Torah

Nothing in life is an accident. In Parshas VaEschanan, we read about the Arei Miklat, the Cities of Refuge for those who unintentionally killed (D’varim 4:41-49). This parshah usually falls out immediately following Tish’ah B’Av, and, consequently, shortly before Elul. At face value, the Arei Miklat, Tish’ah B’Av, and Elul do not seem to share a thematic connection.

There was an old man who would walk along the beach every morning before work. He was walking along the shore early one morning after a big storm had passed, and found the beach littered with starfish. As he continued farther down the shore, he suddenly noticed a small boy in the distance who was picking up shells from the shore and gently throwing them into the ocean. As he got closer, he realized that this boy was actually walking amongst the thousands of starfish that had been washed up during the storm. As he came across each starfish, he would gently pick it up and throw it back into the ocean.

In our previous article, we began exploring the Torah concept of order and unity. To briefly review, Rav Eliyahu Dessler, a prominent 20^th century Jewish thinker and author of Michtav MeiEliyahu, writes about three different levels of order (Michtav MeiEliyahu, vol. 1, p. 92):

Previously, we began exploring the Torah concepts of seeing and hearing. To briefly review: The spiritual concept of seeing is the idea of observing something as it is, i.e., in a completely static state, lacking any movement. When you see a picture, you grasp the entire image instantaneously. There’s no process of constructing or building the picture in your mind; everything is just there, at once, without any effort.

In two places, the Torah discusses klal Yisrael going to battle. In Parshas B’Haaloscha, the Torah states, “When war will come to your land against an oppressor who oppresses you, you shall sound t’ruos with trumpets, and you shall be remembered before Hashem, your G-d, and you shall be saved from your enemies” (BaMidbar 10:9).

When Yaakov Avinu is finally reunited with Yosef after 22 years of separation, in what can only be imagined as an intensely emotional scene, Yaakov embraces Yosef, sobbing on his neck (B’reishis 46:29). Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that as Yaakov embraced Yosef for the first time in 22 years, he was saying k’rias Sh’ma. What is the meaning of this? Why not wait until after this joyful and emotional reunion with his long-lost son to pray? The answer often given is that Yaakov was overcome by intense emotion and wanted to channel this emotion toward Hashem through reciting k’rias Sh’ma. However, there may be a deeper layer here, as well.