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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored as a Refuah Sheleima for all those who need it, to end the suffering of all those in  pain and to bring the  redemption and ultimate, endless simcha very soon.

Quote of the Week: “In time of crisis people want to know that you care, more than they     care what you know.”

Miller’s Musings

פקודי- פרשת ויקהל

Know Way Back

Like all multi-faceted concepts, the Jewish people are referred to with many different names.  When Moshe assembles his brethren to him and transmits the word of Hashem, the Torah uses the appellation “עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” “the congregation of the children of Yisroel”.  This is not the only time that this term is used and is in fact repeated later in the Parsha.  What we must ask is why here specifically, “congregation” was the appropriate title when in general simply ‘Children of Yisroel’ would almost always suffice?

Let us try for a moment to understand what must have been the emotional state of the Jewish people as they were gathered by Moshe to receive these instructions.  They had sinned, and had sinned in such a show of betrayal and infidelity that Hashem had considered annihilating them altogether and beginning anew.  Moshe intervened on their behalf and begged for their forgiveness and Hashem finally relented to his appeals.  Though we cannot begin to fathom how it was that they erred, we can surely assume that the feeling amongst the Jewish people must have been one of shame, the deepest regret and perhaps the sentiment of an inability to regain what they had lost.  A rift in their relationship with Hashem that could never be healed.  It was in truth a form of exile and the Nesivos Sholom explains, that at the heart of every exile is a removal of ‘דעת’ knowledge.  Knowledge of Hashem is the foundation of all that we are as Jews.  It is the link that binds us to Him and the source and catalyst for our spiritual elevation.  Without it we are lost in the dark.  With it we can find our way back from exile and bring about our salvation.  Moshe understood how his people were feeling and gave them now the mitzvah of Shabbos, to show them their way back to Hashem.  A mitzvah that asks us every week to know that Hashem created the world.  And this is alluded to in the word “עֲדַת”, congregation, and why it appears here, for it is a reconfiguration of the word “דעת”, their path to redemption. 

There is no one that can explain the reason for what we are seeing.  It is only Hashem that can provide those answers and one day He will.  But what is clear is that there has never been a time when Hashem’s absolute control of the world is so manifest and our total dependence on Him so patent.  We must use this time to work on that element of our exile that must be corrected and deepen and widen our knowledge of Him in our lives.  Remind ourselves constantly of His running of the world.  Daven with meaning and passion, focusing on what we are doing and Who we are talking to.  And endeavor to live with Hashem by our sides at all times.  There is no doubt that Hashem can change everything in the blink of an eye and remove this blight from our lives as quickly as it emerged.  Know it, feel it, believe it and live it and with Hashem’s help he will bring us back home to Him, where we belong, very, very soon.

*May Shabbos usher in a time of only joy, peace and blessings*

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Miller's Musings Parshas Ki Siso: Confused, Considered, Compassioned

בס''ד

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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored by Max and Leah Cohen

Quote of the Week: “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them.”

MILLER’S MUSINGS

כי תשאפרשת 

Confused, Considered, Compassioned

There is no question that they had entered uncharted waters and were experiencing confusing times.  Hashem had appeared to them at Sinai, in a display of unparalleled connection with the Creator.  They had seen things that no mortal man had ever witnessed and were surely still reeling from these intense moments.  Then Moshe disappears back up the mountain and does not seem to have come back at the predetermined time for his return.  Added to this, the Soton confuses things further by showing them an image of Moshe’s coffin.  One can surely understand how perplexing and troubling this must have been for the Jewish people.  In view of this, were they truly to blame for making the wrong choices at that time and creating the golden calf?  Could they be held accountable when even their own eyes pointed towards an uncertain and potentially distressing future?

Trying to fathom the rationale behind the golden calf is something that has puzzled many of our great Sages.  Some explain it to have arisen from a desire to create some sort of connection with Hashem, now that Moshe was gone.  Not a betrayal of Hashem, but an unlicensed and illegitimate attempt at forming a substitute for their previous intermediary, Moshe.  Yet within their efforts we see something of their real motivations.  It was the nature of their conduct that betrayed their true, perhaps innermost motives, that were lacking. For if their actions were truly driven solely by being distraught at the news of Moshe’s demise, why did it lead to a celebration around their new link to Hashem, rather than a display of mourning for their loss.  Imagine for a moment Moshe’s perspective; understanding their behaviour as a response to his death and seeing the dancing and merriment that it produced.  Now, pause and marvel at Moshe’s reaction.  When he could have felt justifiably aggrieved, hurt and angry, he was instead the Jewish people’s greatest advocate and ultimately their savior when he could have left them to be eradicated by Hashem.  He understood his responsibility as a leader and did whatever was necessary, in an act of totally selfless concern for all others.  

