TO OUR VALUED READERS

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Thank you so much

The Jewish Soul Journey Team

WALK BEFORE ME AND BE PERFECT

Have you ever asked yourself how it is possible to achieve a perfect scorecard in one’s lifetime? After all, there is an expression that says we learn through our mistakes? Indeed, it is written that “a tzaddik fall seven times …”

It might be worthwhile for us to revisit the possuk) in Bereishis that set the standard for this seemingly impossible goal. “When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Hashem appeared to him and said, ‘I am the Almghty G-d; walk before Me and be perfect.’” – Genesis (Bereishis) 17:1.

On a deeper level,  if we understand that being perfect does not mean being flawless, then we we can appreciate what Rav S.R. Hirsch  has taught. He points out that the word for walk in Hebrew is not telech but hesalech, which means “Go your way despite opposition [so that] your progress [is not ] dependent on external circumstances but [rather comes] from within yourself … from your own free-willed decisions.” Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski says this means that even though we cannot live our entire lives without flaw, we can still “be perfect
if I (we) make free-willed decisions to obey the Divine will.

To achieve this type of “walking before G-d consciousness,” we must relinquish our self-interest when it varies from the ways of the Torah, as our friend Yankel* found out. Yankel had a very large sum of money invested in the market in bonds. He decided to take the
entire amount and reinvest it in a more lucrative, albeit more risky, stock for two weeks.

On the very first day his new stock jumped in early trading because it was understood that the Federal Bank would lower interest rates that day. Before the Fed’s announcement the market was already up over 2% and Yankel began doubting his original strategy of holding the stock for two weeks. Therefore he decided, If the value of the stock goes up more
than 3% today, I will immediately return my money to the “safer” haven of bonds
. The market ended the session up 3½%, increasing the value of Yankel’s stock many thousands of dollars.

At this point, making money was the easy part of Yankel’s challenge for the battle raged within him about a continuing strategy. His original plan to hold on to the stock for two weeks now seemed too risky for he could easily lose all his gains. An inner voice rationalized
that it would be better to cash in now, while another voice urged him to keep
the stocks for just one more day, since the interest rates had now just been
lowered, which usually raises the value of stocks.

Well, lessons in life often come with a sting in the tail. The stock market plummeted to a bit over 2½% the next day, and Yankel’s stock dropped accordingly. True, Yankel still remained with a modest profit, but now more importantly he felt an even greater loss in that
maybe he had compromised his personal integrity by wavering from his original decision.

To make matters worse, right after Yankel had the stock sold the value of that stock continued again rise over 1% on each of the next three days. Now Yankel realized that changing his mind twice had cost him dearly.

Part of following the Divine will is to cultivate within oneself the highest standard of integrity, which includes living up to one’s own decisions even when no one else is involved.
This is a mundane but clear application of the words of Rav Hirsch: “Go your
ways despite of opposition … do not depend on external circumstances, but …
[stick to] your own free-willed decisions.”

The story continues, however. Yankel had arranged to go back into the market for two days and then sell them before the fast of Esther, so as not to be distracted by thinking about them during the fast and on Purim. Amazingly on Shushan Purim when Yankel
checked the value of his account, which had gone up by leaps and bounds, did he
happily discover that his attempted stock sale before the fast had failed to go
through and all of the large gain of those few days were now part of his assets.

As we know, the concepts of mehapech hu and ad shelo yada are associated with Purim. Yankel’s pleasant surprise was a fulfillment of both. The Creator of the world has many ways to provide what is meant for us. We clearly see that Divine governance, not our own
reasoning, logic or ingenuity, has the final say.

P.S. The amount that Yankel received from the “gift” of Purim was almost the exact same amount that he had missed out on before.

*Name changed to protect privacy.

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SET UP GREAT STONES – A MEMORIAL TO THE FUTURE

                           

            “It shall be that when you cross over the Jordan, you shall erect these stones, of which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you should coat them with plaster. There you shall build an alter for Hashem, your G-d, an alter of stones; you shall not raise iron upon them. Of whole stones shall you build the alter of Hashem, your G-d, and you shall bring upon it elevation-offerings to Hashem, your G-d. You shall inscribe on the stones all the words of this Torah, well clarified” (Devarim 27: 4 – 8)

                    The rushing waters of the Yarden reach the place where the Kohanim accompanying the Aron Hakodesh are crossing and suddenly the mighty river flows upward as if blocked by a huge wall of glass.  There it becomes a raging torrent trapped behind a transparent barrier arching higher and ever higher until it reaches a peak where it remains suspended in a towering wall of potential destruction miraculously held in place – by Hashem. 

