Thursday, March 23, 2006

Its MY world.....(you can stay if you'd like to..)


A person is required to acknowledge every day Bishvili Nivra HaOlam.

The world was created for me.

What is the reason for this self-centered mantra?

Here’s my theory...
The following paragraph sounds wild but it’s actually from the Sefer .Leshem Shevo VeAchlama written by the Kabbalist Rav Shlomo Elyashiv (Rav Elyashovs Grandfather)
The true essence of God is impossible to comprehend nor approach.
God is how we perceive him. God is what he has chosem to reveal to us.
Through his attributes and actions. In other words God for all practical purposes is what we perceive of him.
Each person perceives God differently. Everyone is at their own level of understanding.
Therefore it can be said that every person has his or her own individual God in a very real sense. He continues by saying that when someone prays and is not in touch with God..does not relate to Hashem, is thinking about a an abstract idea of God he is engaging in a form of idol worship.
That is not YOUR God.
Someone that mimics a person on a higher level than he is worshiping another God. Not the same God but with a different understand..but an entirely other God.

Now. Bear with me...
The world is a top down world. Everything emanates from and exists in God. (see God is One).
If everyone has their own personal God then it must be that everyone has their own personal world.
The world as we know it is in essence billions of worlds overlapping. Just like on a computer network. Everyone exists on the same network and can communicate on any screen within the network each person still works on their own screen and exists in the network on their own personal computer.
So Beshvili Nivra Haolam is not some abstract Aggada but a very real reality.

It’s me and God ...he is my world I am his world.

Everyone else? They’re just extras..props. Just like on a movie set theres the main actor and all the extras that surround him to support him (or in real life challenge him).
If this is the case then the mitzvah of Judging people favorably takes on a new urgency. When you judge someone you are defining that person in your world!
Not only that but the way you judge others is how God sets the bar for your world when it comes time to reward or punish you.
That’s also why I might be a little opinionated. After all it’s my world I should formulate opinions on what’s going on in it.