Why the Lows?

It happens to all of us. 1st a high…then a low. Life is full of inspiration and excitement, followed soon thereafter by feelings of emptiness and dullness.

In every part of our material & spiritual lives, we are given exciting successes followed (for what seems like forever!) with a lull in the action. We have to do everything on our own with what seems like no outside help from Above…

Now, it happens to be, that this is the way the world was created & intended to work.

Let’s take a quick look into Jewish History: Abraham is chosen by G-d & Promised the Land of Israel! Wow! But first his descendants have to be enslaved in Egypt. But then we’re freed amongst amazing miracles & wonders! G-d’s With us! 10 plagues & a splitting of a sea later, we’re standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai, meeting G-d “Face to face” & Receiving His Torah - the greatest revelation the world has ever witnessed. What could possibly be more empowering and inspiring as this!?

But then it happens.

We wander in the desert for the next 40 years. Sure we're inspired with receiving the land of Israel and building an awesome temple, but after each high, we're met with a low. We've now been in exile for over 2,000 years. Our history is full of high & lows.

So why does G-d Do this to us? What’s the purpose of all of these long “lows”?

There is 1 major advantage to the “lows” of life, the un-inspired periods. What I attain during these times is mine. When I was inspired - given a “gift” from above - it was a high, but it was imposed from above, w/out personal effort. And therefore when the inspiration left, I was left un-inspired. But when I worked for my success, my inspiration; while being a bit less flashy & exciting, what I achieve & feel is now real. It’s part of who I am.

At Sinai, of course we accepted the Torah. G-d Was very Impressive. He Took us out of Egypt through many miracles, and we couldn’t help but love Him. Be in awe of Him. At Sinai we stood as the bride, G-d as Groom, and we were married with the ring of the Torah, our everlasting bond of love & devotion. Then G-d Took us on a honeymoon to Israel. Everything was fantastic.

In ‘Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore?’ (P. 37) Manis Friedman connects this “marriage” of the Jewish People & G-d with marriage between man & woman today: ‘Our admiration for G-d couldn’t help but grow. Then G-d Said, “Honeymoon’s over. No more temples, no more miracles. No more living in a holy land. From now on, it’s just Me and you. If you love Me, you’ll have to love Me for what I am, not for my signs, wonders, or plagues. No more miracles. Just Me.” So the temple was taken away, and we were sent into exile. What happened? Our relationship flourished. Today, in spite of everything, we are as devoted to G-d as ever. We have shown Him love & respect that we didn’t know we were capable of. Feelings that we didn’t know existed were revealed. The same can be true in one's marriage. At the beginning of your relationship, you got carried away b/c there was so much to love, appreciate, and respect. That wasn’t real. That was a gift. A door prize. Just to get you to come to the marriage. For that you didn’t have to be good, or virtuous, or responsible or moral. Now that all the excitement has settled down, there are two people who are responsible to one another, who can love each other & respect each other. That’s real.’

The relationship now has to be built. And the love that ensues is real. Romance is an allusion; real love comes through devotion over time.

May we always remember that the tough work and effort to regain what we were originally inspired with, is what life is all about. The inspiration was a gift. A superficial gift, to get us excited to roll up our sleeves. But what ensues is what will decide if the relationship is a real one or not. And this is when our inner abilities are truly revealed, abilities we never dreamed we could be capable of having. Through G-d’s Hiding Himself from us, He opened the opportunity for us to reveal the G-dliness within.

Good Luck & Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel