Rabbi David Aaron is the founder and dean of Isralight, an international organization dedicated to inspiring a renaissance in spiritual life with programming in North America, Israel, and South Africa. This author of many books including Living a Joyous Life is also featured as one of S&P's Living Spiritual Teachers.
Aaron begins with the Kabbalah's mystical understanding of human beings:
"Each and every one of us is no less than an individualized expression of God — the Great I and Ultimate Self. The more we live up to who we already are in essence, the more we connect with God's endless wisdom, creativity, love, power, and goodness and serve as a unique channel for the Divine Presence on Earth."
Later, Aaron says the same thing in a more poetic way: "If we were to compare God to the sun, each of us would be a ray of his light." The problem is that most of us have been taught by religious authorities that we are unsuitable expressions of God. That designation is reserved for saints and other large-souled individuals. It is a huge challenge to change this mindset and to accept our Divine calling and mission by letting our true self shine out. The author notes: "Descartes said, 'I think, therefore I am.' The Torah teaches, 'God is, therefore I am.' " Our connection with the Source of All Being enables us to distinguish our soul from our persona. A second step on the path of living in ways that manifest God's presence on earth is to see and to embrace loneliness as a blessing rather than a curse. The next is to successfully integrate the conflicting drives of the two sides of our Self — the sacred and the creative.
Another step in service of God's purpose is to embody integrity, which Aaron defines as "a powerful synergy of dignified living and spiritual completeness rooted in unconditional self-worth and love." Closely allied with this step is realizing that we are here to overcome the bad and boldly choose to become good, whole, and godly. Serving God's results in serenity, inner peace, and happiness. Everyday life is transformed into a workshop of divine activity.
Aaron explains how the ten Sephirot, or attributes of God in the Kabbalah, can be used as a daily spiritual fitness program for a service-driven life. He concludes with another paradox at the heart of our journey to a purpose-driven life: embrace the emptiness and the sadness of your soul craving for God as a spur to spiritual growth.
