Your Name is Your Unique Treasure Plus

Your Name is Your Unique Treasure Plus We are beginning the second book of the Torah: Sefer Shemot, and reading the first parshah called "Shemot"-which means "Names." The theme of this Book is geulah-redemption, which is why in English, Shemot is called the Book of Exodus or "Sefer Hageulah." The parsha begins with a mini-census listing all of the members of Yaakov's family. However, the same information was given in greater detail in the previous parshah at the end of Sefer Bereishis (Genesis). This leaves us wondering why once is not enough. There are many answers to this question, but one of the ones that I find particularly moving is that Hashem treasures us so much that He counts and recounts each one of us, in the same way that He counts the stars. Each star has a name, as King David tells us in Tehillim 147:4, "He counts the stars; He knows them all by name." A name tells others who you are. You don't need a name to know yourself. Each name gives you a way to encounter the uniqueness of the star or person that bears that name. When you talk about the names that people have, and what they come to mean to you, what you will find is that they evoke the image of the person who you know by name. What makes one person unique from anyone else who ever lived, is the specific way in which an individual negotiates the partnership between her body and soul. My body is similar to yours in that it has the same number of limbs and organs as yours. And my soul has the same means of expressing itself as yours does. But the way I use what I have is different from the way you use what you have. You face tests that I will never know, and your specific way of making your body and soul respond is the "name" that you make for yourself. It reflects your individuality. In earlier times people knew how to read the "map" of the heavens. They could gaze at the position of the stars at a given time and interpret how the influence of the stars would descend to the earth and affect them at that time. You could look at your chart, and learn what you would have to deal with. Sounds good, no? The constellations are called "mazelot." Although this word is used to mean "mazel"-"fortune" (which is why we wish a new bride "mazel tov!"), it can also can be used to describe what we call "fate." When you come home from a date with someone else's predestined mate, you may feel that you just have lousy mazel. The word's true meaning is "flow." The stars map out the flow of Hashem's influence towards the world as a whole and to each individual in particular. You could read your fate by looking at the constellations. The stars in the cosmos join with other stars and form constellations; we see some of them, and some are beyond our range of vision. The unchanging rule is that each constellation is composed of specific stars, each one has individual light and beauty, but at the same time it is part of the constellation. In this same way, each of us has a specific mazel through which Hashem gives us whatever we need to have in order to flourish and to draw down a level of G-dliness that no one has ever succeeded in bringing down before. Though this may all sound intriguing, don't get your chart done! The Torah tells us not to practice astrology. Today most astrology is just a quick way for an underprivileged individual to earn some cash. But even in earlier times, when people knew how to correctly read and interpret the heavenly map, we were still forbidden to turn to astrologers to find out what was in store for us. The reason is that, for the Jewish people, our mazel can change. For Jews, every act of free choice draws down a response from Above that can radically alter every possible avenue of self-development. The person you can be tomorrow can be radically different from the person that you are today. Your prayers and actions can transform your "mazel:" whether it's through the conscious changes in your daily life, the way some of you are literally spiritually unrecognizable from who you were before, the way that you have chosen to put yourself in a better environment, or by reaching out to others by giving charity: You can rise above your circumstances of birth, the limitations that being a member of your family may impose on you, and the influence of the world you live in. When you make the right choices, Hashem will give you everything you need to live a higher and better life. Your mazel will change with you. Does that mean that your role in life is to be a pseudo FFB? Is there some invisible cookie cutter that you can hope to somehow descend on your raw self to turn you into a well baked copy of the people you may have come to admire? The answer is no. Reuvain isn't Shimon, and Levi isn't Yosef. Your name is your unique treasure. Your reason to exist is reflected by your individuality. No one can live your life, or replace your contribution. Without you, the constellation is fragmented and its perfection is still unborn. Be yourself: higher, better, and more dazzling than ever. Let the people who Hashem sent to make your path smoother help you. Make good connections, go to the classes that truly inspire you, and keep growing and changing! Have a great week! http://www.tziporahheller.com/blogs/displayBlog.php?nid=385