At the very
beginning of the Torah it states that G-d created Man in His image.
Although there
are five methods by which the Torah may be interpreted, we never go away from the
basic meaning of a verse, and the simple meaning of G-d created Man in His
image is that a man’s face is the image of Hashem, is it not?
Rabbi Avigdor
Miller z”l reveals to us that one of the Torah’s chief purposes of teaching
that G-d created Man in His image is that we should behave in the
presence of others as if Hashem is looking through their eyes.
And truth be
told, He is.
So when you look
at someone’s face don’t forget that Hashem is staring you down through the eyes
of that person.
And is it not
human nature to try and behave when someone is looking?
If we really
took to heart the reality that Hashem is looking at us through everyone’s eyes
we would have to behave at least as well as we do in public, would we not?
We would indeed,
but Rav Miller z”l tells us that we can’t appreciate that the human face is the
image of Hashem unless we have Hashem in mind. As he puts it, in order to have the proper
attitude as to what a Tzelem Elokim means in relation to those around us, we
first have to work on our understanding of Elokim.
With Rav Miller
z”l pointing the way we try to understand Hashem in terms of our Emunah which,
if correctly calibrated, lets us feel Hashem right here/right now. And when a person is zoche to a feeling that he
is locked in Hashem’s gaze from on high then he is ready to come to the
realization that He’s also looking at him through the eyes of all those round
about.
And with but one
exception, what goes on in your house is no different from what takes place in
public. Hashem is also looking at you through the eyes of your children and
most certainly through those of your wife.
Unfortunately,
the once exception is you.
As Rav Miller
reminds us, a man is true in his house.
At home there is no posturing in front of neighbors, co-workers, or
anyone else, in front of which one might be embarrassed to be himself. It’s just the wife and kids.
And because it’s
perceived to be only the wife and kids, Hashem gets to see a lot more
than He otherwise would. And He gets an earful
also because Chazal tell us that the walls of a man’s house testify against
him.
So on Yom
Kippur, when you’re confessing all of your sins, don’t forget the ones that you commit
in your house. And especially don’t
forget how you spoke to your wife (husband).
Hashem was
looking at you.
