WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

TO 120 YEARS WITH HASHEM'S HELP

BS"D 120 years. It really isn’t very long. That is how many years Moshe Rabbeinu (Moshe, our teacher) lived for and what HaShem tells us is the most we will get in this world – Olam HaZeh. Of course, Dovid HaMelech (King David) tells us 70 years, if we are fortunate, 80 years, in Tehillim (the 150 psalms that were completed during his lifetime – most of them written by King David himself - but not all). 120 years compared to forever in Olam HaBah – the World to Come – or less, if we have to come back to This World to live the 120 years all over again.

So, what is the goal of the 120 years we get to spend in This World? Find HaShem – have a relationship with HaShem on a daily basis. As we mentioned earlier, (see mitzvah number four), Rabbi Jonathan Rietti eloquently describes in his tape/CD series - why do we need to go to so much trouble in order to have food to eat? Surely, HaShem in his infinite wisdom, could have come up with a much less complicated way – the planting, growing, reaping, harvesting, manufacturing, distributing, buying, preparing, cooking, baking and then actually eating – just let us inhale all of the nutrients we need in much the same way as HaShem allows us to breathe in oxygen that we need. So what was the point?

And what is this 70 year business all about? Chassidus teaches us that we are given 70 years to tame our animal soul. Every one of us is made up of two souls – our nefesh behaimes or our animal side and our nefesh Elokis – our G-dly side. All of our physical needs and desires come from our animal side. Our desire to do mitzvahs, chesed (being nice to each other)…..come from our G-dly side. Our animal side is much stronger – and most often takes over. We are born selfish and self-centered. We have to be taught be kind to others and to understand HaShem.

Another way we can think about it is that we have a good side – a yetzer tov and a not so good side – our yetzer horah. Again, the not so good side is much stronger than the good side…Much more about this can be learned by reading the Alter Rebbe’s Tanya (a systematic exposition of Chabad Chassidic philosophy)