Miller's Musings Parshas Tzav: The Good Debt

בס''ד

Miller’s Musings פרשת צַו

The idea of bringing an animal sacrifice is often not something that particularly resonates with us and modern society.  Yet there is much to be learnt from every facet of this fascinating practice which we will one day return to.  The Medrash states that in fact, of all the Korbanos, only the Korban Todah, the Thanksgiving Sacrifice, will be retained when Moshiach comes, an idea which gives us some inkling of the stature of this particular expression of gratitude to Hashem.  It is interesting to note, and, for us, to try to understand, that the word Todah, from the term Hodo’oh, actually has a dual meaning, firstly being that of ‘thanks’, as we see here. It also however is translated as an ‘admission’, as we find often in the Torah with regard to admitting a debt that is owed to another.  For how they are connected we will turn to the Ohr Gedalyohu.

In his essay on this week’s Parsha, Reb Gedalia Schorr zt’l explains that the link between these two concepts is found in the realisation that by giving thanks to Hashem, one is by definition admitting a debt owed to Him.  Conversely, when one concedes that they are indebted to Him, it is a form of thanksgiving to Hashem for giving us all the good we have been privileged to receive.  This is of course equally applicable to our appreciation that should be shown to our fellow man. 

This notion, that an expression of thanks is in effect a profession of indebtedness, may be a clue as to what it is that prevents us from giving thanks to the degree and with the requisite frequency that we should do.  To respond in the appropriate manner to those that have granted us some favour or kindness, in itself not something that we would eschew, contains within it an inherent feeling of debt, something which our ego cannot abide.  If we owe something to another, it is to our egocentric self, a statement of lacking in our own capabilities and so must be evaded wherever possible.  To understand this is the first step in acknowledging the extent to which a lack of gratitude is not just a lack of courtesy and poor etiquette, but a further expression of our selfishness and self-absorption and the first step towards a profound shift in our attitude towards the generosity we receive.

May we fully appreciate the gift of Shabbos this week.

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

Miller's Musings Parshas Vayikro: Stop and Think!

 

בס''ד

 

Our memory can be a rather capricious tool, prone to moments of amnesia, distortion and eventually the ravages of time.  The Parsha talks about two lapses of concentration through which one can become liable, either by entering the Holy Sanctuary whilst forgetting that he is impure or knowing that he is impure but being unaware at that moment that he is in the Sanctuary.  The former transgression is one that we could possibly understand, but how could it ever occur that a person would overlook the fact that he is standing within the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh, the holiest place on earth.  The preparations needed to enter, the sanctity required, the splendour of the edifice and the holiness of the service that was taking place would surely eliminate any possibility of not knowing that one is in the Holy Temple!       

Although it may be hard to fathom, Reb Elyashiv zt’l explains that this could indeed happen as a consequence of habit.  A person can become so accustomed to something, even as remarkable as entering the place of the Shechina, that they can lose sight of where they are and what they are doing momentarily and thus err in this manner.  King David in Tehillim, only too aware of this challenge, asks that he “should dwell in the house of Hashem” and because it was “all the days of my life” required that it be “to visit in his Sanctuary” i.e. each time with the feeling of visiting the place with a fresh sense of its importance as if unacquainted as he was with this holy place.

The sad truth is that a person can go through their life, seemingly fulfilling all the requirements of a religious Jew, and still be missing out to a great extent on their purpose and the true meaning of their actions.  If they are merely going through the motions, without stopping once in a while to consider what they are actually doing, the act can become perfunctory and devoid of true depth.   To pray each day without being cognizant of the fact that one is actually communicating with our Creator, to learn Torah without pausing to reflect on this being a way of learning the wisdom of the Infinite and to do mitzvos without realising that by doing so one is connecting with the Divine, is both a tragedy and a missed opportunity of vast proportions.  Whenever you can, stop and reflect upon the true nature of the act that you are performing.  It may transform that action from the mundane to the sublime. 

May we stop and consider the true profundity of Shabbos this week.

