Are you where you are supposed to be?
12 Sivan 5776
Our Creator loves order. He took chaos and replaced it with order in the universe. Everything He created has a role and a purpose. Each of us is made in a marvelous way and no one should ever say that He made a mistake by making us the way He did. We are each unique and our greatest mistake is when we compare ourselves with others. He reminds us in the tenth commandment — do not covet – Lo Tachmod – לֹא-תַחְמֹד – anything that is your neighbors. One of the most important roles being overlooked today is the role of the woman in the home. In the story about the “adulterous woman” – “Sotah” – סוטה – in this week’s portion, the Torah was protecting the woman. This is the role of the man and sadly today men are trying to be like women and women want to be like men. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who understands her value and identity and accepts herself for who she is. Even women put other women down for being a stay at home mom. They elevate women who prefer to work in higher positions than men while their children are placed in day-cares to be raised by strangers. Obviously there are cases where women have no choice but for the most part this is the greatest mistake that women can make. Women are the crown of God’s creation and they don’t realize that they actually lower themselves by trying to be like men. From Proverbs 31:10 – 31 – eshet chayil אֵשֶׁת-חַיִל- “The Virtuous Woman” gives us a beautiful picture of what women were meant to be. She was far from lazy; she was smart, capable, a good business women almost a super woman.
The last verse of Numbers 4 gives us a key to the LORD’s organization “…each man was assigned his duty and load (verse 49).” Why is this so important? If we have been given by Our Creator certain talents and abilities but we try to impose ourselves in areas other than our calling, it causes problems not only for ourselves but for those around us. God has given us certain qualities in order to exercise them in the community where He has placed us. If we do not concern ourselves with what others say or do but we simply do what we are called to do, we will be the most fulfilled people. If you are in the right job, it is not a job, it’s a blessing. If your job exhausts you emotionally and you don’t look forward to each new day, it is more a curse than a blessing.
Our Creator’s desire is that we be available to His call and that we use them for the betterment of our community. This will ultimately benefit society as a whole. When we do that, we thrive and feel fulfilled even if we are not “successful” by the world’s standards. Is it not more important to be successful in the eyes of the Creator than to spend our time comparing our lives with other human beings? That is why the tenth commandment is so important. Are you where you are supposed to be?