“The Vow we all made In Utero”
Life is a journey which is a process of becoming.
Each step along the way is important,
has a purpose and really matters.
There is a Midrash that teaches that each one of us
makes a vow, in utero, before we are born.
We vow to be righteous and not wicked.
To achieve that we must stay far from arrogance and
be very humble.
We are but vessels for bringing God's blessing into the world.
Our individual journey involves struggle and difficulties, perhaps
interspersed with times of happiness and rest.
Each one of us has a different and unique life.
Every step along the way is orchestrated to help us actualize ourselves,
to become that righteous person we promised to be.
All of our circumstances give us
opportunities to learn, to grow, and
to imitate God.
To be creators, lovers, repairers, builders, connectors.
The Jews in the desert traveled according to God's will,
stopping 42 times on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land.
So too our lives have many stops along the way.
Each stop has embedded in it
a lesson to learn,
a fear to overcome,
a potential to achieve,
a character trait for us to work on,
an effect on the world for us to have.
Throughout life we are, at different times, called upon
to be courageous,
to overcome despair and
to live with hope and gratitude.
Sometimes the stops are short and other times we
encamp for a while in one place.
Sometimes we are building.
Sometimes we are taking everything apart and restructuring.
Sometimes we work hard to leave negativity behind.
Sometimes we are pursuing goodness and holiness.
Sometimes everything seems clear to us and at
other times it is all a mystery.
Each one of us is on a journey towards being the person we vowed to become.
When we die and "birth" ourselves into the next world may we
have achieved what we promised to be in our own unique, tailor-made way.
Shabbat shalom
Elissa
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