A few weeks ago, I gave a Dvar Torah in Shul as part of a group of talented ladies sharing their thoughts on the Torah. My piece was about finding meaning in the month of Cheshvan. Now that the holidays are over, we may find it hard to find excitement in our day to day lives.
However, as I pointed out in the Dvar Torah, this is exactly one of the most exciting times of the year! This is the time that we get to actualize all of our ideals and values that are so important to us. It is in the day in and day out of our lives that we have the time to focus on making our lives meaningful and not just about checking items off of our forever to do list.
Last week I posted a blog on Times of Israel discussing Gan Eden’s location. I felt that all arrows pointed to Eretz Yisroel, Yerushalayim and potentially the Temple itself. Although it is hidden from our sight until this day, it very well could be revealed in the area of where the third Temple will one day stand, when Mashiach arrives.
Someone shared their thoughts with me after reading the blog. They suggested that perhaps Gan Eden was not in a physical locale at all and rather that it is a state of mind, a spiritual place in our hearts, pushing us to be better people.
From all of the commentaries I have seen, it seems that Gan Eden was an actual place.
You see, Gan Eden wasn’t like Michigan or New York or even Mexico. Rather it was a place within the world, yes, yet it remained separate from the rest of the world.
When Adam and Chava were in Gan Eden, they did not have to worry about where their food would come from or any of their basic needs. Everything was provided for them by Hashem. They had no to do lists. They had one job in the garden and one rule to follow. Their job was to work on their spiritual selves, perfecting their Middos, learning Torah and strengthening their relationship with Hashem. The one rule was to listen to Hashem’s command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.
Because of the sin of eating from the tree and not listening to Hashem, man was thrown out of the garden and placed into the remainder of the world.
This world wasn’t like the garden. Here, man had to work hard to ensure that he had food to eat and provide all of the essentials for his family.
But here is the added catch. Here in this world, while we have to work to provide for our families and earn a living, toiling day in and day out, we are not exempt from the work that we were expected to do in the garden. Rather here in this world we would now simultaneously be responsible for our spiritual and physical well being.
And this makes life that much harder for us. This is the balance that we constantly walk of making a living and enhancing our spiritual selves.
This year we have an added reminder as it is a Shmittah year, where we are commanded to let all the fields, vineyards and orchards in Eretz Yisroel lay fallow. It is the Shabbos of Hashem. A year of rest for the land and a reminder to us that everything we have comes from Hashem and not our own efforts, however, we are commanded to put in our best effort.
It actually reminds me of Gan Eden! It is this time when we do not focus on making a living, rather learning Torah and working on ourselves and strengthening our connection and commitment to Hashem. Shmittah is our every seven years reminder of what Gan Eden was and Shabbos is our weekly reminder.
And this time now between the holidays, is our time to get the real work done. Yes, it is time to get back to the office, but it is also the time to get back into our spiritual work as well.
Wishing you inspiration and success in all of the work you do!