Miller's Musings Parshas Naso: You and Only You

בס''ד

If you've ever watched a child sifting through his haul of birthday presents after their party, you will have noticed each one being swiftly unwrapped to find out what has been received.  But if each of the gifts are identical then they will soon be given short shrift.  Each of the princes of the tribes brought identical offerings for the dedication of the mishkon, yet the Torah painstakingly lists every individual tribute brought.  Given that we know the Torah contains not even one superfluous letter, it requires explanation why each of the princes’ offerings were listed when the Torah could have quite easily given one description and then stated that each of the princes duplicated that exact same offering.

Although two acts can seem externally entirely alike, in fact they may be diametrical opposites.  To give money to a person because one wants to help someone in need is completely different to giving to another solely in order that others should be impressed by your apparent charitable deed.  The very same action, donating the very same amount, is for one, an act of giving, and for the other, in truth, an act of taking.  Taking this idea a step further, it is also true that even within any given positive action, there can still be multiple forms that it can take;  all correct and valuable, yet different in their essence.  The desire of each prince to offer sacrifices in the Mishkon all stemmed from the exact same genuine wish to be involved in this momentous moment and it came into each one of their minds at exactly the same time.  Yet, says the Ramban, each one came with their own unique motivations and rationales for what they brought and why they brought it.  This meant that although the offerings may have outwardly looked indistinguishable from each other, their essential nature was in truth completely distinct and require its own listing to express this. 

The Jewish way of life demands exact courses of action for every given situation and to a great extent we are bound by the same rules and obligations as everyone else.  This sameness may give rise to feelings of insignificance in both ourselves and our actions.  However nothing could be further from the truth.  Although it is true that you may be performing the same external act, your own set of circumstances, unique disposition and exclusive mindset that only you put into this performance, means that only you will ever accomplish this mitzvah in this particular way and only you can generate the creation of G-dliness in the world that is the result of this absolutely extraordinary inimitable act.

*May Shabbos bring out the uniqueness that belongs only to us*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: What You Worrying About!

בס''ד

There are many elements of Judaism that could be described as pivotal to our beliefs, but trust and faith in G-d is surely universally accepted as central to life as a Torah Jew.  The mitzvah of Shemitta, where all land is left fallow every seven years, is in essence an exercise in fostering that faith and reliance on Hashem.  By abstaining from any form of cultivation of your crops, one is inevitably internalising the lesson that everything is ultimately from G-d, and if He decrees that this gift He has bestowed should be left untouched, then so be it.  The Torah verbalises that which every Jew would say when it came to the sixth year, questioning “What will we eat in the seventh year?”.  But this does leave us with a question as to why this concern would arise in the sixth year, when the land would still be plentiful and no lack of agriculture has yet occurred?

When does a person worry about money?  Is it only when they have none, or is it even when they have plenty?  The answer to this question is rooted in an understanding of the psyche of many people.  There are some that no matter how much they have now, they always fear for what they will have in the future.  Despite, as things stand, having more than enough, they are nonetheless anxious for what lies in store for them.  These are the people the Torah refers to.  These are the people, says Reb Elyashiv zt’l, that even in the sixth year, when the produce is abundant and the storehouses are full, still ask “what will we eat in the seventh year?”.  Those who lack the deep faith we are required to have, will show who they truly are, even when there is nothing lacking at all.  

Irrespective of our claims that we know all livelihood comes only from Hashem, if we honestly examine our thoughts and deeds, we may question if this is truly so.  Do we not at times show profound worry and concern when the future seems uncertain?  Do we not rue missed opportunities for profit and despair at our financial losses?  And even when it is all going well, are we still not on occasion apprehensive about what may be around the corner for us? All these feelings are perfectly understandable, yet are clearly the result of a certain lack of belief.  If we truly believed, as we should, that it is all entirely determined by Hashem, then whatever befell us would be deemed as for the best and whatever lay ahead could be relied upon to be exactly what we need.  We must strengthen this conviction within ourselves and begin to live a life free from such concerns that are simply not for us. 

*May Shabbos imbue us with the faith that we need*

                                                               

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Emor: The Young Ones

בס''ד

From the moment one becomes a parent, the awesome responsibility of protection, nurturing and educating begins.  There is no parent who is free from this obligation and no time that one does not feel this beautiful burden. Yet Rashi in our Parsha tells us that the double expression “Say to the Kohanim… and you shall say to them”, comes to instruct the Kohanim to convey these teachings to the young amongst them.  But why would the Kohanim have been singled out in this way?  Surely the onus is on all of us to transmit to our young the Torah’s teachings! 

