This week's Miller's Musings is sponsored:
לעילוי נשמת שושנה רוזה בת נפתלי משה
and as a רפואה שלמה for
יהודה זאב בן ברכה אלכסנדרה גילה
דבס''
MILLER’S MUSINGS
במדברפרשת
*Giving for the Gift*
When we picture a desert we tend to think of endless sand, rugged terrain and unforgiving conditions. It is a place that provides multiple opportunities for death and very little for life. Yet the Medrash informs us that the Torah, the ultimate life-giving source, was given to us in water, fire and most perplexingly in the desert. What is it about the desert that made it suitable for this role? In answering this we will also be explaining why this Parsha, that describes the Jews’ desert life, always precedes Shavuos?
The life-giving properties of fire and water, the power they contain and their tremendous potential for good, make them suitable choices for an association with the Torah. The Kerem Hatzvi explains a little differently, that water runs downwards to the lowest point, signifying humility. Fire, ever reaching upwards, symbolises strength and passion. This, he continues, is the dual path of Torah scholars. If it is a question of their own honour, they must act with modesty and restraint. But when it is an attack on the respect due to the Torah, they must act with alacrity and passion to quash any assault. Perhaps in a similar way, we can explain that the desert too is symbolic of what is required of a true Torah personality. Just as the desert is ownerless and offers all that it has to whoever comes in it, so too a person striving for authentic Torah knowledge and the true transformation it can affect, must be a person ready to give what they have and of themselves, to whomever may need it. To be worthy and able to receive the Torah, we must first refine our character to be selfless, generous and kind-hearted. We must be like a desert, ready and available to give with nothing in return.
The learning of Torah is that which brings us closest to Hashem, the whole purpose of our existence. Yet there is a prerequisite to Torah and that is correcting our negative character traits and strengthening the positive ones. This is why the Torah never gives any specific Mitzvos about perfecting our personality, because it comes even before the Torah! Without it we cannot even begin. We all have incredible capacity for good. To help others and make their world a little better. There are people that do tremendous things putting others before themselves and sacrificing so much. But it doesn't have to be huge deeds. We just have to take the time to find those moments when we can do small acts that can make a difference either in ourselves or to those around us. Now, mere days before the day of receiving the Torah, it may be worthwhile to take time to do something that perhaps we would not normally have done. This extra kindness could be done as a merit for someone who needs a Refuah, done for their sake when it would otherwise not have been performed. One good deed to prepare us for the great day so that we are able to truly and fully accept the Torah.
*May this Shabbos ready us for the Torah and its blessings*
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