30 Aug The Waters of Tshuvah

Inspired by the teachings of Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Rabbi Moshe Genuth

Although we don’t presently have korbonos (sacrifices, offerings), our prayers, mitzvot and tshuvah are our offerings to Hashem.

‘G-d finds our tshuvah pleasing’. This can be likened to the bringing of first fruits (bikurim; parshas Ki Tavo). Our tshuvah when cultivated, harvested and delivered to G-d are like the offering of the first fruits, and like the powerful spiritual sparks of the first fruits, our tshuvah contains powerful sparks of holiness.

Rain is a physical representation of our spiritual condition.

The ‘season of tshuva’; Elul, and the Yom Tovem end with Shemini Atzeret on which day we pray for ‘rain… in its’ time’; in the time and place, and amount that Hashem decides we merit to receive the rain (geshem). Too little rain and we have a drought, too much rain and we have destruction of a flood.

Hashem could make the rain (as water likened to Torah) fall upon us all at once in one giant sheet, or with his loving-kindness/chesed, He can make the rain fall in the size of nurturing droplets. All at once in sheets it is damaging, and when it falls in droplets , it is sign of His chesed…His loving -kindness.

Although the rain must be in the form of the droplets of loving-kindness (chesed) to be beneficial, a small amount of strength (gevurah) must be present in the rain for the water to be able to permeate the ground. The rain, like our character (midos) requires a delicate balance.

Relationships require loving kindness… like the rains that nurture our sustenance. Just like the rains that descend from heaven, we must also look to have a balance in this world  in order in order to spiritually and physically succeed like a nurturing rain.

A question we may ask ourselves :
Like the nurturing rains that can be both spiritual and physical, are Your rains in balance?      What do we need to change about our self to bring in to allignment the balance and harmony of Our Will with G-ds’ Will to merit to receive the beneficial rains?

Lawrence (Leib Getzel) Lax
Addictions and Counseling (Hnrs)
http://www.lawrencelax.com
lawrenceJlax@gmail.com