“Only through the lot shall the land be divided; they shall inherit according to the names of their fathers’ tribes. According to the lot shall its inheritance be divided between the many and the few.”
(Numbers 26:55–56)
Rashi explains the words “According to the lot”: “The lot itself would speak, as I explained previously, teaching that the land was divided through Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration). Therefore it says, ‘According to the word of HaShem.’”
Our lives are divided between situations where we are given the power of choice and situations that require absolute faith.
Where understanding and reasoning exist, choice also exists.
When a person sees something clearly before him and, through his intellect, can relate it to the reality in which he presently finds himself—understanding what to do and how to act—then, as long as it pertains to his own thoughts, speech, and actions, he is obligated to seek out the hint hidden within the situation and discover how HaShem is calling him to draw closer to Him.
At times, however, we encounter situations where there is no understanding at all. We cannot make sense of what is happening, and there seems to be no logical path forward. In such moments, we must believe that there is One Who is deciding for us and guiding everything from Above.
This is the idea of the goral (lot). There was no possible way to determine which tribe would receive each portion of the Land except through the lot. In addition, a Heavenly voice proclaimed the allocation of each and every portion.
The same applies to those hidden situations in life when we feel stuck, powerless, without advice, and completely lacking understanding. When we approach such moments with emunah, we can relate to them through the perspective of the goral.
Rebbe Nachman teaches in Sefer HaMiddos that the sweetening of harsh judgments comes through the goral, as we find with the scapegoat sent to Azazel (Sweetening Judgments, 94). This is because the goral operates beyond human understanding.
Even on the side of the sitra achra, we see how people become involved with various forms of gambling and lotteries. According to halachah, habitual gamblers are disqualified from serving as witnesses because they are not considered fully engaged in productive society. This further highlights the concept that the goral exists beyond the realm of ordinary human reasoning.
When a person merits such a clarification through the goral, there is no room to challenge it, because one sees that everything is directed and supervised from Above.
The practical lesson is that whether we are in a situation of choice or in a situation of goral, if we live with emunah, we will receive genuine guidance and clarity regarding how to conduct ourselves in every circumstance that life presents.
May HaShem help us do only what He wants from us, and may we serve Him with sincerity and wholeheartedness until the complete Redemption. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom
Chaim Kramer |
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