Saturday, December 04, 2004
Sparks From Israel
Economic Hardship and Divine Abundance
They say it’s hard to find a job in Israel. I suppose this is true, however on the other hand, we experience miracles in abundance. Everyday miracles as common place occurrences are simply not factored into the equation outside of Israel. Divine intervention is such an ever present part of life here that in comparison it is as if there is no G-d outside of Israel.
In other Nations there are simply natural forces that have been set in place so that one doesn’t often feel the need to rely on a G-d when he can rely on the welfare state or his family, or the abundance of opportunities. Because one feels much more at the mercy of G-d here, I’m certain that He too is quite happy to be a significant part of our lives and livelihoods. All those who dwell in the Land cannot help but feel an interaction with the Divine that simply does not exist with the same intensity outside of Israel, regardless of the level of one’s ritual observance.
I personally have felt the warm hand of someone guiding me throughout my sojourn here. Something I never felt so assuredly before. As a small example I went from being fired from a lowly job and feeling destitute to being hired to a management position with all of the management perks. All of this took place within 48 hours.
The only problem with my new job was that because there was more responsibility, there were also more demands on my time. When the time arrived for the afternoon prayers which I prefer to do in a synagogue with a minyan (a quorum of 10 men), there was not synagogue to be found, nor enough time to travel to where I might find one.
One day, I slipped away from work and turned down a side street in the industrial area of my workplace hoping to find a secluded spot to pray. Lo and behold in the middle of this abandoned area was a synagogue full of congregants that seemed to have been placed there for me like a mirage. The next day, when my supervisor was relying upon me to prepare a brief that was needed immediately I noticed that it was getting dark outside and like the salmon that instinctively returns to the stream, I slipped away to the corner mirage and joined the minyan.
I realized that it was a little risky to disappear at such a time, but I said to myself if a job is so consuming that I cannot afford my fifteen minutes of meditation to the supervisor of all supervisors, then it’s not the right job for me. I felt relieved to do my quick prayer and hurried back to the office. As I entered I passed my supervisor who noticed me entering from outside. I continued to the photocopy room and a few minutes later he approached me.
I could see it coming. He was going to ask me why I took a break at such a time when our overseas client was about to call and I was to brief him on the details. He would be disappointed and reprimand me.
As he approached he looked me in the eye and said. ‘I just want to tell you that I’m really very happy that you are with us and to thank you for doing such an excellent job’.
As he left I looked up at my supervisor in Heaven and smiled, ‘You have such a clever way of demonstrating your love for me.’ I said. He smiled back.
It may be difficult to find work sometimes in Israel, but that’s because the purpose of our lives is not merely to make a livelihood, but to recognize the source of our livelihood. Hidden beneath the surface of a poor economic situation is a proximity to the Divine that flows abundantly and visibly. I wouldn’t exchange this privilege for all of the fatness and delusion the world has to offer.
Greetings
In the exile when you purchase an item the clerk says ‘Have a Nice Day’. In Israel, the clerk might say, ‘What accent is that? Where are you from?’ And after talking for a few minutes will say ‘Shalom Achi’ (Goodbye my brother). Or he might charge you 50 shekles instead of 54 and say ‘Lchvod Shabbat’ (In honor of Shabbat). Here, we have rules but were not clerks. Just like the King who lives in close proximity, the sons of that King also behave like small kings, who can bend the rules and alter things according to their disposition. ‘Have a nice day’ is good, but ‘See you my brother’, it’s a different level of existence.
Economic Hardship and Divine Abundance
They say it’s hard to find a job in Israel. I suppose this is true, however on the other hand, we experience miracles in abundance. Everyday miracles as common place occurrences are simply not factored into the equation outside of Israel. Divine intervention is such an ever present part of life here that in comparison it is as if there is no G-d outside of Israel.
In other Nations there are simply natural forces that have been set in place so that one doesn’t often feel the need to rely on a G-d when he can rely on the welfare state or his family, or the abundance of opportunities. Because one feels much more at the mercy of G-d here, I’m certain that He too is quite happy to be a significant part of our lives and livelihoods. All those who dwell in the Land cannot help but feel an interaction with the Divine that simply does not exist with the same intensity outside of Israel, regardless of the level of one’s ritual observance.
I personally have felt the warm hand of someone guiding me throughout my sojourn here. Something I never felt so assuredly before. As a small example I went from being fired from a lowly job and feeling destitute to being hired to a management position with all of the management perks. All of this took place within 48 hours.
The only problem with my new job was that because there was more responsibility, there were also more demands on my time. When the time arrived for the afternoon prayers which I prefer to do in a synagogue with a minyan (a quorum of 10 men), there was not synagogue to be found, nor enough time to travel to where I might find one.
One day, I slipped away from work and turned down a side street in the industrial area of my workplace hoping to find a secluded spot to pray. Lo and behold in the middle of this abandoned area was a synagogue full of congregants that seemed to have been placed there for me like a mirage. The next day, when my supervisor was relying upon me to prepare a brief that was needed immediately I noticed that it was getting dark outside and like the salmon that instinctively returns to the stream, I slipped away to the corner mirage and joined the minyan.
I realized that it was a little risky to disappear at such a time, but I said to myself if a job is so consuming that I cannot afford my fifteen minutes of meditation to the supervisor of all supervisors, then it’s not the right job for me. I felt relieved to do my quick prayer and hurried back to the office. As I entered I passed my supervisor who noticed me entering from outside. I continued to the photocopy room and a few minutes later he approached me.
I could see it coming. He was going to ask me why I took a break at such a time when our overseas client was about to call and I was to brief him on the details. He would be disappointed and reprimand me.
As he approached he looked me in the eye and said. ‘I just want to tell you that I’m really very happy that you are with us and to thank you for doing such an excellent job’.
As he left I looked up at my supervisor in Heaven and smiled, ‘You have such a clever way of demonstrating your love for me.’ I said. He smiled back.
It may be difficult to find work sometimes in Israel, but that’s because the purpose of our lives is not merely to make a livelihood, but to recognize the source of our livelihood. Hidden beneath the surface of a poor economic situation is a proximity to the Divine that flows abundantly and visibly. I wouldn’t exchange this privilege for all of the fatness and delusion the world has to offer.
Greetings
In the exile when you purchase an item the clerk says ‘Have a Nice Day’. In Israel, the clerk might say, ‘What accent is that? Where are you from?’ And after talking for a few minutes will say ‘Shalom Achi’ (Goodbye my brother). Or he might charge you 50 shekles instead of 54 and say ‘Lchvod Shabbat’ (In honor of Shabbat). Here, we have rules but were not clerks. Just like the King who lives in close proximity, the sons of that King also behave like small kings, who can bend the rules and alter things according to their disposition. ‘Have a nice day’ is good, but ‘See you my brother’, it’s a different level of existence.
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