Miller's Musings Parshas Emor: Step by Step by Step

בס''ד

Miller’s Musings פרשת אֱמֹר  

Navigating the Jewish calendar is really not too tricky.   The only difficulty may lie in knowing which month to start from.  So when we are told that Yom Kippur falls in the seventh month, it seems wholly unnecessary to refer to it as “ ’this’ seventh month”.  Our question is to what the need is for such a specific designation and what we are to ascertain from this superfluous word.

As we well know, every Yom Tov is not a random turn of events that happened to fall on one particular day.  But rather each festival happens at that time because of the energies that permeate that moment in the year.  The Exodus occurred at spring time because that was the time most suited for an event of this nature, already containing within it the potential for the miraculous and the birth of a nation.  Likewise the position in relation to other festivals is entirely predicated on whatever is needed to achieve the purpose of said Yom Tov.  Consequently, Rav Aharon Kotler zt’l clarifies that Yom Kippur did not just happen to fall in the seventh month, but was there as a consequence of a need for ‘this’ specific month’s beginning, Rosh Hashono.  To enter into the Day of Judgement, without having prepared oneself through the introspection and refocusing of our purpose, during Rosh Hashono, would be of no value and could never generate the outcome we so desire.  No matter how driven we may be, Yom Kippur cannot be Yom Kippur without the groundwork that comes before it.

There are those who leave everything to the last minute, assured of their capability to somehow achieve the goal by the end.  And even if one is not of that sensibility, we all at times do not reckon with the preparations that are needed to be where we want to be.  We falsely believe that if we truly and sincerely want to be something, there is nothing that can stand in our way, and we can attain it at any moment, given the will is strong enough.  The truth, however, is that life is a process, and for us to arrive at the finish line with the accomplishments we ultimately desire, there are no shortcuts.  We must lay foundation upon foundation and work diligently at whichever areas we deem worthy of our attention.  The work must be steady and our focus unstinting.  If we attune our minds to this way of thinking we will reap the rewards of our efforts and look back with pride upon the road we have walked that has led us back home. 

May the holiness of Shabbos bring us one step closer to perfection.

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם