To Think or Not to Think

Welcome to the new month of Shevat. This month is a transitional one. It's the month in which the first signs of spring appear. Trees are waking up from their slumber and beginning to sprout new growth. The earth is beginning to thaw and all that seemed dead is showing the first signs of life.
Being that humans are compared to trees, there must be a lesson for us to reap. What is that lesson? What is the significance of sap rising?
For one, this process takes place secretly. It happens hidden away from sight. This could be compared to man's thoughts. A person's thoughts are secret and private.

What thoughts are rising within us this time of year? Where do they take us, if anywhere?
The Torah portions of this month describe the process of the awakening of Am Yisrael after 210 years of slumber under Egyptian rule. First to the realization that Hashem was with them throughout their struggle and finally to the revelation at Sinai of their true potential and destiny. It's no coincidence that we read these narratives every year during this month of Shevat. Our task is to find the connection and the relevance to our daily lives.
A seemingly random thought pops into your head. Where did it come from? What does it want from us? The Hebrew word for thought is Machshavah, which comes from the root Chashuv, which means important. Every thought that floats through our brain has significance. The fact that something somehow formulated itself in our minds as a word or image indicates its importance. So, I ask again, where did it come from? How does something become valuable to us?

The source of a person's values can be traced back to three main streams: 1) The values of the society and culture we grew up in, 2) Our friends and associates we come into contact with on a daily basis, or, 3) Our parents, mentors or role models/idols. If you stop to reflect you will find that all we hold valuable can be traced back to one of these three sources. As we mature we pick and choose which of these become top priority and which become low priority. Our identities are then built and defined based on what we hold more or less valuable. These decisions pre-determine which thoughts we will deem worthy to develop and pursue and which we will discard.

Where am I going with all this? I was wondering what makes a Moshe Rabbeinu as opposed to a Par'oh. What is the significance behind their confrontation? What was going on between them? Why was it so difficult for Par'oh to let the awareness of Hashem influence and affect his behavior while for Moshe it seemed like second nature? After all, they were both born in the same country, Moshe was even raised in Par'oh's home, taught all the things Par'oh deemed valuable, yet they ended up being complete opposites? What happened?
The sap rising up within the depths of the tree.....

A random thought pops into your head...What happens when that thought conflicts with your self interest? Do you press delete? Do you push return to sender? Or do you wonder if, perhaps, it came for a reason? If the root of thought is Chasuv, important, then no thought could be disregarded or discarded. Every thought holds the potential for bearing fruit. Even the ones that leave us feeling uncomfortable, guilty, ashamed or confused. Our job is to trace it back to the value that produced it. Was that thought from my father? My high school teacher? A movie I once saw? My college roommate?

The nature of a Par'oh is to take on the title of his predecessor. His title indicates that his own private name that his parents gave him is irrelevant. He is the king of Egypt, the lord of suppression and resignation. He has no potential, no insight or discovery of self hood. Just another link in the endless chain of Par'ohood.
On the other end of the spectrum you have a Moshe, the one drawn from the water, not bound by any dictates of form or shape. He rejects the values of his upbringing and refuses to become another nameless product of high society. (In fact, Chazal teach us, that he had seven names!!)
These two forces are constantly competing within us. On the one hand we could become the brainless Par'oh whose life, values and identity are completely and utterly dictated by the three roots enumerated above, and on the other hand the Moshe which rejects all for the sake of self discovery rooted in the G-d-given gift of freewill. The freedom to will things not based on nor dependent on others.

This ability is what the month of Shevat offers us. The sap is rising. Will we allow it to produce foliage and fruit? Or will we squash it and return it to the ground to remain restricted and unexpressed?
This is the choice we have whenever a thought enters our mind; whenever an image flows down our stream of consciousness.
Every thought is Chasuv, significant.
Seek the source.
Let the sap rise.
Don't suppress.
Address.
Express.
Be blessed.
Chodesh tov.

About the Author:
Avraham Iskowitz is a former student of Yeshivat Bat Ayin. He and his wife Raizi live in the village of Bat Ayin with their three sons.

http://batayin.org/