Getting to Know the Almighty

Essentially, God has only one simple request from each of us –that we get to know Him. According to the holy Zohar, the 2nd-Century C.E. esoteric interpretation of the Torah by Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and his disciples, God created us for the sole purpose of getting to know Him. As such, the daily events and experiences of our lives are none other than personal messages from God, designed to stimulate our emuna, encourage us to speak to Him, and thereby facilitate our efforts to get close to Him. Why? The closer one gets to God, the better one gets to know Him.

 

Achieving proximity to God and thereby getting to know Him are the ultimate soul correction, our individual goal and mission on this earth. God, in His limitless love for each of us, directs our lives in a manner that helps us to successfully achieve this goal. Understanding the vital fact that everything in our lives is for our own ultimate good, that is, to achieve our soul correction, enables us to cope with all types of situations – whether good or seemingly bad – happily and without stress, worry, and anxiety. Consequently, when people ignore God’s personal messages, God is compelled to send "louder" messages, in other words, situations of greater difficulty. Those who fail to get to know God in good times risk being placed in predicaments devoid of any natural or logical solution, where the only remaining alternative is to cry out to God. In this manner, God – in His infinite lovingkindness – helps each of us achieve our ultimate soul correction. The more we cooperate, the easier our lives become.

 

 

The Zohar (Bechukotai, 114) states: "How beloved are the children of Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He! He desires to reprove them and to lead them on the straight path, like a loving father who wields a rod in hand in order to lead the son on the straight path, so that the son shall not stray to the right or to the left, as it is written (Proverbs, 3:12), "God reproves those that He loves, and like a father, mollifies the child."

 

Ponder the above proverb for a moment. If God reproves those who He loves, inversely, He doesn’t reprove those that He hates! If so, a life devoid of trials and tribulations is not a very good sign! Our Talmudic sages warned (tractate Arachin, 16b) that if a person has forty consecutive days free of tribulations, he forfeits his share in the world to come! They also stated specifically (tractate Kiddushin, 40b) that the righteous receive tribulations to merit a lofty place in the world to come.

 

So, if you’re having difficulties in life, it’s a clear sign that you’re a beloved son or daughter of God. Knowing that God loves you and is doing everything for your benefit makes life not only bearable, but gratifying. The contrary also holds true – ignorance of the fact that God loves you and is helping you make your needed tikkun is the root of all suffering, worry, and anxiety.

 

Those with emuna therefore direct their efforts on achieving their Tikkun, and focus on getting to know God. Such individuals are constantly seeking God. As a result, God doesn’t need to send them superfluous "wake-up calls" that manifest themselves in the form of extreme tribulations. "Emuna" people consequently live happy and tranquil lives, regardless of their life’s trials and challenges. So many people in modern society entertain the folly that they alone control their own fate; these people are prime candidates for suffering and emotional ills. God – the loving Father – uses the rod of tribulations as an expression of love, to teach us that we’re not "calling the shots", but subservient to a higher authority. Also, to awaken His beloved children from their spiritual slumber, God oftentimes gives us a "shake" in the form of some difficulty or challenge that forces us to seek His help. As we said earlier, God doesn’t send difficulties to those that He disdains.