“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Terumah
Rosh Chodesh – 1 Adar 5775/ February 20,
2015
I have
often wondered what life is like in the north where temperatures hover around
zero degrees for weeks at a time with strong winds with snow and ice burying
the frozen tundra beneath.
Recently
all of us on the east coast found out what it was like without having to leave
our neighborhoods.
The
deep freeze that has engulfed us these last few days has left us pining for
spring. We have experienced the words we state each morning “Before his cold,
who can stand?” and now we await the fulfillment of the next pasuk: “He sends
His word and He melts them; He returns His wind the waters flow, and the
snow birds in Miami return”. (The last phrase is not from Dovid Hamelech;
it’s my own addition.)
During
this slew of Arctic air, a thick patch of ice has formulated right in front of our
front door. It is the result of melting snow from the roof from the sunlight
that drips down and freezes when it hits the frigid ground.
Even
after I have made it down out steep driveway and down our snow covered path I
have to stop and proceed slowly over that ice patch before I get to the front
door.
It
serves as a good reminder of G-d’s warning to Kayin in parshas Bereishis that the
evil inclination “crouches at the door”.
When I
was a high school student, I remember the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Berel Wein,
exhorting us to be mindful of how we come home at the end of a day at the
office. He would relate that during one particular time of his life when he
held a very challenging position he would often leave the office feeling
frustrated and annoyed. When he arrived home he would drive around the block
and spend a few added minutes reminding himself that his wife and children
should not be the target of his frustrations.
Those
first moments set the tone. The black ice lies insidiously right in front of
the door and we must be wary of it!
In
education, it’s often said that the tone of the day is set in the first
moments. Students can gauge from the teacher’s immediate reaction if their
presence is welcomed or not. The seasoned teacher ensures that he/she greets
each child at the beginning of class with a happy countenance and a friendly
comment, even though with some students it has to be acted.
A
child too can sense their parent’s feelings when they come home from school or
when they wake up in the morning. “The greatest gift that a mother can give
her child is to have her face light up whenever the child enters the room” (Toni
Morrison).
Another
facet of this analogy is that any potential growth in life always contains its
share of pitfalls and challenges that hinder that growth from taking place. One
has to be dedicated enough, and want it badly enough, to figure out how they
will traverse the ice in their path.
The
good news is that warmth melts ice. But the warmth must be directed at the ice
as it lurks menacingly right in front of the door. Once you get passed it the pleasantness
of home awaits.
Shabbat Shalom &
Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani
Staum