             Twelve men, one from each tribe, are instructed to raise up twelve great stones from the bed of the Yarden from the place where the feet of the Kohanim stood firm as Hashem commanded.  The stones were plastered with sid and transported to Mount Ebal where the Torah was written on them in seventy languages and then they were again covered with sid.  At Mount Ebal, they were used as an alter and then these stones were brought to Gilgal. ([1])  There they served as a permanent memorial whose purpose was to inform the children of Israel ([2])forever  that these stones were taken from the Jordan as the river stood at attention before the passage of the holy ark with its precious cargo.

 

The danger to Klal Yisrael in the crossing was palpable.  It was not a question of their lack of faith in Hashem’s power.   They had all witnessed that directly.   It was more a question of their worthiness – were they deserving of being saved?

               The challenges in emuna we face today are not so different.  There are hugely destructive forces which form a “towering wall” of moral decadence that threatens to inundate everyone in its seemingly unfettered path.  Even those who have managed to safely navigate through the most dangerous passes, still are concerned about their loved ones praying that they survive this generations spiritual holocaust.

              The Torah delineating the many details of the crossing of the Yarden is not to be seen as only a set of epic historic events but also as a paradigm about how to pass through our own Yardanian challenges, as we see hinted to in the word Yarden shares the same root letters as the word for descent – yerida. The Cazal tell us that a yerida is needed to bring about a true elevation – alia.

             In order to better understand these questions we will add two more statements from our Sages, which are: that the test of being a wealthy person (asher) is greater than the test, as hard as it is, of a poor person and their statements that before every elevation (alia) there comes first a decent (yarida).  Therefore perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Torah instructed us to take the “great stones” out from the depths because homiletically that could be said to represent the “great stones” – ie. – feelings of success, and if not careful pride”, that naturally comes up with us after arising from a struggle. Therefore we were commanded to write the whole Torah in seventy languages and plaster the stones over (sid) plaster.  Why write the Torah in seventy languages and then plaster it with sid? Since the seventy languages represents the wisdom and culture of the nations with each having its unique variance from our pathway towards holiness, the Torah clearly expresses to us that no matter in which society during galus we find ourselves the Torah is always accessible to us. As for why to plaster the great stones over with sid, the Malbim (Devarim 27:2) explains that there is two kinds of sid. The ordinary form is spelled with a samach, whereas the more enduring form of sid, which was used here to cover the great stones begins with the letter sinn.

 Perhaps, therefore we can add since there are no coincidences in the holy Torah and sid spelt with a sinn is the same letters as the holy Name Shakai- the attribute of the Creator’s power and strength, we can learn from here that if we ever begin feel excess pride we should envelope those “large stones” of self importance with the knowledge that everything that exist comes from Hashem’s (Shakai) awesome power and thereby realize that only effort is ours, but success is totally determined by the will of G-d.

             If a person has properly dedicated their success and accomplishments to their Source and has offered to us them for Torah, mitzos and misim tovim then one is fitting to serve as a “mizbaach” to offer praise and thanks to Hashem for everything.

              We can now ask why these stones were particularly brought over to Har Ebal, the site from which the curses were proclaimed and not Mount Gerizim where the blessings were pronounced. Why? Perhaps we can suggest that the positioning of these stones acknowledged “achievements” at Har Ebal these “great stones” will act as a barrier that will protect us from ever incurring the negative influences of the curses

             According to the Rashbam, when we swore on the Torah at Har Grizim where the curses were pronounced and at Har Eivel where the blessings were pronounced, this Torah, which was written on the stones, was before us and we swore that we would uphold it.

              Therefore we could add that perhaps one of the reasons the Torah was written in seventy languages is to teach us that in future generations, no matter where or how difficult is the exile this Torah, expressed in every language will serve to protect us if we uphold it.

               The Chiddushei Harim says that in every nation there is a specific attribute that opposes Torah. Moshe Rabbeinu prepared Klal Yisrael for galus where they would be dispersed among the seventy nations and they would be learning and keeping Torah there, so that they could overcome the strength of the particular tum’ah that was opposing Torah in that nation.  Hence the Torah was translated into seventy tongues so that Klal Yisrael could keep the Torah in any galus that would come.

