"Are you Living By Chance"

Are You Living By Chance?

The Torah presents us with two very different ways to live.

One is a life of connection. A life lived with awareness of Gd, with the belief that our lives have meaning, that we are guided, and that nothing is random. That Gd is with us and has a plan for the world.

The other is what the Torah calls keri.

Keri means casualness. It is not an outright rejection of Gd. It is something much quieter and more subtle. It is living as though everything simply happens by chance. It is seeing the world as coincidence instead of connection, as randomness instead of relationship. There is no meaning, no message, no-One behind it all.

Keri is what happens when we separate ourselves from Gd and stop recognizing Gd’s presence in our lives. We essentially turn our back on Gd, denying Gd’s involvement in all that happens to and around us.

The Torah warns us that when we treat our relationship with Gd casually, G-d responds to us with that same distance. Measure for measure.

We have the choice to see things as a coincidence or as the hand of Gd. “Is it odd or is it Gd?”

We are being asked to live with G-d consciousness, with the awareness that G-d is involved in our lives, in the larger moments and the smaller ones.

Every encounter, every challenge, every blessing has the potential to wake us up spiritually and remind us that life is meaningful.

This becomes incredibly difficult in times of pain and suffering. 

We are being told not to throw Gd out because there is suffering in the world.

When life hurts, when things feel unfair or confusing, the easiest response can be to push Gd away. To say: “If I don’t understand, then there is no meaning at all, ” or “Where is Gd in my suffering.”

Faith does not mean we always understand. Faith means we continue the relationship even when we do not understand. It means trusting that there is purpose, even when that purpose is hidden from us, even when we or others suffer. Rabbi Sacks teaches us that, “Faith is not certainty but the courage to live with uncertainty.”

Perhaps that is our real avodah (work.) To not have all the answers, but to keep turning toward Gd instead of away from Gd.

To live with awareness instead of indifference. With relationship instead of casualness. With trust instead of spiritual distance.

Because ultimately, the choice before us is whether we live in a world of randomness and fate or a life filled with Divine orchestration and Divine love

Much love

Shabbat shalom