If the sun shone upon him (Shemos 22:2)

The above verse is discussing if a thief breaks into a house and the verse mentions “if the sun shone upon him”. Rashi states that this phrase is a metaphor meaning the matter is clear to you that the thief is peaceful to you, similar to the sun, which represents peace in the world. Rashi continues and mentions that the thief who breaks into the house is someone who is not looking to hurt the person but just to steal something, like a father to a son.

Look closely at the Rashi. He says that the sun is peaceful. Therefore, this week, I’d like to share a thought from Rav Avigdor Miller about sunlight.

What is the longest blessing that we say each day? It is “Yotzeir Ohr”, which is during Shacharis. It begins right after Yishtabach and continues until Ahava Rabba. This is to teach us that we must be thankful for light. We should really focus on this every day, of course during this blessing, but also during the rest of the day. This will make a person great.

Think of all of the great things sunlight does for us. Sunlight brings us all of the colors. Sunlight creates food. It makes plants grow. It gives us vitamins so we can grow. Sunlight gives us light! I used to keep the shades in my home office closed and the lights off when I worked during the day. My wife told me that I need to open the shades and bring some light to the room. Light gives us happiness. Lack of sunlight can help bring depression.

Light is so good to us. Therefore, we should enjoy the light we have which Rashi says represents peace in the world. And when we enjoy the light, we need to feel gratitude towards Hashem who has given us this light. We need to be joyous and sing praises to Hashem. Don’t just rush through this long blessing about lights. It is important for us to focus on this blessing and thank Hashem during the day for the light He has given us.

Good Shabbos!
-y.e.s.
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