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"My child,
do not forget my Torah Many are the forces in the universe and on Earth that do not seek the better welfare of humanity. Many look upon humanity as a form of livestock, intended to be corralled, harvested and exploited. Like sheep led to the slaughter, most of us go through life totally oblivious of the negative forces that surround us. Like animals in a pen, we allow ourselves to become distracted by life’s temptations and fail to realize or care that these temptations successfully avert our gaze from seeing the true nature of our condition. Humanity today is held in bondage, not to any outside malevolent force, but to an inner enemy, an internal force that creates within us ignorance, apathy and lethargy. Most today do not care, do not know, and do not care that they do not know. How can one free a slave that does not believe oneself a slave, and worse, does not care if indeed one is a slave? Bondage of the mind is the worst type of slavery. One who does not want to be free will never experience freedom. One who is not willing to pay the price for freedom will never achieve it. Therefore, most remain slaves, willingly and complacently. And generation after generation goes by, like sheep to the slaughter. This would be fine if we were but animals, but we are much more than this; we are created in the Divine image, we are human beings, and not animals. Humanity has a higher calling and a higher destiny. And in spite of ourselves and our choices of apathy and lethargy, we as a race will rise up to embrace our destiny. How this will occur depends upon us. Awakening can be a beautiful thing, or it can be very rude. Time will tell, and each will choose how one is to be awakened. Yet, in the end, when all is said and done, the sleepers will indeed awaken. Many today know well that evil exists and that it poses a significant and present problem for either themselves or our loved ones. Yet, instead of turning to tried and true methods for overcoming evil, many foolishly wish to embrace superstition or worse, convince themselves that the problem is not so bad, that it can be lived with, possibly ignored, and that hopefully it will go away. Alas, this mentality expresses the fears of the fool and of the slave. This is the expression of the defeated, not the victor. Reality is a funny thing. Deny it all we wish, it still does not go away. Reality has a funny staying power to remain and continue to be there, regardless of whether or not we pay attention to it. Ultimately, in the end we are forced to deal with reality, for in the end, reality will always shock us out of our sleep. In the end, the sleepers must awaken. A simple lesson of life holds true; one who is prepared for a thing better handles that thing than one unprepared. Life is easy to face, even evil can be easy to handle if and when one prepares oneself to face the challenge. One does not go off into battle without the necessary weapons of war. One should never face the conflict against evil without one’s appropriate weapons. The weapons in the battle against evil are not physical. No gun or blade can be used to defeat evil. Evil exists beyond the boundaries of the physical and therefore must be fought at its source in order to be defeated. Defeating evil, within ourselves and within others requires us to possess spiritual, psychological and emotional weapons of significant power. The weapons used to defeat evil therefore include a sharp mind, a balanced heart and proper behavior. These three tools joined by a willing spirit will surely enable anyone to confront and to conquer evil. Torah and commandments are both a means to an end and an end unto themselves. One who studies Torah and embraces it lessons is changed within. One’s character is transformed, one masters the clouded mind, the confused heart and inappropriate behavior. A master of Torah above all things is an awakened soul, for the master of Torah allows the power of Heaven to flow through oneself. The master of Torah becomes the conduit to unite Heaven and Earth. The master of Torah becomes the vessel and vehicle through which Heaven moves upon Earth. In Hebrew, this vessel is called a Merkava, chariot. Thus the master of Torah is the true chariot of Heaven. The chariot of Heaven, although cloaked in human form is no mere human being. The master of Torah who has become the chariot of Heaven is the conduit for awakening. The follower of commandments becomes the leader of the awakening. One who is awake can recognize evil. One who knows Torah can confront evil. One who is a master of Torah can defeat evil. No outside force can stand against the masters of Torah. Try as they have in the past, they still seek today to destroy Torah from Earth. As they have failed in the past, so will they fail in the future. This is the promise of Heaven, and the destiny of the righteous. The chariots will march forward victoriously in the war against ignorance and complacency. He who rides the chariot shall corral the corrallors, be they of this Earth, or beyond. Victory is inevitable. It is destiny. Darkness always comes before the dawn, but rest assured daybreak soon comes. Let the one with open eyes see the rising sun. Let the slave seek freedom, for with freedom one can open one’s eyes and see the treasures that freedom brings.
Comments? Questions?
Yeshivat Lev Torah -
Collel Benei N'vi'im |
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