We humans are unique in this creation, as we love to tell and for which, occasionally, laud ourselves… "Yes we speak, yes we can search truth…and yes, we have the inimitable distinction of causing exile."
That's right, no plant or tree ever caused itself to feel out of place, detached from its source of meaning, adrift from its cause. But we humans deal with those sorts of conditions constantly. To walk through life sticking to the same path is not in our daily human nature. We are constantly unsure, and even the most spiritually aware are destined for a process of missteps and redirections amidst the sea of choices and decisions we constantly make.
But "there's still time to change the road you're on," sang the Led Zeppelin. That's right: perhaps the most incredible secret of Creation, is that of Teshuva. That even though my choices -- or even the choices that the world before has made -- may have led me to a place I don't want to be, the moment in front of me is entirely mine, and entirely fresh for a new beginning.
But what is the "right road?" Where is the Divinely constructed path? Rebbe Nachman in Torah 78 of Likutei Moharan, (given over on Rosh Hashana 205 years ago), teaches that "the beginning of the creation was in order to reveal 'midat malchuto', a graspable version of the Creator's Sovereignty." This vast world of histories, evolutions, conflicts and life is here to reveal a Unity within it all, between all the components within, and the Will that stems from Beyond. A truly unified system where all paths will lead back to that Unity, to that One who sits upon His Throne and rules us all, a system that can be detected in the way the members treat themselves, each other and even in how they react to unknowns.
In the earthly realm, within a sovereign society there are a common currency, language and project of national binding. And even though there are many different roles being played, there is a unity pervading each one's action. All profits are included in the Gross National Product, every service offered and exchanged, each house built, every old lady helped across the street adds to the grand project. On the deepest, sharpest level, our world too functions this way.
There is of course the grand question: how do we the peasants hear the King's command? How do we hear the Creator speak that Will? An answer: when we say Shema Yisrael… our eyes are closed… our ears are open to receive our ultimate dispatch from the Creator. Just like on Shabbat, when we cease our constructions and actions, seeking a chance to listen in to what is really being said from within our selves and from beyond. This action is a tremendous statement on the part of a creature like a human, who could perfectly well choose to ignore anything greater than itself. We are indeed the King of the Jungle, and it is Divine Will that it be so. We should feel secure in our illusion. Secure that is, that it came from Hashem, this hiddeness, this constant wondering, these unknowns that confuse and bewilder us in our lives.
When we choose to acknowledge our unknowing, our limited power-then the Lion crowns the King, as the reggae artist loves to say. We humble ourselves to that which is beyond. Sometimes the only question in life is when will we admit that we are not in control. On Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment, we have two choices, to stand in fear of the power that will be… or to rejoice in our own choosing to crown the King. Why is there fear? The only fear would be that "I am NOT crowning the King." The simcha of Rosh Hashana is unlike any other-there is tremendous joy in unifying our individual separate selves with something so much greater, something that transcends our own individual lives, the synagogue, and even the Jewish people. By receiving the Creator as King on Rosh Hashana, we have a chance to rejoice for the whole world as One. And in doing so, we surprise the Boss by delivering the project on His desk the day before it was to be requested, just needing a signature.
Shaul David Judelman
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Shaul David Judelman currently resides in Jerusalem. After growing up amongst the Douglas Firs of Seattle, Washington, he came to Israel on a quest for Judaism alive in its land. He spent six years in the Bat Ayin Yeshiva Rabbinical program and now teaches at Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo while working on several different environmental initiatives in Jerusalem. He is the founder and coordinator of Simchat Shlomo’s Eco-Activist Beit Midrash, a program offering holistic in-depth Torah study around issues of ecology. |