The Point

 

We are all unique and precious, all different and irreplaceable. Biologically, mankind is the splitting of the first couple into millions of particles. Spiritually, each person is a spark of the first souls. As a fragment of Adam and Eve, we all actually participated in their sin, and therefore, the precise goal of our being here is to rectify one point of the first sin: our share. This is the purpose of our passage through life. What we have come to do here on earth cannot be done by anyone else.

 

We are really unique. It would be absurd to take pride in this, just as it would be incongruous, in the other extreme, to minimize our importance.   

There are many people who debase themselves, saying, "There is little point to my life!" This is because they are ignorant of the principle that we have just cited, which derives from the study of the deep mysteries. Having accepted this principle, we will then ask, "How can I know what my specific rectification is?"

 

For this search, we find three starting points:

 

1. There are spiritual forces, called angels. They are sent by God to accomplish some mission in the world. They are completely subject to Him, having no independent will. Thus, when God sees a man in search of truth, even if he is still very far from it, an angel of truth is sent to him immediately. In other words, a lucidity, a divine clarity, is conveyed to the heart of this person to guide him to the goal, to help him avoid pitfalls and to reveal to him the right path.

 

2. The book of Psalms contains amazing mystical keys that can awaken the most dozing heart, unveil to any human being his own hidden doorway and even open the most fearsome gates. It contains all the balms, which will be showered over the soul of the believer who intones them persistently. It inspires us to emulate the king poet and engage, like him, in creative mediation (as we shall extensively describe in chapter 15). Among songs and verses, we shall plunge ourselves into lofty levels and might encounter the very depths of our souls. So great is the power of introspection that it can awake even the prenatal memories and remind a person what he was told before his birth…

 

3. During the months that precede a birth, the soul of the embryo is enlightened with holy wisdom. It is taught the entire Torah and shown all the paths through which it will move about in its future life. Furthermore, reveals Rebbe Nachman, it is instructed on its specific mission, on the essential reason for its coming back to earth. Alas, as soon as the child is born, it is tapped on its lips by an angel and it forgets everything it was taught!

 

The reason why it is made to forget is to provide it with an opportunity to search and hence to deserve true merit. The purpose of the instruction (even though it is forgotten_ was to provide a profound subconscious background tat will enable the soul to make valuable comparisons during its quest.

 

Since most people, including those who are aware of their responsibilities, are nevertheless greatly absorbed by primary needs, they do not find the time, spirit and force to engage in such research.

 

Well aware of our need, Divine Providence provides a mediator to intervene between the average man and God: the true leader, the Tzaddik. What the Kabbalists call, "the true leader" now becomes obvious: it is precisely the wise and saintly master who has already discovered his own purpose in life and fulfilled it. He then spends the rest of his days helping his brethren to find theirs.

 

This was the basic idea of the Chassidic renewal: announcing to all the lost flocks that they must join their worthy shepherd, the one who will show them the particular path that will bring them back to their goal in joy and triumph.

 

 

To be continued…

 

(Used with permission from COURAGE by Israel Isaac Besancon. Published by Shir Chadash Publishers).