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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored
לעילוי נשמת
נפתלי מאיר בן הרב בנימין דוב
and in honour of the coming of Moshiach, may
it come speedily in our days!
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Miller’s Musings
וירא
Don’t
Miss All The Good Bits
If there was ever a man of
contradictions, it was surely Lot. Sent
away by Avrohom, due to his polluting influence, he chose Sodom, a place
reeking with malice and impurity. Not
only did he assimilate among the natives there, but he rose in power in his
newfound home and became their judge. And yet regardless of this, we see him display
huge self-sacrifice and altruism, when he risks his life to shelter guests. In a place where such behaviour incurred the
death penalty, this feat of selflessness and courage stands distinctly incongruous
to all we know of him. And when he
willingly offers his own daughters in exchange for the guests’ lives, we once
again starkly see the incompatible and paradoxical nature of his conduct. How can
we understand this?
In spite
of our portrayal of Lot as a deeply perplexing individual of multiple
inconsistencies, the truth is actually far more explicable. Every person is the sum total of many parts; the
innate attributes of their unique soul, the impact of their parents and the
effect of their surrounding environment.
Lot was no different and in many ways was a hugely flawed
personality. It was not by coincidence
that he simultaneously left perhaps the greatest human being that ever lived
and entered a place doomed for ruin. But
having lived a major period of his life close to Avrohom, it was impossible
that some of his virtue would not have affected Lot. It was this exposure, says the Dorash Dovid,
to a giant of kindness, empathy and true love for all others, that ultimately
impacted on Lot to create this part of his makeup. Residing with Avrohom, witnessing his benevolence,
taking part in his giving and seeing the humanity a person could possess, shaped
Lot, perhaps despite himself. And, on
occasion, it gave him that ability and urge, to do whatever was necessary for
the good of another.
How do we feel about
ourselves? I would imagine that each one
of us has traits that we would rather we didn’t possess. Traits that we struggle with but don’t seem
to be able to purge from our life.
Perhaps we view them with shame, frustration and something bordering on despondency. The key message that we can take from what we
have said is to recognise that just because we fail in one area, even
repeatedly so, this does not define who we are.
We are complex beings, composed of a myriad of different influences and
inborn qualities. Each one of our facets
must be viewed individually and reacted to as such. This is of course not to say that we can
resign one area to being an unmitigated failure that can be abandoned. We must strive all our lives to develop and
correct every part of who we are. But
when we fail and perhaps fail badly, and that failure disappoints us once
again. We must know that there is more to us than this one defeat. There are so many times when we do succeed
and we are triumphant. If we look with
care we will see there is far more good within us than perhaps even we realise. Good that does express our true selves.
*May
this Shabbos shine a light on all the good that we are*
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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
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