Did you ever feel you are in the wrong place in a macro or minor way? Did you ever have this feeling of dissatisfaction with life? It’s not a holy feeling.
Charlie Harary, well known inspirational speaker, shared a virtual shiur on August 19, titled “Sparks in the Desert.” Charlie Harary shared that the Torah says, “These are the journeys of B’nei Yisrael when they left Egypt.” They were in the desert for 40 years. They kept moving around. This list is just a list of places B’nei Yisrael stopped. So, it should say, “These are the places where they stopped.”
The Ohr HaChaim says that the Torah says “these journeys” because of a concept called Divine sparks. There is spirituality that is in people, places, and things. We can be a conduit for spirituality when we perform spiritual things. When we do this, we lift up the environment around us. We redeem the sparks that were lost. If we encourage someone to be close to Hashem, or we recite a blessing on a food, we bring more G-dliness into the world. When we do this, we lift sparks everywhere we go. Our job is to lift those sparks. That’s Divine work.
When the Jewish people were in the desert, they were filled with unlifted sparks. The Jewish people were poised to do great work. They had Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen, and the Torah. They left Egypt, which refined them. Some journeys took a day and some a year. They kept moving around. They were finding places and collecting sparks. It wasn’t until they left that all the sparks went with them. The Ohr HaChaim teaches us that it’s about the journey. It’s about taking the sparks away.
The Ohr HaChaim is saying that the journeys of the Jews are about Divine sparks. In life, it’s not a great thing to want to be someplace else. Wherever you are, you have an opportunity to make a difference. Stop looking for the next. Bring G-dliness to wherever you are. Recognize that if Hashem placed you somewhere, it could be that there are sparks that need to be lifted in that place.
G-d doesn’t compare. You are you. You have your own journey in life. Bring G-dliness to everything you do. Lift people up in a holy way. That’s the journey of your life. Wherever you go, be there and lift it up. Every interaction, every day, everyone has the opportunity to lift up the world around them. We need to realize there is a book being written about us that says that these are the journeys of your life. Everyone has this potential.
He shared an inspiring story about Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Rabbi Carlebach was once delayed on a flight and ended up in Amsterdam. He realized that he was going to miss his gig, but he figured Hashem sent him there for a reason. He stopped at a store. The storekeeper asked him if he was a rabbi, because he just learned about Judaism and wanted to know more. Rabbi Carlebach spent the whole day talking to him. After this, the man ended up going to study in Israel.
Charlie Harary concluded, “Our lives are filled with opportunities to lift others up if we stop trying to compare ourselves to other people. We can lift up the world around us and become the people we are meant to be.”
By Susie Garber
