Miller's Musings Parshas Devorim: Our Fears, Our Limits

בס''ד

         

For a Rebbe or teacher the golden rule of communicating with parents is to always begin with something positive.  Even if the rest of the conversation is going to entail discussing the various misdemeanours of this child, one should always at least find something encouraging as your opening gambit.  Moshe, however, seems to take the polar opposite tack when he begins Sefer Devorim with allusions to all the indiscretions of the Jewish people throughout their sojourn in the desert.  Yes, they were only hinted to so as to save face for the nation, but could he have not found something more constructive to open with?

If we are to look for some common denominator in the deeds of the Jewish people that angered Hashem, it is almost always linked to a certain element of lack of faith.  Whether it be their fear of survival in the desert, doubting of their leadership’s abilities or scepticism of being able to achieve the conquest of Canaan, it was all rooted in not truly believing that they would be able to make it to where they now stood; at the threshold of entering the Holy Land.  Perhaps Moshe’s rebuke was to let them know that despite all the hardships, despite all the moments when they thought it was impossible to go on, despite all their uncertainties, here they were, having achieved the seemingly unachievable. And now as they were once again about to embark upon the seemingly impossible he was reminding them that we can accomplish whatever it is that lies ahead of us, no matter how hopeless it seems, because like all the other times that have gone before, Hashem is on our side. 

When it comes to accomplishing our goals, we are more often hampered by a lack of self-belief than by a lacking in our abilities.   What is pivotal for us to remember is that if we are doing that which Hashem wants from us, nothing can prevent us, because He is on our side and there is nothing that He can not do.  We must make sure our faith is bigger than our fears if we are to not let our fears be our limits.  If Hashem desires that something be so, no matter how implausible or unlikely it seems, there is absolutely nothing that can stand against His will.  Moshe’s message to the people then, and his message to us now, is to never let fear hold you back, but believe in Hashem just as He believes in us.

*May Shabbos imbue in us the faith that we need*

                                                                            

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר