Hodu La'Hashem Ki Tob !
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Welcome to Emotional Wellness Daily. An important point in our emotional wellness is a lesson that we get from the beginning of Bamidbar, which we will talk about a bit over this week. It's actually a preparation for Shavuot and it’s a lesson for life. When the Jewish people are counted (Bamidbar 1,3), God uses the words תפקדו אותם Tifkedu Otam which most people would translate as, count them. The Targum translates it as Maneh Otam, which people would say means to count. And it's interesting that every book of the Torah has a name that originates from a Hebrew term. Bamidbar is referred to as חומש הפקודים Humash Hepekudim, which simply means it's the Humash of the Countings, a term that's used in the Mishnayot in Yoma. Furthermore, the secular term for Bamidbar is Numbers, because numbers means to count, but there could be nothing further from the truth.
The word Tifkedu does not mean to count. And the word Maneh does not mean numbers. The word Tifkedu, says the Ramban, is like in Bereshit 21,1 V’Hashem Pakad Et Sara. It doesn't mean God counted Sara, it means God considered Sara. He remembered her, He supervised her. She's now becoming a mother, and she has a job and a mission with the Jewish people. When somebody is watching an item, the item that's entrusted is called a Pikadon because the man is supposed to watch it and supervise it.
That's what Tifkedu Otam means-it means let everybody realize that they're being counted for a mission. This term is used in Birkat HaLavana, when we say, Hok UZman Natan LaHem-God gave a set time and a set nature to the sun and the moon, So they don't change Et Tafkidam/their mission. We read about this before Shavuot because it’s a beginning of the year of sorts. We are told, Remember, you're not just here. You're here with a mission.
In Musaf Rosh Hashanah, in the Zichronot section where we talk about judging man, this word shows up many times. It says, “On this day, Creation is Yipadeku/supervised or remembered, to remember them for life, or the opposite. Mi Lo Nifkad/Who is not remembered in the light of their mission. The remembrance, all a man's deeds, Upekudato/ and his mission. It's not only about what you did right or what you did wrong, but rather, Are you living your mission?
This is an important point in our emotional wellness. In order to have meaning and purpose, you have to believe you have a mission. What does a mission mean? It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be a fundraiser, a rabbi or a teacher, or run a hessed organization. Being an at-home mom is a mission. Being anything is a mission. Your mission is to live your life in the proper way with the tools that you were given. That's what your mission is. When people hear the term mission, they think, I have to find something new. But that’s not always the case. A person could be sick in bed and have a mission. A person lo alenu, can be suffering with a mental health issue or challenge. They can't get out of bed. They're depressed. They too have a mission. What's their mission? Their mission might be to not commit suicide. That's a huge mission.
When the Hovot Halevavot talks about somebody that's contemplating suicide, he gives a mashal of a king that tells someone to stand at a certain spot, on guard. He can't leave the spot until the king tells him to leave.
The Hovot Halevavot says, that's why a person can't commit suicide- because you are here, and God told you to do something until He takes you away from that position.
That means the reason not to commit suicide is because you have a mission. Lo alenu if someone reaches that point in life, it’s because they don't really believe that they're here for a purpose. They don't believe they have a mission. They don't believe they’re accomplishing anything just by being here.
Every night before going to sleep, we say, Beyadcha Afkid Ruchi/ in Your hands, I place my soul as a pikadon, because God's watching over it and God gives my soul back in the morning. We say that our souls that are given to You to supervise and watch and give back to us every morning, in a mission. So if you get up in the morning, that means you're getting up with a mission.
And that is an extremely important point in our emotional wellness.
To be continued…