Finding the Wisdom; Connecting to God

The first Torah of Likutei Moharan discusses the value of finding the שכל שבכל דבר, the wisdom in everything. Whatever experiences or challenges come before a person in his life, he should not be satisfied with viewing them superficially, but take the time to look deeper and understand what he is really experiencing. He points out that by doing so, the experience will lead the person to becoming closer to God.

Rabbi Shmuel Moshe Kramer points out that Rabbi Baruch of Mehzboz makes a similar comment on the pasuk מלא הארץ קניניך, which is generally understood to mean that the world is full of God's possessions. R' Boruch explained the verse differently that it is saying that the world is full of methods by which one can acquire God; that there are myriad experiences through which one can develop a relationship with God. Connecting this with the words of the Likutei Moharan, that one should seek to understand every experience in order to find God, we can understand the verse even better.

מה רבו מעשיך ה' כולם בחכמה עשית, How wondrous are your creations God, you made them all with wisdom, i.e. you filled each thing with wisdom through which one can find God, מלאה הארץ קניניך, thereby the world is full of ways to acquire You, full of opportunities to know God and connect to him.

Go Find Yourself

I saw something this morning that really blew my mind. Rav Yitzchok Isaac of Komarna explains that when Hashem told Avraham לך לך, what He was telling him is, "Go find yourself."

I want to elaborate on this idea based on what Hashem then continues to say to Avraham.

Hashem tells him to go מארצך, from your land. Land is the place of infinite possibilities. We can plant in land and let anything grow there. But oftentimes we limit ourselves in terms of the growth we believe is possible for ourselves. Instead of seeing the infinite possibilities, we limit our dreams and efforts to a finite set that sells ourselves short. Leave your land, Hashem is telling Avraham, leave the self imposed limitations on what you can be, on how you can grow, on your life's possibilities.

We can understand the next two statements in the same vein. וממולדתך ומבית אביך, and from your birth-place and from your father's home. At times the limitations that we place on ourselves come from the communities in which we live. Other times they may come from our families. Perhaps we have been told since we are children what it is that we should become, or what we can't possibly become. Avraham was now being told by Hashem that he had to leave all of this in order to find himself.

אל הארץ אשר אראך To the land that I will show you.

Go with no preconceived notions. Leave yourself open to whatever possibilities Hashem places before you. Only by leaving yourself open to the infinite possibilities that Hashem can open up for you will you truly find yourself.

See also: The Value of Self-Revelation in which I discuss the value of bringing forth one's inner self.