Cease the opportunity

            This week’s parsha, Tazria, begins discussing the laws pertaining a woman who is bearing a child. The parsha begins with the words, “ isha ki tazria/ if a woman conceived seed…” The idea behind this phrase is that we should be grateful to Hashem for the kindness he shows to even the unborn.

The Midrash continues to depict this idea further:

            During the time of conception, the angel Layla is in charge of bringing a neshama from Gan Eden to this world. The neshama of the unborn child does not wish to be uprooted from the Divine source and pleas with Hashem, “I am pure and holy, linked to Your Glory. Why should I be degraded by having to enter a human body? Hashem replies and says, “It is not as you say, the world where you will live surpasses in beauty from the world you have emanated from. You were fashioned for the sole purpose of becoming part of a human being and being elevated by his deeds.”           

            In other words, even though the soul experiences complete bliss and tranquility in olam haba-the world to come- we were destined to live in olam haze-this world. Despite all the pain and suffering we endure, this world is considered greater. Because we have the opportunities to elevate our souls through learning Torah and doing mitzvot, we have more opportunities in this world to accumulate merits, whereas in olam haba- the world to come- those opportunities no longer present themselves to us. Furthermore, we should use this insight to take advantage of every day to do as many mitzvot as possible and to continuously elevate our neshamas-souls- through learning Hashem’s beautiful Torah. We need to take advantage of every single moment, because before we know it, olam haba’s undisturbed bliss and tranquility await us, but unfortunately, with no more opportunities to elevate ourselves.

Predestination

 

When the seed emerges with the soul it was destined to, Hashem asks the angel in charge of its conception, ‘What shall its fate be?’ The entire fate of the unborn child is determined at this time of the pregnancy. At this time, Hashem decides whether the child will be male or female, healthy or sick, rich or poor, his intellectual and physical capabilities, who his future spouse will be, etc. However, there is one exception to all the facets of this person that is not predestined, whether he will be a tzaddik-righteous person, or rasha- wicked person. With all the tools Hashem has bestowed a person with, it is up to him to decide his final destination.

Yirmeyahu 9:22-23 captures this idea ever so beautifully:

            So Hashem says, “Let not the wise man pride himself on his wisdom, nor the mighty man on his might, nor the rich man on his riches, but let him who praises himself take pride in this- that he knows Me than I am Hashem who exercises chesed, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these things I delight”

            In other words, a person should not feel pride in the gifts that he has, such as his intelligence, strength, or money, for all those qualities were given to him by Hashem, and decreed to him before his birth. The only area that he may take pride in is the amount of Torah he has studied and how much he has followed in the ways of Hashem. This should motivate us all to recognize that indeed we may not all be healthy, rich, or talented men; however, we all have the potential to become righteous people full of Torah wisdom and the potential to emulate G-dly behavior. The potential is within us all, it’s just a matter of strengthening ourselves to reach it.

We store all the wisdom of the Torah within

 

When we are in our mother’s womb, we are taught the entire Torah by a specific angel that is destined to us. This angel shows us Gan Eden-‘Heaven’ and Gehinnom- ‘Hell.’ The angel tells us to become a tzadik-righteous person- and not a rasha-wicked person. With all the knowledge of the Torah, our neshama’s-souls- know with complete certainty that we will indeed be righteous men; however, right before we are birthed, the angel strikes us above the lip, causing us to forget all the Torah we spent nine glorious months learning. How upsetting, all that time learning gone to waste! However, the beauty behind this idea is that the information did not perish; it is merely forgotten, lost in the subconscious mind. Moreover, it is up to us to relearn all the material in the Torah, in order for us to reawaken our subconscious minds to all the splendor of Torah we have embedded deeply with in us.