Friday, 10 November 2017

Miller's Musings Parshas Chayei Soroh: Absolutely Everything



בס''ד


It may be said that old age is a blessing in and of itself.  The other option is surely an avoidable one wherever possible.  Our Parsha includes the curious sentence that Avrohom “was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avrohom with everything”.  There are a plethora of questions that could be asked on this statement but we will restrict ourselves to two.  Firstly we may wonder what is meant by Avrohom being blessed with “everything”?  Are we to believe that he truly had everything!  The second question is as to why there is a juxtaposition of Avrohom being aged and the fact that he received such blessings?

The Talmud tells us that the word “old” “זָקֵן” means one who has acquired wisdom.  Wisdom however is a word that is very much a matter of personal perspective. For one the term may have entirely different connotations to that of another.  The Torah definition of wisdom must of course be an absolute one and it is that of superior knowledge and internalisation of the Torah and its worldview.  Being blessed with everything is in fact also something that is subjective, dependent entirely on a person’s attitude.  With this in mind we can begin to understand the verse above.  Were a person sagacious enough to know, as Avrohom in his wisdom did, that whatever they have been given is all they need to be able to fulfil their role and purpose, then one would live with an acceptance that they do indeed have everything; everything they need.

A challenge that everyone faces, no matter who the person is and their situation in life, is the challenge to not look at others.  There is a natural tendency to see how others live and feel that if only I could have their life and their set of circumstances I would be able to achieve so much more and be so much better.  In truth however this is a complete fallacy and often a justification for our own failings.  G-d has given us absolutely everything that we need and if there is anything that we do not have it is simply because with the task that has been set out for us, there is no necessity for it.  By switching our mind set to the correct attitude, our lives are instantaneously changed from being just okay to being entirely perfect.  That’s quite a difference!

*May the perfection of Shabbos help us realise the perfection of our lives*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 


לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון



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