Lech Lecha Sermon
...What is the importance of reminding ourselves of the source of our blessings and good fortune?
I have noticed that we tend to ascribe too much credit to our own hard work. We say that we earned our good fortune, that we deserved this or that. But it is not all due to our hard work. It is also about mazel and yichus. We must not forget that good luck and good connections also help us. It is not all in our own hands. But it is also not all in the hands of fate. For if this was the case what would be the point of waking up and working hard. It is a balancing act between these three.
Yet there is a greater danger in seeing it all in our own hands. Then we think we don't need others. Then we forget how others helped us. Then we think that God's hand is absent. Then we forget that we can't control everything and begin to think that God does nothing.
We must be honest with ourselves about how we achieved our good fortune. Lean on any one of these legs of the three legged stool and we fall. That is the secret. Abraham is called not just because of his own merit, but because of being in the right place at the right time. We are like Abraham. It is not all about our own hard work and merit. It is also about who we know and to whom we are related. And it is also about good mazel. That is why we must be open to being called each and every day.
I have noticed that we tend to ascribe too much credit to our own hard work. We say that we earned our good fortune, that we deserved this or that. But it is not all due to our hard work. It is also about mazel and yichus. We must not forget that good luck and good connections also help us. It is not all in our own hands. But it is also not all in the hands of fate. For if this was the case what would be the point of waking up and working hard. It is a balancing act between these three.
Yet there is a greater danger in seeing it all in our own hands. Then we think we don't need others. Then we forget how others helped us. Then we think that God's hand is absent. Then we forget that we can't control everything and begin to think that God does nothing.
We must be honest with ourselves about how we achieved our good fortune. Lean on any one of these legs of the three legged stool and we fall. That is the secret. Abraham is called not just because of his own merit, but because of being in the right place at the right time. We are like Abraham. It is not all about our own hard work and merit. It is also about who we know and to whom we are related. And it is also about good mazel. That is why we must be open to being called each and every day.