Monthly Archives: January 2018

BS’D

Rav Avigdor Miller ztk’l was known for his emphasis on appreciating the wonder and beauty of nature and the vast wisdom of the world that Hashem created among a multitude of other qualities from which we can learn so much. This classic story epitomizes his constant focus on appreciation for Hashem.

Once, a grandchild visited Rav Miller at home and was puzzled to see his grandfather with his face in the sink. After a few minutes, Rav Miller stood up, and breathed deeply. “The air is so wonderful,” he said.

His grandchild said, “Why was your face in the water for so long that you couldn’t even breathe properly?” Rav Miller said, “On my way home, someone started talking to me and commented that lately, the air has been polluted. I didn’t want my appreciation of Hashem’s air to lessen, so I decided to deepen my appreciation of air. After depriving myself of air for just a short while, I now am even more thankful to Hashem for providing us with such wonderful air. (Rabbi Shmuel Brog)

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Our ‘natural’ inclination is to be drawn towards materialism. Physical pleasures and possessions uplift the ‘earthly nature’ of man. R’ Yisrael Salanter ztk’l describes it beautifully when he writes:

‘Insofar as man is a physical being – ‘dust from the ground’ – his heart inclines to the material. Therefore, he desires to ‘eat, drink, and be merry.’ He loves wealth and fortune, and longs for honor and dominion. He is full of self-importance and seeks to delight in bodily comforts.’

However the base challenge remains the same regardless of how much we acquire; there is no end to ones desires. Essentially our craving is insatiable. Our wise Sages have been known to say, “No one leaves this world with even half his desires fulfilled.” A practical solution – Live a more simple life!

Let’s enclose ourselves in our personal Teiva (ark) and ask ourselves, “What do I really need in this life?” The mighty stormy flood of Noach carries us away from our true mission in life. The Alter Rebbe ztk’l, Ba’al HaTanya HaKadosh elucidates that the turbulent waters of Noach are worries concerning our parnassa (livelihood). Of course we need food, shelter, clothes and the like. But what can we live without?

Differentiate between a need to a desire. A need is vital. A desire is driven by emotions that results in a demand – I must have it! That is the warning sign that the flood waters has risen to dangerously high levels. When this occurs, we must go back into our safe haven, our ark, a life of Torah and Tefillah, and re-align ourselves back to our needs.

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The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh teaches that nothing is more harmful to the soul then living a life empty of joy. A baby is born with an innate tendency towards happiness. In time their perception of life changes and they view the world negatively since life has a way of ‘disappointing’ people over time.

What is the source of this disappointment? It may arise from setting goals, materialistic or spiritual, that aren’t attainable which leads to a general feeling of failure. Yet we must emphasize once again the importance of perception when it comes to reaching a state of happiness. The founding principle of happiness originates from the understanding that one’s worth is not based on personal pleasure; only from the delight infused from living a life of G-dly purpose.

When our hearts feed us the message, “I need more, I want more,” genuine lasting joy becomes unreachable. Selfish desires are never satisfied; the body always wants more. However, knowing that all is from Hashem and is intended to fulfill the purpose we were created for, makes us happy. In this way, a person feels she has absolutely everything she needs at every given moment; if she needed more, she would have more.

Joy is firmly linked to how we see things; that is in our hands. Often we cannot change the circumstances in our lives, but we can always change how we accept and live with it. When we go through life with a clear vision of fulfilling our purpose, we won’t be disappointed with what life serves us. Setbacks are indicators of detours in the road. Hashem with His Infinite wisdom kindly places them to align us back to where we need to go. Just say, “Hashem take me where I need to go” and you’ll never be disappointed.

BS’D

There is one particular request that Dovid HaMelech seeks and emphasizes in perek 27. Dovid makes numerous pleas, however this one encompasses the rest. Verse four: “Echad sha’alti me’et Hashem, Otah Avakesh… (One thing I ask of Hashem, this I seek…)” The Hebrew word used for ‘ask’ is sha’alti as opposed to bee’kashti (to seek). Why?

The word she’elah refers to the idea of a loan while the word bakashah denotes a request that does not need to be returned. Dovid HaMelech pleads with Hashem that He consider giving him a ‘loan’ of compassion and allow him the quietude of sitting in Hashem’s house and embracing His love. Amazingly, Dovid HaMelech, the King of Israel, feels inadequate to make a request but rather feels as though he is only entitled to a loan of Hashem’s compassion. What are we to say?

