Chabad inspiration Who are you? Being vs Doing. A Shabbat essay by Rabbi Velvl Butman
Hi. Wishing you Gut Shabbos. Candle lighting NY Metro 5:29 pm
Who are you: Are you defined by your money, education, by your job, by your looks?
Who is the real you? Chassidic philosophy teaches that every person has an inner and an outer you. We all have our external. We all have our internal. A successful person may be proud of their buisness accomplishments. But does that say that if they hit a bump, a mistake, they are diminished, less of a person? A good looking person who developes a wrinkle, are they now less. Devalued? Six days a week we are commanded by G-d to work, to maximize our talents. On the seventh day we are commanded “ you shall rest” because G-d rested on the seventh day of creation. Was G-d tired? he needed rest? Judaism believes in an infinite G-d, who is infinitely strong. Unlimited. Beyond definition, no size or shape. All Mighty. Why did G-d “rest” ?
The Rebbe explains:
When you work, when you are creating things, you are exiting your inner self and involved with something outside of yourself. You are lowering yourself to engage an entity outside of your self. When you return and rest in the privacy of your home, you elevate yourself and return to your inner self. You are no longer limited and occupied with something outside of your self. You are now free to be your inner true self. Six days a week we go out and engage entities outside of our self. We aim to do a successful buisness deal. To influence others. We are exiting our self and reaching outside of our self.That’s great. We are created by G-d to make a difference. To fix the world. But one day a week we are commanded: Stop doing. Start being. Royalty. Nobility. Doing and being are not the same. Doing is external. Being is internal. Yes, we must do and aim for success. But how do we know we are “doing” noble and good. Is that your purpose in life? Is it helping or hurting your soul ?
So G-d gives us a gift. The seventh day. Shabbat. A day of “resting” not “doing”. A day to return to our inner self. To reflect and evaluate if we are living a life of purpose and meaning. Is our G-d given soul living happily. Interestingly, the Hebrew letters which spell Shabbos are Shin, Bet, Taf. The same letters as the Hebrew word Toshuv. To return.
Sadness and depression at it’s root come from a life where our soul is unhappy with the reality of the life we are living. When we stray and betray our soul we are sad. It hurts. It’s depressing. Change direction, return, and you are well on your way, on the road of happiness. The youth of today have more gadgets and luxary then ever in history. Yet the quality of happiness is at a painful low. The moment we will teach our youth how to nourish their soul, a taste of Yiddishkeit, heritage and tradition with the intellectual reasoning behind our traditions, we will see happy faces and smiles.
When you were born into this world, a holy soul, a part of G-d came with you. It’s literally inside of you. Your G-d given soul is the real you. The soul descended from heaven into your body in order to use our body to bring goodness, kindness and holiness into the world. To live a meaningful life . When we live a life of meaning then we are happy. Our soul is content
Yes. Of course, the G-d of the Jew is infinite. G-d wasn’t exhausted after six days of creation . After six days of being involved with creating new stuff. G-d stopped creating new things and G-d “rested”. On the seventh day G-d elevated his existence to a higher Infinite, unlimited level. Not the lower finite level of creation. G-d resumed “being” not “doing” . Since then, every seventh day, G-d elevates himself and the entire world to a higher unlimited level. The physical world is charged with a divine holiness. Hence the holy day of Shabbos. In today’s fast moving world, where technology takes us on journeys at record breaking speeds, we often feel exhausted. Far away from our “inner” home. Chasing success and all it’s trappings can be exhausting. We can easily become caught up in “doing”, creating. We can loose focus of our true priorities and values. We can mistakenly travel at fast speed in the wrong direction. For 3300 years and counting, the Jewish people continue to enjoy the pleasure of Shabbat. A day to reorient. To rejuvenate. To check our soul’s GPS if we are traveling on the right road of life. And if we are lost. No problem. With the power of Shabbat we launch a new fresh beginning. We relaunch our rockets, reboot our soul’s GPS systems with environmentally friendly G-d powered energy. Jewish women and girls welcome the Shabbat eighteen minutes before sunset by lighting Shabbat candles. The feminine power to illuminate life with purity and holiness. Shabbat is reserved time. The Jew spends quality time with G-d, family and loved ones. We honor Shabbat with a delicious beautiful Shabbat table. Traditional foods. Kiddush on fine wine, washing and purifying our hands, Hamotzie, Challah, Gefilte fish, Lchayim, songs, chicken soup and a gourmet meat cuisine. We sanctify the physical with holiness. Judaism is the only religion which believes in engaging the physical pleasures of life as we are simultaneously infusing holiness into the mundane. This is G-d’s desire and purpose in creating our world. Making a home for G-d in our physical world.
On Shabbat we connect with our G-dly soul. In prayer. We connect with our community. Our children. With Shabbat guest. With the most treasured inspirational gifts of life. On Shabbat we stop defining ourselves by what we do. We define ourselves by who we are. A feminine strength and quality. We elevate ourselves and define ourselves by being not doing. We answer the question: Who are you. We are connecting to our G-d. To our loved ones. To our soul. As we read in this weeks Torah portion. The Mitzvah to honor the holy day of Shabbat. Every individual minute of Shabbat which we keep and sanctify is a Mitzvah. We strive for perfection but It’s not all or nothing . Imagine a world where we are always enjoying life. A world where we saver every moment with divine pleasure. A world of sweet shining lights of purity. Peace. Unity. Health. Prosperity. Wisdom. Keep imagining. Because that day is about to happen. It’s the biblical promise of Moshiach. The Rebbe teaches: Moshiach is on the way, let’s be ready. Our deeds of goodness and kindness hasten that great day. It’s the eternal day of Shabbat. A world of peace , happiness and celebration. Lchayim
Hi. Wishing you Gut Shabbos. Candle lighting NY Metro 5:29 pm
Who are you: Are you defined by your money, education, by your job, by your looks?
