The World of Fantasy
In the world of Torah, the prayer, a mitzva, or a character improvement has more power to overcome nature than anything Bill Gates or Michael Dell can conceive.
The World of Fantasy, Part 1
We live in a world where it is easy to feel helpless. Living in a world of 6 billion other individuals, we often see ourselves as a small grain of sand in a huge 
desert. We feel powerless against the forces of politics, business, and mass communication. Barrack Obama, Shimon Peres, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are the movers and shakers of this world. These are the forces of this universe. Have you ever seen a great Torah sage lead the eleven o’clock news? Have you ever read about a student who learned 20 hours Torah every day to bring Hashem’s Divine Protection to his brothers and sisters in Israel dot the front page of the New York Times? Does the modern world we see with our heart and eyes allow us to believe we can accomplish anything significant without it?
desert. We feel powerless against the forces of politics, business, and mass communication. Barrack Obama, Shimon Peres, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are the movers and shakers of this world. These are the forces of this universe. Have you ever seen a great Torah sage lead the eleven o’clock news? Have you ever read about a student who learned 20 hours Torah every day to bring Hashem’s Divine Protection to his brothers and sisters in Israel dot the front page of the New York Times? Does the modern world we see with our heart and eyes allow us to believe we can accomplish anything significant without it?We are trained to believe that unless you have the influence, money, or importance to appear on TV, run a country, or own a billion dollar company, you are subject to the random forces of the world which can act for you or against you at any moment – and there is nothing you can do about it.
In a world without emuna, is it even a surprise that one would constantly seek refuge inside the red-light district of his own consciousness?
Enter the World of Fantasy
In this synthetic reality, nobody refuses you anything. You can do as you please and there are no consequences. You aren’t even limited by your physical makeup. If you want to be strong, you are strong. If you want to be thin, you are thin. If you want to have money, you have money. This world operates according to your rules and you are the master of this universe.
When we are so stressed out over a boss, an enemy, or a Prime Minister or government, we sometimes only see these people as masters of the universe. We find comfort in creating an alternate reality where we occupy the same level of control or power that they do. The endgame is a tragedy. We fail to see beyond the illusion and realize that beyond all of this lies the universe’s True and Holy King. We trap ourselves in our small reality while the Torah learning we perform remains confined to the lonely journey from our intellect to our lips. Tragically, Hashem has no place in our hearts and our minds.
Let’s leave the modern fantasy world of Edom and travel to the eternal reality world of Hashem.
The Torah tells us that everybody counts. It is not big money that moves the world, it’s our individual acts of Kindness. In Psalm 37 we learn that Hashem prefers the small amount given by a righteous man than the hundreds of millions given by the wicked. It is not the captains of industry that sustain us. We learn that the whole world is Blessed with material abundance in the merit of our sages. At one time, Hashem sustained the entire world with food in the righteousness of a single Rabbi who would live off one meal each week consisting of a handful of carobs. It is not the men of power who run the world. King Solomon, who was arguably the most politically powerful Jew that ever lived, said it best: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty, nor bread to the wise. Kohelet 9:11
In the world of Torah, the impact of a prayer, a mitzvah, or a simple effort to improve on our middot has more power to overcome nature as anything Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or Michael Dell can conceive.
If we are supposed to trust that every mitzvah we perform has global affects, Hashem constantly provides for us, and watches over us in everything we do, then why do we worry so much? Why do we still feel helpless? Why do we steadfastly continue to run off into fantasy worlds?
For our generation of cable TV, DVD videos, and all-access internet, this is our challenge. This is the biggest battle we fight throughout our lives. When we look at another woman, we can easily be detected. When we flirt, go online, or even touch another person, there are others watching who hold us accountable. Almost every sexual sin runs the risk of getting caught and resulting in committing a chillul Hashem, G-d forbid.
Except for fantasies of the mind.
To be continued.
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Dovber Halevi is the author of the financial book, How to Survive the Coming Decade of Anxiety. He writes for Breslev Israel and The Middle East Magazine. He lives with his wife and two children in Eretz Yisrael.
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