Lechaim- Are We Living or Existing?
“Lechaim (to Life)" is not just a nice slogan used when friends and family make a toast together during joyous occasions. Lechaim connotes a blessing and desire that we wish to focus more on living and less on just existing.
To exist means to consume space, resources, food and all other materialistic things that our physical existence depends on. To live, on the other hand, means to focus on the meaning and purpose of life.
Instead of being motivated to work just to pay our bills, we strive to contribute to society, develop meaningful relationships with our families and friends, and make a positive difference for the people around us. We strive to infuse our daily lives with G-d given values and reinforce our connection to our heritage and G-dly mission through which the materialistic aspects of our lives take on a new meaning and serve a higher purpose.
An old teacher of mine used to say, “Are you alive because you are alive or are you alive because a truck did not hit you"?
In the beginning of this week's Torah portion we learn about the creation of the world including the first man and woman, Adam & Eve. As stated, “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.” -Genesis 1:27-28
Immediately after creating Adam & Eve, G-d shared with them their mission statement; That is to raise a family and fill the earth with an awareness of a G-dly divine purpose.
Interestingly, there are many things we can learn from children. For example, when children get into an argument, often, just a short while later, they reconcile and resume playing nicely together again. When adults argue, on the other hand, the dispute may continue for weeks, months and sometimes even years.
Children want to be happy, adults want to be right. Children are busy living in the moment. As we get older, we tend to become more concerned with our self-image, pride and existence.
An honest appraisal of one's priorities raises some challenging questions: What does one really want out of life, and what is one doing to get it? Perhaps the real source of happiness and well-being, those which don't cost a penny, have been exchanged for costlier and less reliable sources of satisfaction?
Defining one's priorities resolves another common and serious concern potential parents may consider: the personal toll that raising children exacts — a burden in terms of energy, time, and freedom of movement, not to mention the emotional investment required.
However, the real question here is not one of insufficient personal resources, but rather one of priorities. In many other areas of life, such as careers and other personal goals, we often choose to put up with prolonged inconvenience and even sacrifice in order to attain our objectives — if it is considered important enough.
For a person who considers the pursuit of immediate enjoyment a major goal in life, children can no doubt prove to be an obstacle. But a person whose concept of satisfaction centers on meaning and depth will see children as a genuine source of joy, which mellows and grows with the years as they mature and develop, and ultimately raise families of their own.
Populating the world with human beings created in G-d's image is an essential facet of G-d's charge to humanity to fill the world with Divine consciousness. This precept is so essential that it is the first commandment of the Torah.
The mitzvah of raising a family also has a spiritual side, which is applicable even to those who have not yet married or those who have already passed the age of child-bearing. Every individual should dedicate themselves to assist and inspire others. By rekindling a soul, one “gives birth”—spiritually—to the person that one has positively affected. Like our Sages have said, “He who teaches Torah to the son of his fellow, is considered to be like the child's [spiritual] father.”
There is an intrinsic relationship between raising children and Mashiach's coming. Our Sages tell us that the Redemption from Egypt was dependent on the merit of righteous women. Despite Pharaoh's decree requiring Jewish boys to be drowned, these women bravely bore children and raised them as Jews. And our Sages assure us that the future Redemption will come in the merit of righteous women who follow the example of their ancestors, bearing children and raising them as proud Jews.