Who is the real you? Chassidic philosophy teaches that every person has an inner and an outer you. We all have our external. We all have our internal. A successful person may be proud of their buisness accomplishments. But does that say that if they hit a bump, a mistake, they are diminished, less of a person? A good looking person who developes a wrinkle, are they now less. Devalued? Six days a week we are commanded by G-d to work, to maximize our talents. On the seventh day we are commanded “ you shall rest” because G-d rested on the seventh day of creation. Was G-d tired? he needed rest? Judaism believes in an infinite G-d, who is infinitely strong. Unlimited. Beyond definition, no size or shape. All Mighty. Why did G-d “rest” ?
The Rebbe explains:
When you work, when you are creating things, you are exiting your inner self and involved with something outside of yourself. You are lowering yourself to engage an entity outside of your self. When you return and rest in the privacy of your home, you elevate yourself and return to your inner self. You are no longer limited and occupied with something outside of your self. You are now free to be your inner true self. Six days a week we go out and engage entities outside of our self. We aim to do a successful buisness deal. To influence others. We are exiting our self and reaching outside of our self.That’s great. We are created by G-d to make a difference. To fix the world. But one day a week we are commanded: Stop doing. Start being. Royalty. Nobility. Doing and being are not the same. Doing is external. Being is internal. Yes, we must do and aim for success. But how do we know we are “doing” noble and good. Is that your purpose in life? Is it helping or hurting your soul ?
So G-d gives us a gift. The seventh day. Shabbat. A day of “resting” not “doing”. A day to return to our inner self. To reflect and evaluate if we are living a life of purpose and meaning. Is our G-d given soul living happily. Interestingly, the Hebrew letters which spell Shabbos are Shin, Bet, Taf. The same letters as the Hebrew word Toshuv. To return.
Sadness and depression at it’s root come from a life where our soul is unhappy with the reality of the life we are living. When we stray and betray our soul we are sad. It hurts. It’s depressing. Change direction, return, and you are well on your way, on the road of happiness. The youth of today have more gadgets and luxary then ever in history. Yet the quality of happiness is at a painful low. The moment we will teach our youth how to nourish their soul, a taste of Yiddishkeit, heritage and tradition with the intellectual reasoning behind our traditions, we will see happy faces and smiles.
When you were born into this world, a holy soul, a part of G-d came with you. It’s literally inside of you. Your G-d given soul is the real you. The soul descended from heaven into your body in order to use our body to bring goodness, kindness and holiness into the world. To live a meaningful life . When we live a life of meaning then we are happy. Our soul is content
Yes. Of course, the G-d of the Jew is infinite. G-d wasn’t exhausted after six days of creation . After six days of being involved with creating new stuff. G-d stopped creating new things and G-d “rested”. On the seventh day G-d elevated his existence to a higher Infinite, unlimited level. Not the lower finite level of creation. G-d resumed “being” not “doing” . Since then, every seventh day, G-d elevates himself and the entire world to a higher unlimited level. The physical world is charged with a divine holiness. Hence the holy day of Shabbos. In today’s fast moving world, where technology takes us on journeys at record breaking speeds, we often feel exhausted. Far away from our “inner” home. Chasing success and all it’s trappings can be exhausting. We can easily become caught up in “doing”, creating. We can loose focus of our true priorities and values. We can mistakenly travel at fast speed in the wrong direction. For 3300 years and counting, the Jewish people continue to enjoy the pleasure of Shabbat. A day to reorient. To rejuvenate. To check our soul’s GPS if we are traveling on the right road of life. And if we are lost. No problem. With the power of Shabbat we launch a new fresh beginning. We relaunch our rockets, reboot our soul’s GPS systems with environmentally friendly G-d powered energy. Jewish women and girls welcome the Shabbat eighteen minutes before sunset by lighting Shabbat candles. The feminine power to illuminate life with purity and holiness. Shabbat is reserved time. The Jew spends quality time with G-d, family and loved ones. We honor Shabbat with a delicious beautiful Shabbat table. Traditional foods. Kiddush on fine wine, washing and purifying our hands, Hamotzie, Challah, Gefilte fish, Lchayim, songs, chicken soup and a gourmet meat cuisine. We sanctify the physical with holiness. Judaism is the only religion which believes in engaging the physical pleasures of life as we are simultaneously infusing holiness into the mundane. This is G-d’s desire and purpose in creating our world. Making a home for G-d in our physical world.
On Shabbat we connect with our G-dly soul. In prayer. We connect with our community. Our children. With Shabbat guest. With the most treasured inspirational gifts of life. On Shabbat we stop defining ourselves by what we do. We define ourselves by who we are. A feminine strength and quality. We elevate ourselves and define ourselves by being not doing. We answer the question: Who are you. We are connecting to our G-d. To our loved ones. To our soul. As we read in this weeks Torah portion. The Mitzvah to honor the holy day of Shabbat. Every individual minute of Shabbat which we keep and sanctify is a Mitzvah. We strive for perfection but It’s not all or nothing . Imagine a world where we are always enjoying life. A world where we saver every moment with divine pleasure. A world of sweet shining lights of purity. Peace. Unity. Health. Prosperity. Wisdom. Keep imagining. Because that day is about to happen. It’s the biblical promise of Moshiach. The Rebbe teaches: Moshiach is on the way, let’s be ready. Our deeds of goodness and kindness hasten that great day. It’s the eternal day of Shabbat. A world of peace , happiness and celebration. Lchayim