In the prologue to the Ten Luminous Emanations, Rav Ashlag quotes the sages of ancient times: “He created the Worlds to benefit His created beings because it is the nature of the good to do good.” (And You Shall Choose Life, page 6). The entire physical universe was created only for us to enjoy the wonderful and divine energy of the Creator. Do we really feel like that everyday? All of the time? In another ancient writing (The Mishna) it recommends each one of us should think: “The entire world was created for me”.
What does it mean for me in my daily life? It means that the world as it was created is perfect for me. All the resources that I would ever need for doing the job I came to do in this world are in my possession. More so, the entire environment that I need for me to fulfill my tikun (correction) was created perfectly to fulfill all my needs and to give me any type of nourishment I need in my life. In nature, as it was created, we can find the cure for diseases and illnesses.
Interfering in nature is violating the master plan of the Creator to give us everything we need to do our spiritual work in this world.
We are not talking about the immediate environment that we take for granted, but all the people that are put in our life to be our mirrors. Our parents, our siblings, neighbors, friends, coworkers and random people that we meet in our life – none of them are actually random. All of that to benefit each and everyone us, all of that so the Light can actually give us more and share with us more of its beneficence, as Rav Berg constantly reminds us.
If you have been studying Kabbalah you are familiar with the concept “Bread of Shame”, the uncomfortable feeling that we carry when we receive something without earning it. The kabbalists teach that our job in this world is to remove the Bread of Shame by earning the blessings that are coming from the Light. Everything we receive – we need to “pay it forward”.
What have you done today to earn the retrieval of your soul back from the spiritual word – the 99%? How can we earn the oxygen that we breathe? What have you done today to earn the fruits and vegetables that grow in the ground? Your immune system that constantly fights the hostile environment?
I can go on and on asking these types of questions. The truth is that we take 99% of our life for granted, not thinking about the full capacity of the gifts that we receive from the Light.
This week’s portion is Beresheet (Genesis) and is about our starting the cycle again, from the beginning. Let’s take ownership, let’s say “The world was created for me and therefore it is my responsibility to make it right. I don’t need to wait for the rest of the world to act like God, I will do it myself and I will give the rest an example.” They are going to follow eventually, so why not to start today?
