Torah

As we encounter Purim, let us delve more deeply into the unique spiritual and existential battle that the Jewish People must continue to wage against the philosophy of Amalek. Amalek first appeared on the scene when they attacked klal Yisrael in the midbar, on their journey to Har Sinai. The most striking aspect of this attack was its timing.

In our previous article, we began exploring the five spiritual stages of the creative process. As the Vilna Gaon explains, everything in the universe is comprised of five stages or parts. To briefly review:

After an overwhelming week at work, Daniel decides to go on a nature hike to recharge. Without letting anyone know of his plans, he heads off into the mountains. As he is enjoying the view and the peaceful quiet around him, he suddenly slips and tumbles off the edge of a cliff. He plunges downwards, but somehow manages to grasp onto a branch jutting out of the cliff face. He clings to the branch for dear life, trying not to look down at the ravine below.

There was very little communication thus far, and no one knew why they were meeting in an abandoned junkyard.

A group of data analysts had received a strange message from their boss. It simply said to show up at a certain spot the next day at 11:00 a.m., no details or explanation included.

There were once two boys who went ice-skating on a frozen lake in their neighborhood. As they were enjoying themselves, the ice suddenly cracked, and one of the boys fell through into the icy water. His friend started frantically reaching for him, but he was too late, and the boy got swept underneath the ice. Desperate to save his friend, this scrawny boy quickly looked around, saw a tree in the distance, and rushed over to try to pull off a branch. After tugging for a few seconds, he managed to crack off a huge branch, and he then quickly ran back to his friend. He smashed and thrashed at the thick ice until it finally cracked, allowing him to grab onto his friend. He dragged him back to the shore just as the ambulance arrived, and miraculously, they were able to resuscitate him.

In our previous article, we began exploring the Torah’s powerful approach to happiness. To review, growth is the underlying root of deep existential happiness. This is because the deepest human desire is to express our unique purpose in this world. We therefore experience incredible happiness when we are growing and maximizing our potential, fulfilling our purpose. However, while an important layer of happiness results from the expansion of self as we actualize our potential, there are a few keys that are necessary to fully experience the happiness we generate when fulfilling our mission.