Yesterday's CLD:
Rav Amos shlit’a explained in a shiur yesterday that there
is a special aspect to darkness in Judaism and in our daily lives of struggling
with how much to bring Hashem into our personal lives. If one takes a deeper
look at the world there are certain times of life where it is difficult to stop
and take the existence of Hashem into mind and there are certain times where it
is extremely easy just to look up at the clouds and the sky and praise Hashem
for all the help He gives us.
We are constantly struggling between two extremes of
accepting Hashem or distancing Hashem from ourselves. Unfortunately we do not
realize the essence of living is based on Hashem being distanced from us on
purpose. People always say: If Hashem
wants me to be religious, then how come doesn’t He reveal Himself to me
directly? If Hashem would be revealed to us, we would literally fail to
always put effort to get close to Him. Think about it this way: if you are walking
down the street and Hashem keeps popping out of every tree saying “I’m here!”
we would eventually lose the excitement of seeing Him (whatever He “looks like”
because we know one of the Fundamental Principles of Faith is knowing Hashem
has no physical attributes and we use this just to satisfy our minds). Playing peek-a-boo with Hashem is not what religion is all about.
So what does this come down to? We are in a place of Galut (diaspora), which is a state of
distancing from our home or being expelled from our place of birth and comfort.
When someone is expelled and away from home all they do is try to get back. It
is written in Devarim 4:29 that the entire reason for placing us in the Galut
was to WAKE US UP and FIND HASHEM with ALL our hearts and ALL our soul. Only when we put in the effort to follow Torah and Mitzvot it becomes almost automatic that an individual sees Hashem's hand in their life, but nobody can run up to Hashem and expect to become prophets!
On a deeper level, Rav Amos explained that intimacy occurs
in the darkness and when one enters a state of nighttime, only then do they
begin to show their real emotions for their spouse. The same goes for Hashem
and His nation, us: the Jewish people. When Hashem places us in the darkness,
in tough times of spiritual tests and obstacles of believing in Him, He is
asking us what side we’re on: His or other gods (can be money, insurance,
desires, etc.).
Only when we are placed in the darkness can we then COMPARE
our lives to times in the light. Hashem knows what He is doing and with what’s
going on in the world, we have NO DOUBT that its for the entire world’s best
interest.
Shavua Tov!
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