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

Miller's Musings Parshas Pikudei: Instant Rewards

 

בס''ד

 

Be careful what you wish for.  That is one message of the Medrash on this week’s Parsha that recounts the incident of Rebbi Shimon ben Chalifta, an impoverished sage in the era of the Tannaim. One Erev Shabbos when he returned home with a precious gem, his wife inquired from whence it came, to which he replied that he had requested it from Heaven and been duly granted his wish.  Unimpressed with this miraculous occurrence, she demanded that he return the jewel heavenward, for she did not want him to lose some of the reward due to him in the Next World on account of having received partial payment with this wondrous gift.  When told what had transpired, Rebbi Yehuda Hanosi, reassured Rebbi Shimon that if there was any loss, he would provide whatever was lacking in the World to Come.  Upon hearing this Rebbi Shimon’s wife responded that when in the world of rewards, one is entirely alone, and therefore the guarantee was of no use, reiterating her demand to give back the wondrous gift, which he promptly did.  

To explain the precise point that Rebbi Shimon’s wife enlightened the two great scholars with, Reb Yisroel Salanter zt’l described the process of receiving reward for our good deeds as a direct and automatic creation of that reward at the moment of performing the deed and as a manifestation of that specific act itself according to its myriad details and nuances.  That being the case, for Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi to say that he would replace the reward with some of his own, was simply an impossibility since his reward for learning, being an affluent person, was completely different to the reward that a penniless man, such as Rebbi Shimon would be conferred for his. 

This idea is a powerful thought for us to take with us throughout our lives.  The notion that our actions have delayed consequences that only come into effect at the end of our lives can be used as a buffer for us from having to actually come to terms with the significance of what we do and can dissuade us from doing what we know is right when the reward is so far in the future.  Internalising the idea that the act itself creates the positive or negative consequence at that very instant, exposes us to the magnitude and immediacy of every one of our actions and can be utilised to bring us closer to a life of achievement rather than a life of regrets.  Your every accomplishment creates a world instantaneously that will be yours eternally.  That’s quite an investment!

May our Shabbos experience create worlds of perfection.

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

Miller's Musings Parshas Vayakhel: Wisdom is Where the Heart is

 

בס''ד

Building a repository for the presence of G-d is no small feat and seemingly necessitated specific kinds of individuals to accomplish its requirements.  The Mishkan and the vessels contained within, had to not only be assembled to the most precise instructions, but also had to be constructed by those who understood the nature of what it was they were undertaking.  The Torah specifies that “Every wise-hearted (Chacham Lev) person amongst you” should take part in this magnificent endeavour.  Examining that particular turn of phrase more closely may lead us to wonder why the attribute of wisdom is connected to the heart, normally associated with emotions, rather than the brain, the more conventional source of intelligence?  

The truth lies in understanding what genuine wisdom is.  The common misconception is to think that as long as a person has acquired significant knowledge, that person should be deemed sagacious when, as the Chochams Hamatzpun asserts, this is not at all the case.  If a person knows a tremendous amount about a subject, but does not apply that knowledge through practical application of its useful elements, than that person is far from wise and in reality may be considered a fool.   That type of person demanded by this lofty task had to be one who not only knew of spiritual matters but lived them as well.  The wisdom had to not only be in the mind, but in the heart, the reservoir of all those feelings within us that contribute to how we actually behave.

If we pause for a moment and take an honest look at our own lives, it is likely that we would concede to not truly living up to the standards that we know we should be keeping to.  A declaration that we know what is right, can be used as something of a defence for our behaviour and a justification for our life choices.  I may not be living to the values I aspire to, but at least I am a person who is aware of the ideals and one day will reach those ambitions.  Although this knowledge may be the foundation for future growth, it must not be used as a crutch to support stagnated development, relying on aspirations of future exploitation of our awareness of righteous behaviour, at the expense of actual change.  If we are not applying what we know to our every day, then we are perhaps no better off for knowing it.  If we are not trying to live the life we know to be the genuinely virtuous one, then we are living a life of folly with the keys to true wisdom stowed away in our pockets.

May Shabbos touch our minds and hearts.

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם