Look Deeply...

From the Great Rabbi Tzvi Freeman...

 

Look deeply within each person you encounter, no matter how brilliant or dull, refined or crude, righteous or wicked you judge this person to be.

Beyond their clothes, beyond their skin, beyond their behavior, beyond their words.

Beyond the emotions they show, the personality in which they dress, past whatever masks they don to conceal their inner woes.

Look deeply and see the vicious war each one fights inside, the battle to remain human in a maddening world—a world you will never know, for no two of us are placed in the same world and no two of us confront the same challenges—

—the sickness at knowing one’s own failures and deficiencies, the yearning to be more, the disappointment at not being that, the struggle to fight every sorrow, every pain, every plummeting, disastrous trauma of life…

True, perhaps not everyone fights every battle. Some have long surrendered.

But the very fact that this person was assigned this battle tells us more than can be spoken, for the One who created him knows he has the power to prevail and win.

That alone is enough to admire, and to be humbled, asking yourself, “Do I fight a battle nearly as fierce as the one I expect this person to win? In what way am I any better?”

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

Making Of Miracles

Regardless of what spiritual path you may be on, almost all paths talk about the possibility of miracles. Some miracles come in the form of supernatural events, like the parting of the Red Sea or when Peter walked on the water. Many of the Pseudagraphia written some 200 years after Jesus contained lists of incredible miracles performed by His Apostles to show their powers, often elevating one Apostle over another.

Other miracles are of a more intimate nature, like a personal healing from a sickness or a dire spiritual disease. All these miracles require something outside of the normal day-to-day operations of the physical reality. They seem to attract the attention of poets, authors and readers alike with their effects.

Sadly, some of the greatest miracles go unnoticed. The day you were born is a great miracle, as a soul created by God took human form and brought with it all the joy, love and hope your life has become. Many have shared your miracle and you have contributed to the miracles in the lives of others. You may not see your daily miracles as “miraculous” as the Parting of the Red Sea, but they are miracles all the same.

Every blooming flower and every sunrise/sunset are miracles. Every laugh that erupts from the heart of a child is a miracle. Waking up this morning and being alive and aware is a miracle, one that did not happen for everyone who went to sleep last night.

In trying to find a common definition for a miracle, I hope this helps. I define miracles as a “demonstrations of energy from a spiritual or meta-physical source, obviously beyond a parlor trick, that is not explained by physical means”. As a follower of Jesus, I believe this energy comes directly from Him, through the Light.

What is worth noting is that this energy is always available.

Our spiritual path is not about reigning down God’s power like some kind of a religious King Kong event, waiting for Him to come eat our sacrifices. The fact is, His energy is available and ready all the time and in every place of our lives. Miracles are not about bringing a special connection with God, they are about being the miracle ourselves.

Who creates miracles? We do! Who empowers them? God does! The whole point of us being here on this earth is to work in partnership with God, helping to rectify the world and return it to its original state, the Garden of Eden.

So there are a few touch-points to remember: 1) Look around and see the daily miracles happening and thank the Creator for His “silent signs” that show us He is watching and engaged in our lives. 2) Be the Cause and not just an Effect. Create a miracle by tapping into the Light of the Creator and open the opportunity for the miraculous.

Stay Connected!

David W. Fournier Rev. Dr.

Centre For Hebraic Insights