364 - Passenger

We live in a world where for many people the ultimate goal is to become a spectator and passenger and enjoy the pleasures that the world has to offer you. Very often the message that we hear and are exposed to in this world is that the ideal is to reach a place where I can just sit back, relax and enjoy and have everything done for me, where I can just be passive and enjoy pleasure. We are so privileged to have Hashem's perspective teaching us the true way we are supposed to live our lives.

The verse states, man was made to toil - we were created in order to work and the Midrash states on that verse that if we do not merit, we will have to busy ourselves with the normal usual ways of the world, whereas if we choose to rather toil and work in the areas of service to Hashem, then Hashem will minimize our need to work and make effort in the usual areas of the world and we will have the privilege to spend more time in our effort and endeavor to grow in our service to Hashem. Everybody understands that in order to become a world-class piano player, it will not suffice for one to watch many videos and movies of people playing the piano. One might learn a few things by doing so, but of course ultimately in order to become proficient oneself, one has to spend many hours practicing on the piano and not just watching others do so.

We live in a world where sometimes working and making efforts into one's own endeavors is seen as the first step which one kind of just needs to get through and the ultimate goal is to be able to just sit back and relax when one is finished one's work. The Torah's perspective, the only true perspective, is that just like we can understand that for the aspiring piano player, the only way that they could reach their goal is by their personal investment of their own effort and time and energy. In the same way, the Torah guides us as to how we can become proficient in our endeavor to serve Hashem. The Gemara states that everything is in the hands of Hashem except for areas of fear of Hashem. That means to say, we who are striving to live by the values of Emunah understand that ein od milvado means there is nothing else except for Hashem in the world and only what Hashem says goes. How much money I will have, how much serenity I will have, how much happiness I might have, and all the areas in one's life, they are all exclusively orchestrated by Hashem.

And if one were to feel that they could add or subtract from Hashem's preordained plan, that could be tantamount to idle worship. However, the Gemara is teaching us that when it comes to our spiritual endeavors, there Hashem is telling us that we do have a say, to the point that the Gemara says that it is in our hands the level of success that we will achieve. It is so important to remind ourselves not to sit back and be spectators and passengers in this journey through life. Of course, we have to have it at the forefront of our minds that only Hashem preordains and orchestrates every single happening in our life, whilst at the same time we are taught that when it comes to spiritual endeavors, Hashem tells us that we are to view the situation then as if it is in our hands and make maximum effort to grow in our spiritual endeavors. We are so privileged to be able to live with the correct and true perspective, the only true perspective, the perspective of Hashem.