The Torah tells us this week that the Ark was riding on the water. It actually says, the waters lifted the ark from the earth.In Chassidus, the Ark represents the relationship that we have with G-d and our purpose on this earth, the inner sanctum, the safe space. The waters of the flood represent the challenges we encounter in life, the challenges from without: making a living, relationships, etc. And the challenges from within: navigating our own character, triggers, upbringing, etc.
One might see these as negative things out to get us. We can be the victim. “How do I survive these challenges?”
The Torah is telling us that our inner sanctum is lifted up through the challenges of the waters of life. They are not out to get us, they are actually the means by which we are lifted up.
It is through the challenges that we actually are able to discover the core of who we are and our purpose on this earth.
We don’t ask G-d for these challenges, nor do we want them. But when He sends them our way, we are taught how to view them.
The key is not to see the waters as the enemy, but as a friend who is challenging us to look deeper, to rise above, to rise up and to ride the waves to further and greater heights.
Have a great Shabbos!
Rabbi Mendel Schusterman
Thanks to my brother, Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, of Chabad Intown, Atlanta, for sharing the above thought.
Recent Comments