Friday, June 21, 2019

The grass is always greener

Sivan Rahav Meir quoted a beautiful thought from R Moshe Tzvi Neriah on our parsha: Many people think that if only they lived in some other place, at some other time, had gone to some other school, had a different teacher, different parents, etc then they would be able to excel in their avodas Hashem and their learning.  What do we see from our parsha?  We have the dor de'ah who experienced yetzias Mitzrayim, kri'as Yam Suf, maamad Har Sinai, people who had the zechus of learning Torah directly from Moshe Rabeinu while eating mon and having G-d take care of their every need, and despite all that they complained "mi yaachilanu basar," there's not enough meat in the cholent, and as Rashi explains, that was just an excuse anyway -- in truth, they just wanted out from religion.  They had the best teacher, the best environment, the best of everything, and it did not make a difference.

The environment can't make you into an oveid Hashem or a talmid chacham.  It can only nurture the drive that starts from within.

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