Miller's Musings Parshas Tazria-Metzora: How Low Should You Go?

בס''ד

The concoction produced to purify the person afflicted with tzaraa’as comprised of, amongst other ingredients, wood from a hyssop and cedar tree.  One cause for this spiritual ailment being brought upon a person, was for an unhealthy dose of arrogance.  The hyssop, a humble tree amongst other far grander ones, was brought in order to intimate to a person a need to lower oneself so as to rectify the character fault that had led to the current regrettable situation.  The cedar, on the other hand, is a tall, regal tree that suggests grandeur and superiority.  This then begs the question why this was also included in a mixture intended to imply a need for humility in the one it was created for?

The requirement for humility is something spoken of often and with great reverence throughout Chazal.  Yet there is a danger that goes along with humility, which is in belittling oneself to the point whereby one has no respect for oneself or is unable to achieve anything significant due to a lack of self-worth.  It may also lead to an inability to behave with the dignity required when in a position of influence or power.  The Avnei Ezel therefore explains that the cedar is there to remind us that the humility required does not necessitate being bent over in deference to everything and everyone.  Rather it suggests that even when we do need to stand tall and be counted and even when a situation demands us to exhibit signs of the prominent standing we may hold, within us, in our hearts, we must still be as humble as the modest hyssop, fully aware of Who is truly responsible for so much of what we are.   

At the root of so many of today’s psychological and spiritual issues lies a lack of regard for one’s own value.  To not appreciate the greatness within oneself and the tremendous good that each one of us is capable of, leads to discrediting one’s purpose in this world and all the damage such notions carry.  This is of course not to undermine the essential need for humility and therefore a balance is required so that appreciation of one’s gifts and strengths does not negate a recognition of the Source of their being a part of us.  We must be proud of our achievements and feel morally compelled to utilise our talents for good, all the while maintaining our humility.  Ultimately the message is to know our true worth, fully cognizant of how much of it we owe to Hashem. 

 

*May the serenity of Shabbos help us find ourselves and our place*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

Miller's Musings Parshas Shemini: The Blame Game

בס''ד

                            

Minor technical hitches are part and parcel of any great endeavour.  But when the whole nation is waiting for the Presence of Hashem to manifest itself in the Mishkan, it would surely be a cause of tremendous discomfort.  So when all the necessary actions have been performed and Hashem still delays His appearance in the Mishkon, Aharon begins to fear that there is something preventing this occurrence, that something being himself.  But how does Aharon know that his involvement in the sin of the golden calf is the impediment to G-d’s descent rather than anyone else amongst the Jewish people?  In fact why does he not conclude that it is the entire nation’s terrible error of judgement that has caused the obstruction, rather than the noble, albeit to some extent faulty, intentions of one man?

In former times, when the Jewish people faced some tragedy, or when dangers such as famine, befell them, the communities would assemble within their town to plead with Hashem for forgiveness and by doing so evoke shame for the sins that had led to the catastrophe. Yet in reality why would it be that any individual would look to themselves as the cause of the misfortune?  Could it not be that each one would point to everyone else, laying the blame at their door?  The answer to both our questions, as elucidated by R’ Yerucham Leibovitz zt’l, is that a person’s first reaction, where some guilt must be established, should always be to look at oneself.  Yes, it is true that there may be others that may be logically responsible, but our own function in this situation is to consider where we could have been at fault and what we can do about it.

When things go awry and everyone is searching for someone to ascribe blame to, it is only natural that we immediately look everywhere else but at ourselves. This however is not the way it should be.  If there is some culpability that needs to be apportioned to someone, it must begin with introspection rather than a scrutiny of others.  This is of course contrary to our instinctive urge to deflect any criticism away from us, maintaining the positive image to ourselves and to those we seek approval from.  Nonetheless, a person of truth, secure in their own self-worth and interested in real growth, rather than spurious aggrandisement, will know that the place to begin is always within. 