           The Ksav Sofer explains that this was done to frustrate the comments of the apikorsim who would claim that Torah could only be studied and kept in a sheltered environment such as the Midbar or in Eretz Yisrael where Jews maintained their autonomy and no one bothered them.  To refute this, the Torah was translated for them into seventy languages even before they entered Eretz Yisrael to inform them that they would be obligated to keep Torah and mitzvos no matter where they lived because Torah is eternal.  It supersedes place and time and belongs to all places and all times.

             After we left Mount Ebal, where the curses for transgression were pronounced, the stones were permanently placed in Gilgal.   Perhaps this is to hint that those who don’t properly keep the Torah will need to come back and try again in another gilgul.

               May we soon merit the building of the final Beis Hamikdash, where we will once again bring our korbanos on the holy alter of Hashem.



[1] There are a number of different shetas with regard to the number of different stones and which were moved to where. Gemora Sotah 35-b through 36-a.

[2] See Rav S.R. Hirsch, comm. on the Torah – Devarim 27:2. See also Sefer Yehoshuah 4: 6-20.

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

THE HIDDEN LIGHT – told to us from Rabbi Waxman – Monsey N.Y.

THE HIDDEN LIGHT – told to us from Rabbi Waxman – Monsey N.Y.

Reb Shaya came to our door one evening and asked if he could tell us a story. He knew that we “collect” incidents that reveal the amazing intricacies of Hashem’s hashgachah pratis and we are especially inspired by examples of outstanding emunah and bitachon.

 

When we heard Reb Shaya’s account of what he lived through and witnessed during the Holocaust, we wanted to ensure that this amazing tale of mesirus nefesh does not suffer the fate of many other stirring stories of incredible heroism in the service of Hashem that no doubt took place in the raging inferno of Europe in World War II but are lost to us.

 

We hope that this story of how one Jew’s extraordinary courage and sacrifice reveal the wondrous workings of the Creator’s awesome master plan will serve to illuminate the path for succeeding generations.

 

At the tender age of fifteen, Reb Shaya was deported to Auschwitz and from there to a work camp in Eastern Germany. He considered himself relatively fortunate because, unlike many others, he found himself in a camp where the guards did not beat the prisoners senseless or awaken them cruelly in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, they were fed little and suffered constant hunger, while enduring long hours of back-breaking labor in bitter cold with a minimum of clothing.

 

Among the many unfortunate souls in that camp, there was a very righteous Jew by the name of Chaim. He was an older man, yet he volunteered to work with a group of five strong, young men who were assigned to tote heavy metal rails to build a railroad loading station. Young Shaya also noticed that Chaim never ate his soup, which was the only hot dish given to the prisoners during the freezing evenings.

 

Shaya’s curiosity prompted him to ask Chaim for an explanation. Chaim, who had been the Rav of a (shtetl) small community before the war, explained that to save a life, a Jew is permitted to work on Shabbos, and any of the assigned jobs were permitted because their lives were in danger if they refused to do them. However, carrying the heavy rails on Shabbos would only infringe a prohibition of the Rabbanim rather than the stricter prohibition of the Torah. Performing other tasks like cutting or digging on Shabbos, which were less back-breaking, but they would involve the severer prohibition of de’Oraisa from the Torah.

 

As for the soup, Rav Chaim explained, he gave his daily portion of soup to bribe the camp “barber” to shave him with a hand-operated shaver rather than a straight-edged razor. Indeed Rav Chaim tried to avoid being shaved whenever possible. To avoid calling attention to his unshaven face during the daily roll call, he tried to stand in the middle of the four hundred plus prisoners.

 

On one occasion this strategy failed and the commandant noticed him for the first time. He called Rav Chaim forward and asked him where he worked. The commandant, seeing that he was an older man, questioned the overseer why this man was assigned to the hardest work detail. The overseer informed the commandant that Rav Chaim not only volunteered but that he never took a day off, and was also one of the very best workers. The commandant insisted that he be transferred to a less demanding assignment.

Rav Chaim admitted to Reb Shaya that he took no time off because he didn’t want the other five men on his team to bear the extra burden his time off would have entailed.

Moreover, Rav Chaim whispered a nightly Torah lesson in the bunk that he and Shaya shared with six other men. Those softly spoken words of Torah that Rav Chaim had so lovingly committed to memory in a different time and place provided solace and inspiration through the long dark nights in the camp.

 

Rav Chaim also carefully and clandestinely and at great risk kept track of the Jewish calendar by marking the days on pieces of paper that came in the bags of cement and were smuggled into the bunkhouse. He informed all the Jewish inmates of the arrival of Rosh Chodesh and the Yomim Tovim. The behavior of this tzaddik not only heartened and strengthened Reb Shaya, but remained with him as a lifelong example.

