Discovery, Not Invention

We study Pirkay Avot, the section of the Mishna (c. 200 C.E.) during the 7 weeks that link Shavuot and Pesach. Since there are 6 chapters to the work, we can read one each week and finish right before the Holiday of the Giving of the Torah.

Today is the 35th day of the Omer, marking 5 full weeks. This means that we are just finishing the 4th chapter of Pirkay Avot. Here is a section of the last Mishna from that chapter:

Rabbi Elazar Ha-Kappar taught: “Everything belongs to Gd… It was not your will that formed you, nor was it your will that gave you birth; it is not your will that makes you live, and it is not your will that brings you death; nor is it your will that some day in the future you will have to give an accounting and a reckoning before the Ruler of rulers, the Holy Exalted One.”

Judaism teaches that we were created by Gd for a purpose and that the journey of life is animated by the desire to discern exactly what that purpose is. Contrary to the views of popular culture, the Mishna suggests that we do not invent ourselves. (How often do we hear this phrase, “She re-invented herself”? Madonna, anyone?) We do not create ourselves, we discover who it is that Gd intended us to be. This life-long process begins by quieting our own spirits enough to understand ourselves, to know who we really are. It begins with acceptance. It begins in a state of rest and peace. And from there we branch out to the world around us, being drawn into contact that with the world Gd has set before us.

Ultimately, at the end of life, Gd calls us into account saying, “Did you see the mileposts I put for you along the way? Did you read the signs? Did you answer my call? Did you figure out what it was that was expected of you?

So often, the challenges that come our way are really signs, mileposts and calls from Gd. Only problem is, we’re too busy to recognize them, and even if we do, we either choose to ignore or reject them. Tradition, on the other hand, seems to suggest that we should be telling ourselves, “Perhaps this is happening to me for a reason…”