When Moshe saw the unusual spectacle of a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed, he went towards it, realizing that this was something special. But G-d spoke to him and said, אל תקרב הלום – “Do not come close.” He then instructed Moshe to remove his shoes, כי המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא – “because the ground upon which you stand is sacred ground.”
The Hafetz Haim taught a very important 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 money, they would be great. For others, it’s, if only their child did not have this certain problem, whether it’s in school, socially, 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, המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא – the place where 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 opportunity. המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא – wherever we are, that is our opportunity 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 Hashem to solve whatever problems we are facing. But at the same time, we need to recognize and appreciate the opportunities granted to us by our current situation. 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 incident 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 kosher 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, however, 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 us remember that המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא – wherever we are, we have great opportunities to grow, to achieve, and to become better people.