The yearning desire to connect to Infinity is clearly the underlying drive within human consciousness that motivates any human being toward any goal. Whatever any person in this world decides to choose as his life’s purpose, is unequivocally intertwined with the fact that man has an underlying, unexplainable pull toward the Infinite.
You’ll notice that people’s goals are almost always about becoming larger and greater. They may seek power, fame, or perhaps greater and more intense pleasures. Really, what they are all looking for is to connect to a level of Infinity; this is because in essence – whether they know it or not – the objective goal of their existence is to connect to Ain Sof Baruch Hu – the true and ultimate Infinity.
Mankind is actually “hard-wired” to constantly yearn for something greater. In order to lead people to the objective goal of their existence, G-d has implanted within the human consciousness a need to always subordinate himself to, or to “worship”, something greater.
Worship of something Greater
Everyone in the world worships something. For those who genuinely have a religion which consecrates G-d in their lives, man’s natural drive for worship is focused toward the worship of G-d. Yet for those who don’t have religion, the drive to worship something doesn’t just “turn off”. It’s often misdirected and used to worship elements that are not G-dly at all. Because the need to worship is always active in man’s consciousness, he may end up “worshiping” some alternative or man-made “god” just because it satisfies this need.
For example, some people subjectively choose an altruistic value, whether “world peace”, “environmental preservation”, “education of the underprivileged”, etc. and then they, literally, “give up their lives” to proliferate the application of that value.
When a person is willing to sacrifice his time – which is his life – and to nullify his plans, for something that is unconnected to his personal needs, he is in essence declaring: “this person/object/ value is greater than me. It’s worth nullifying my life [or even part of it], for the sake of this greater reality”.
That is, in effect, “worship”.
Some people worship the ‘god’ of money. When they are in the midst of a profitable business deal, they can’t relate to anything else – no matter how important it may be. Other people worship sports. When they are watching a decisive game, they simply cannot relate to anything else. These behaviorisms are a clear sign of “worship”. When all of their energies and focus become totally subjugated to another entity, they are de facto worshiping it.
Almost anything in the world can be worshiped. Some people choose to take on a political cause; others embrace science or a social issue. Still others choose a specific profession or art and decide “this is what I want to dedicate my life to”.
Some choose less lofty goals: they may feel that they wish to dedicate large parts of their life to their dog, their car, home décor or even their stamp collection. Yet at the end of the day all of these are just different forms of worship.
Combining the two aforementioned ideas, we discover something amazing. If it is true that: 1) What everyone in the world is really looking to connect to is Infinity; and that 2) Everyone in the world “worships” something, i.e. subjects his time and energy to some entity – then we can deduce that the reason a person worships anything is because he finds in it some aspect of Infinity. He discerns some completeness or holistic nature within that specific entity, and that’s why he is drawn to worship it.
It is amazing to see – even before we have verified for ourselves the “first axiom”– that the pursuit of connection to the Infinite has a direct effect upon each and every human being in regard to their life’s goals and pursuits – whether they are aware of it or not.
Which Worship is Best?
This now leaves us with the question: “What is the ‘best’ worship to have?” If it is true that every human being is constantly searching to connect to Infinity and the reason that one dedicates himself to anything is because he recognizes an aspect of Infinity within it – then what makes one form or object of ‘worship’ better than any other? Isn’t everyone just choosing to worship the ‘aspect of Infinity’ that they relate to, or that they think is best for them?
The answer is that every type of worship in the world will always be exactly that: only a part of the experience of the true and ultimate Infinity. since we know that every human is internally ‘programmed’ to yearn for a connection to the true and ultimate Infinity, his true inner desire will only really be satisfied once he subjugates himself to the ‘entire’ All-inclusive Infinity, rather than to just a ‘part’ of it.
Worshiping the All-inclusive Source, from which everything emanates and to which everything eventually returns – Hashem – allows for the experience of Infinity that every person’s soul is really yearning for, because it includes all the “aspects” of Infinity that are found in the entire universe.
Whereas all those other aspects, while being worshiped, will appear to seem wholesome, complete and “godly” within their limited contexts, they are really not godly at all – only “extensions” or “aspects” of the real G-d. They will therefore never be able to ultimately satisfy the desire of the human soul to reunite with the source Infinity because they are only partial expressions of the true and ultimate Infinity.
It is apparent just from the various life pursuits of mankind that the desire to unite with the true starting point ‘for everything’ is the major motivating factor for human beings in choosing their life’s purpose.