 

They were separated when most of the prisoners, Rav Chaim included, were taken on a forced march of hundreds of miles to flee the oncoming Russians before liberation. Reb Shaya, too ill to move, remained behind and miraculously survived. Now, more than sixty years later he told us the epilogue to this story.

 

Reb Shaya settled in Brooklyn after the war. One Shabbos more than thirty years later, a visiting guest sat down next to him in shul. After davening, he introduced himself to the visitor, who did not appear to be very religiously observant, and asked his name and from where he came. The man said that he had lived most of his life in Eretz Israel but was born in a shtetl in Europe. Reb Shaya gasped as he recalled that this was the town where Rav Chaim had been the Rav. Reb Shaya began to recount Rav Chaim’s unforgettable acts of tzidkus and mesirus nefesh in the camp during the war.

The visitor listened intently to each word and began to cry. When he regained his composure, he revealed that Rav Chaim was his father and that this was the first news he’d had of him since they were separated during the war. The two men embraced warmly and emotionally.

As a young man with no surviving relatives after the war, Rav Chaim’s son had been sent to an irreligious kibbutz in Eretz Yisrael by an organization that rescued orphaned survivors. A number of years later he married a girl from the kibbutz and they had one son. Twenty plus years later, that son served as a tank commander during the Six Day War. In the first few days of the war, under intense shelling, the young commander lost a number of tanks and men under his command. During a quiet moment in the night, exhaustion overcame him and he slept. While he slept, he dreamed that he saw a pious-looking man who said that he was his grandfather and assured his grandson that he would survive the war if he began keeping Shabbos and the other mitzvos.

Awakened by loud shelling and still under the spell of his dream, he decided to commit himself to learn what it meant to be an observant Jew. By the end of the next day’s intense battle this young man’s tank was the only one of his entire command that was not destroyed.

True to his promise, after the war the young commander left the irreligious kibbutz where he had been raised and went to Yerushalayim to begin learning how to keep the Torah.

When he started living a life of Torah and observing the commandments, he asked his father and mother if they would also begin by keeeping the laws of Shabbos and kashrus. His parents were in a quandary. His mother had learned absolutely nothing about Judaism in her atheistic kibbutz and his father has stopped observing anything long before. They consulted some rabbis in Israel and listened to what they had to say. They happened to have a trip scheduled to the States at that time, and they decided to seek the guidance of one of the renowned (Admor) Grand Rabbi while in America. Their appointment with the Rebbe was scheduled for the next day of this “chance” meeting with Reb. Shaya.

Rav Chaim’s son, then with tears in his eyes, added that now he knew why he had to come to New York and why he had come to pray in this shul and had sat down next to Reb Shaya. This was clearly the Hand of G-d, pointing him along the way to a renewed commitment to his Jewish heritage.

After this astonishing experiencing, Rav Chaim’s son and daughter-in-law left the secular kibbutz and move to a religious community, where they were able to lead a Torah-observant life along with their son. Perhaps Rav Chaim’s extraordinary devotion to the sanctity of Shabbos and keeping the mitzvoth was the spark that remained hidden for many years and later ignited the souls of his grandson and then his son.

How wondrous are the ways of Hashem!

 

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CLOUD BY DAY — FIRE BY NIGHT

                     

               In Parshas Bhea’aloscha (9 :
15-23) the Torah informs us that all of the journey’s and all of the
encampments of Bnei Israel throughout the forty years in the desert were of
course determined by Hashem, but the way (seliack) for alerting our nation to
travel or to encamp was the cloud(s) of glory that surrounded them.

           The question is: what is the deeper
significance to us today of what this cloud symbolizes and why it specifically
was used out of all the myriads of possible “G.P.S’s – Guidance positioning
systems alerts” that Hashem could have used to guide and direct us? In other
words, Hashem could have designated many other ways to alert our fledgling
nation such as a prophet or Urim vi Tumim to tell them when to travel and when
to encamp, or that they would understand by the astrological signs in the
heavens when to travel or when to encamp, or Hashem could have sent a flock of
birds or animal to show up whenever it was time to move and then lead them to
their next encampment.

