The Meaning of Life

Every element of Creation contains within it a Divine Reality. This is the hidden, yet sustaining force of all Life. The purpose of Judaism is to realize this divinity and to draw it into the reality of our lives. When this is achieved, you transform the World and elevate yourself...

This purpose is not meant to be accomplished in one or a few generations. This is the statement of purpose for creation. This purpose is fulfilled through the endeavors of each individual, at each moment through all generations.

This seems to be an enourmous task. In our age, however, with one positive act, we are impacting and elevating thousands of components in the world. With the advance of technology almost everything we do has involved or is presently involving the efforts of many people through all stages of the process.

Think of making a phone call to say hello to your mother. How many people are involved to allow this to happen? Yes, even Alexander Graham Bell, and that assistant of his. It is mind boggling. Think about who actually designed the phone, the wires etc. Each part is qualified when we are using it to do a positive act, which is part of serving G-d. Through this act we are bringing out the Divine reality in all the components that are involved.

There is a story of a Rabbi who was sent by the Ba'al Shem Tov to a particular place. He told him where to go but gave him no further instructions. The Rabbi sat for a long time expecting something to happen. Seemingly, nothing did.

When he returned to the Baal Shem Tov, he reported his supposed failure. The Rabbi figured that he was not worthy enough to fulfill the task; therefore, nothing happened.

The Baal Shem Tov had him repeat the story again, and asked him to mention every single detail. This time, the Rabbi included that he was thirsty and went over to the stream to get a drink.

What I find most amazing about this story is that these opportunities are to be found all around us every day. Often times we are looking for the cosmic act that will change our life and the world.

The Mitzvot System was given to us to accomplish this exact function. This is the way to elevate the world and all of the elements. Within the context of Mitzvot we are lifting up ourselves and the world. To be sure, we still must make decisions of which Mitzvah to do and how to do it. But by knowing that this act is spiritually designed to transform, we are ahead of the game.

The cosmic act is here. It is ready and waiting for you, today!