Mishpatim
We
pierce the ear of an eved ivri who wishes to remain a slave with a claim
against the ear. However the language of the claim seems a bit strange. "Ozen sheshama" not to steal
or be an eved solely to Hashem… The wording
makes it seem like the EAR did its job! The ear HEARD! So why are
we punishing the ear?!
A
horse that runs before its rider is settled and ready is an untrained horse.
Literally, a ‘vildeh ferd’. Idealistically, (& perhaps by matan torah
shepaskah zuhama like adam bef. Cheit) the human ear too, should not really
hear when the nefesh is not ready to be mekabel!
There
is a story about R’ Akivah Eiger that he did not SEE the light at a family
simcha & complained about the darkness, when the room was actually well
lit, with many candles that were lit on shabbos by a goy on behalf of the Jews.
The Chofetz Chaim didn’t HEAR a talmid's ‘white lie’ and asked him numerous
times to speak louder….
R’
Yeruchom Levovitz, in da’as torah in the ma’amar on b’shalach states that
truthfully any limb of the body should ideally not function w/o its ‘trainer’.
Although this may be an overly - lofty level for ourselves, there can be
a practical application of this lesson. Often our ears fool ourselves to
feel as if we are actually doing something by hearing news, music, or even a
shiur in the background when really our minds are tuned out. Perhaps we can
start a practice of not physically doing things when our inner selves are not
ready & attentive. Whether eating, looking around, hearing etc. When our
body functions absentmindedly, our horse is running without its trainer.