We must never despair or lose hope that we have gone so far adrift that we cannot return to Hashem Who loves us dearly. We pray for His protection and to be consoled by His Fatherly love, even if we need to take it as a ‘loan.’ Even if we are undeserving we trust that Hashem will ‘lend’ us this chance to experience His endless love no matter where we are.

We seek, we beg and we ‘borrow’ but never lose hope in the loving care of our Aba who ‘wishes’ to shower us with His love and protection more than we can imagine. Hope and trust is the message of this perek, as indeed the final closing words are, “Place your hope in Hashem. Be strong! He will strengthen your heart and can place your hope in Hashem.”

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There is a story told about the Gaon HaRav Chaim m’Sanz ztk’l. After his son passed away he was asked how he bears the tremendous suffering and pain of loosing a child. His answer was given via a parable: Let’s imagine for a moment you are sitting comfortably on a chair when suddenly you receive a hard slap on your back. Immediately you turn around to see who did it.

If you turn around and notice a stranger behind you that you have never seen before chances are you will implode or explode with anger towards him. However, if you recognize that person to be your father and realize that it was a friendly smack, you are more likely to be acceptable and receive him with a warm glow.

The Gaon continued to say that there is a ‘ meaningless smack’ and there is a ‘smack of love’. I received a harsh and painful smack when I lost my son. However when I turned around to see who did it I saw that it was from HaKadosh Baruch Hu who I love more than anyone or anything in the world. His love for me is greater than His love for anyone in the world. Therefore I am able to cope with it the way that I do.

Hashem loves us and is guiding us to a world of perfection… forever. B’H may we merit to see only revealed good, Amen.

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A Jew who is tormented by his afflictions thinks that he suffers alone as if all his personal afflictions and those of all of B’nei Yisrael do not affect Hashem,c”v. Yeshaya the prophet said, ‘In all their troubles He was troubled,’ and Chazal tell us, ‘When a person suffers, what does the Shechina say? “My head is too heavy for Me, My arm is too heavy for Me.” When a Yid is afflicted Hashem suffers, as it were, much more than the person does. The reason being that since Hashem is not subject to any limitation, therefore His suffering from Israel’s troubles is also boundless.

Precisely because Hashem is infinite, ‘His suffering’ is infinite and beyond human conception. The rivers of tears shed by Ahm Yisrael who are in pain are like a mere trickle compared to the ocean that is Hashem’s suffering. He stands with us at every street crossing and knows our fears. There is a reason, and the questions do have answers. Hashem, so to speak, is in His inner chambers weeping, so that one who pushes in and comes close to Him by means of living in a Torah way weeps together with Him and lives Torah with Him. Only this makes the difference, for the weeping and pain a person undergoes by himself, alone, may have the effect of breaking him and bringing him down so that he becomes incapable of doing anything.

But the weeping a person does together with Hashem strengthens him. He weeps, and is strengthened; he is broken, but finds courage to study and teach. It is hard to raise one’s self up, time and again, from the tribulations, but when one is determined, stretching his mind to connect with Hashem, then he enters the inner chambers where the blessed Holy One is to be found; he weeps and wails together with Him, as it were, and finds the strength to study and serve Him.

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Emuna is an innate gift given to every Jew. The emuna seeds were ‘planted’ during the entire experience of Yetziat Mitzrayim; with every plague another seedling was lovingly planted in our hearts by Hashem, a testimony of His love for us. We read in the Pesach Hagaddah, “Ani v’lo saraf (It was I {Hashem} and not an angel)” who redeemed you from Mitzrayim; so that we remember that we were and still are personally taken care of by Hashem Himself.

Genuine emuna is a settled intellectual conviction that what Hashem has promised will indeed come to pass. Borei Olam’s promises of our future are as certain and reliable as though they were being told to us personally right now. We should be keenly aware of Hashem’s love for us at every given moment. The word bitachon (trust) is derived from the word betach (secure). In other words it describes a state of safety, security and certainty, not just intellectually but emotionally.

“Ki karov eilecha hadavar me’od b’ficha u’vilvavecha la’asotoh (For the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it)” (Devraim 30:11). Although this particularly refers to our ability to do teshuva, it is a well known teaching that after doing a spiritual accounting we are gifted with incredible closeness to Borei Olam. The ability to bond to Hashem is very near to us, we need not travel far to access it, as it is warmly planted in our hearts.