Miller's Musings Parshas Tazria-Metzora: Cause and Defect

בס''ד

A spiritual ailment manifesting itself as a physical one is something that is often found within Torah thought, but none as clearly as the occurrence of tzora’as. This discolouration of the skin (often misconstrued as leprosy) is described in the Torah as one of three possible blemishes, aשְׂאֵת , סַפַּחַת or בַּהֶרֶת .  Although it is beyond the scope of this musing to identify the distinctions between them, we will instead attempt to suggest why there was a need for three separate skin conditions. Would one not have sufficed as a warning to the sufferer, especially if they were all indications of the same transgression?

It is well known that the punishment of tzora’as was brought about mainly due to the sin of Loshon Horah, speaking ill of one’s fellow man.  This is one misdeed but it can be due to three distinct causes, each one reflected by one of the three types of skin disorders, as elucidated by Reb Moshe Shternbuch.  The first category is those who speak of another’s failings in order to make themselves feel superior, and raise themselves above others.  This led to the affliction of שְׂאֵת from the root to lift.  The second group are those who speak Loshon Horah because they are surrounded by people who act in this way and feel peer pressure to do likewise.  These people suffer the סַפַּחַת which means to be connected, as their sin was due to being attached to the wrong crowd.  The final grouping are the ones who simply thrive on knowing everyone else’s concerns to and love to gossip about all that they know.  Those that fit this description are the ones that contract the בַּהֶרֶת, which means to be clear, as the affairs of others are entirely evident to them. 

I hope you will forgive me the presumption, but I believe that we all speak Loshon Horah on occasion.  The only question lies in our motivation behind it.  Do we lack feelings of self-worth that drive us to belittle others?  Do we surround ourselves with those lacking spiritual development who relish demeaning another? Or do we have this penchant for tattle and hearsay that we find too hard to resist? Whatever it is, we would all surely agree that spreading malicious rumours and even unpleasant truths, is something that none of us would want done to us and should equally not be done to others.  The key to halting this practice may be in determining which of the root causes, outlined above, we possess.  If we resolve this question we can perhaps begin to work on only generating positivity, amity and harmony in the world around us.

*May we feel Hashem’s presence in every moment this Shabbos*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Shemini: The Present of His Presence

בס''ד

Recognition for one’s achievements is a basic need that we all have.  No matter how much we may say we do not crave any acknowledgement, the truth is that we all need praise and appreciation from time to time. Aharon’s silence in response to his sons’ deaths is something that is recounted again and again as the epitome of what it means to have faith in G-d.  His total belief in Hashem’s goodness meant there was not even the slightest negative reaction towards their tragic ends and this surely deserved a reward from G-d.  And a reward he did in fact receive which Rashi tells us was an unaccompanied audience with Hashem where he, and he alone, was told of the prohibition against imbibing wine before serving in the Mishkon.  This is a worthy and significant honour indeed, but why was this particular prize chosen for this particular act of Aharon?

Reward and punishment is an integral and essential part of Jewish dogma.  But we do not believe in either arbitrary punishments or rewards.  Both are direct and rational consequences of one’s positive or negative deeds, which can be understood to be the logical outcomes of those actions.  The kind of faith that Aharon manifested was one that resulted from the constant internalisation of absolute trust in G-d’s total governance of the world and His unlimited goodness.  Aharon’s complete acceptance of G-d’s judgement on this occasion, says the Darchei Mussar, once more strengthened this conviction, consequently making G-d an even more ever present and palpable part of Aharon’s life.  The corollary of this being that Aharon raised himself up in his spiritual level in terms of his unstinting connection and awareness of Hashem and was therefore able to experience G-d on his own.    

Developing true faith in G-d and in the axiom that everything He does is for the good, is of benefit to us in so many ways. The greater the certitude of this principle, the greater the peace of mind one will feel no matter what occurs, knowing that it all comes from Hashem.  But according to what we have discussed there is an additional benefit, in that developing this mind-set means that Hashem is an ever present part of our existence and our relationship with him is that much more genuine and tangible.  It means that all we do is with the presence of Hashem there guiding us and influencing that which occurs.  This in itself makes it worthwhile to acquire deeper faith and mindfulness of Hashem’s all-encompassing involvement in every moment of our lives.

*May we feel Hashem’s presence in every moment this Shabbos*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings for the Seventh Day of Pesach: The Right Attitude for Gratitude

בס''ד

For centuries we have prayed daily for the coming of the Moshiach with the most righteous amongst us fervently beseeching G-d to end this virulent exile. But in truth there were moments throughout history where there were glimpses of the final redemption, when unique individuals were painfully close to fulfilling all conditions required to be the one that would bring about the perfection of creation.  And yet it was not to be and is still yet to be.  One such example was King Chizkiyahu who we are told would have been the Moshiach had he sung a Shiro to Hashem after he had miracles performed for him.  The questions arise why indeed he did not sing a song of praise to Hashem and moreover what such a song is actually meant to express?

The miracle that occurred at the Red Sea, when almost simultaneously the Jewish people were saved and the Egyptians vanquished, was one that left no possibility of being anything other than an explicit act of G-d.  The reaction to such a clear manifestation of G-d’s power was the Shiro, a song that lauded Hashem for the salvation He and only He performed.  Chizkiyohu also saw wonders wrought by Hashem for the Jewish people, but, says the Sifsei Chaim, he feared that somewhere within him there would be a semblance of feeling that attributed part of the deliverance to himself, rather than G-d.  This slight lack of awareness of the total role that Hashem played in the miracle, meant that it would be inappropriate for him to sing Shiro, a song that proclaims absolute and unmitigated thanks to the One who alone delivers us from ruin.

We all know how much we have to thank Hashem for and at times at least recognise it is He that has given it to us.  But this is not enough.  Our gratitude to Hashem should not be like a birthday card, once a year declaring our appreciation of its recipient.  If we are truly grateful, there should be a constant awareness of how much we are the beneficiaries of.  If we are to truly appreciate all Hashem does for us, we must develop not only a continual mindfulness of His good, but also a cognizance that he is the only One that is actually providing that good.  It is He and He alone that decides the blessings we are bestowed with. When we have that awareness and when we live with that appreciation, we then will be able to sing the Shiro with a full heart, ushering in the times of the Moshiach, when we will see clearly Hashem’s hand and Hashem’s love in every aspect of our lives.

*May our appreciation of Pesach bring us ever closer to our redemption*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה