A Time to Meet a Stranger- Yourself

Our Inner Selves A person can go his or her whole life and never really know the person who they really are. What do I mean? We can live 120 years and never know our inner selves. We function on a superficial level, founded on our base desires and those that surface openly from time to time.

What motivates us? What do we value? Have we ever thought about these questions?

A True Story- The Suggestion The renowned Rav Wolbe, Shlita, says the following true story to illustrate this point. He has been involved in education on Jewish ethics for tens of years, and for many years he was the spiritual leader (called "Mashgiach") in a yeshiva known as "Yeshivat Henegev." Besides giving lectures he would speak on a weekly basis to groups of students and guide them spiritually based on Jewish ethics, with actual actions to carry out. In order that these students should be able to get more in touch with their inner selves he suggested taking a walk at night in order to spend time alone, delving into one's self.

A Scarry Encounter One serious boy returned the next day and said that he tried it but suddenly was overcome by a fear and ran back to the Yeshiva. The Mashgiach questioned him as to what suddenly scared him. Did he see a dog or a stranger? He replied in the negative. The Mashgiach replied that for sure you must have seen a stranger. The young man replied that there was no one there. To this the Mashgiach, Rav Wolbe, shlita, replied to him, "You did meet a stranger- yourself!"

Time Alone The Mashgiach explains that if we ever find ourselves alone and are bored, then that is a sign that we are not in touch with ourselves. If we would be, then we would discover within a whole inner world with which we would find much to occupy ourselves.

Serving G_D with our Personalities G-d took us out of Egypt to be His servants. But we are not expected to be as robots serving G-d by rote, each doing the same actions. Although yes, we all have the same Torah and are required to observe everything equally, there is vast room for each person's individual self to come out.

The Days of Sefira- Counting Now we are in the days called the Sefira. These are the fifty days between the Second day of Passover until the festival of Shavous, which is the time we received the Torah on Sinai. Now is a time to prepare ourselves to be able to receive the Torah anew on Shavous.

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