, servant of Avrohom, on his quest for a wife for Yitzchok, only actually presents himself when he is about to sit down to eat in the home of Rivka and Lovon.  Why had he not already told Rivka or at least informed his host, Lovon, that he was the person responsible for all the worldly affairs of Avrohom?

To answer this the Chanukas Hatorah relates what actually took place at that meal.  As the food was laid out in front of Eliezer, he turned to his hosts and insisted on first apprising them of the nature of his business there.  Lovon, in a show of piety, would not hear of him speaking of mundane matters, reminding Eliezer of the concept stated by our sages, that any table that there is not spoken by it words of Torah, is as if those present have partaken of idolatrous sacrifices.  This is when Eliezer saw fit to introduce himself as a slave of one of the forefathers, reminding Lovon of another relevant statement of Chazal, that even the conversation of the slaves of the forefathers is greater than the main body of Torah.  It was not the first time that he had announced who he was, it was his retort to the accusations of Lovon.   

When talking about people on such a high plane of existence, influenced as they were by their masters, even their conversations are inevitably opportunities for growth and any word said only uttered if it has been assessed in terms of its positive worth.  Anything less than that commits the cardinal sin of wasting ones time and potential.  Although this may be a level we have not yet quite attained, the Avos are a beacon of light that we can at least try to head towards in any way we can.  Never emitting one superfluous word may be beyond us, but we can strive to more carefully examine even our non-destructive talk.  Could our Shabbos meals not be an opportunity for profound debate or powerful teachings? Could we not make our exchanges more meaningful from time to time, so that instead of small talk, our words may actually make a difference? And when we do involve ourselves in casual pleasantries, as some social situations require, can we not at least try to mean it when we ask about the welfare of another and work on sincerely caring about that person, instead of just going through a mechanical routine?  Communication is an incredible opportunity to connect in a profound way with another.  Let’s treat it like that.

May our Shabbos be full of exalted interactions.

L’ilui Nishmas Leah bas Avrohom