בס''ד
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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored
לעילוי נשמת
לאה
בת אברהם
ולרפואה שלימה
למשה חיים בן מרים
ורג'ינה
מלכה בת שרה
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Quote of the Week:
“A ship is always safe at
shore. But that’s not what it was
built for.”
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Miller’s Musings
חיי שרהפרשת
Get
It All Out
He had shown himself willing
to make the ultimate sacrifice. To give
up that which was most precious to him and for the rest of his life, live with
that choice. Avrohom had submitted
himself to G-d’s will in the face of patent contradictions with what Hashem had
told him would be and flagrant conflicts to his own teachings and life’s work. And after he had passed this almost unpassable
test, he returned to find his beloved wife had died from the shock of what had
almost occurred. What a tremendous test
of Avrohom’s faith this must surely have been!
And then to have to deal with the insufferable Ephron and his
underhanded tactics to procure a place to bury Soroh. And yet, despite all this, this does not make
it as one of the ‘ten trials of Avrohom’.
Why ever not?
A common misconception
is that a trial is there to determine the mettle of the person. To find out what they are capable of in trying
times. But even the most perfunctory reflection on this suggestion would see
that this is entirely illogical and impossible.
For if this were the case, when it is Hashem that is administering the
test, there would be absolutely no point.
He of course already knows exactly what level a person is currently at
and is abundantly aware of what this person is able to achieve. We instead understand a test to be as the
Ramban explains it. A means by which to
extract from within us all the hidden strengths and potential that without a
test would otherwise left dormant and never be unearthed. When we pass a test we extract abilities that
have, until now, been buried deep within us.
These are perhaps concealed even to us and consequently require these
trials in order for us to reach these higher spiritual planes. Therefore, says Reb Shammai Zahn זצ״ל,by
the time Avrohom reached this moment of grief for his wife, his previous tests
had raised him to such echelons that this presented no opportunity for further growth. He had already brought into actuality
abilities even higher than those needed now, hence this could not be counted as
a test.
Over our life we build
up a picture of who we are and what we can achieve. It is based upon what we see and experience,
but according to what we have said, it can be entirely wrong. But worse than being incorrect, to have such
limitations on oneself, can be incredibly stifling to one’s growth and restricting
to who we can be. If we do not believe we
can be more than we currently are, it can elicit a self-fulfilling prophecy
whereby we have failed before we even begin a test. A true test brings out what we have not yet
seen within ourselves, but if we already decide that there is nothing more
within us, what hope do we have! We must
be absolutely clear in the knowledge that we have a potential far beyond our current
perception of ourselves. And we must
view each of life’s tribulations as an opportunity to discover new truths about
who we can be. Understood in this way, the
complexities and struggles of life are what allow us to be our better selves
and attain the greatness we must strive for.
*May
this Shabbos enable us to realise our potential and see clearly that it is
there*
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sponsor a week of Miller’s Musings l’ilui nishmas someone, for a Refuah
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