Every aspect of
Hashem’s creation bespeaks of perfection.
That’s the
blueprint.
From the
perspective of functionality, however, the gears of Creation only mesh if used
for their intended purpose. When the
sundry elements of Hashem’s mosaic are working at cross purposes the ink on Divine
blueprint runs a little, for as Rav Avigdor Miller z”l was wont to say, the
function of teeth are to chew one’s food, not the inside of the cheek.
The same holds
true for forgetfulness.
Contrary to
popular belief, the act of forgetting is not something that denotes some slight
slippage that just happens on occasion in contradistinction to
remembering which we view as the norm. It is also one of Hashem’s creations and it is
not a physical process.
As Rav Miller z”l
tells us, it is one of the wonderful mechanisms that the Creator put into the
mind.
He wants you to
forget.
There used to be
a saying that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, the
meaning of which was that every benefit in the here and now of this world came
with a price tag of some kind, be it economic, emotional, spiritual or anything
else upon which a demand could be made for a benefit received.
The act of
forgetting is the only exception to this rule because this wonderful gift of forgetfulness
is one of Hashem’s great kindnesses, and as pure chesed it demands nothing in
return. It acts as the ultimate filter
in that it retrospectively flattens life’s speed bumps or better yet deletes
them altogether from the hard disk in our head.
Any emotionally
healthy individual who has ever lost a loved one has tasted of the miracle of forgetfulness. At first, all of the beautiful memories are
interlaced with the intense pain of the loss. But as time passes through the shiva, the shloshim,
and the first year and beyond, it takes with it the edge off the emotional pain,
and as such, what began as bittersweet memories morph into sweet memories at a
given point in the timeline that stretches from the loss incurred into the
future, with that time being different for each person. At this point, one’s memories of the past invoke
a smile rather than a tear.
But as Rav
Miller z”l reminds us, this gift of forgetfulness was given for a purpose, and
it’s meant to be used for that purpose, and that purpose only.
You’re not
supposed to forget Who gave you the gift. For that you are supposed to make use of that
other great gift:
Remember Hashem your G-d.
