Deep Thoughts About the Purpose of Life

Words from, Rejoice O Youth! by Rav Avigdor Miller zt"l

(whoever reads these words very carefully and thinks about them, will find enough reason and encouragement to begin a whole new life dictated by total Truth and Virtue - blessings, Hazak We'ematz)

The truth is everywhere, but few men are able to see it. This world is a night of darkness; we see nothing, despite the brightness of the daylight. We move all about, all our lives, in a thick fog which conceals from our eyes all the great truths. Out of this heavy, impenetrable mist, murky phantoms loom up before us. Some terrify us, and some lure us on; but all are unreal fantasies fashioned by the fog swirls.

Sometimes the evil inclination conceals from men the fact of G-d's control over their affairs. This is the darkness which causes a man to seem to be a post, and a post to appear to be a man. Men fail to see the real perils, including the waste of their lives, which is a loss never to be regained; but they see only the imaginary forms of happiness, theories of error, and the threat to their economic security. Thus men are affrighted by the phantoms of poverty which the Evil Inclination conjures up and by this means enslaves them to the pursuit of security. For this, they forsake their sole purpose in life, which is the pursuit of Perfection; and they pursue the illusion of security. 

Sometimes, for a fleeting moment, the fog lifts, such as when men are about to leave the world, or in times of catastrophe or great excitement. For a brief interval the light appears; but again the mist closes in, and men continue their blind march in the dark.

This universal darkness and error is essential to the World-Plan, and it has been so arranged by the Creator: 'You make darkness, and it becomes night' (Psalms 104:20); 'This refers to this world, which is like the night' (Bava Metzia 83 b). In this blackness, men are led into two errors (Mesillas Yesharim): 1) They fail to see the truth and 2) they believe the imaginary phantoms to be real. Thus, the nations have adored men who were worthless; and they vilified some men of great virtue.

youth: "But why should the Creator permit this force to exist?"

sage: "Because it is of the greatest benefit to mankind."

youth: "The greatest enemy, which distorts all the truths of life, is the greatest benefit?"

sage: "Yes. The purpose of life is to practice Free-Will. G-d does not wish to force men into righteousness, for then the entire plan would be frustrated. But if men were not blinded by the Evil Inclination, they could not avoid seeing the truths. They would recognize G-d from the overwhelming and incontrovertible demonstration of plan-and purpose everywhere in the world,they would recognize Man's role as the sole recipient of G-d's unbounded kindliness, they would understand the end-purpose of the Afterlife, and they would see the true function of life as the pursuit of virtue and Perfection. G-d said: 'No man shall see Me and live' (Shemot 33:20); for such clarity of perception would hamper the Free-Will, without which life would be useless. 'You impose darkness and it is night' (Psalms 104:20). This world has been made dark by G-d, for if men could see the whole Truth, they could no longer act except in accordance with it. Virtue would be as natural as the instinct of self-preservation. It would not be the result of men's Free-Will. The concealing of all these truths creates the ordeal of Free-Will."

Men are so blind that they do not see their own faults, for even the lowest criminals regard themselves as good men. The greatest are sometimes deceived by this darkness. The wise and noble brothers of Joseph considered him a wicked man who deserved to be destroyed, despite the fact that they had seventeen years to observe his behavior. Even our father Issac was unable to discern the wickedness of Esau, who had lived in his house for over sixty years; and he wished to confer the blessings upon him.

Even the physical world is totally concealed from our eyes. By day we see an empty sky; and we forget that huge worlds hover overhead in space. Even at night we are deceived; for unless we look through the giant telescopes, we cannot visualize the vast numbers of the celestial bodies. Without the aid of the microscope, our eyes do not see the teeming millions of bacteria swarming upon our bodies, upon our clothing, and in the air we breathe... Even we, today, are completely unaware of numerous physical phenomena, before our eyes, which will be revealed in later generations. If such ignorance is possible in material things, then how great is the ignorance of men in the non-physical truths!

Rabbotai, we want the whole world to come and pray with us for one day; for on that one day, there will be peace in the entire world! Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt"l

Benefits to Living in Israel

All the blessings of the Land will open up for you when you come here. 

Making Aliya is a leap of faith. It has to come from you, when you decide and truly believe that Hashem desires closeness with you. 

The best feeling for a parent is to know that their children are home and safe.

Israel is the Holy Land and Jerusalem is the Kings Royal City. We are His children and He wants us all to come back home. 

Leave the dark and scary streets of the 70 nations and come back to our happy and loving home.

