10 Jan SHEMOS: HOLINESS IS RIGHT HERE

When Moshe saw
the unusual spectacle
of a bush that was on
fire but was not being

consumed, he went to-
wards it, realizing that

this was something special. But Hashem
spoke to him and said, הלום תקרב אל –
“Do not come close.” He then instructed
Moshe to remove his shoes, אשר המקום כי
because – “אתה- עומד עליו אדמת- קודש הוא

the ground upon which you stand is sa-
cred ground.”

The Hafetz Haim taught a very im-
portant lesson based on this pasuk.

So often in life, we feel that if just this
one problem would be solved – whatever
that problem might be – we would be so
much better. If only we didn’t have this
one struggle – whatever that struggle
might be – we would be able to be the
people who we’re capable of being.
Some people think, if only their spouse
would change this one habit, everything
would be fine. For others, it’s, if only

they had such-and-such amount of mon-
ey, they would be great. For others, it’s,

if only their child did not have this cer-
tain problem, whether it’s in school, so-
cially, or with shidduchim, then they

would be fine. We all have things in our
lives that we want to change, and we feel
that until it changes, we’re stuck. We
can’t be content, and we can’t be who we
want to be.
Moshe thought he needed to approach
the burning bush to experience holiness,
but Hashem said to him, -אתה אשר המקום
where place the – עומד עליו אדמת- קודש הוא
you are standing is itself holy. You don’t
need to come closer. You don’t need
things to change. The situation that you
are in gives you the opportunity you need
to achieve greatness.
If a person is struggling financially,
that is his opportunity. If a person has a

child with problems, that is his opportu-
nity. קודש -אדמת עליו עומד- אתה אשר המקום

הוא – wherever we are, that is our oppor-
tunity for holiness, our opportunity to

achieve greatness.
Of course, we can – and should – try
to change our situation for the better. We

should do what we can and pray to Hash-
em to solve whatever problems we are

facing. But at the same time, we need to

recognize and appreciate the opportu-
nities granted to us by our current situ-
ation. The place where we are in now

is exactly the place Hashem decided
we need to be in for us to achieve.

There was a widely-reported inci-
dent of an El-Al flight that took off late

from New York on its way to Israel,
and it became clear that the plane
would not arrive in Israel in time for
Shabbat. Last minute, it was decided
that the plane would land in Athens,
Greece, and arrangements were made
for the passengers to spend Shabbat in
a hotel in Athens. The Chabad Rabbi

in Athens quickly arranged to have ko-
sher food brought. The passengers

didn’t have their luggage, and so they
spent Shabbat wearing the clothes they
were wearing on the plane.
At that time, the Chabad Rabbi was in
the process of trying to build a mikveh in

Athens. He was unable to do so, howev-
er, because he did not have the funds. In

appreciation for all he had done for them,
the passengers got together after Shabbat
and raised money to build the mikveh.
Nobody on that flight wanted to spend

Shabbat in Athens. And this experience
is not one which any of us would hope
for. But that is PRECISELY where those
passengers needed to be that Shabbat in
order to achieve something special.
Even as we pray and work to solve
our problems, whatever they may be, let
המקום אשר אתה- עומד that remember us
we, are we wherever – עליו אדמת- קודש הוא
have great opportunities to grow, to
achieve, and to become better people.