My favorite part of my school week are the periods when I teach my 8th grade Navi/Beur Tefilla class. I look forward to those times all week and hope that my students do too. This past week we discussed Perek 19 of Melachim I when Eliyahu HaNavi desperately runs away, asking Hashem to take his life. Izevel is out to kill him and he feels all his efforts in getting the people to believe in Hashem were for nought. Hashem turns to him and says, (פסוקים יא-יב)
G-d was not found in the thunderous, powerful wind, earthquake or fire, but rather in the “still small sound.”
When I turned to my students to see what they thought the meaning of this metaphor was, each of their ideas hit the nail right on the head. This “small, still voice” is in contrast to the grand miracle Eliyahu had just performed on Mt. Carmel where the Jews proclaimed
“ה ה֥וּא הָאֱלֹקים.”
One student immediately compared this message to Matan Torah. ( שמות יט:טז)
While Hashem appeared with loud and flashy thunder and lightning at Har Sinai, to Eliyhau he appeared in quiet. We then discussed the many “flashy” miracles in the Tanach- like the splitting of the Yam Suf, or the מן. Today we do not have those types of miracles. (One girl pointed out how the Six Day War was quite a miracle! We then discussed how that was a miracle done through battle and war, not through a miracle that was so out of the realm of the natural order- like the splitting of the sea).
It is therefore much more difficult to notice miracles in our lives, as many of those miracles appear in the form of a ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה a still small sound. I then asked each of the girls to take a moment and write down their “ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה” moment in their lives. The moment that they felt G-d and His השגחה - His intervention in their lives. One of Hashem’s points to Eliyahu HaNavi was that you are not going to live a life full of loud, obvious miracles. It is our job to find Hashem in those soft, quiet moments in our everyday lives.
Additionally, it is not necessarily those incredible spiritual endeavors that we engage in where we connect to G-d. We can’t spend our whole lives in our year in Israel. But, it is the everyday, small spiritual moments that we incorporate into our lives that bring us closer to G-d. And, of course, as parents, we create those small moments for our children as well so they grow up with that “still small sound” of Hashem daily.
I was reading an article by Eytan Kobre called “Out Of The Limelight.” He wrote of the passing of astronaut Michael Collins. I am embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Michael Collins, but apparently he was part of the three- man team on the Apollo II spacecraft Columbia that landed on the moon with Neil Amstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Kobre explains that while Armstrong and Aldrin got to land on the moon, Collins had to “wait in the car” orbiting at 3700 miles per hour waiting for his crewates to return safely. He described how terrified he was, and even lost contact with his crewmates and NASA for a bit, not knowing if they arrived on the moon safely. He was alone. He wrote, “I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. If a count were taken the scene would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus G-d only knows what on this side.” Kobre astutely points out, if only he had ended his sentence, “...one plus G-d,” he would have felt less alone.
But, Collins was never upset that he missed the limelight, the drama, or Nixon’s phone call. He didn’t have any FOMO or was not at all resentful or jealous. He was content with that “still small sound” of his moment where he experienced an incredible view of earth, moon, the solar system etc. He knew how to be content with those still small moments without yearning for the dramatic flash of his teammates.
It is those small moments of life that truly do matter. As we all know, after the flash and power of Har Sinai, the Jews still get involved in the sin of the golden calf. Somehow the flash did not last. It is those “ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה” moments that are everlasting.
As we celebrate the 3,333 year from Matan Torah this year, may we make a commitment to create those “ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה” moments within our family- those small moments that create those special relationships. It is the everyday snuggle in front of the tv, or walks to the library or even doing homework together that create relationships more than the once or twice a year spectacular events. May we also commit to creating and looking to notice those “ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה” moments with G-d. By noticing them we will feel less “alone.” And, may we transmit those moments to our children by pointing out those “still, small sounds” in their everyday lives.
Advisory Update:
Sixth Grade: Students began a unit on social exclusion and harassment (aka bullying) and their role as bystanders.
Seventh Grade: Students wrapped up our Do Not Stand Idly By unit by focusing on their role as standing up for what is right and culminating in our Buy Israeli Goods week and the Teach NJ political action.
Eighth Grade: Students prepared for the cherished inscription that all 8th graders will be receiving in the siddur they get at the 8th grade dinner, which is a tribute to all that makes them special as individuals. Each student wrote his/her classmates and what makes them unique.