We are undeniably ourselves facing a time of uncertainty and upheaval.  It has perhaps never been so clear Who is in control and Who decides our fate.  When world leaders seem to be somewhat fumbling in the dark and world powers are crumbling before our eyes, there is little we can do but place our trust in Hashem and try to be the best we can be.  But in addition to this, we must follow Moshe’s example and do whatever is best for each other, even if this may be at some personal loss.  We must take responsibility for our own actions and think how they will impact those around us, trying to do whatever we can to ensure all are safe as well as ourselves. It is not a time for panic, but a time for considered action.  And care for each other must be part of our equation at all times.  We would surely want that consideration from others.

*May Shabbos bring serenity, health and happiness, all under Hashem’s protection*

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Miller's MusingsParshas Terumah: Crazy Rich

BS'D

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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

Quote of the Week: “Money is our madness, our vast collective madness.”

Miller’s Musings

 תרומהפרשת 

Crazy Rich

If there’s one thing the Jewish people have always excelled at, it is giving.  Throughout history, individuals and organisations have been there to provide for the destitute and support those in need.  The donations for the materials to construct the Mishkon and its utensils was something that every Jew was asked to participate in.  Rather curiously though, our Sages tell us that Moshe was instructed to ask the Jewish people in a manner meant to appease the loss of money that would be incurred.  This would beg the question why this would be necessary.  After their plundering of Egypt and the spoils they amassed at the Red Sea, they certainly had enough riches. Would it really require appeasement for them to contribute towards one of the greatest endeavors they would ever embark upon? To bring G-d into this world to ‘live’ amongst us.

Hashem asking them to be a part of this magnificent enterprise was perhaps a way of ensuring that they were personally and profoundly invested in this Sanctuary.  Giving of themselves towards its creation meant that each individual felt directly connected to the resting place of Hashem.  Every Jew must have seen this and understand its significance and yet they seemingly still needed placating.  This enigma, says the Saba MiKelm, is one more example of the power of the Yetzer Horah, our Evil Inclination and his ability to not only convince us to do that which we anyway desire, but even to bring us to the point of madness and lose all rational thought.  It is able to blind the eyes of the most sagacious of people and confuse even the most judicious, in particular when things we value, such as money, are threatened.  It was this realm of insanity from which the Jewish people had to be extracted through the careful words chosen by Moshe.  It is from within this folly of the jurisdiction of the Yetzer Horah that we must escape by whatever means are necessary, whenever we fall prey to his deceits.

Knowing the tremendous power of our own Evil Inclination is incredibly important on two levels.  It firstly allows us to understand ourselves and the foolishness that we are capable of, no matter how astute or learned we might think we are.  Nobody is unsusceptible to the stupidity and complete lack of integrity that it has the ability to wreak in our lives, especially when it comes to defending that which we hold dear, such as our family, friends or anything we have invested time into.  This is something we must be aware of, alert to, and look for, so that we can seek means to overcome it.  But secondly it may give us some insight into the behaviour of others that seem to scream at us as misplaced, blatantly improper, or emphatically immoral.  It may help us to somehow understand when we are let down or mistreated so cruelly by another.  For when it is something that means so much to them, the Yetzer Horah can grab hold of a person and drag them to a place that reason may not enter.  We may see it more clearly in others, but we must be vigilant to see it in ourselves too.

*May this Shabbos open our eyes to who we are and who others are too*

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Miller's Musings Parshas Mishpotim: See-nai Every Day

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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

Quote of the Week: “Live your life by a compass, not by a clock.”

Miller’s Musings

משפטיםפרשת 

See-nai Every Day

No one likes to be interrupted, especially mid-flow.  Yet the Torah, in the middle of perhaps the most important narrative of all, does just that. The giving of the Torah, Hashem’s only direct interaction with an entire nation, and humanity being presented with the very purpose of our existence, is interposed with the numerous laws outlined in our Parsha.  They are indisputably important directives for daily living, such as those relating to personal injury, liabilities and the judicial system. But is it entirely necessary to have them interject during such a monumental episode as that of receiving the Torah?

