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.
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l’ilui nishmas someone, for a Refuah Sheleima or to celebrate a Simcha please send a message to
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