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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