Putting THE ONE before All of the Zeros

This blog was inspired by the book "Garden of Gratitude" by Rabbi Shalom Arush. This is a retooling of a blog published in the Jerusalem Post entitled "Cause and Effect is a Myth."

We think we have power in situations in which we have none. Alternative, we sometimes think we are powerless in cases in which we have almost unlimited power. Please allow me to explain.

Human cause and effect is a myth, at least in the physical world. Our physical effort doesn’t create an outcome, at least in the long run. In fact, our efforts have nothing to do with results, neither good nor bad ones. However, our spiritual efforts make a huge impact. I will get to that later.

Most of us fall into one of the following categories in terms of our physical effort:

A. People who seem to do all the right things (get an MBA, work for a successful company, floss three times a day) and end up being financially successful.

B. People who do all the right things, yet are struggling financially and make the authors of finance books wealthy while they themselves remain monetarily challenged.

C. People who on the surface do all the wrong things (drop out of school, don’t look for work, and spend too much time on You Tube) and end up being very wealthy.

D. People who do all the wrong things and are struggling with money issues.

This doesn’t seem fair nor does it make sense. It is bizarre. If you want to sound like an intellectual, you could say it’s counterintuitive. The point is, neither success nor failure is in our hands. We are only asked to do the best job possible as a condition to create an outcome, but we have no control whatsoever as to the outcome of our effort.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother trying. I highly recommend conducting due diligence before taking on a job, project or task, being conservative with your money and actions, and getting the best advice possible. However, do not wed yourself to the results. You have absolutely nothing to do with them. You are not the cause of outcome.

Nothing is humanly possible. The good news is, everything is Divinely Possible. I believe that G-d sends us here for a mission to bring part of His Infinite Bounty and Genius to this world. We are His vehicles to find a cure for cancer, to end hunger, and maybe someday rid the world of short battery life on cell phones. We are only asked to do our part, as a condition, by working in good faith.

Every penny that you will make or lose during each year has been pre-determined. You cannot, nor can anyone else, add or subtract to that sum. While you have to make a reasonable, honest effort, trying your best not be a workaholic nor a morally challenged employee, you do not influence the results of your labor.

The only thing we do have control over in the physical domain is our outlook. In religious circles, this translates into having Fear of Heaven. In other domains, this means creating a good headspace. Although a positive attitude will not create success and is merely the style in which one applies human effort, it certainly makes the predetermined journey more pleasant.

However, our spiritual effort has a tremendous impact upon our life in this world, the next world, and in infinite physical and spiritual domains. I will divide spiritual effort into four categories: Prayer, Charity and acts of loving-kindness, Torah study, and repentance.

Prayer:

When we realize that our physical effort will only be blessed if G-d chooses to do so, then it is incumbent upon us to pray, and to pray correctly. By that I mean praying with intention, not talking during prayer, and staying until the end of the prayer service. It is interesting to watch people leave the synagogue early to rush to the office to send out emails thinking that the latter and not the former actions make a tangible difference. What does have a chance of affecting outcome in a positive way is praying properly, and that is made a low priority in many cases.

Charity and acts of loving-kindness:

The secret of getting wealthy is donating at least 10% (but not more than 20%) of our income. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but this is a spiritual blog so if you don’t think it makes sense you can either try it and examine the results, or you can stop reading. When we do kind acts for others, not just because others are looking or because it will look good on our resume, then we will see that we can and will have a positive and successful impact in the world and that our physical effort will start leading to positive results.

Learning Torah:

The world continues to exist because Torah is being learned. The reason for our existence is to study Torah. Whether it is learning five minutes a day, half a day, or all day, the main thing is to set fixed times each day to study G-d’s wisdom and to make that time sacrosanct. In that way, we justify our existence and make our lives better in that our physical efforts have a stronger chance of being blessed because we are listening to what G-d has to tell us via His Torah. When we pray, we talk to G-d. When we study His Torah, G-d talks to us.

Repentance:

Sincere repentance is the closest we can get to time travel. When we repent sincerely, and repent out of love, then our willful sins are transformed into merits. It is as if we have been able to go back into the past and change what we have done with a firm commitment never to make these same mistakes in the future. When we repent sincerely, it is as if we are new people and new people’s physical efforts are often blessed by G-d to produce fruit.

Our physical effort, although mandatory as a condition, is like spouting forth thousands of zeros into the air. They are nothing. But when we make the proper spiritual effort of praying, giving charity and doing acts of loving-kindness, learning Torah, and repenting sincerely, then G-d places the digit one (1) in front of these zeros transforming all of our effort into positive. Tangle outcome. When we put THE ONE in front of our zeros, then we will see the results, G-d willing.

May we all learn to put for the best possible physical and spiritual effort and partner with G-d to make a difference and a real change in this world that we are desperately trying to improve. And go ahead and floss if you want to. It couldn’t hurt, unless you do it wrong.