First things first... The root of it all… The meaning of life…

Why are we here?

Chapter one does a thorough job answering the age-old question. Our ultimate goal is not our career, children, legacy, or inheritance. Our true purpose is not in this world! That might cause some atheists fits. Our whole reason for being is to be loved and blessed by our Creator.

Wait. What?

Ok… at this moment in time, I am loved and blessed. I feel it every night: when we are out walking, watching the sun set, counting the stars, or while reading the Birkat HaMazon… At other times, I remind myself not to start whining and complaining about my “manna”. Sometimes, I wonder if I am one of the spies who gave a bad report! All of this cannot address other times of my life. I would not be here if G-d had not covered me in some supernatural ways. I count it a great blessing that I don’t even remember much of my childhood. But, I wouldn’t have called any of it loved or blessed. Only much later in life could I even consider how G-d brought me through those times. So… there must be more to this loving and blessing from our Creator, than what we see here, in this world.

Rabbi Luzzatto answers that question, too. This world is… a proving ground, an obstacle course, a battlefield. Volumes are written just on this; mostly above my paygrade. I don’t enjoy romanticizing life as a crucible, but I understand the concept.

So how do I know what to do? How do I navigate this world so that I can know HaShem? How can I reach the next world where I can know, completely, His love and blessings? Our most perfect Creator, blessed be He, gave us all those answers too. We might toss them around, chew on or worry over them; but we have the answers in Torah. The answer is not too far, not too hard, not beyond us.

There is a warning label to pay close attention to. This world is full of other wonderful things. It is a physical world full of needs that can’t be ignored, and delights to be appreciated. There are honorable and great things to be or to do. These things can become too grand and distract us from our true purpose. But, if we evaluate all these things against our true purpose, and adjust our doings accordingly… Well, that is the proving ground.

Finally, we are given a process for our proving (in the book we are reading). “These steps are "watchfulness", "zeal", "cleanliness", "separation", "purity", "piety", "humility", "fear of sin", "holiness".”

And so, we begin…