Listening to an online class by a Chassidic rabbi, I heard this: \u201cWe\u2019re each put on this earth to do something unique, something which no one else can do. No one before you, and no one after you.\u201d<\/p>\n
A little pressure? No kidding.<\/p>\n
He went on to say: \u201cFulfil your true and essential purpose. That\u2019s where you will see and experience your ultimate blessings.\u201d<\/p>\n
High expectations? Heck, yeah.<\/p>\n
I hear these words time and again. Why? Because they\u2019re one of the countless mantras of Chassidim. What\u2019s more, they\u2019re encouraging, positive and impressive, so who wouldn\u2019t be curious? Until you find yourself asking: \u201cBut what is my<\/em> purpose in this world?\u201d<\/p>\n I ask myself that regularly. There are days when maybe I do a good deed for someone and see that person benefit and I think, \u201cThere it is.\u201d Maybe I call an elderly friend and wish them good Shabbos. Perhaps I bake a bunch of challah to give away and I think, \u201cThere it is. That\u2019s my purpose. Or is it?\u201d<\/p>\n The $64,000 questions are, How do we identify our purpose? And can we have more than one purpose in life? I think the answer to the second question is a resounding yes.<\/p>\n According to a wise rabbi I know, \u201cEvery element of our lives is an integral part of our purpose. It\u2019s multi-faceted at every moment.\u201d Sometimes, our purpose can be doing something that makes us happy. Sometimes, it\u2019s the exact opposite \u2013 it\u2019s something we struggle with that, in the end, serves a higher purpose and maybe even has a holy outcome. It\u2019s certainly not random though.<\/p>\n As for identifying our purpose, that can be a bit trickier. My guess is that often we don\u2019t even recognize it in the moment, but it\u2019s there, nonetheless. If you have the privilege of recognizing G-d\u2019s purpose for you, consider yourself lucky.<\/p>\n Some people are blessed to have one, humongous, overarching talent, like being an inspirational public speaker. Or a devoted caregiver. Or whatever. Most of us though \u2013 we fumble along searching for what resonates, not only with us, but with others. Because, in the end, we are a collective. What we do is never in isolation. Never. We always impact others. Even if it\u2019s not immediately apparent.<\/p>\n We are not single humans floating around this world, alone, or islands unto ourselves. We\u2019re an integral part of relationships \u2013 with G-d, with our loved ones, with our co-workers, with our friends. Even with strangers. What purpose we have in life only comes to life when it impacts others. We don\u2019t exist in a vacuum, thank goodness, because those are filled with shmutz.<\/p>\n The thing is, the details of each individual\u2019s purpose look different. Your purpose is something that no one else on earth can do. However, it all converges at the same point, which is to make the world a holier, more light-filled, compassionate place where G-d\u2019s presence is revealed. Whoa, that\u2019s some heaviosity! I dare you to unpack that.<\/p>\n Constantly dipping my amateur toes in the ocean of Judaism \u2013 Chassidism, to be specific \u2013 I am struck by how often I hear those words: revealing G-d\u2019s presence in this world. Don\u2019t ask me to explain it. I\u2019m just a rookie, trying to understand it a tiny bit more every day. I have miles to go. But I\u2019m certainly up for the challenge.<\/p>\n All I know is this: sometimes we seek out our purpose, sometimes it seeks us out; sometimes gently, sometimes it whacks us upside the head. It doesn\u2019t matter how it happens. It only matters that it does happen. Sooner rather than later. Because sooner gives us an opportunity to do something great, even if it seems small or insignificant. Purpose is all relative. But to what? To the precise moment when that specific purpose finds its way into the world and affects another human being. That\u2019s all it takes. Simple. Like neuroscience. Or astrophysics.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t profess to have any answers or even suggestions, or insights. I just have my own experiences to share. For most of my life, it never crossed my mind that each of us has a purpose that we\u2019re put on this earth to fulfil, except maybe for the obvious ones: teachers help kids learn, doctors heal people, mechanics fix cars. But what was my purpose?<\/p>\n I spent my working life as a librarian and communications officer at a public library. I mostly helped people find things and do research. For a short period, I was a children\u2019s librarian, so I shared the love of literacy, reading stories, singing songs and teaching rhymes to little ones and their parents. Is that purpose? I\u2019m not sure. Certainly it was fun. But it wasn\u2019t what I would call meaningful, in the spiritual realm. Maybe I impacted a few people in some way, who knows. But did I change lives? It didn\u2019t feel like it.<\/p>\n As a communications officer, I spent a good part of each day writing: annual reports, speeches, press releases, book reviews, brochures. Anything and everything. Was that my purpose in life? I doubt it. Maybe I touched a few people with the annual article I wrote in memory of my father\u2019s yahrzeit. But did that give me purpose? Only momentarily.<\/p>\n Then I retired. And started volunteering.<\/p>\n First, I started baking challah buns, as part of the Light of Shabbat meals that Chabad Richmond delivers to homebound seniors on a regular basis, and delivering some of those meals. Now, I know it sounds kind of flimsy and trivial, but baking challah gave my life more meaning. I wasn\u2019t just mixing ingredients, forming them into buns and baking them. As I learned from some rebbetzins, making challah is an auspicious time to give tzedakah and pray for what you want or need for yourself, for your family and for others. I knew that the people who\u2019d be receiving my challah buns might not otherwise have challah for Shabbat. And, even if it wasn\u2019t meaningful to them, it was to me. Oddly enough, that simple act of baking challah gave me a sense of purpose. Delivering it and shmoozing with the seniors was an extra bonus.<\/p>\n As my volunteer activities increased, so did my sense of purpose. When I began tutoring English to Israeli high school students via video chat through the Israel Connect program, I was terrified, but willing to try. After all, what did I know about teaching? Exactly bupkis. Little did I realize that the curriculum was only the supporting cast. The main actors were my student and me. While the goal of the program is for Israeli teens to become proficient in English vocabulary, comprehension and conversation \u2013 and they do \u2013 the meaningful stuff happens in our connection to one another. When you parse it, life is all about building relationships. About finding ways to connect. It\u2019s about trust and compassion, learning and discovery. It\u2019s about impact. Traveling both ways.<\/p>\n All that to say that having a sense of purpose in life doesn\u2019t require monumental acts. It simply requires meaningful acts. Acts of giving.<\/p>\n So, go out and find your purpose. Or let it find you. Just get out of your own way.<\/p>\n Shelley Civkin<\/strong> is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the <\/em>Richmond Review. She\u2019s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Listening to an online class by a Chassidic rabbi, I heard this: \u201cWe\u2019re each put on this earth to do something unique, something which no one else can do. No one before you, and no one after you.\u201d A little pressure? No kidding. He went on to say: \u201cFulfil your true and essential purpose. That\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6619,218,8302,5701,5877],"class_list":["post-35742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","tag-chassidim","tag-judaism","tag-lifestyle","tag-spirituality","tag-volunteerism"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}