God is supposed to be in charge of all financial matters as long as we do our part and try to earn a living. I was discussing this with my wife, god bless her, last night as we drove to visit some people at kibbutz lavi. Now the drive down to kibbutz lavi also requires faith in God, as the road twists and turns as you look down upon Karmiel. Now if you actually looked down upon Karmiel while you were driving then there is a good chance that you would end up permanently embedded in Karmiel, which would not be fun. If you don't look down at Karmiel and the surrounding areas then you are missing a great view. Hence the extreme need for faith of God.
In any case, we were discussing aliyah and why it was a very hard thing for people to do. To put your faith completely in God and say that I will quit my job and move to a new country where I don't speak the language seems to be insane. What happens when you do that and 2 years later you still don't find a job? Does your faith in God waver? You bet on a golden horse and you don't see it nearing the finish line. The problem is that in real-life that actually occurs. People quit their jobs and move to Israel full of idealism and high hopes. They can't find a job in their field so they take what becomes available and it may not always be what they are looking for or what they enjoy doing. Is this a fault in God? We don't believe there are faults in God. We simply don't understand the process. But when you take a leap of faith and nobody catches you it takes a greater amount of faith and the knowledge that we don't understand God's plan in order to get up and take another leap.
My wife asked me during this discussion, how we were able to do it, and I replied that insane people do insane things. But I'll also say that God did catch us after we leapt and as we were beginning to fall. Because God has a cynical sense of humor and that kind of thing makes him laugh.
I'm going to end today's post by thanking my wife for the last 8 years. It's been a wonderful ride and we're planning on continuing it for the indefinate future. She got a heart shaped box of polish chocolate (cuz she's canadian) and a big card shaped like a heart that was full of written text for her anniversary present. I'm not sure if she could read it because I don't write legibly, but she didn't ask for any explanation, so she must have managed her way through.
For our anniversary dinner we had a kick butt bbq with a nice chuck marinated for half a day in red wine and other ingredients, and then grilled most of the wat and baked the rest of the way. That was damn good beef and a perfect shabbos dinner.
This is relevant because getting married to spmeone also takes tremendous faith in God because so many people these days find bad wives and have miserable lives, and it's a miracle that I found a good one.
9 comments:
You know there's this great saying: "Some of the best wishes are those that are left unfulfilled." When you make that leap, and there seems to be difficulties, that doesn't mean that G-d's still not taking care of you. G-d doesnt give anybody anything that He knows that they can't handle. Even when you have a secure job, that still doesnt mean anything. I say to everyone afraid of losing their way of life by moving to Israel that there's never anything to lose by moving here. Have faith. It all works out for the best in the end. I mean, this is ERETZ YISROEL!!! Land of milk and honey, if you work for it.
-OC
That's a very easy comment to make when you don't have a number of people relying on you to make sure they eat the next day.
Actually, the comment is based on immediate family members who have done exactly that and have managed to do what they need to do to put food on the table on a roof over the heads. That's how they explained it to me. If you want something bad enough, you make it happen, and G-d will help you. G-d can't drive a parked car.
-OC
OC-I agree that if you REALLY want something bad enough, you can achieve it.
But, what about the people that kind of want it? I think the leap of faith is a lot more difficult.
Also, Rock- I always thought Israelis were known to be rude--becoming one seems to have made you nicer! Although its pretty easy to say nice things about your wife.
I don't think I've ever been rude, though there is room to misinterpret me. Maybe distance makes the heart grow fonder.
The problem with the leap of faith is that you don't always get caught. Even if you want it so badly. There are plenty of people who have done the right thing and gotten burned doing it.
Great post Rock!
Getting married and making aliyah: Two important decisions in life that require not only a lot of faith but also a lot of effort to make them succeed!
Excellent post, and you are such a good writer.
It is strange, but today I talk about the meaning of God in my blog as well, whether I am feeling a disconnect, which will result in my loosing faith or not.
I always remember the play by Elie Wiesel, The Trial of God, where he puts God on trial after many Jews, with the exception of two are killed after a Pogram. Is God to be found guilty for wipping out an entire village of Jews? Do we loose faith? You (probably not you S,) will be surprised. People do end up keeping their faith, and continuing just as they had done before.
Thank you Dear!
And you did do an excellent job with the meat.
rolling, dearest,
this is a family style blog.
Please try to limit those types of comments to the house ;-)
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