Just when you thought it was safe to get back into the curriculum, everyteacher now has an added responsibility, like HaShem, to renew the world ofhis classroom every day. For example, one time theyshould learn in the attic, one time in an inner room, etc. For in this way,one removes the feeling of habit. According to Reb Yerucham, it is incumbent uponevery teacher, for the sake of the educational process, to take active stepsto create an environment in which freshness, excitement, and vigor reigns. Still, although externalities do effect our inner workings, it is usuallynot possible to create a new environment or exciting activity for our kids,or moreover, for ourselves, every day.
Maturity seems to include theability to find newness from within.
The Sefas Emmes, in our sedra,explains that the feeling of boredom and habituation is the result of exileand separation from HaShem and his Torah. Redemption is therefore marked bythe clarity of knowledge that everything is an emanation of the Al-mightyhimself. The essence of this mitzvah, he writes, is for a Jew toawaken a sense of renewal in himself, through a clear, steadfast belief inhis heart that everything is from HaShem. One who loses his sense ofclarity on this crucial issue, falls into the realm of nature, where whathappens today is a replay of yesterday's unchanging, natural laws. One whostrengthens his belief in HaShem, however, realizes that today is not boundby yesterday, that one can rise from the depths to the heights in one momentof truthful realization, and that each of us lives in a designer world ofunlimited potential for growth and change.