Education is a multifaceted discipline which requires a global approach to ensure the best possible outcome for a child.  Environment is a key component of that and being surrounded by those that share the same values as you is something that enables us to try and ensure the children are encouraged to follow suit.  For a Yisroel or Levi, as long as this is so, the children will see a consistency of behaviour among their peers that falls in line with what we want for them, making it easier for them to behave accordingly.  But, says Reb Boruch Sorotzkin zt’l, for a Kohen this is not quite as simple, as their children will see others seemingly exactly like them, who are not bound by the same strictures as they are.  For children of a Kohen, who need to learn about ritual impurity and suchlike, they will be seeing others who are ostensibly the same as they are, yet do not fall within the same parameters as they do.  This is why the Kohanim particularly must employ all the means at their disposal to ensure the appropriate education of their children.

Parenting and education may today be more difficult than ever.  We may look around the world and question where the moral compass of society currently stands.  Whether our children are more or less sheltered from the pervading culture of almost total permissiveness, commercialism and rights in place of responsibilities, they are sure to be affected by what surrounds them.  Even more confusing is when those who should subscribe to the same standards, seem to display contradictory and hypocritical behaviour.  There is only so much we can do about the external influences, but what we can endeavour to do is ensure that our influence is as powerful as possible.  We can make sure our home is one that reflects the values we hold dear and ensure that we and our home our cherished by our children, so that this is where they will turn to know what is right and what is wrong.

*May Shabbos purify us and all whom we love*

                                                               

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Achrei Mos-Kedoshim: Newness to our Jewness

בס''ד

Coming close to G-d is surely what it is all about.  If we were to succinctly summarise our life’s goal as a Jew, it would be to develop our relationship with Hashem and cleave as much as possible to His perfection.  In view of this it is rather perplexing that Aharon is instructed not to come whenever he wanted to the Holy of Holies, this unique place in all of creation where a person could connect with Hashem at the highest level.  Clearly he would need suitable preparation to do so, and only a man of Aharon’s stature would have this access, but why would he be limited in something that is our prime objective in this world?

Entering the holiest place on Earth was something the Kohen Godol was only able to do once a year.  It necessitated comprehensive and intense preparation.  He was required to spend seven days detached from anything other than an absolute focus on what lay ahead and the day itself included many offerings that preceded such a momentous step into the divine.  And yet despite all of this, there was still a concern that if this were repeated too often, there would be a certain lacking in terms of the experiential element of this service due to habituation were it to be a recurring experience.  If Aharon were to enter this place more often than proscribed he would have lacked some feeling of the awesomeness and supreme gift that it was to be allowed to enter there.  This, says the Sichos Mussar was the basis for the prohibition. This familiarisation could not be permitted to happen, despite its possible gains.

There are numerous tools that the Yetzer Horah employs to make us veer from our path.  One of its most potent weapons is our becoming too accustomed to what we do.  This may be a particular mitzvah that we perform regularly or our Judaism as a whole that has become stagnant and lacking passion. But whatever the context, the lack of enthusiasm will surely impact on the quality of our service of G-d, if not obstruct it completely.  The means to circumventing this problem is only through renewal and revitalisation.  We have to find new ways of performing Mitzvos, new methods to reviving what we have done so many times before and new untapped elements to our Judaism that have previously been left untouched.  How can we do it better and what can we do that we have never done before?  Without tampering with the eternal truths of the Torah, it is incumbent on us to ensure we live its values and teachings with excitement, love and joy.

*May we feel this Shabbos’s beauty like never before*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Tazria-Metzora: Cause and Defect

בס''ד

A spiritual ailment manifesting itself as a physical one is something that is often found within Torah thought, but none as clearly as the occurrence of tzora’as. This discolouration of the skin (often misconstrued as leprosy) is described in the Torah as one of three possible blemishes, aשְׂאֵת , סַפַּחַת or בַּהֶרֶת .  Although it is beyond the scope of this musing to identify the distinctions between them, we will instead attempt to suggest why there was a need for three separate skin conditions. Would one not have sufficed as a warning to the sufferer, especially if they were all indications of the same transgression?

It is well known that the punishment of tzora’as was brought about mainly due to the sin of Loshon Horah, speaking ill of one’s fellow man.  This is one misdeed but it can be due to three distinct causes, each one reflected by one of the three types of skin disorders, as elucidated by Reb Moshe Shternbuch.  The first category is those who speak of another’s failings in order to make themselves feel superior, and raise themselves above others.  This led to the affliction of שְׂאֵת from the root to lift.  The second group are those who speak Loshon Horah because they are surrounded by people who act in this way and feel peer pressure to do likewise.  These people suffer the סַפַּחַת which means to be connected, as their sin was due to being attached to the wrong crowd.  The final grouping are the ones who simply thrive on knowing everyone else’s concerns to and love to gossip about all that they know.  Those that fit this description are the ones that contract the בַּהֶרֶת, which means to be clear, as the affairs of others are entirely evident to them. 

