Miller's Musings Parshas Yisro: Let My Past Go

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לרפואת יוסף בן בריינה  לעילוי נשמת  אשר בן מאיר

ד''בס    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Yisro was undoubtedly an incredibly astute and perceptive man.  When all others hear about the wondrous nature of the Jews emancipation from Egypt, but did nothing, Yisro cast everything aside to join the Jewish people. Upon arriving he paused to praise Hashem for all He had done to the Jewish nation, but part of that tribute is seemingly redundant.  He extols Hashem for saving them “from the hand of Egypt” and then “from under the hand of Egypt”, almost exactly repeating what was just said. We may also wonder why only after Yisro arrives in the desert are we told “And Yisro rejoiced for all the good which Hashem had done”? He was aware of what had occurred long before he arrived, so why only now did he react with delight to the Jews’ salvation?

                                                             

Yisro had heard everything he needed to know, to leave his homeland behind and set off for an unforgiving wasteland such as the desert was.  He had heard of the way in which Hashem had obliterated the rules of nature for His beloved nation and wreaked vengeance upon those who had sought to destroy them.  But how would he find that nation?  They had been enslaved in the most torturous and appalling manner conceivable.  They had been imprisoned in a country whose immoral and depraved nature was in direct contradiction with everything the Jewish people stood for.  Would they be burdened by their past of captivity and be unable to live entirely as free men?  Would the stench of Egypt still cling to them and the stain still be present, unable to be cleansed?  This was perhaps the joy that Yisro experienced, only now that he was able to see the Jewish people in person. The joy of seeing that despite all they had been through, they showed no vestige of the impurities that would have surrounded them.  This was what he praised Hashem for, that not only were they saved from the hand of Egypt and its afflictions, but they were saved from being under the hand of Egypt, the influence and contamination that should have become part of them. 

                                                                     

Every person’s present is to some extent a product of their past.  There is no escaping this.  But if the Jewish people could leave behind all the pollution of Egypt, even if with Hashem’s assistance, then we too should never be bound by our past.   We can always look to blame others and the way we were treated for the mistakes that we now make.  But we must come to the realisation at some point that ultimately we decide our own destiny and the cards we have been dealt are only the starting point.  What we now do with them will determine our victory or our failure.  For some, to leave the past behind is far more difficult than for others, but for our own sake and for the sake of achieving our purpose, we must do whatever it takes so that the life we have lived does not forever define the person we become. 

*May this Shabbos darken the past and brighten the future*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם    

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Miller's Musings Parshas Beshalach: Sea-ze the Moment

This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored in honour of the fifth Yahrtzeit of:

לאה בת אברהם  

דבס''

The sight of the sea splitting before the Jewish people was a vision and event of such monumental proportions, that even the lowliest amongst the nation experienced tremendous heights of prophecy at that moment.  The exclamation of the people “זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ” “This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him”, is translated by Targum Unkelos to mean “This is my G-d, and I will build for Him a Temple”.  It seems that witnessing this unparalleled miracle inspired the people to pledge a desire to construct the Beis Hamikdosh some time in the future.  But why now?  What was it they saw at this moment that instigated this undertaking and triggered this aspiration?

                                                             

By this time the Jewish people had seen it all.  They had watched as a vast empire crumbled and as the very nature of this world was turned on its head.  Yet it seems that there was something about this particular miraculous occurrence that created a greater impact than all the others.  It was at this point that we are told “And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant”.  Without deliberating upon what it was that they saw here more than anywhere else that led to this reaction, what we see clearly is that this was the peak of their awakening (perhaps until Sinai).  The danger of any peak is that there is seemingly only one way from there and that is down.  The Jewish people feared that this would be so and therefore determined to do something that would enable them to maintain their transcendence.  That something was a vow to create the conditions to bring down G-d’s presence to this world.  In this way, says the Lekach Tov, they hoped to hold fast to that revelation far into the future.

                                                                     

Perhaps the best analogy for the travails of life is that of a person struggling through the darkness with no light to guide the way.  Suddenly a flash of lightening illuminates all around and shows the path that must be tread.  But the nature of a flash is incredibly transitory and only shines bright for the shortest of time.  If one is to utilise this momentary awakening, one must find a way to prolong that instant and harness the potential it carried.  We too stumble in the darkness, trying to do what is right, yet burdened by the human desires and frailties we were created with.  Every so often we experience a flare of inspiration that reveals briefly, with absolute clarity, the course we should be taking.  It can take many forms but is unmistakable in its ability to stir us from our slumber.  With that foresight, that it is only there fleetingly, we must be prudent to determine ways to keep hold of the motivation we now feel.  This will take careful consideration to establish how best to retain what we have gained.  But we must resolve to take on something, some light that we can carry with us, some definite resolution, so that the clarity is not squandered and that light not extinguished forever. 