You’ll notice that people’s goals are almost always about becoming larger and greater. They may seek power, fame, or perhaps greater and more intense pleasures. Really, what they are all looking for is to connect to a level of Infinity; this is because in essence – whether they know it or not – the objective goal of their existence is to connect to Ain Sof Baruch Hu – the true and ultimate Infinity.
Mankind is actually “hard-wired” to constantly yearn for something greater. In order to lead people to the objective goal of their existence, G-d has implanted within the human consciousness a need to always subordinate himself to, or to “worship”, something greater.
Worship of something Greater
Everyone in the world worships something. For those who genuinely have a religion which consecrates G-d in their lives, man’s natural drive for worship is focused toward the worship of G-d. Yet for those who don’t have religion, the drive to worship something doesn’t just “turn off”. It’s often misdirected and used to worship elements that are not G-dly at all. Because the need to worship is always active in man’s consciousness, he may end up “worshiping” some alternative or man-made “god” just because it satisfies this need.
For example, some people subjectively choose an altruistic value, whether “world peace”, “environmental preservation”, “education of the underprivileged”, etc. and then they, literally, “give up their lives” to proliferate the application of that value.
When a person is willing to sacrifice his time – which is his life – and to nullify his plans, for something that is unconnected to his personal needs, he is in essence declaring: “this person/object/ value is greater than me. It’s worth nullifying my life [or even part of it], for the sake of this greater reality”.
That is, in effect, “worship”.
Some people worship the ‘god’ of money. When they are in the midst of a profitable business deal, they can’t relate to anything else – no matter how important it may be. Other people worship sports. When they are watching a decisive game, they simply cannot relate to anything else. These behaviorisms are a clear sign of “worship”. When all of their energies and focus become totally subjugated to another entity, they are de facto worshiping it.
Almost anything in the world can be worshiped. Some people choose to take on a political cause; others embrace science or a social issue. Still others choose a specific profession or art and decide “this is what I want to dedicate my life to”.
Some choose less lofty goals: they may feel that they wish to dedicate large parts of their life to their dog, their car, home décor or even their stamp collection. Yet at the end of the day all of these are just different forms of worship.
Combining the two aforementioned ideas, we discover something amazing. If it is true that: 1) What everyone in the world is really looking to connect to is Infinity; and that 2) Everyone in the world “worships” something, i.e. subjects his time and energy to some entity – then we can deduce that the reason a person worships anything is because he finds in it some aspect of Infinity. He discerns some completeness or holistic nature within that specific entity, and that’s why he is drawn to worship it.
It is amazing to see – even before we have verified for ourselves the “first axiom”– that the pursuit of connection to the Infinite has a direct effect upon each and every human being in regard to their life’s goals and pursuits – whether they are aware of it or not.
Which Worship is Best?
This now leaves us with the question: “What is the ‘best’ worship to have?” If it is true that every human being is constantly searching to connect to Infinity and the reason that one dedicates himself to anything is because he recognizes an aspect of Infinity within it – then what makes one form or object of ‘worship’ better than any other? Isn’t everyone just choosing to worship the ‘aspect of Infinity’ that they relate to, or that they think is best for them?
The answer is that every type of worship in the world will always be exactly that: only a part of the experience of the true and ultimate Infinity. since we know that every human is internally ‘programmed’ to yearn for a connection to the true and ultimate Infinity, his true inner desire will only really be satisfied once he subjugates himself to the ‘entire’ All-inclusive Infinity, rather than to just a ‘part’ of it.
Worshiping the All-inclusive Source, from which everything emanates and to which everything eventually returns – Hashem – allows for the experience of Infinity that every person’s soul is really yearning for, because it includes all the “aspects” of Infinity that are found in the entire universe.
Whereas all those other aspects, while being worshiped, will appear to seem wholesome, complete and “godly” within their limited contexts, they are really not godly at all – only “extensions” or “aspects” of the real G-d. They will therefore never be able to ultimately satisfy the desire of the human soul to reunite with the source Infinity because they are only partial expressions of the true and ultimate Infinity.
It is apparent just from the various life pursuits of mankind that the desire to unite with the true starting point ‘for everything’ is the major motivating factor for human beings in choosing their life’s purpose.
Adapted from “It’s All for the Good” by Rabbi Nachum Chaimowitz. Available at http://www.israelbookshoppublications.com/store/pc/It-s-All-for-the-Good-p1150.htm
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