           Perhaps we can offer the following
suggestion. Unfortunately throughout history many forms if idol worship have
arisen, for example the worshiping gold and silver; the sun, the moon and the
stars; statues, stones and trees and even human beings have been worshiped as
gods with were  erroneous believed to
have independent powers.    Therefore perhaps specifically clouds were
chosen to guide us throughout the 40 year journey in the desert because clouds breaks
the illusion of what looks like it has substance and independent power. On the
one hand, clouds while floating in the air seem so big and powerful but when a
plane flies through them, their resistance is nil because they don’t have any
significant tangible existence. (Of course they can contain the  makings of a storm, thunder and lightning but
that is not of their own making but based on many outside weather condition
factors.) Therefore perhaps one of the reasons clouds were used to alert our
nation when to travel and when to encamp is because they would always been seen
as only a seliah from the Creator.

          Now let
us apply the above to our relationships between people. How so? Just as clouds
usually are beautiful in appearance, provide shade from the bright sunlight and
provides rain water which is essential for life, but can at times be the
seliach for bringing about stormy conditions, so also, Hashem, in His eternal
wisdom, can sometimes send us even close friends or relatives that stir up our
relationship like a thunderstorm. At such turbulent times let us always
remember that just as clouds are only messengers sent from on High, so also
confrontations with others are also sent to us for our benefit.           

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

OF GIANTS, MEN AND GRASSHOPPERS

     

“There we saw the Nephilim, the
sons of the giant

                        from
among the Nephilim; and it came to pass that in our eyes

[we
were] like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.”  Bamidbar, 13:33

 

                                                                                                          
‏ד’–אייר–תשס”ז                                                                                        

 

               

             The military reconnaissance of the Land
presaged a battle that  appeared hopeless
as it would pit  the weak and small  against the strong and mighty. The spies –
meraglim – in  answering the questions
posed to them upon their return, seemingly did no more than state the obvious
danger;  yet we know that they committed
a grave sin in so doing.  What can we
learn from this tragic event in order to avoid the errors of the meraglim?

The first step is to understand the nature of
their failing. The commentators acknowledge that the meraglim recognized  Hashem’s power but suggest that the spies
thought that Hashem was going to limit Himself and act in accordance with
nature and therefore B’nei Yisrael would be unable to triumph.

 Yehoshuah
and Caleb, men of complete faith, demonstrated what it takes to remain men –
anashim – even in the face of  vastly
stronger and more powerful enemies. Yehoshua faced the distraught assembly that
was weeping and entreating Moshe to return to Egypt and told them a simple but
profound truth.  He did not deny the
obvious size and strength of the giants, but exhorted that “If  Hashem is pleased with us then will He bring
us into this land  and will give it to us
. . . and you , you should not fear the people of the land for
they are our bread; their protective shadow is departed from them as G-d is
with us . . . “ (Bamidbar 14: 8-9).

           It all depends on the lens
through which we view the test. The meraglim saw the inhabitants of the land as
being too daunting and the land as being unconquerable, because they used their
own personal discernment, Yehoshua and Calav viewed the inhabitants of the land
through the lens of daas Torah and thus perceived them as presenting no
meaningful obstacle.  

Unless a Jew sees himself as a representative of
G-d who is All Powerful, he will see himself  not as a person facing his adversary, but
rather as a “grasshopper” facing a “giant”. The way in which we perceive our
relationship to  Hashem is the deciding
factor in how we view ourselves.

 Referring
to the spies’ encounter with the giants, the 
Torah says “vanehi b’eineinu k’chagavim” and   “and in our 
eyes [too] we were like grasshoppers.” 
“Nehi” connotes weeping or crying and suggests a diminished, disheartened
and despairing emotional state.  Although
the  meraglim were initially described as
‘anashim’  righteous men — heads of the
tribes of  Israel,  their lack of faith now surfaced transforming
them from human beings into a more demeaning form of life.  

As is all too apparent from our experiences during
this long difficult galus, if our belief in Hashem weakens, our Jewish self
esteem is diminished undermining our ability to see and appreciate our unique mission
in this world.

            The
Kotzke Rebbe explains: The spies had no right to consider how the giants viewed
them. As Jews and emissaries for the Jewish people, they should have thought
only of their mission, not of what anyone else thought of them.  
How many times do we become discouraged
because of what we feel or perceive that other people think?

When, in that diminished psychological state, if we should be confronted by
a difficult challenge, it takes on the hugeness of a giant in our eyes and as
such has the power to discourage us from achieving our true potential and fulfilling
our destiny. How can we overcome this challenge?