I hope you will forgive me the presumption, but I believe that we all speak Loshon Horah on occasion.  The only question lies in our motivation behind it.  Do we lack feelings of self-worth that drive us to belittle others?  Do we surround ourselves with those lacking spiritual development who relish demeaning another? Or do we have this penchant for tattle and hearsay that we find too hard to resist? Whatever it is, we would all surely agree that spreading malicious rumours and even unpleasant truths, is something that none of us would want done to us and should equally not be done to others.  The key to halting this practice may be in determining which of the root causes, outlined above, we possess.  If we resolve this question we can perhaps begin to work on only generating positivity, amity and harmony in the world around us.

*May we feel Hashem’s presence in every moment this Shabbos*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings Parshas Shemini: The Present of His Presence

בס''ד

Recognition for one’s achievements is a basic need that we all have.  No matter how much we may say we do not crave any acknowledgement, the truth is that we all need praise and appreciation from time to time. Aharon’s silence in response to his sons’ deaths is something that is recounted again and again as the epitome of what it means to have faith in G-d.  His total belief in Hashem’s goodness meant there was not even the slightest negative reaction towards their tragic ends and this surely deserved a reward from G-d.  And a reward he did in fact receive which Rashi tells us was an unaccompanied audience with Hashem where he, and he alone, was told of the prohibition against imbibing wine before serving in the Mishkon.  This is a worthy and significant honour indeed, but why was this particular prize chosen for this particular act of Aharon?

Reward and punishment is an integral and essential part of Jewish dogma.  But we do not believe in either arbitrary punishments or rewards.  Both are direct and rational consequences of one’s positive or negative deeds, which can be understood to be the logical outcomes of those actions.  The kind of faith that Aharon manifested was one that resulted from the constant internalisation of absolute trust in G-d’s total governance of the world and His unlimited goodness.  Aharon’s complete acceptance of G-d’s judgement on this occasion, says the Darchei Mussar, once more strengthened this conviction, consequently making G-d an even more ever present and palpable part of Aharon’s life.  The corollary of this being that Aharon raised himself up in his spiritual level in terms of his unstinting connection and awareness of Hashem and was therefore able to experience G-d on his own.    

Developing true faith in G-d and in the axiom that everything He does is for the good, is of benefit to us in so many ways. The greater the certitude of this principle, the greater the peace of mind one will feel no matter what occurs, knowing that it all comes from Hashem.  But according to what we have discussed there is an additional benefit, in that developing this mind-set means that Hashem is an ever present part of our existence and our relationship with him is that much more genuine and tangible.  It means that all we do is with the presence of Hashem there guiding us and influencing that which occurs.  This in itself makes it worthwhile to acquire deeper faith and mindfulness of Hashem’s all-encompassing involvement in every moment of our lives.

*May we feel Hashem’s presence in every moment this Shabbos*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה

Miller's Musings for the Seventh Day of Pesach: The Right Attitude for Gratitude

בס''ד

For centuries we have prayed daily for the coming of the Moshiach with the most righteous amongst us fervently beseeching G-d to end this virulent exile. But in truth there were moments throughout history where there were glimpses of the final redemption, when unique individuals were painfully close to fulfilling all conditions required to be the one that would bring about the perfection of creation.  And yet it was not to be and is still yet to be.  One such example was King Chizkiyahu who we are told would have been the Moshiach had he sung a Shiro to Hashem after he had miracles performed for him.  The questions arise why indeed he did not sing a song of praise to Hashem and moreover what such a song is actually meant to express?

The miracle that occurred at the Red Sea, when almost simultaneously the Jewish people were saved and the Egyptians vanquished, was one that left no possibility of being anything other than an explicit act of G-d.  The reaction to such a clear manifestation of G-d’s power was the Shiro, a song that lauded Hashem for the salvation He and only He performed.  Chizkiyohu also saw wonders wrought by Hashem for the Jewish people, but, says the Sifsei Chaim, he feared that somewhere within him there would be a semblance of feeling that attributed part of the deliverance to himself, rather than G-d.  This slight lack of awareness of the total role that Hashem played in the miracle, meant that it would be inappropriate for him to sing Shiro, a song that proclaims absolute and unmitigated thanks to the One who alone delivers us from ruin.

We all know how much we have to thank Hashem for and at times at least recognise it is He that has given it to us.  But this is not enough.  Our gratitude to Hashem should not be like a birthday card, once a year declaring our appreciation of its recipient.  If we are truly grateful, there should be a constant awareness of how much we are the beneficiaries of.  If we are to truly appreciate all Hashem does for us, we must develop not only a continual mindfulness of His good, but also a cognizance that he is the only One that is actually providing that good.  It is He and He alone that decides the blessings we are bestowed with. When we have that awareness and when we live with that appreciation, we then will be able to sing the Shiro with a full heart, ushering in the times of the Moshiach, when we will see clearly Hashem’s hand and Hashem’s love in every aspect of our lives.

*May our appreciation of Pesach bring us ever closer to our redemption*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה