In the past few weeks, I’ve been writing a lot about pain and struggles and how to find meaning in it, how to become okay with it. Yet, I still don’t think that it has become repetitive as it applies to the life of every breathing individual and the sources on it within judaism are inexhaustible. So now I will share something that spoke to me this week.
There is an analogy of planting seeds and how we can relate it to the workings our very own life. I loved using this analogy in the past so I was really happy to hear it in class – i absolutely love it. Let’s visualize the following: a nice, fresh seed. Once it is planted, it decomposes under the ground. What follows? The growth of a luscious tree, giving us fruit and oxygen to breathe.
We can use this to understand how every descent is for the purpose of ascending, starting to go down is already beginning the process of rising to a higher place than we originally found ourselves at. Why not keep the seed as nice and round as it is? Why bury it in dirt and let it decompose? For the first few months there is nothing but loss and emptiness ! If we wait though, we will find a new source of life, beautiful colours – a nourishing plant erupting from this tiny seed. It had to go through the descend into the earth, fully dissolve, wait and wait, seemingly without any progress.. to outgrow what it once was.
We want a beautiful garden of flowers in life, flowers and trees of children, health, expression, family, success, growth – and for that, we need to plant seeds. Often, to reach these heights, we go through hardship and struggle but that is sometimes nessecary and even good because that descend comes with the very seed we plant without which we could not bring in goodness into our lives. We should not be scared of investing in ourselves, even if that will cost us going through tough times.
Egypt, the place known (in biblical context) for it’s darkness, limitations and lowness, is in fact the very place where the ultimate redemption, world peace and full connection to source, is rooted and we should all see the geula come very soon.
This week we entered the book of Shemot – Exodus which marks the beginning of the jewish slavery in Egypt. Even though we learn about all the horrible things Paraoh did to the jews and their crying out to Hashem, spiritually and physically being at the lowest point the nation has ever been at, this parasha is the beginning of the redemption – the seed of Mashiach and the ultimate geula was planted in Mitzraim ! Even though in this parasha the exile, a very dark time, begins, it also marks the planting of the seed of a future of a redeemed world.
This doesn’t take away the pain of our hardships, just as the slavery was not any easier for the jews back then because of this fact. I do think though that having this in mind when we struggle can help a lot, infuse meaning and illuminate painful aspects of our life so we can see them on a higher level of consciousness.
Let’s give the seeds we planted (wether it was voluntarily and consciously or forced and not active) time, even though we can’t see the growth it carries in it’s DNA. Let’s build this trust and patience and not sit in the darkness but see the light that will follow it.
May we all be able to sew seeds to rise higher than we ever could have imagined in our purpose in becoming a source of light and love in this world. Shabbat Shalom :)))
Credits to Rabbi Barnatan for bringing down the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe