Perspective

PERSPECTIVE

,םָלוֹעָה ךֶלֶמ וּניֵהֹלֱא הוהי הָתּאַ ךוּרָבּ .יִכְּרָצ לָכּ יִלּ הָשָׂעֶשׁ Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Majesty of the world, who provided me with all I need.

LEARNING

Most of the blessings are in the present tense, yet this one is expressed in the past. Why not say “who provides me all I need”? Oftentimes sadness, hardship, and misfortune may appear to be filling up our lives, but it is only later, further down the road, that we can look at the past with new perspective, understanding the value in how things happened.20

INSPIRATION

Each human being is born with a toolbox full of strengths. We may notice, as we grow up, that we are also missing some tools. We may sense that other people have certain strengths and advantages that we do not have. In life, each of us has a unique mission to fulfill in our lifetime. One of the clues we can use to determine what that mission might be is to peek inside our toolbox and get a sense of what is meant to be achieved with those exact tools. Looking into someone else’s toolbox will do nothing to achieve our mission, and will only distract and discourage us from doing our jobs.

REFLECTION

How might your life change if you felt happy with what you had? What might it feel like to own the idea that you have what you need? We thank God for our needs, but we are often unclear about what are needs and what are wants. Perhaps when we say this blessing, we can recall that God has given us everything we need– and many of the things we want. Which needs and wants has God gifted you with?

PERSONAL PRAYER

Blessed are You, God, who gives me all I need. Please, see my heart’s yearnings, and remove desires that are unhelpful. Purify my soul to the permitted, allow me what I need, for myself and for my children. Protect my children from ways that are not theirs. Guide their ways, and be there for them as they need.

— Orly Cohen Gefen,

Kibbutz Naan, Israel