Miller's Musings Parshas Terumah: Change Like a Child

בס''ד

The Ark in which the Luchos lay was the focal point of the Mishkon, which was in turn the focal point of all of Jewish endeavour, through which Hashem’s blessings and spiritual influence emanated throughout all of creation.  It was the location to which all prayers were directed and from which all answers derived.  On top of the Aron, two Keruvim stood, wings spread aloft with the faces of children.  The idea of the Keruvim as angelic beings representing the conduit for our connection with Hashem would seem to somewhat make sense to our minds, but why children?

Amongst the many characteristics that children possess, such as their undiluted honesty and candour, their purity and their unbridled passion for life, the one trait that Reb Yisroel Salanter zt’l emphasises in this regard, is their ability to change moods and mindsets with ease.  A child can seem terribly unhappy at one moment, then totally carefree the next.  In the place that most deeply represented how we relate to Hashem in our lives, the facet most pivotal for our relationship with Him, is a willingness to change.  This is the message we were meant to draw from the childlike faces of the Keruvim.  Hashem is telling us that He is there desiring an everlasting bond with us, but we must be ready and able to bend to that which will bring us to that closeness with Him.

To know what the Torah wants from us is often easy.  To understand how we should reform ourselves can be patently obvious.  All too often the only thing that is holding us back is our stubbornness in the face of change and an inability to break from what has come before and start anew.  We constantly demand from children that they stop any inappropriate behaviour and start to act as they should.  We can grow frustrated when even after countless warnings to do so, they do not seem to heed our instructions.  But in truth children change far more than we ever do and show far greater readiness to be different to what they were, than we ever show.  A child’s mood can be transformed in but a moment, yet we persist with the same perceptions, the same actions and the same behaviours seemingly ad infinitum, even when deep down realising the damage they cause.  The faces of the Keruvim should inspire us to understand that though it may be the hardest thing to achieve, greatness can never be attained without first breaking down our aversion to change.

*May the holiness of Shabbos create within us the will and strength to transform ourselves for the better*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר