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Rabbinic Insights:  You

San Diego Jewish Times, January 1, 2006

By Rabbi Wayne Dosick

I just heard this story about a rabbi who was walking down the street when he met a congregant coming out of a store. The rabbi said, "Hello, my friend. It's good to see you. I've been worried about you. I haven't seen you in shul in a couple of weeks. Have you been ill? Have you been traveling?"

The man replied, “It's good to see you too, Rabbi. Thanks for asking. No I haven't been ill and I haven't been traveling. But, to tell you the truth, for the past few weeks, I’ve been davening in the shul down the block."

"I'm very surprised to hear that," the rabbi said. "I hope that we haven't done anything to offend you.”

"On, no, Rabbi," the man replied. "No. Nothing at all."

"Then why," asked the rabhi, "have you been davening at the other shul? Not to say anything bad about anyone else, but our shul is much friendlier, and our building is much nicer, and if I do say so myself, I am a much greater scholar than the other rabbi, and I give much better sermons. We even have better cakes and cookies at the Kiddush. So, why are you davening at the other shul?"

The man was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “I'm sorry, Rabbi. I can just imagine what you are thinking right now."

"You can imagine what I'm thinking?"

 “Yes. Yes I can. May I guess what you are thinking right now?" The rabbi said, "All right. Sure. Go ahead. Guess what I'm thinking."

The man looked deeply into the rabbi's eyes, and said, "Right now, you are thinking about the verse from the Psalms, "Shiviti Adonai l'negdi tamid — I place God before me always."

The rabbi replied, "Well to tell you the truth, that wasn't at all what I was thinking.”

And the man said, "You see, Rabbi. That's why I'm davening at the other shul

The purpose of life is not to accumulate power, or prestige, or wealth, or accolades. The purpose of this life is to be in alignment with the Divine Design, to be in God's flow, to be at-One with God.

To often we forget. We disconnect; we separate. We ignore God's plan and God's purpose. Too often we think that our will is God's will.

We forget and ignore the injunction in Torah that teaches, “You shall not say in your heart. My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this gain."

Instead, we need to remember the Torah's teachings that, "God is God in the Heaven above and on the Earth below. There is none else.”

We need to "place and keep God before us always."

We need to curb our egos, and stay "in the flow" with God.

We need to make God's will our will.

Then, our lives will be full, and rich, and good — far above any temporal, material gain.

 To remember, we can say this prayer of the great Chasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev.

          Where I wander — You!

          Where I ponder — You!

          Only You. You again. Always You!

          When I am gladdened — You!

          When I am saddened — You!

          Only You.

          You again.

          Always You!

 

          You! You! You!

          Sky is You! Earth is You!

          You above! You below!

          In every trend, at every end, Only You.

          You again.

          Always You!

          You!

          You!

          You!

 

 May this new secular year be God's year — a year when we hear God's word and do God's will, when we stay in alignment with God's plan, go with God's flow, and are At-One with God.

 A happy new year, my friends. A happy new year.

Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., the spiritual guide of the Elijah Minyan, an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego and the Director of the 17: Spiritually Healing Children's Emotional Wounds. He is the award-winning author of six critically acclaimed books, including Golden Rules; Living Judaism; and Soul Judaism: Dancing with God into a New Era.