PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayetzei
5 Kislev 5774/November 8, 2013
ordered a few different sizes of the strange looking bulbs. When they finally arrived I excitedly announced to my family that we would once again be able to see what we were eating for dinner. I plugged the bulbs in and turned the light on. There was a sudden spark and then the room went dark!
The only good thing was that when Hurricane Sandy knocked out our power on Monday evening, October 30, 2012, while we were in the middle of supper, we hardly noticed that we had lost power.
The moral of the story is that light fixtures will only illuminate if the correct type of bulb and wattage are inserted. Anything else and the greatest light fixture in the world will be futile.
Melachim II, Chapter 4, relates the story of the barren Shunamite woman who was promised a child by Elisha Hanavi. Indeed she had a child, but a few years later he suddenly died. When Elisha was informed about what occurred, he rushed to the child’s bedside with his assistant Gechazi.
“placed his staff upon him”, but it had no effect upon the lifeless child. Elisha then proceeded towards the child: “He lay upon the boy, placing his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his palms upon his palms. He stretched himself out over him and warmed the flesh of the boy.”
A light fixture will only give off light if a compatible bulb is inserted into it. The inner light of any person, especially a child, will only shine if a compatible approach is employed.
I’m happy to say that when we redid our kitchen recently we replaced the fixture completely. And we lived happily ever after… until a door handle became loose.
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