The Ultimate Destination

Faith propels us to great heights, yet its path is darted with pitfalls. The biggest one is the pitfall of the self. The Gate of Trust in Duties of the Heart teaches that the key to faith is in understanding that everything in life comes directly from Hashem. It is good, not because we see it as good, but because it comes from Hashem. Connected to G-d, we automatically see everything in this world as wonderful, because we know its Source. Life is a constant joy. It is filled with the excitement of what Hashem will do next to bring us closer.
 
This is the ideal we spend our entire journey on this earth pursuing.
 
Along the way we encounter the greatest obstacle: our sense of self. Our ego has a completely different set of good and bad. We are physical creatures. Our default belief is that what is good begins with what feels good. This is our first test of faith. We are tested every time we encounter something which is good, but in no way feels good.
 
In the eyes of Hashem, everything is good. To our own senses, we have to work on ourselves to reach His conclusion.
 
This is the heart and soul of our life. When times are good, faith is easy. When times are tough, faith is a challenge. When times seem unbearable, you really have to search. Everyone has their breaking point. Once we are broken by the challenges of life, we reach a place where we have to reassert our faith on a new level. Our faith is like the moon. At the beginning of the month it is born. It grows, and then it peaks. It eventually diminishes to the point of death. Then it is reborn again.
 
This is the cycle of faith. We are given a test. We pass that test and grow. Living in this physical world where the only value we create is the merit Hashem enables us to generate for The Next World, we are given a greater test. We are given a good that doesn’t feel like one. It is designed to shake our faith, even to the point where we are scratching our heads, asking ourselves if Hashem is really watching over us.
 
This is where good and bad become the good and the unrevealed good. Putting in the effort to grow into a spiritual place where we transform the unrevealed good into tangible benefit moves us to “agree” with Hashem that everything we can sense right now is good. We “understand” that Hashem was with us all along. He is with us right now. That’s when our faith takes a great step forward. That’s when the moon, after sinking into complete darkness, re-emerges to greatness.
 
Rabbi Nachman tells us that the whole world is a Narrow Bridge. One small step in the wrong direction and we fall off. We sink down to the depths and have to struggle to get back onto the bridge. It is only on this narrow passage that we can continue forward.
 
This is our life. This is what all of existence was created for. This is the First Commandment of the Ten Commandments: that despite our own feelings, experiences, or hopes, everything comes from Hashem. It is all good because it is part of His purpose for Creation. In devoting ourselves to that goodness, our purpose in life becomes His purpose in life. The fulfillment of His purpose becomes our life’s Ultimate Destination.
 
 
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Dovber Halevi is the author of Sex, Religion, and the Middle East. He writes for The Lion’s Den, a web magazine on how to increase traffic and sales to your website. Dovber lives in Israel with his wife and children.