"The air of Eretz Yisrael makes one wise"

(Bava Batra 158b)

"It is preferable to dwell in the deserts of Eretz Yisrael than the palaces of Chutz LaAretz"

(Bereshit Rabba 39:8)

"Fortunate is he who merits in his lifetime to fix his residence in Eretz HaKodesh"

(Zohar HaKadosh III 72b)

"And remove from your heart this false belief that a man has more blessings outside the land"

(Alshich HaKadosh, Ki Tavo 28:6)

"Living in Eretz Yisrael is the equivalent of all the Mitzvot in the Torah"

(Sifrei, Parashat Re'e, Tosefta Avoda Zara 5)

"There is no happiness, but only when Yisrael is settled in the Holy Land"

(Zohar HaKadosh, Bamidbar 118a)

"He who lives in Eretz Yisrael should be perpetually happy with this Mitzvah, and all the suffering he experiences should be insignificant to him in light of his love for this Mitzvah"

(Pele Yoetz, Eretz)

"Anyone who dwells in Eretz Yisrael, the very Land attones for him"

(Sifrei, Haazinu)

"Only in Eretz Yisrael can happiness be complete; and it is also possible to sanctify oneself with great kedusha, something that is impossible in foreign lands"

(Rabbi Elimelech MiLizensk)

"Eretz Yisrael lacks nothing"

(Brachot 36)

If you'd like to find out more about making the move and buying a property in Israel, contact my good friend Aaron Morgan:

Morgan Mortgage
Habasor 10/2, Beit Shemesh, 99632, Israel
Tel: 02-992-4137
Cel: 0525-688-940
USA Tel:        1-914-339-0583

Canada  Tel:  1-647-558-4952

Israel Fax: 153-2-992-4137 (Fax must be sent from Israel)

US Fax: 1-208-247-4561

Email: aaron@morganmortgage.co.il

Please visit our website at: www.morganmortgage.co.il

The Eyes

We will begin by taking a look at a few ideas from the second chapter of the sefer Kav HaYashar: 

King David, peace be upon him, said in Tehillim (119:37), "Avert my eyes from seeing vanity, cause me to live in Your ways." A person must know that many things depend on sight. Therefore it seems to me that if upon arising from sleep one's gaze falls upon the house, one should reflect that the Holy one blessed is He gave us the mitzvah of affixing a mezuzah to the entryway and the mitzvah of making a ma'akeh (a parapet) around the roof, as it is written, "And you shall make a parapet for your roof" (Devarim 22:8).

And if upon going out the doorway he encounters clean animals, fit to be offered as sacrifices, let him reflect that the Holy One Blessed is He commanded us to offer sacrifices. And if he encounters impure domesticated or wild animals let him reflect that it is forbidden to consume them. Similarly, if he meets a gentile let him reflect that it is forbidden to intermarry with them.

In short, each person should engage in reflection according to his knowledge and learning. This is a very great matter, for in this way one clothes his eyes with sanctity regarding everything they behold.

The converse is also true. Just as one who gazes at holy matters creates a garment of sanctity for his faculty of sight, so too when a man allows himself to gaze at forbidden sights and strange women, he clothes himself in deep defilement, Heaven forbid.

A solid proof that sight has the power to cause harm to the viewer himself as well as others can be adduced from the bird called the bas haya'anah. This bird's eggs lie in front of the mother while she stares at them, piercing them with her gaze until a chick emerges from each one. In the chapters to come I will bring demonstrations of further insights into this matter.

For this reason our sages of blessed memory (Avoda Zara 20a) erected a protective fence forbidding a man from gazing upon anything that is liable to bring him to sin. For instance, he is forbidden from gazing at women and girls lest he be guilty of wasting seed. This is what King David had in mind when he wrote, "Avert my eyes from seeing vanity, cause me to live in your ways" (Tehillim 119:37). The numetical value for the word shav, "vanity,"

is 307, represented by the letters shin zayin, which is also the acronym for the term shichvas zera, "spilling seed." (Dovid prayed that his eyes should not behold anything that could lead to shichvat zera.) This is a bold hint.

It seems to me further that because Lilis and her cohorts are called "pangs of vanity" (shav) and also "pangs of death", as is mentioned several times in the Zohar (I:12b; II:33a), therefore David prayed, saying, "Cause me to live in Your ways." That is, he asked to be influenced by the side of life and not the side of death, Heaven forbid.

The authors of the ethical literature write of a wonderful strategy for avoiding this sin: Let a man envision to himself continually that Hashem's four letter name is written before him in black ink upon parchment, in keeping with the verse, "I have placed Hashem (i.e., the four-letter name) before me continually" (Tehillim 16:8). This is the principle that King David alludes to in the verse, "My eyes are always directed towards Hashem, for He will free my feet from the net" (Tehillim 25:15). The meaning should be obvious.

... Come take a look at what is stated in the Zohar, parashas Pikudei (263b). There it tells of an angel called Patos who seduces (mefateh) men to gaze at and examine that which is not necessary for them in an adulterous and wanton manner. After a man dies and is buried in the grave this angel then comes and restores to him his soul, after which he takes hold of him cruelly and brakes the sockets of his eyes and plucks out his eyes. Later on the man is sentenced to terrible afflictions and then lowered into a pit filled with snakes and scorpions, which attack him and execute upon him terrible judgments, Heaven spare us!

... It follows from the above that a person must be very protective of his faculty of sight.