The Master

A famous Chassidic story:

The Baal Shem Tov ascended to the chamber of the Messiah and asked him, “when will the master come?” The response he received was, “I will come When your wellsprings will spread forth to the outside.” In Chassidic thought “your wellsprings” refers to the esoteric teachings of Kabbalah. The Chassidic Rebbes infer from this story, that the Messianic utopia described in Torah- is hastened, through the “spreading forth” — the teaching and sharing of these lofty ideas throughout the world, the “outside.”

It’s tempting to view this merely as a present day “payment plan” that eventually leads us to a utopian future. The truth is however that the study of Mysticism is very much geared to transforming the quality of our current lives as well.

Jewish mystical Practices remind us that the futuristic Nirvana described so vividly by our prophets can be tasted in the here and now.

Many of our rituals performed with the correct mindfulness, provide the framework for a deeply nourishing spiritual practice.

One example is the Modeh Ani prayer. Upon awakening before tending to the needs of our outer Human Self, we whisper a soft prayer of thanksgiving to G-d for renewing our inner-truest self, our Neshama.

Once we are soul-focused it becomes easier to recalibrate during “disconnect moments.”

Every blessing or prayer that we recite, or mitzvah that we perform during the day supports this process.

Our “ruchnius” highest self is our “wellsprings.” Our human side is our “outside.” The sublime moments of our day, when our inner truth flows unobstructed through the stream of our outer life, are our precious “arrival of the master” moments!