Ahavah Rabah 15: Peace of Mind
והביאנו לשלום מארבע כנפות הארץ, ותוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו
Bring us in peacefulness from the four corners of the earth, and lead us with upright pride to our land.
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We ask Hashem to bring us out of exile to “shalom” and then to take us upright to our land.
HaRav Avigdor Miller zt”l explains “shalom” here as “m’nuchah” or peace of mind, in order to achieve sh’leimus (perfection and completeness). While we are spread out amongst the nations of the world and under their rule and influence, we face many obstacles that block us from sh’leimus.
In previous times, these obstacles often took the form of persecution and poverty. Baruch Hashem, today for the most part we are free to serve and come close to Hashem without these obstacles.
However, we have our own very significant formidable challenges. The influence of the nations of the world permeates our work and higher secular educational environments, what we eat, how we eat, our ways of relaxing and refreshing ourselves, what we read, what we bring into our homes, and perhaps most dangerous and troubling: what our children have access to and have to battle against. Unfortunately, these challenges are ever-present even in our yeshivos and shuls.
We ask Hashem here to bring us to a state of shalom, when we will be able to focus exclusively on achieving sh’leimus and closeness with Hashem, free of these negative and damaging influences.
We then ask “ותוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו–v’solicheinu kom’miyus l’artzeinu.” The previous phrase focused on taking away the negative. This phrase moves to asking Hashem to take us “upright” to our land. This represents a time when we will be held in the highest esteem by the nations of the world. It is not enough just to be free in our land without physical danger. We ask that we be held in the highest esteem, because that will remove the negative influences and allow us to recognize and feel privileged to work on perfecting our midos and conducting ourselves with righteousness and yashrus (integrity). Only then, will we be able to reach true sh’leimus.
Integrating Mitzvos into Our Daily Lives
In order to battle against the negative influences that surround us, we must establish safeguards in our homes and for our children to eliminate inappropriate reading materials, unsupervised devices, and other materials that enter our homes. What we allow to enter our minds, hearts, eyes, and ears, and those of our children’s, will either bring us and them closer to Hashem, or they will push us all away and distance us. They will either bring us happiness and fulfillment in this world and for eternity, or they will lead us to false, short-lived physical pleasure and ultimately regret and sorrow.
Perhaps an even more effective method of battling negative influences is to tirelessly work to infuse a love and passion into ourselves and our children of coming closer to Hashem through learning and living Torah and performing mitzvos with joy.
When we make these efforts to battle influences that distance us and our children from Hashem, and we fight to come closer to Him, we have the privilege and opportunity to have in mind to fulfill a number of mitzvos. When we do, we bring even more brachah and k’dushah to the world and reap even greater priceless rewards for eternity.
Amongst the mitzvos we can fulfill in our efforts could be Yir’as Hashem, Ahavas Hashem, “ונשמרת מכל דבר רע–v’nishmarta mi’kol davar ra (you shall guard against anything evil),” “ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם–v’lo sasuru acharei l’vavchem v’acharei eineichem (and not explore after your heart and after your eyes),” “והתקדשכם והייתם קדושים–v’hiskadishtem vi’h’yisem k’doshim (you are to sanctify yourselves and shall become holy,” Chinuch HaBanim, “שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד–Shivisi Hashem l’negdi samid (I have set Hashem before me always,” “ובחקתיהם לא תלכו–U’v’chukoseihem lo seileichu (and do not follow their traditions),” Kiddush Hashem, and Chilul Hashem.