|
|
|
Jewish World Review Feb. 2, 2007 / 14 Shevat, 5767 Love thyself! By Rabbi David Aaron
Secrets to your ultimate and everlasting net worth
“Just as a person must believe in G-d, so too, he must afterwards believe in Himself. That is to say, that G-d is involved with him and he is not a waste — that he is here today and gone tomorrow….
“Rather one must believe that his soul is from the Source of Life, may His name be blessed and that G-d gets pleasure - taanug— in him and is — mishtashaya — playfully involved with him when he does His will.
“And this is the meaning of the verse "and they believed in G-d and Moses His servant" (Exodus 15). [The soul of] Moses consisted of the 600,000 souls of the Jewish people of that generation —- and they believed that G-d desired them - wants and receives pleasure from the good within them.”
— Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen: Tzidkas HaTzadick 154
I heard an interview with a famous singer. The interviewer asked her, "What are your feelings about yourself?"
She said, "I've always had low self-esteem."
She went on to explain, "Well, most people in this industry have low self-esteem. Why else would you and me be out here on stage, in the spotlight, looking for acknowledgment?"
Torah teaches that receiving acknowledgement from a bunch of people or having your name in lights does not access your inner being and true self worth. Despite the fact that this singer is successful, accomplished, beautiful, talented, and, I am sure, a very confident performer, she still suffers low self-esteem. Accomplishments might give her fame and confidence, but they did not lead her to true belief in her self.
Self-esteem does not have to be acted out vis-à-vis the outside world. You don't need to act upon something or someone else to help you feel worthwhile and valuable. You don't need to tell somebody else, and you don't need somebody else to tell you, that you are valuable. If you need somebody else to tell you this, then you are not tapping the source of true and lasting self -worth. A hermit, attuned to his soul connection to G-d, may be living a more empowered life than a king who may reign supreme but neglects nurturing his relationship to G-d. Ultimately, self-worth is something you have to come to know from inside yourself by virtue of your internal and eternal connection to G-d. Of course what we do outside can help us access and affirm this realization inside. But the truth of sacred self love lies within.
There is a big difference between looking good and feeling good about ourselves. Looking good is acted out vis-à-vis the outside world. It sounds something like this: "I am technologically savvy, I built a successful business, people acknowledge me, I am honored at dinners, etc.." True, these people have an honorable dignified existence, but they do not necessarily find true inner value. Success in the outside world is how you achieve confidence and self worth is rooted in the conquest of your inner world. Your inner worth comes from communing with G-d — the Master Self, from plugging into the Ultimate I. Self-worth is an inner power and security derived from feeling your self anchored in something, or to be more correct Someone, stable and unchanging.
Having a great net worth in assets doesn't necessarily make us feel that we have worth. Having power and control of the world outside of us doesn't help us feel the true divine essence and unconditional value of our soul.
HUMILITY AND SELF-CONTROL
Sometime ago I read a book called I'm O.K., You're O.K. After I read it, I felt O.K. but not great. Maybe I misunderstood the book.
G-d does not want you to think you are just O.K. He wants you to know that you are great. His message is "I'm Great and You're Great" — because you are a part of me. So, please do yourself a favor and act accordingly — Love Thyself!!!!
— For more on this topic, please see: Endless Light: The Ancient Path of Kabbalah Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes uplifting articles. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. To comment on this article, please click here.
JWR contributor Rabbi David Aaron is the founder and dean of Isralight, an international organization with programming in Israel, New York South Florida, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Toronto. He has taught and inspired thousands of Jews who are seeking meaning in their lives and a positive connection to their Jewish roots.
He is the author of the newly released, The Secret Life of G-d, and Endless Light: The Ancient Path of Kabbalah to Love, Spiritual Growth and Personal Power , Seeing G-d and Love is my religion. (Click on links to purchase books. Sales help fund JWR.) He lives in the old City of Jerusalem with his wife and their seven children.
© 2007, Rabbi David Aaron | ||||||||||||||||
You can buy the book at a discount by clicking