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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, Ive 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.