A Grasshopper for Rav Kanievsky……and a Maple Leaf and a Dandelion Seed for Rav Miller

Parshas Va'eschanan is the very Middle of the Summer 

A Grasshopper for Rav Kanievsky……and a Maple Leaf and a Dandelion Seed for Rav Miller

Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt’l in Toras Avigdor, Parshas Va’eschanan:

The maple leaf is להְוֹדִיע! A seed with a special wing; a wing leaf. 

If you would take the trouble to raise it and

throw it into the wind—some people never did that—you’ll be amazed to

see that it doesn’t just fall down. It rotates! The leaf is attached to the

seed in such a manner that you can see engineering is involved; it’s

planned according to wind physics. And the wind causes it to rotate

and it flies away from under the shade of the parent tree and it plants

the seed somewhere else where it can grow a new tree.

When you see that, it’s כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתְךָ יאֹמְרוּ – the leaf is speaking of the

glory of Your kingdom, להְוֹדִיע – to make known! ! לְהוֹדִיעַ ¨ לְהוֹדִיעַ ¨ לְהוֹדִיעַ

To make known! That’s the purpose.

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Once

I was sitting at Chaim Berlin on the fifth floor and a messenger came

through the window—it was a dandelion seed floating on a parachute.

And I took it and I spent time meditating on this. There are about thirty 

silken hairs in the parachute. And in the middle, suspended from the

middle, is a seed passenger. And it arrived at the fifth floor. Now,

dandelions don’t grow on the fifth floor anyplace; they’re not that tall.

But this parachute enabled it to rise up and it was sent to me min

haShamayim. There’s no question Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent it. I was

sitting in my chair near the aron kodesh and it flew in gently. And I

looked up as if a malach had come through the window. It would be

more important to me than a malach.

And later—after the seder—I took it and put it under the faucet to

see if the silken strands would wilt in the water. No! Even when wet

they remained outstretched because that’s their function; even when

rain comes they shouldn’t lose their ability to float. Miracles! The Glory

of Your Kingdom!

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Another fascinating tidbit:

You know, one of the Canaanite nations was the Chivie and the

Gemara says chivie is from the word snake; a snake is called chivie. Why

were they called the ‘snake people’? Because נָחָשׁ עָפָר לַחְמוֹ – The snake

chews earth (Yeshayahu 65:25). The snake is always testing the earth with

its tongue. It flicks out its forked tongue to collect tiny particles from the

ground and it uses the Jacobson’s organ, located in the roof of the mouth,

to analyze the chemicals in the dirt. That’s how it knows where it is,

where its prey is, other things.

The Chivie were the same; they could taste the earth. They picked up

the dirt and they used to lick it and they could tell by the taste what crops

you want to plant there. They had the ability to know what to plant in

every plot of land. Some earth has more alkaline—that’s better for dates

and figs—and some is more acidic which is better for wheat. By picking up

earth and tasting it they knew exactly what could grow well in this earth

or how to fertilize the earth according to its need.

Toras Avigdor Year 8 | Issue 44

© Copyright 2024 by: TorasAvigdor.org

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In tape #706, 

"Ten Easy Steps to Greatness," Rav Avigdor Miller

emphasizes that even a seemingly ordinary action can lead to

greatness. Even if the action itself might not be extraordinary,

the fact that everyone around you is not doing it—and you

are—already elevates you and makes you greater.

Hearing this reminded me of a conversation I had with my

Rebbe about 15 years ago, near the end of summer zman. He

looked at me with passion in his eyes and said, "Bein hazmanim

is what separates a good bochur from a true Ben Aliyah."

He went on to explain: many bochurim learn well during the

zman—but the real test, the real opportunity for growth, comes

on Motzaei Tisha B’Av, when the world shifts into vacation

mode. 

While everyone else is packing up for summer, that’s

your chance to stand out.

Of course, it has to be done with the correct balance, but if you

can harness those weeks to keep growing, to continue

shteiging—that’s one of the secrets to achieving Gadlus.

Have a Good Shabbos,

Hillel Meyer

Director of Toras Avigdor in Eretz Yisroel