Miller's Musings Parshas Mishpotim: The Secret of the Angels

בס''ד

With those immortal words “We will do and we will listen” the Jewish people are said to have elevated themselves to the level of the Angels, uttering a secret unbeknownst to mere humans until this time.  The acceptance of the Torah in this manner caused the Jewish people to transcend beyond anything they had achieved up until that moment and it is a phrase that has echoed throughout all of Jewish history as the epitome of our unlimited willingness to follow Hashem.  Now it just remains to understand what it is exactly that we were saying, what profundity lay within these words and what secret we had unearthed!

A desire to fulfil the wishes of our Creator can be realised in two ways.  The first is those who when commanded by G-d to perform a specific action or desist from a particular act, will choose to do exactly that since this is what they were instructed to do.  The second, more sublime level, consists of those people who at all times consider what it is Hashem would want them to be accomplishing at that very moment.  Whether that is an explicit directive in the Torah or whether it is based on an understanding of what Hashem requires us to do in any given situation, this level poses the question at every instant of our lives, “what would Hashem want me to do now?”.  The Nesivos Sholom explains that this exceptionally high level of commitment was what was being expressed by the Jewish people.  We will do whatever we believe Hashem wants in any given situation, even before any command has been heard.  This level of total devotion to Hashem was the secret that up until that point was exhibited only by those celestial beings that resided in the loftiest realms of creation.  That was how far the Jewish people had come.

To be a person that performs all of the Torah’s commandments is already a tremendously high level.  But our ultimate aim is even more than that.  Not just asking what mitzvos am I meant to be performing but asking at every point in our lives, what does Hashem want from me here?  How am I moving one step closer to being the person He wants me to be?  How is my life moving in the direction that will lead me to the destination I truly believe He has set for me?  These are lofty aspirations that require a constant connection with G-d, but true faith in Hashem and His Torah demands no less and should be our enduring goal. 

*May the sanctity of Shabbos purify our every step*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

Miller's Musings Parshas Beshalach: The Wonder of You

בס''ד

The wondrous sight that the Jewish people beheld as the sea split before them, simultaneously brought about their salvation and vanquished their enemies.  The Yalkut informs us that the determining factor that brought about this miracle was the Yam Suf seeing the coffin of Yosef that had been carried from Egypt, just as he had requested.  The question one must pose here is why the sea required Yosef when it was commanded to perform the miracle by Hashem Himself?

A deeper scrutiny of the Parsha in fact reveals that it was not Hashem that directly ordered the sea to allow the Jews to pass through it, rather He asked Moshe to instigate this wonder by raising his hand over the sea.  The Darchei Mussar explains that a supremely righteous individual becomes a partner in creation with Hashem thereby gaining dominion over the natural world, enabling that person to overturn the regular order of nature when it is necessary to do so.  That being said, Moshe’s total compliance to the will of Hashem was not enough to convince the sea to stand upright, since it could rejoin that it too followed Hashem’s desire at all times.  This quality of Moshe gave him no ascendancy over the sea and therefore could not alone compel it to follow his command.  Yosef on the other hand, who had withstood countless trials in his time in the decadence of Egypt showed himself to be far superior to the waters of the Yam Suf.  They may have perpetually acceded to the desire of Hashem, but they never overcame a trial in the way that Yosef had.  This was that which induced that tremendous spectacle to take place. 

It is the nature of many of us to fiercely criticize ourselves over our failings while undervaluing our achievements.  We fail to appreciate the monumental feat that we achieve each time we resist a harmful desire, transcend a moment with our choice to act virtuously or maintain our faith in times when we face great challenges.  But these are the very actions that elevate us above the rest of creation and set us apart from all else.  These are the true wonders in Hashem’s world, more magnificent than any temporary suspension of nature.  Just as the Yam Suf confronted by such accomplishments stood in deference to Yosef’s greatness, we too must appreciate and truly value the significance of our own achievements and the magnitude of the battles we have won. 

*May the light of Shabbos illuminate our own greatness*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

Miller's Musings Parshas Bo: Transformation of a Nation

בס''ד

                         

There are many examples in Torah literature of those individuals that have entered the gates of repentance and have undergone a complete transformation from the sinful to the pious.  There are few however that can compare to the total metamorphosis that the Jewish people underwent during the exodus.  From a nation steeped in idolatry and impurity, to one that is praised for their unwavering faith in Hashem during their sojourn in the desert.  The manner in which they changed is easy to see, but the mechanism for such a change needs understanding as to what could have brought about such a complete spiritual revolution.

In essence, explains the Manchester Rosh Hayeshiva zt’l, deep within the soul of every Jew lies a yearning to find its way back to Hashem.  He compares it to a massive underground spring lying dormant that when it finds its way to the surface gushes forth with tremendous force.  But we still need to understand what instigated this spiritual awakening and what the catalyst was for this eruption of the soul.  This, he explains was due to the nature of two mitzvos they were given at this time, Bris Milah and the Korban Pesach (a sacrificial lamb), both in their own way requiring tremendous mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice.   The first a debilitating procedure when they were on the brink of a perilous journey into the desert and the second a blatant act of defiance towards the Egyptian’s belief in the sheep as a deity.  It was these acts that provided the impetus for such a monumental national transformation. 

For each one of us there are times that we feel lost and uninspired.  The actions we truly want to be performing can seem so difficult and unattractive.  In truth this is a tool of the Yetzer Horah to distance us from the life we are meant to be living by convincing us of a false vision of Hashem’s desired goals for us.  But when we feel only aversion to the right choices, we would do well to remember that no matter how far away it seems, the reunion with our true selves is only moments away.  The key is to make that first move despite the pain it might seem to entail.  This self-sacrifice, when the challenge seems too much, is the very act that will waken us from our false perceptions and show us the beauty and joy of a Torah existence.  It is difficult to take that initial step, but once we do we will see how foolish we once were to doubt the fulfilment and authentic pleasure a life of Torah inherently brings. 

*May Shabbos awaken our slumbering souls*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר