Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Parshas Devarim: My actions matter
8:42 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"Hashem, your G-d has multiplied you and behold, you are like the stars of heaven in abundance" (Deuteronomy 1:10)
Rav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita in Ta'am V'Da'as explains that the Jewish people are compared to the stars in the sense that each individual Jew has a specific purpose in this world. Just like the stars have their own name, each Jew has their own purpose that they were specifically created for. The Jewish people, in general as well were created for the purpose of honoring G-d's name and sanctifying it to the best of their ability.
In another place the Jewish people are compared to the sand by the sea. Just as the sand's importance is due to the conglomeration of many particles, so too the Jewish people enhance their individual qualities by standing together in unity. Only then can they rectify all the worlds.
Imagine the power of the individual! Rav Chaim of Volozhin, the famed disciple of the Vilna Gaon, tells us at the beginning of his work Nefesh HaChaim that a person shouldn't think that their actions don't matter. Not only do our actions matter, but they have the power to change all the spiritual worlds.
The Rambam tells us in the Laws of Repentance that we should look at the world as if it is wavering on the scale between good and bad and the next action (ie my action) could either destroy or save the world. This is the power of our actions!
The Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) will try to convince us that what we do doesn't matter in the bigger scale of things. After all, if G-d is omnipotent and omniscient, why should he care what we do and what effect should our actions have on the world?
Our actions are so powerful, the Sefas Emes tells us that if G-d forbid a person speaks lashon hara against someone else, that spiritual imperfection exists until we ask forgiveness from that person. That means we have spiritually polluted the universe through our mouths and the only way to rectify the damage done is to do teshuvah and ask the person for forgiveness. Without that, the spiritual damage cannot be undone!
We may not have the biggest numbers but each individual is important. We can change the world as a group as well as individually. Just look at what the first man did and the repercussions for those actions.
We should merit to live up to our potential and continue to sanctify G-d's name in this world.
Shabbat Shalom
Rav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita in Ta'am V'Da'as explains that the Jewish people are compared to the stars in the sense that each individual Jew has a specific purpose in this world. Just like the stars have their own name, each Jew has their own purpose that they were specifically created for. The Jewish people, in general as well were created for the purpose of honoring G-d's name and sanctifying it to the best of their ability.
In another place the Jewish people are compared to the sand by the sea. Just as the sand's importance is due to the conglomeration of many particles, so too the Jewish people enhance their individual qualities by standing together in unity. Only then can they rectify all the worlds.
Imagine the power of the individual! Rav Chaim of Volozhin, the famed disciple of the Vilna Gaon, tells us at the beginning of his work Nefesh HaChaim that a person shouldn't think that their actions don't matter. Not only do our actions matter, but they have the power to change all the spiritual worlds.
The Rambam tells us in the Laws of Repentance that we should look at the world as if it is wavering on the scale between good and bad and the next action (ie my action) could either destroy or save the world. This is the power of our actions!
The Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) will try to convince us that what we do doesn't matter in the bigger scale of things. After all, if G-d is omnipotent and omniscient, why should he care what we do and what effect should our actions have on the world?
Our actions are so powerful, the Sefas Emes tells us that if G-d forbid a person speaks lashon hara against someone else, that spiritual imperfection exists until we ask forgiveness from that person. That means we have spiritually polluted the universe through our mouths and the only way to rectify the damage done is to do teshuvah and ask the person for forgiveness. Without that, the spiritual damage cannot be undone!
We may not have the biggest numbers but each individual is important. We can change the world as a group as well as individually. Just look at what the first man did and the repercussions for those actions.
We should merit to live up to our potential and continue to sanctify G-d's name in this world.
Shabbat Shalom
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