Thousands Year Old Tension
Author:
Rabbi Schusterman
Date:
October 14, 2020
Tags:
Challenges, Lifestyle, Rebuilding, Tishrei
Have you ever felt this way? Your exercising, your emotional equilibrium is balanced, getting along with your loved ones, making meaning out of each day, you are riding high.
BOOM! You find yourself right back at the starting point and you wonder how did you get here again? Can it really be? Is this the same me that just yesterday was living this elevated and purpose filled life?
The answer is yes and get used to it! It’s as old as time itself.
In fact it is captured in the opening verse of the Torah. In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.
Heaven represents the desire for a life of meaning and earth represents our earthiness and drive for physical/self focus.
We can’t escape it, we can only embrace it.
The heavens is My throne and the earth My footstool – Isaiah.
G-d lowers Himself as one lowers themselves when they sit. This injects in us the desire to yearn for a life of meaning.
G-d’s footstool is where the magic happens. The feet are lifted to rest on a footstool. G-d gives us the power to lift our feet, our earthiness and self interests to be a footstool for G-d. Metaphorically, that means we can escape our self interest and make purpose and meaning of our struggle.
The choice is ours, but the struggle is real.
Stop fighting it and embrace it.
Good Shabbos!
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