Friday, 11 August 2017

Miller's Musings Parshas Ekev: All for One and One for All



בס''ד

One of the greatest facets of a Torah life is in the potential it gives us to imbue every moment of our life with meaning.  The multitude of instructions that dictate what is the right course of action at any given time, means there is never a moment that is meaningless or without worth.  Each second is an opportunity to do the right thing at that time depending solely on what it is that the Torah requires from us.  The numerous mitzvos that are written in the Torah and the many additions dictated by the Rabbis throughout the generations add up to a plethora of commandments, which makes it all the more confusing when Moshe charges the Jewish people to keep “all the commandment”, in singular.

There is no question that the Torah requires us to perform all of its tasks to the best of our abilities as much as we are able to.  Each and every mitzvo is absolutely crucial to achieving Hashem’s purpose for us in creation.  Yet if we only see them as distinct duties for us to perform we are missing the bigger picture.  The sefer Bilvovi Mishkon Evneh explains that the common denominator in every act we are enjoined to perform by the Torah, is that they are all there to complete the same ultimate objective, to bring us closer to Hashem, thereby forging a bond between us and our Creator, a connection that grants us the greatest possible pleasure. Perhaps the Posuk refers to a single “commandment” because every single mitzvo is its own unique means of accomplishing the same single process of developing a more intimate relationship with G-d. The mechanism and manner of achieving this may vary but in essence they all contain within their acts one and the same function.

With the many duties and obligations that take up so much of our daily life, it is all too easy to lose focus of what it is we are actually working towards.  Day by day performance of mitzvos without thought or consideration to what we are actually doing, can become little more than rituals without depth or significance.  Even more tragic is the fact that they will never achieve their purpose.  Each of the parts are there in order to arrive at a whole, a deep, powerful connection with Hashem. Without an appreciation of this and an intent to attain it, we will surely never arrive at our intended destination. To dismiss any of the mitzvos as redundant or minutiae is a fatal misunderstanding of this idea, as they are the only means to achieving the overarching goal. But to consider them as an endpoint in themselves is overlooking the primary purpose of our existence and diminishes the profundity of everything that we do.

*May the singular nature of Shabbos bring us ever closer to Hashem*
                                                                                                                       
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר

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