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Korbon Olah: Appreciation

GYE Corp. Tuesday, 10 January 2012

The first Korban brought in the Parsha is an Olah. Usually the Olah was brought as a Nedava to show Hashem how much we appreciate all that he does for us. But, the question is, do we really appreciate all that He does? When we walk out in the street and we see trees growing, do we thank Hashem for their beauty which makes the world a more pleasant place to live in? Do we thank Him for the oxygen being produced by the trees which allows us to live? Do we thank Him for the shade that they provide? Unfortunately, most of us do not thank Him enough for these things, because we are so used to seeing them around from when we were too little to understand what they really do for us, and so we take them for granted. Imagine though, if you came to a distant city where shoes were growing from the trees. Would we not be fascinated and thank Hashem for this wonderful miracle tree? So, too, if we think about it, it is no less a miracle when apples or oranges grow from trees!!

I find that keeping a positive attitude and outlook on life, it helps me stay level headed and focused on what's important, and on fixing what I need to fix. Let's try to take a few short minutes everyday to focus on what we do have, and appreciate all the wonderful things and people that are around us. The Chovos Halevuvos says that we first need to master the Sha'ar Habechina, before graduating to the Sha'ar Avodas Elokim. Let's keep our eyes open, and hope it will help us to stay focused on what's important - getting closer to Hashem.