* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
I would like to share some words of wisdom from Ziva Meir, a couples and family therapist (and also my mother-in-law!), before the upcoming holiday:
“In the book 'Netivot Shalom' it is written: What is our greatest challenge from the Yetzer Hara (the evil inclination)? How is he able to defeat us?
By convincing us that we are not unique. The worst thing is for a person to feel that there is no special purpose to his or her existence.
The Torah portions that we read before Shavuot— the Festival of the Giving of the Torah— describe how each tribe traveled in the desert under its own banner, symbolizing its unique role and distinctive calling. This is an important lesson for all of us: In order to cope with the challenges that we face, it’s important to internalize that each one of us has a special role to play in this world. Before we can accept the Torah, we must recognize our own unique mission.
Every person needs to protect his or her our own space. A story is told about a mother who would seclude herself in the kitchen in order to drink her cup of coffee in peace. When her children banged on the door, she told them: I’m making myself a better mother for you.
She is absolutely correct. You cannot be a good mother, a good woman, or a good human being without allowing yourself your own space, without understanding that you are important and that you have an important role to play.
It is incredible that this is the message we need to learn before we can receive the Torah. If I don’t have my own space in the world —I can’t accept the Torah or commit to anything. If I consider myself to be nothing, how can I possibly relate to such an extraordinary gift? But the moment I realize that there is a special mission that only I can fulfill and that I am part of a larger story, I am able to accept the Torah in the proper spirit.
When you feel as if you are the son or daughter of the King and that He has entrusted you with a unique mission that is yours alone— only then are you prepared to receive the Torah on Shavuot".
Chag Sameach!
