By: Michael Berg
LIGHT FROM DARKNESS
The great kabbalists were known to use frequently their visions to know people’s prayers to the Creator, as well as the response. One Yom Kippur, the highest day of the year, after the prayers and services were concluded, a kabbalist turned to his student, an over-worked pub owner, and said, “I know what you asked the Creator for. In the evening, you asked the Creator to provide you with all the money you would need to support your family at the beginning of the year so that you could quit the pub and work full time at sharing and growing spiritually.
“The next morning, you rethought your request, realizing all that money upfront would be too much responsibility, and you amended your plea, asking for half up front and half six months later. In the afternoon, you changed your mind yet again, this time asking that the money be spread out over quarterly payments.
“Do you want to know the Creator’s answer?”
The student just sat there in excited anticipation, awaiting the teacher’s prophecy.
“The Creator says He already has thousands of angels without a care in the world, whose sole purpose is to be righteous and to look out for others every second of the day. He doesn’t need you for that. What He does need you for is to grab five minutes of Light in the midst of your challenging day, to share with someone when you don’t want to – or don’t have the time. This is why you were born, for these very moments of taking Light out of darkness."
Most of us perceive life’s purpose upside down. We think we are achieving our purpose when our days are going well and we are inspired. But when things are not going well, we sort of write them off, assuming that as long as we have enough good days of growth and sharing, then we are in good shape, spiritually-speaking.
At its core, this is a false view of reality. As the Zohar says, “Light is only Light when it comes out of darkness.” When we grab a few minutes of sharing and go outside ourselves in the midst of difficulty, we are revealing the most powerful Light and fulfilling our purpose.
Five minutes of sharing and making the effort on a difficult day are worth all the hours of good deeds done on a perfect day. Yes, what you do on a good day is essential because it enables you to have clarity in the darkness. But the illumination is not nearly as bright as connections and sharing done during tough times.
The next time you are having a difficult day (and truth be told, there is some darkness in every day) remind yourself, “This is why I am here,” and then go and see what you can do to grab a few minutes of sharing, of thinking of another person, and of connecting to the Light. This is what life’s all about.
For dates and locations click or copy and paste the following link:
http://www.kabbalah.com/lks/register.html?cid=20090209d
