emunah, tefillah, a little mussar, and a shmeck of geula

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Hashem Is Looking



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.