*May Shabbos radiate with light and bring long-lasting clarity*

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Miller's Musings Parshas Bo: Come on Down....The Time is Right

This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored:

ברוך אברהם בן מרדכילעילוי נשמת 

בס''ד

The endgame is almost in sight.  Paroah’s steadfast refusal to emancipate the Jewish people would soon come to an end.  The relentless destruction of this great nation of Egypt would shortly reach its zenith, but not before three last plagues would descend upon Egypt.  The plague of locusts was about to engulf the land and Hashem reveals that He will harden Paroah’s heart so that he will not grant their freedom. Moshe is given a message to transmit to Paroah, warning and rebuking him saying “Until when will you refuse to be humbled before Me?”  And here we come to the question.  For if at this point Paraoh was acting due to the hardening of his heart by Hashem, how could Paraoh be blamed for lacking humility? His free will was removed.  He had no choice in the matter!

                                                             

How Hashem deals with us is a direct response to the decisions we make. And if we choose to create a new set of circumstances, by making choices that change us, Hashem will affect our lives according to those choices.  The hardening of Paraoh’s heart and taking away of his free will was not a reaction to one crime performed, but was the culmination of years of malevolence leading to this moment, due to Paraoh’s incessant rejection of Hashem and anything other than his own divinity.  As things stood, with Paraoh so defiantly arrogant, his heart was hardened. But were Paraoh to make a change, were he to subjugate himself to  G-d, in this new state of affairs there could be a ‘softening’ of his heart and a possibility of atonement.  This path was still open to him and this was the admonition that was directed at him.  “When will you come down from your throne and admit to My true dominance over everyone and everything?  You can do that and were you to do it, the gates of repentance may yet be open and the calamity that lies ahead perhaps averted.”

                                                                     

There are many roots within our soul that cause us to sin and inhibit our changing, but none perhaps as prevalent as pride.  Be it an arrogance that will not allow us to acknowledge our faults highlighted by others, or egotism stopping us admitting we have done wrong, when we know deep down that it is entirely our fault.  Pride has the powerful ability to grab hold of our reasoning and mold it according to the will of our own self-importance.  If we cannot concede that we are to blame or try to see points of view beyond our own, we must look deep within to determine if this is because we are truly acting with integrity, or are simply unable to tolerate a blow to our self-esteem.  We may be held back from our true potential simply because of a lack of humility and a blindness to our own conceit.  Once we cast off our pride, we are on a different plane. We create so many more opportunities for growth and so many more vistas lie before us. So tragic when that which impedes us is solely ourselves.

*May this Shabbos reveal where our true motives lie*   

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם    

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Miller's Musings Parshas Vo'eiro: It's Not For Me

This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored by:

Shmuli and Mimi Kopftsein in honour of their beloved family               

בס''ד

Debate and intellectual disputes have been a key component of Jewish life and learning for thousands of years.  They come with the proviso that they must always be predicated upon mutual respect and a genuine thirst for truth for them to be considered valuable.  Yet the exchange that takes place between Moshe and Hashem does cause alarm bells to ring.  For if G-d has decided that Moshe was to be the one to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, we must pause to wonder what Moshe’s thinking was to claim that he was not appropriate to do so, given his weakness in oratory skills. In truth the very notion of Moshe arguing with Hashem is tremendously challenging to grasp.  But if we put that to one side, we will instead look solely at the logic of his contention that he was the wrong choice. 

                                                             

The concept of humility is one that is often misconstrued and one which we have dealt with before.  The basic principle is that humility is not claiming that one is nothing and has no worth, but rather the belief that one has many wonderful qualities, but that they are all gifts from Hashem.  The upshot of this, is that since these have been given by Hashem, they have been given for a reason.  It is therefore incumbent upon us to make use of those faculties for purposes which Hashem would want us to use them for.  Instead of humility forcing us to cower away from responsibility, it in fact compels us towards it.  The corollary of this, however, is that if, due to no fault of our own, we have not been given the capabilities to perform a given role, it must simply be the case that this is not a role Hashem envisaged for us.  Perhaps then this was Moshe’s assertion to Hashem.  Since I lack the wherewithal to effectively communicate, it must be that this is not the task that was assigned to me.

                                                                     

We spend much of our lives trying to ascertain our place in the great scheme.  We strive to understand what we are meant to be doing and what our path is meant to be.  But as much as we need to resolve what it is that we should be doing, we also need to be cognizant of those tasks that are not part of our life’s purpose.  There is no way that every person can achieve everything and there are some roles that are not meant for us.  This is not a lacking in us or a poor reflection of our life’s choices, it is a necessary part of human existence where not all things can be achieved by all people.  There needs to be an acceptance of this, for otherwise it can lead to disillusionment and despondency with regard to our situation in life.  If we have done all we can do but are simply lacking the means to fulfil a particular duty or position, then this is quite simply not what Hashem wants from us and if He does not want it from us, we should be accepting and not want it from ourselves.  

*May this Shabbos help us see clearly where we are meant to be*  

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם    

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PRINT OUT AND DISTRIBUTE IN YOUR SHUL

If you would like to sponsor a week of Miller’s Musings l’ilui nishmas someone, for a Refuah Sheleima or to celebrate a Simcha please send a message to millersmusingsrabbi@gmail.com or to 07531332970