Today is April 19, 2024 /
Today is April 19, 2024 /
By Aryeh Ben David
Published in Ayeka’s newsletter
February 2, 2015
If there is one message of the Torah – if there is one idea the Torah is trying to convey to each of us – it is that we all have a calling. Abraham, the first Jew, was called. We are being called; I am being called. The world needs us. The world needs me.
The Torah invites us to consider:
There is a reason, unbeknownst to me, that I came into the world precisely as I am, at this time and at this place. There was something missing in the world that only I could provide; only I could contribute. That is my path; it is exclusively mine.
I have already had a long journey. I have been sent from the bodiless world of souls into this physical world. I am not here by accident. It is impossible to calculate how many pieces had to be arranged to bring me onto this world’s stage. Millions of pieces. An infinite number of pieces.
I have everything I need to hear my calling, to walk my own path and to fulfill my destiny in this world. My gifts and my shortcomings, my strengths and my weaknesses, all of my particular inclinations – are perfectly matched. Unique fingerprints, unique taste buds, unique face, and unique voice. A fully unique package matched with a unique soul, which is always providing the directions for the walking of my path.
I didn’t ask to be sent; my consent was not involved. I have been chosen for this journey, that only I can walk. I had no choice in the matter.
The only choice I have is – whether to walk my journey or not. Whether to fully be the unique and authentic self that God sent into this world, or to fall prey to confusion and distraction. To try and walk someone else’s path.
I may seek a life of meaning, a life of purpose, a life of joy and fulfillment. But these are all byproducts of simply and truly living the path for which I was chosen and prepared.
When I listen to my calling and walk my path – meaning, purpose, joy, and fulfillment all fall into place.
This calling, that began at my conception, is repeating itself all the time. God is speaking to me from the infinite and eternal voice within – the voice of my soul. Every day of my life.
How can I find my path? How can I hear this inner voice of my soul and hear my calling? Who can help me?
The word Torah is usually understood to mean “instruction”, from the Hebrew “L’ho’rot“. But it is also connected to the Hebrew word: “La’tur“, “to scout out”. The Torah is a guide for the soul to “scout out” its path.
I need someone who understands both qualities of Torah – l‘ho’rot and la’tur, to instruct and to guide. Someone who is wise and is also walking his/her own path. Someone who can help me read the Torah in a soulful way, to find the path that God has already charted for my soul. That is the person I am seeking to teach me.
That person can evoke my soul and help me find the path God is calling me to walk.
