Torah Thoughts from the Rabbi

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1. The Rabbis of the Talmud often express profound wisdom in the form of simple sayings. One of these is the following: ‘In accordance with the camel is the load' (Sotah 13b).

This is meant to convey the notion that the greater the person the greater his/her responsibility. The camel endowed with greater power and mass has little cause for complaint if its load therefore tends to be bigger. The carrying of that load is achieved with the same effort as that expended for a smaller burden by a weaker animal.

Likewise, if the A-lmighty blesses us with greater amounts of intellectual, financial, or physical resource then we have the challenge of rising to that responsibility. Indeed blessing itself must never be seen unconditional – it must be earned and justified by its proper use.

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the burdens that life throws at us. The man or woman of faith needs always to recognise that if G-d burdens us in this way it reflects the fact that we are indeed capable of coping. The load always fits our capacity to bear it - despite the fact that it may not always feel that way.

2. The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 53:14) declares that 'a sick person's prayers on his own behalf are more efficacious than those of anyone else'. This is derived from Ishmael the son of Abraham who prayed to G-d after Sarah had sent him and his mother away. The Torah states that 'G-d heard the voice of the lad [from] where he is' (Gen 21:17). This implies that his supplication was accepted specifically because it was his own.

The great merit of his father Abraham, which might have been invoked, was in fact secondary to Ishmael's own humble prayers emanating from his heart and experience. So too in life we often imagine that spiritual salvation is to be found outside of our own lives and limitations. Fundamentally, however, we must find the strength that resides in our own souls 'from where we are'. Only then can we begin to be liberated from the external challenges which will always face us.