Rabbi Mendy Herson's Blog

Israel’s army liberated the Western Wall in 1967’s Six-Day War

After 1900 years, the Jews had finally regained this peak of religious significance. Many of the soldiers were overwhelmed by emotion and began to cry.

They say that a vehemently atheistic soldier also began to cry. His comrades asked: "This is a HOLY – religious - site; what makes YOU cry?"

The soldier responded: "I am crying because I am not crying."

Very profound.

Depending on particular skill-set, we can sometimes appreciate a brilliant scientist’s intellect, an ingenious artist’s expression, etc. We can grasp, acknowledge and even be appropriately humbled, because we grasp what’s before us.

But sometimes we don’t ‘get it’. Sometimes we can’t really appreciate the profundity of what’s unfolding before our eyes. We know it’s there, because others see it; we’re just not equipped to ‘get it’.

We appreciate that there’s something to be appreciated. We acknowledge that there’s something to be acknowledged.

We want to want.

But that’s as far as we can go right now.

It feels like the statement/syndrome that I hear often: “I don’t believe, but I’d love to.”

I want to want.

This seems like a spiritually primitive place but it’s actually very profound. Acknowledgment that comes through the grasp of my skill-set is limited to that grasp. Acknowledgment/appreciation that comes from my LACK of a skill-set, is limited only by the extent of my heart and soul.

The religious soldier appreciated the Wall’s presence using specific tools – knowledge, training etc – and his inspiration was commensurate to those tools.

The non-religious soldier used no tools. He just felt. He didn’t really know what he felt, but he could appreciate that something special was going on. So he cried.

They were both humbled. But, on the humility spectrum, the non-religious soldier’s seems deeper and more profound.

When it comes to our relationship with G-d, this humble place – “I want to want” - has distinct beauty; because it is ultimately only through humility that we embrace G-d’s deeper existence.

‘I want to want’ is indeed low on the spiritual totem-pole, but that’s exactly why it reaches so high within the Divine.

This Sunday is Lag B’Omer, a spiritually powerful day when we commemorate the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of Judaism premier mystics.

At the same time, it’s a day associated with this [seemingly] spiritually primitive place of “I want to want” (click here to read more on the blog).

Touching the spiritually profound through the humility of being spiritually-unsophisticated?

Exactly.

The Business of Life

When I reflect on myself and my role in the world, the word 'merchant' doesn't come to mind. But, then again, all of life is a type of 'Divine Commerce'.

Trade is an interchange of goods and commodities. When I buy something it comes into my possession, and when I sell something I'm transferring the object from my domain to someone else's. That's basic business.

It's also a framework for life.

Consciously or sub-consciously, we tend to divide life into two dimensions: The important and the less-than-important. And individual experiences seem to naturally fall into one category or the other. But we can pro-actively choose to guide – to transfer - our experiences from the not-so-meaningful orbit to the more important.

For example: If, in the middle of my busy day, one of my children is calling my cell phone about something I consider less-than-important, I need to take pause.

The topic may be trivial, but our relationship is not. Every interaction is potentially ‘important’, and here is an opportunity for 'relationship-building'. I may still choose to defer the specific conversation until later. But not because I under-value the power of the conversation.

And rest assured: If I feel it, the other party will too.

I 'commercial' language, I need to ‘procure’ slices of life from the trivial domain, ‘acquiring’ them for the sake of meaning.

This also applies to my relationship with the Divine.

If I eat a bowl of vegetable soup for lunch today, that’s relatively trivial. But does it need to be?

What if I begin by thanking my Creator for incredible world and the food I'm about to eat? What if I'm conscious of my need to make a difference in the world, and my need for nutrition as fuel?

If I'm mindful and focused, I can transfer my lunch from the mundane to the meaningful; the bowl of soup becomes a tool in my life’s mission.

When I take a situation and infuse it with meaning, I'm ‘acquiring’ it for the Divine. That's spiritual commerce.

G-d gave us a world that seems disconnected from meaning, out of His 'domain'. Our job is to 'buy it back'.

And the merchandise pays immediate dividends: The inner peace that comes with living a Purposeful Life.