Where Are You? (Gen. 3:9)
Where Are You? (Gen. 3:9)
By
James Scott Trimm
December 11th, 2014 will be the 19th of Kislev "The New Year of Hasidut". This is a day of special recognition as the anniversary of the liberation from prison of the Alter Rebbe, Rebbe Shneur Zalman. Rebbe Zalman was the first Rebbe of the Chabad movement and that author of the Tanya.
In 1798 the Rebbe Zalman was falsely imprisoned on charges, put forth by enemies of Chassidism, that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the czar.
While the Rabbe was in prison one of his interrogators was a government official who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and of Judaism. In an effort to drive the Rebbe to renounce his faith he challenged the Rebbe to explain the verse: "God called out to the man and said to him: Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9) Did God not know where Adam was?
“‘Where are you?’” explained the Rebbe, “is His perpetual call to every man. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years and so many days,”—here Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of his interrogator—“Where are you? What have you achieved?” The next day the Rebbe was released from prison.
As a man’s life approaches his “middle ages” he begins to hear the voice of Yahweh just as Adam did, asking “Where are you?” not geographically but “Where are you with your life?”
When men hear this voice resonating in their soul they begin to ask themselves the same question… “Where am I? What have I achieved?” and this often results in what we call a “midlife crisis.” I know, I had my own, earlier than many men, several years ago.
In reaction to this question some of us react by doing some crazy things. What we need to realize is that our achievements in life are not just measured by the wealth we have amassed, career advancements etc. Our achievements should be measured in spiritual growth, the wisdom of Torah we have amassed, the people we have touched and the quality of the bonds that we have developed with our wives and families. If we have these things, we can be more than satisfied with the answer to these questions, and if we do not, then the solutions are to be found, not in doing crazy things, but in making constructive efforts to grow spiritually, grow in wisdom and in nurturing deeper relationships with our wives and families.
So as The New Year of Hasidut approaches this year, let us each tune into this question “Where are you?” and let us seek to grow spiritually, to grow in the wisdom of the Torah and let us nurture deeper relationships with our wives and families.
By
James Scott Trimm
December 11th, 2014 will be the 19th of Kislev "The New Year of Hasidut". This is a day of special recognition as the anniversary of the liberation from prison of the Alter Rebbe, Rebbe Shneur Zalman. Rebbe Zalman was the first Rebbe of the Chabad movement and that author of the Tanya.
In 1798 the Rebbe Zalman was falsely imprisoned on charges, put forth by enemies of Chassidism, that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the czar.
While the Rabbe was in prison one of his interrogators was a government official who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and of Judaism. In an effort to drive the Rebbe to renounce his faith he challenged the Rebbe to explain the verse: "God called out to the man and said to him: Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9) Did God not know where Adam was?
“‘Where are you?’” explained the Rebbe, “is His perpetual call to every man. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years and so many days,”—here Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of his interrogator—“Where are you? What have you achieved?” The next day the Rebbe was released from prison.
As a man’s life approaches his “middle ages” he begins to hear the voice of Yahweh just as Adam did, asking “Where are you?” not geographically but “Where are you with your life?”
When men hear this voice resonating in their soul they begin to ask themselves the same question… “Where am I? What have I achieved?” and this often results in what we call a “midlife crisis.” I know, I had my own, earlier than many men, several years ago.
In reaction to this question some of us react by doing some crazy things. What we need to realize is that our achievements in life are not just measured by the wealth we have amassed, career advancements etc. Our achievements should be measured in spiritual growth, the wisdom of Torah we have amassed, the people we have touched and the quality of the bonds that we have developed with our wives and families. If we have these things, we can be more than satisfied with the answer to these questions, and if we do not, then the solutions are to be found, not in doing crazy things, but in making constructive efforts to grow spiritually, grow in wisdom and in nurturing deeper relationships with our wives and families.
So as The New Year of Hasidut approaches this year, let us each tune into this question “Where are you?” and let us seek to grow spiritually, to grow in the wisdom of the Torah and let us nurture deeper relationships with our wives and families.
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