בס''ד
How
do you like your Torah? As rain or as
dew? Moshe in his final address to the
Jewish people suggests that there are two forms that the transmission of the
Torah can take. One is to “drip like the rain”, whilst the other is to “flow
like the dew”. Rashi seems to indicate
that the latter is the more preferable one, as dew is something that is
appreciated and gladly received by all, whereas rain may vex some and infuriate
others. One may wonder why, if this is
so, that Moshe desires that his Torah should ever be conveyed in the manner of
rain rather than in the apparently more greatly valued dew format?
Perhaps most fundamental
to understanding our role in this world, is our capacity to fully appreciate
the nature of existence vis-à-vis
the ongoing spiritual battle we are embroiled in every moment of our
lives. It is for this that we were
created and it is with this that we will fulfil our purpose. An integral part of this conflict involves
our natural reaction to the words of the Torah.
If each instruction would fully comply with our own innate desires and
predilections, no struggle would ever manifest itself, and there would cease to
be a point to our being here. Because
some of the messages may be divergent from the way we view the world or seek to
live our lives, a reconciliation is required to bring us back in line with the
Torah’s dictums and directives. Perhaps
the analogy of rain is not there to imply an inferior mode of teaching, but the
superior one, hence it being listed first, because it involves the need to
subjugate ourselves to our Creator due to the instinctive rejection of some of
His commands.
There
are people who only seek Torah and teachers of Torah that will consistently
fail to challenge them. As long as they
can stay perpetually within their comfort zone, they will have found the type
of Torah they desire. But Torah is about
seeking the ultimate truth, not trying to merely confirm our version of
it. Religious integrity demands that we
accept that not all we will hear will align with our way of thinking and maybe
that means our way of thinking may have to change. This does not mean that we can not look for
those who guide us to be people who in a general sense share our beliefs and
values. But if the wisdom they impart never threatens our safe, settled way of
life, we may be lacking the true Torah we need to awaken us from our spiritual
slumber. If the Torah we are being
offered doesn’t sometimes inspire a passionate reaction within us, we may be
living a convenient life in the warm glow of sunshine, but we will never be
receiving the nurturing rain that is so indispensable to our growth.
May
the infusion of Shabbos's power rouse us from our sleeping.
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please let me know if you enjoyed this week's Musings or if you have any other comments that you would like to make about the ideas discussed. I would love to hear from you.