First we should realize that there is no barrier so
 large or overwhelming that we cannot
hurdle it,  if it is Hashem’s will  that we do so. The Maraglim saw themselves as
grasshoppers. Why grasshoppers? Perhaps to teach us that every challenge gives
us the opportunity to choose our direction and destiny in life. When threatened,
the grasshopper can  jump away, as did
the meraglim who counseled the nation to jump far away from their  “giant” challenges.  The grasshopper however has another option. It
can leap over the barrier that lies before it. 
When we take up a challenge for Hashem’s honor,  He will empower us to easily hurdle the
barriers in our path.

The Torah is teaching a profound lesson in
attitude and choice. Does challenge bring with it retreat and despair or does
it elicit feelings of courage and optimism? It all depends on our connection to
Hashem and His will.

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

MOUNT (HAR) SINAI – THE CONDUIT FOR THE MESSAGE

    

               This world is filled with treasure
hunters—people looking for riches in all of its forms –wealth, power, position
and glory.  They search high and low for
clues and directional signposts to show them the way. A recent article reported
on the activities of one of the most successful hedge fund managers in the
world whose fund returns a whopping 36% a year (net before fees).  To accomplish this he uses  a  vast
array of sophisticated computing equipment reputed to be worth over 600 million
dollars and 150 employees who hold doctoral degrees in fields as diverse as  astrophysics and linguistics rather than in
finance.  All of this combined brain
power is used to sift through huge amounts of raw data eliminating what appears
to be irrelevant information or “noise” 
and  scrutinizing what remains for
patterns with the goal of  discerning   investment trends and directions.  If we think about it, the tools for this
search may be  new, but the methodology
is not. It is the age old process of mining for minerals and gold by clearing through
tons of dirt and rock  to reveal the riches
within, using computers rather than digging tools.

            So much of mankind is on a
seemingly never ending search for success and fortune, however, at best, their
endeavors  produce only transitory gains.
This is in contrast to the enduring legacy of our nation which we acquired 3300
years ago when we merited to receive the durable, eternal wealth of our holy
Jewish teachings (Torah).

            At
the giving of the Torah, we were not asked to be searchers seeking out subtle
clues and vague directives.  We did not
have to explore the heavens and plumb the depths of the seas.  We did not even have to climb to the top of
the lowest mountain upon which it was given in order to receive it. It was
brought down to us—by our leader and emissary, Moshe Rabbeinu. The question
then as now was not how to find it,  but
rather how are we to comprehend, appreciate and incorporate its treasured value
into our lives?  There are maps and
guideposts that are available to help us with this exploration.  All it requires is for us to take a fresh
look at some old familiar landscapes.

              To start we might wish to consider the place
of its presentation. The desert is a place that is separated from the busyness
of the world—a place where the world’s standards and distractions do not
impinge—a place where we lacked the ability to be self sustaining, but in fact
had to rely upon the Creator’s (Hashem’s) kindness and protection.  In this place, greatness is measured in
humility rather than in power and wealth for ones’ very survival depended upon
the willingness to humbly accept the direction of the Creator of the Universe.  And thus we find our first  prerequisite for “mining” the treasure that is
our Torah—that is the ability to allow the Torah to guide us rather than us
making determinations that impose our own limitations upon it.

          Another key for accessing the Torah’s
eternal wisdom and guidance is derived from the fact that it was given from above
but was received below.  This
alludes to the fact that the Torah emanates from a place that is “above
natural law, but in order for us to benefit from the wealth of our Torah these teachings
need to descend into all facets of our lives.

             How does this happen? Ordinarily, it is difficult
to evoke changes in habits and behavior, therefore perhaps the intense roaring thunder
and streaking lightening bolts at Har Sinai may have been much more than just an
introduction of the giving of the Torah but actually served to “jolt” the whole
nation out of their old mind set in order to elicit the new spiritual revelation
that was to follow.  For us it can serve
as a lesson reminding us that  before
valuable growth in the service of Hashem) can occur, there often comes a
challenging “storm” – ie: a difficult situation or person that  jolts us and in so doing actually helps us to
realign with Torah directed sensibility and sensitivity. 

             This perhaps explains the fact that the entire
nation experienced a transposition of the senses in which they heard
what they saw and saw what they heard. We, who are the beneficiaries of the
Sinai revelation, can continue to benefit from this vital experience, if when hearing
of some else’s difficult problems – we see what we can do to help them.
Likewise when we see someone struggling – if we allow ourselves to hear
our inner voice guiding us as to how we can react most sensitively to their
needs, we will hopefully bring closer the final redemption (geula), may it be
soon in our days.

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