Why We Are Here

Deuteronomy 28:64 Hashem will scatter you among all the peoples, from the end of the earth to the end of the earth, and there you will work for gods of others, whom you did not know… 28:65 And among those nations you will not be tranquil, there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; there Hashem will give you a trembling heart, longing of eyes, and suffering of soul.

Deuteronomy 8:3 …He fed you the manna that you did not know… in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of God does man live. 

Deuteronomy 29:4 I led you for forty years in the Wilderness, your garment did not wear out from on you and your shoe did not wear out from on your foot.

Deuteronomy 4:29 From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 4:30 When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you, at the end of days, you will return into Hashem, your God, and listen to His voice. 

Deuteronomy 30:4 If your dispersed will be at the ends of heaven, from there Hashem, your God, will gather you in, and from there He will take you.

 

Before the Passover seder my daughter Miriam engaged our guests, mostly refugees from FSU (former Soviet Union), in a discussion on the personal Exodus from Egypt.  Each guest had to tell what the Passover story means to them personally, how they relieved the experience of Exodus in their own lives.  For most it was leaving Russia, one of the world’s least hospitable countries for Jews, to put it mildly.  That was truly the place were  Hashem gave us a trembling heart, longing of eyes, and suffering of soul.

When it was my turn, I agreed that leaving the beautiful and extremely anti-Semitic country of Moldova was indeed like leaving Mizraim, but we have not yet reached the blessed land of milk and honey that Hashem in his abundant mercy gave us as inheritance.  We made a detour to the west and ended up in Greece instead of the land of Canaan, following the unproven theory that some Jews left Moses in the Wilderness and turned to Greece, enriching the genome of ancient Greeks to develop the civilization that produced the timeless works of human genius. [Was Achilles a Jew?] 
I’ve been bothered by the question as to why this happened, what is the purpose of such detour, WHY ARE WE HERE?  There must be a reason!  One reason that I heard was that there is much to learn here from all people – Americans are remarkably kind, altruistic, and intelligent, and they have excelled in fulfilling the mitzvoth concerning interpersonal relationships.  But we have to be very cautious in learning from them, as it says in Leviticus 18:3 Like the practice of the land of Egypt that you once lived there do not do; and like the practice of the land of Canaan that I am bringing you there do not do, and their customs do not follow.

I think I found the answer in the book of Deuteronomy -  this is the end of the world, from here we shall seek God, and from Here will gather us in and from here He will take us.  Other countries where we lived in Europe, Africa, Middle East were not far enough from Erez Yisrael, neither Russia or Poland, nor Morocco or Iraq, are far enough to be the end of the world, the end of heaven.  This is the place where we don’t lack anything, where the food and clothes are easily available, where we don’t lack bread and our garments and shoes don’t wear out, and this is the place from where we shall seek Hashem, our God, and we will find Him, if we search for Him with all our heart and all our soul. This is why we are here – to seek God. 

 

From Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski Growing Each Day:

27 Tishrei

The heart of those that seek God shall rejoice. Seek God and His might, constantly seek His countenance (Psalms 105:3-4).

One might ask, "Why should I try to seek God? He is infinitely great, and so totally beyond human grasp that the search to understand Him is all in vain. Is it not senseless to exhaust oneself in an effort that is doomed to failure from its very outset?"

Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm states that the above verses are the Psalmist's reply to this question. Spiritual quests are qualitatively different from physical ones. In worldly matters, a quest is futile if one finds nothing, and the disappointment is frustrating. Not so in one's search for God, wherein the search itself brings joy, for the very inquiry elevates the searcher.

Indeed, the Psalmist urges us never to cease the search, because the promise of joy in searching is contingent upon its continuity. One cannot stop midway, abandon the effort, and retire with one's winnings. Abandoning the search for God at any point brings a person back to square one. To achieve the joy in searching, it must be constantly seek His countenance.

This thought was also expressed by the Rabbi of Kotzk, on the verse, And from there you shall seek your God, and you shall find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and soul (Deuteronomy 4:29). The Kotzker interpreted the verse to mean that the seeking is the finding; "you shall find Him if you seek ..." - but only if it is a lifelong quest, with all one's heart and soul.