REFRAMING THE SNAKES IN OUR LIVES
Chukas
As punishment for complaining about the Manna, the Jewish people were punished with an invasion of poisonous snakes.
The people turned to Moshe who davened to Hashem on their behalf. Hashem told Moshe to make a snake and raise it on top of a pole in the middle of the camp. Anyone who was bitten by a snake should look up at this snake. If they would do so, they would be healed and live.
Rashi quotes the Mishna which emphatically teaches that this snake was not the source or cause of life or death. Rather, when the Jewish people would look upwards towards Heaven in Teshuvah, surrendering their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would be healed.
The teaching in this Mishna raises a number of questions;
1. Why does the Mishna stress the idea of looking upwards? On the contrary, our sages teach that when one prays, whilst and their hearts should be directed Heavenwards, their eyes should look downwards.
2. If the healing came, not as a result of looking at the snake, but rather by looking towards Heaven, why was it necessary to make this snake at all?
3. If a trigger was needed to cause the Jewish people to look upwards, why did it have to be in the figure of a snake?
In this week’s Chassidishe Parsha, the Alter Rebbe raises these questions and gives a fascinating insight on the deeper meaning of this episode. It carries a powerful and practical lesson for strengthening our Emunah when we face difficulties and challenges in our lives.
Everything comes from Hashem; Not only those things that are openly and tangibly good and holy, but even those things in our world which seem negative or are antithetical to Kedusha. They too come from Hashem, who is the ultimate Good.
The Zohar explains that even the Yetzer Hara and Satan come from a holy source. At the same time as our sages teach that Satan “set his eyes on the Beis Hamikdash and destroyed it”, they also teach that the Satan acts Lshem Shamayim.
Down here they appear as negative forces that oppose Hashem, seeking to challenge and obstruct us in our Avodah. But in truth, they are Shluchim of Hashem, sent to test us. Hashem’s intention, and indeed the intention of the Yetzer Hora itself, is that we overcome its temptations.
The same is true with all forms of challenge, negativity and adversity that we may face in our lives.
The Kabbalists describe two levels of reality; the revealed world (Alma De’isgalya) and the hidden world (Alma De’iskasya). In its source - the G-dly reality of the hidden world, everything is good. When it flows down into the revealed world of our reality, for reasons we do not and cannot understand, this goodness can manifest in a negative form.
The Gemara tells the story of the great sage Nachum Ish Gamzu. He was given this name because he would always say ‘Gam Zu Letovah’, this too is good. When faced with challenging and even life-threatening situations, Nachum’s incredible faith led him to see that it was truly good.
Through defining his reality by the way things are in their source, Nachum with his Bitachon was able to affect a change in status, so that the hidden goodness was not just theoretical but became tangibly revealed in this world, as he successfully elevated the challenge to its G-dly source. As a result, whatever challenges he faced, would become revealed as the ultimate goodness and blessing.
This is the message of Moshe’s snake. The Jewish people were plagued with poisonous snakes of negativity and adversity. The snake raised up on a pole told the Jewish people not to ‘judge by what their eyes saw’ and focus on the negative presentation of the snakes ‘on the ground’.
Rather, they should look upwards and see the snake as it exists in its source ‘above’. If they would do so, they would realise that all in good and that there is no negativity and nothing to fear. They would be healed as the good became manifest.
We may not be on the level of Nachum Ish Gamzu and our challenges in this world may remain challenges. But we can all learn and gain from trying to live with this perspective. We can find tremendous strength and peace by reframing how we choose to see things.
When we experience the snakes in our lives, we should ’look upwards’ and meditate on this; Everything and every situation comes to us from Hashem. Hashem is absolute Good and from Him comes only good. So, this too is good. I may not see it, but I trust and believe that it is so.
In reward for this Bitachon, may Hashem remove all manifestations of negativity from our lives and transform our reality to reflect its ‘source’. Then we will see the deepest blessing and goodness in a revealed and tangible way.
The people turned to Moshe who davened to Hashem on their behalf. Hashem told Moshe to make a snake and raise it on top of a pole in the middle of the camp. Anyone who was bitten by a snake should look up at this snake. If they would do so, they would be healed and live.
Rashi quotes the Mishna which emphatically teaches that this snake was not the source or cause of life or death. Rather, when the Jewish people would look upwards towards Heaven in Teshuvah, surrendering their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would be healed.
The teaching in this Mishna raises a number of questions;
1. Why does the Mishna stress the idea of looking upwards? On the contrary, our sages teach that when one prays, whilst and their hearts should be directed Heavenwards, their eyes should look downwards.
2. If the healing came, not as a result of looking at the snake, but rather by looking towards Heaven, why was it necessary to make this snake at all?
3. If a trigger was needed to cause the Jewish people to look upwards, why did it have to be in the figure of a snake?
In this week’s Chassidishe Parsha, the Alter Rebbe raises these questions and gives a fascinating insight on the deeper meaning of this episode. It carries a powerful and practical lesson for strengthening our Emunah when we face difficulties and challenges in our lives.
Everything comes from Hashem; Not only those things that are openly and tangibly good and holy, but even those things in our world which seem negative or are antithetical to Kedusha. They too come from Hashem, who is the ultimate Good.
The Zohar explains that even the Yetzer Hara and Satan come from a holy source. At the same time as our sages teach that Satan “set his eyes on the Beis Hamikdash and destroyed it”, they also teach that the Satan acts Lshem Shamayim.
Down here they appear as negative forces that oppose Hashem, seeking to challenge and obstruct us in our Avodah. But in truth, they are Shluchim of Hashem, sent to test us. Hashem’s intention, and indeed the intention of the Yetzer Hora itself, is that we overcome its temptations.
The same is true with all forms of challenge, negativity and adversity that we may face in our lives.
The Kabbalists describe two levels of reality; the revealed world (Alma De’isgalya) and the hidden world (Alma De’iskasya). In its source - the G-dly reality of the hidden world, everything is good. When it flows down into the revealed world of our reality, for reasons we do not and cannot understand, this goodness can manifest in a negative form.
The Gemara tells the story of the great sage Nachum Ish Gamzu. He was given this name because he would always say ‘Gam Zu Letovah’, this too is good. When faced with challenging and even life-threatening situations, Nachum’s incredible faith led him to see that it was truly good.
Through defining his reality by the way things are in their source, Nachum with his Bitachon was able to affect a change in status, so that the hidden goodness was not just theoretical but became tangibly revealed in this world, as he successfully elevated the challenge to its G-dly source. As a result, whatever challenges he faced, would become revealed as the ultimate goodness and blessing.
This is the message of Moshe’s snake. The Jewish people were plagued with poisonous snakes of negativity and adversity. The snake raised up on a pole told the Jewish people not to ‘judge by what their eyes saw’ and focus on the negative presentation of the snakes ‘on the ground’.
Rather, they should look upwards and see the snake as it exists in its source ‘above’. If they would do so, they would realise that all in good and that there is no negativity and nothing to fear. They would be healed as the good became manifest.
We may not be on the level of Nachum Ish Gamzu and our challenges in this world may remain challenges. But we can all learn and gain from trying to live with this perspective. We can find tremendous strength and peace by reframing how we choose to see things.
When we experience the snakes in our lives, we should ’look upwards’ and meditate on this; Everything and every situation comes to us from Hashem. Hashem is absolute Good and from Him comes only good. So, this too is good. I may not see it, but I trust and believe that it is so.
In reward for this Bitachon, may Hashem remove all manifestations of negativity from our lives and transform our reality to reflect its ‘source’. Then we will see the deepest blessing and goodness in a revealed and tangible way.