Can you tell me how the Torah or Talmud addresses the question: “Why was I born”, or “Why am I here”? Or even, “What is my purpose”? I am a Lay Leader in a small community, the question has been raised and I do not have a good answer.
I’d appreciate any help…..
Thank you
The answer to your question is expressed very beautifully by Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzatto in the first chapter of Mesilas Yesharim, The Path of the Just. I will paraphrase his words for you:
Man was created to enjoy the aura of God’s presence which is the greatest joy possible. The place of this joy is the World to Come, however the only way to achieve this is through man’s actions in this world. This world is the antechamber for the World to Come.
The means of achieving this goal is the performance of the commandments of God. These can only be performed in this world.
Additionally, other commentators explain that each person has his own particular task to perform. When one looks at his own life and sees the personal challenges he faces, or personal flaws, he can assume that he was placed in this world to correct those.
Thank you so very much for the answer. It makes sense, but raises a related
one. Why did G’d even bother to create us/man? G’d is flawless, He does
not need humans to make Him feel good, so why bother if our purpose is to
“enjoy the aura of G’d’s presence”.
On one, very important, level this is a difficult question to answer. We should keep in mind that we do not have the ability to understand the “mindset” of God, as it were. This is a theme that is replete in Kabbalistic writings. We must understand that God does not share the physical attributes and human emotions that make up our mindset. We cannot relate to His essence on any level. This is why the Talmud teaches us that we are not to try to understand “what came before.” It is a futile pursuit. The Arizal in his Kabbalistic writings, limits what he says to aspects of spirituality that we can connect to. But not beyond that, which is out of the realm of human comprehension.
At the same time, God created the world in a way that we can connect to him in some way. He revealed certain aspects of Himself to us, in a manner and terms that we, as humans, can comprehend. These are not manifestations of who He really is, rather it is how we can connect.
On that level we were taught that the “reason” God created the world is that it is the nature of one who is good to do good. As I mentioned in my earlier response to you, it is that good that he wanted us to receive, and therefore created the world.