*May the purity of Shabbos encourage meaningful self-reflection*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

Miller's Musings for Pesach: The Unlimited You

בס''ד

If there is one word that could epitomise and encapsulate Pesach, it would perhaps be Freedom.  Hundreds of years cruelly enslaved by a tyrannical despot, the Jewish people are finally granted their freedom amid a devastating onslaught of plagues and miracles. But to what were they freed?  To the Torah and all the demands placed on them by G-d.  We are told that this was in fact the sole purpose of the Exodus.  To bring them to Sinai to accept the yolk of the Torah.  Is this truly liberty or just another form of servitude?  Added to this is the way in which we commemorate this event, in a manner incredibly restrictive, bound by laws that direct every minutia of our lives during the festivities, seemingly the antithesis of the cause of our celebration: freedom. 

The answer, as is the case to so many of the questions that perplex us, lies in re-educating ourselves as to what is meant by those concepts we think we understand.  Although observance of the Torah brings with it constraints in what we should and should not do, it in truth allows us the opportunity to break free from those limits that our physical existence would suggest we must abide by.  A human being as a corporeal entity can only achieve as much as their finite body allows.  But the Torah frees us from these confines and teaches us of the spirit that is what we truly are and that is only limited by the limitations that we choose for it, dependent solely on the choices we make, even when they seem to demand that we restrict our freedom.  This is surely the greatest emancipation that a person can be given, to allow for boundless growth and an opportunity to connect with the infinite, beyond anything that the secular world’s definite limit of potential would allow. 

The power of Pesach is in the energy it brings for rebirth and renewal.  Just as the Jewish people were born as a nation at this time, we all have the opportunity to tap into the influence of these days to motivate us to begin anew and revitalise our lives.  As we sit this year at our Seder and immerse ourselves in its beauty and inspiration, let us try to focus on this awareness of our unlimited potential for growth.  It is a night bursting with possibilities to initiate our first steps up the ladder to greatness, with the first rung a realisation of how elevated we have the ability to become. Let us do all we can to allow its power to find its way to our souls and raise us beyond anything we could ever have imagined we could be.

*May the inspiration of Pesach lift us to new heights*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

Miller's Musings Parshas Tzav: The Self-Made Man

בס''ד

                      

Credit where credit’s due!  We can all agree with that.  But what about credit where it does not seem to be due?  Rashi tells us that the words “And Aharon and his sons did all…which Hashem commanded” actually extol one of Aharon’s virtues that he followed Hashem’s instructions to the letter.  But let us remind ourselves who we are speaking of here.  We are talking about Aharon the Kohen Godol, a man who was considered equal to Moshe Rabeinu.  Is it really such a great praise to say he did what Hashem commanded?  Would he ever even have contemplated anything different?  

In reality for a righteous individual of the calibre of Aharon, to in any way deviate from the dictates of Hashem would have been something totally inconceivable.  It was not even a possibility, nor was there a choice in his mind that he would have needed to make.  But we must realise that this was not the status into which he was born, but rather the result of years of dedication to perfecting himself.  The person he now was, was not the person he was created as being, but rather the person he himself created through the life choices he had made up until this point. This, explains the Darchei Mussar, was the source of the acclaim that the Torah was bestowing upon Aharon.  The basis for the admiration towards Aharon was not for the fact that he chose to do exactly as Hashem proscribed, for him there was no alternative.  But rather it was for the fact that he had formed himself into a person for whom there was no option other than following the will of Hashem.   

This is a tremendously important lesson for us, both with regard to understanding our Tzaddikim and for understanding ourselves.  There may be a temptation for us to look at those saintly individuals and use their seemingly unattainable levels as an excuse for our own mediocrity.  We can exonerate our own failings by dismissing the possibility of our ever being able to reach the heights of piety that these great people have reached, deeming their accomplishments as almost innate.  This is however a belittling of the Tzaddikim and ourselves.  The reason they are who they are is because they made decisions that would lead them away from being ordinary people to being people of distinction.  This is their praise and it is also our condemnation.  For if they could take the path to greatness, so can we. 

*May the power of Shabbos stimulate our growth*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר