We are studying this week a story in which Moses speaks to the people about the mistakes they have made and about what they could do to correct them. To put it nicely the Israelites, much like you and I, were less than righteous and had moments of being reactive while out in the wilderness. So it seems reasonable Moses would have a few things to say about that. But what’s most interesting is that we learn here how Moses waited 40 years to even mention their mistakes to them!

Knowing Moses had a positive intent behind everything he did, he must have had a reason for waiting 40 years to bring up the shortcomings of the Israelites.

When we see someone doing something wrong, especially when it’s something that personally upsets or hurts us, we immediately want to correct the person or express our frustration. This isn’t because we’re concerned about the person or their soul. It’s because we feel hurt, angry, or upset—and so we react.

However, when we’re on a spiritual path it’s important to learn to reveal the mistakes of others not through anger about what has been done to us but through a sincere desire to help them. If our actions are based in our own feelings or self-interest it will not be useful to the development of the other person and indeed it may actually hurt them.

For this reason, the great kabbalists taught that we should wait at least three full days before we respond to a perceived misdeed. Until then, any reaction would inevitably be coming from a Desire to Receive for the Self Alone.

In fact, some of our sages even suggested we wait until at least one Shabbat had passed. Moses himself waited 40 years!

This week, if you find yourself in a situation where you feel the need to call someone out on their negativity, or tell a person what they’re doing wrong in their lives or what they’ve done to upset you give it a few days until you can approach the circumstance from a place of truly wanting to help the other person.

This isn’t an easy task by any means but if we commit to working on it, it can make a huge difference in our relationships with others.

The more immediately we feel we must react, the more we can probably reveal great Light by just waiting a while.

All the best,

Yehuda

72 Name of the Week

I will purge anger from my heart, freeing my soul of the burden that comes with reacting to the external.
As I recall my moments of anger, I see that I was swayed by darkness, giving power to the situation instead of restricting and keeping the power in my own hands.
As I invoke this Name, I realize nothing in the physical world can cause me to react with anger.
I embrace my own happiness and peace of mind, and am reminded that they are generated from within.