If we were to analyse what it was that was so remarkable and unique about Hashem appearing at Sinai, it was the unparalleled connection that we had with Hashem at that time.  Leaving aside what we were given and the implications of such a wondrous gift, just being so close to Hashem at that time and experiencing His presence in such an intimate and manifest way, was something unequaled throughout all of history. It would be natural to therefore assume that this was the pinnacle of human existence.  A moment that would remain the consummate point of connection that could never be rivalled.  Yet the truth is not so clear.  If Hashem wanted this to be the endpoint and aim for our lives then He would have made this permanently possible for us to achieve.  But our purpose and our goal is to connect with Hashem in all we do.  Through our mundane daily living.  Through our interactions with each other.  Through the way we conduct ourselves in our work life and businesses.   Perhaps the message of the Torah is that these laws that govern the more commonplace lived experiences are just as much connecting with Hashem as that of the Divine Revelation at Sinai, and in fact create an even more profound relationship with Him. These laws are placed in the middle of this epic event because they are that very thing that Sinai created; an opportunity, every day and every moment, to feel Hashem’s presence in our lives and this time be the instigator of this transcendence.   

It is a part of the human condition that those things that we permanently possess are the things that are appreciated the least, but are often worth the most.  Our health, our family, our financial security, are all things we seem to only begin to fully value once they are gone.  This may equally be true with the mitzvos we are so fortunate to have been given.  We sometimes regard those more sporadic commandments as having intrinsically more value to them, just because of their rarity, whilst minimising the importance of those that make up our daily schedule or are what we would consider part of being a decent human being.  But davening, blessings, concern for each other, simple kindnesses and acting with integrity are worth more than we can possibly realise and are continuations of that moment at Sinai when we connected with Hashem with such intensity.  We must try to see all the good we do in this vein, knowing that each act we do strengthens our relationship with our Father above.

*May the goodness we do this Shabbos be appreciated by us as much as it is by Him*

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Miller's Musings Parshas Shemos: Beginning From The End

ד בס"

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This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored לעילוי נשמת   לאה בת אברהם ולרפואה שלמה מאיר נתן בן דבורה יונתן בן מרים

Quote of the Week: “Sometimes G-d will let you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He is the Rock at the bottom.”

Miller’s Musings

שמותפרשת  

Beginning From The End

It is perhaps one of the most iconic scenes depicted in the Torah.  Certainly in the life of Moshe, the foremost leader of the Jewish people.  It is where it all began, at that burning bush.  Where Hashem first transmits to Moshe the destiny that lies ahead for him.  But what did it all mean?  Why was this vision the one that was chosen to divert Moshe’s attention and bring him to hear the message of Hashem?  It is undoubtedly a wondrous image, to see a bush on fire and yet not be consumed.  But there is surely some hidden, more profound message, depicted by this miracle.

It is well-known that the Jewish people in Egypt had sunk to almost unascendable depths.  One more step towards impurity, would have meant it would have been impossible to rise again or be redeemed.  Their eventual emancipation from slavery, was not due to their own merit, for they were seemingly lacking almost any.  So why did Hashem leave it this long?  Why did He leave it until the last minute and have to do so in a tremendous rush so as to prevent the spiritual annihilation that may have been only moments away?  The answer, says the Nesivos Sholom, can be understood by viewing a seed planted in the earth.  It is only when the seed has seemingly completely decomposed and at a point where only the barest minimum of its structure remains, then, and only then, does the seed begin to sprout and the plant begin to grow.   It was the Jewish people at that point, where nothing was left but the tiniest vestige of spiritual life-force.  That was the most perfect time for their rebirth to begin.  And this was the message conveyed to Moshe.  That no matter how much the Jews were engulfed by the flames of the Egyptian contagion of decadence and depravity, they were never entirely devoured by it.  They somehow maintained that tiny spark of faith and connection that kept them alive and allowed for their resurrection.

We try to have trust in Hashem and maintain our belief, no matter how desperate the situation or challenging the ordeal.  But there can be times when we simply fail to see where the light may come from.  The situation seems calamitous and there are no obvious solutions nor positives to be taken.  It is at these moments that we must consider the idea we have discussed.  That just when we think we are about to lose it all, and just when we think there is no hope for salvation, it is precisely then that we will begin to see Hashem’s hand and then that a new dawn may rise for us.  That which seemed a disaster may well transpire to be the best thing that has ever happened to us and that which appeared awful may instigate the emergence of something that will change your life for the better.  It is the faithfulness to Hashem’s ultimate good that is the spark that is never extinguished and always gives us hope for redemption.  It is this that will ultimately bring about our salvation. 

*May Shabbos bring us total clarity of the perfection of where we are*

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