In a sense, by obliterating the potential for evil (the source of death) we become immortal — for a moment. * G‑d wants us humans to choose Him freely. So even though G‑d ultimately wants good, he also allows for the possibility of evil so that we can choose to make the good materialize. As both personal experience and world history have shown, it hasn’t been an easy struggle…
ass movements have the ability to affect instant and decisive change, even when built upon lies and leading to destructive ends. Moments of clarity and epiphany can enable us to overcome then greatest darkness, even if they are never developed or expounded. But only when we fuse the two together, do we touch the purpose of existence – to make goodness and light fill the entire world.
Becoming a master of the moment sounds like a simple and obvious path to spiritual enlightenment and bliss. So why haven’t we all gotten there yet? Because in order to be a master of the moment, I have to cease being a slave to the past and a servant of the future. I have to free myself of all distractions and attachments that take me away from the moment, so I can focus on the task at hand.
The Torah is, among other things, the tool with which we unite the spirit and the matter of our lives. The starting point of this quest must be humility: You are a mountain of an individual, but because your special stature comes from Above, you are a small mountain — but a mountain nonetheless.
This is our spiritual inheritance, our gift to humanity and our mission in life: To embody the loftiest of spiritual experiences within a material reality and to disregard the status quo – or create a new one; not to divest from worldly realities or to fight against them, but to transform them, to rebel with them against the prevailing structure, and create a new world order.
The counting of the Omer is a 49-step program designed to strip away the belief systems and figure ourselves out for real. It is the ultimate system overhaul that systematically separates fact from fiction by exploring each detail and facet of our emotional and psychological make-up, to understand where we are and where we need to get to.
Most of the obstacles are actually self-generated. Whether it is a propensity toward anger, self-aggrandizement, lethargy, or uncontrollable temptations and addictions, the negativity I generate from within and project outwards form barriers that block the light, or make me unable to appreciate it when it is there. On a deeper, more existential level, the obstacle that blocks the light is, ironically, me.
We will still commemorate the Exodus in the Messianic era because without that memory and the transformative quality that constituted the journey out of slavery, the liberation and awareness we will experience then would not be possible.
I close my eyes, and begin a meditative exercise in controlled breathing. No big deal. This is all meaningless. As I prepare to continue on my way, I glance down at the information on the infraction notice. My name, address, etc.… The offence: Traveling 86 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. Place of infraction: Eden, NY. Eden, NY? Speeding through Eden! Now things were really getting interesting…
Perhaps, then, this is the innovation of Moshiach and the Jewish utopia: That with the leadership of a wise and selfless sage we will transcend our normal human limitations and attain perfection both inside and outside – which will no longer contradict each other.
The Sages say that when you find yourself in an era where everything seems absurd, you should anticipate the arrival of Moshiach. Because that’s what Moshiach is all about – lifting the veils and revealing the true intent behind the facade.
July 5, 2012