"The Way of G-d"
Part 2: “Divine Providence”
Chapter 3: “Personal Providence”
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In His great love for us, G-d saw to it that we be given as much hope and
chance for spiritual growth as possible. As such, He provided us with the
ultimate "second chance"-- reincarnation. We're granted other lives in which
to advance our souls and rectify past mistakes.
(Many don't realize that reincarnation is a factor in the Jewish Tradition,
but it certainly is. It's not cited as frequently or as openly as the belief
in the vital role each one of us has in life, or the belief in the Afterlife.
Nonetheless reincarnation is certainly a part of our Tradition. We grant you
Judaism doesn't *tout* reincarnation as much as other religions do, which
leads others to assume we don't believe in it. But not a lot is made of
reincarnation because there's the concern that if we depend on it, we won't
extend ourselves in our efforts for spiritual growth right here and now,
since we can always "come back and try again".)
The implications of living several lives are astounding. Among other things,
it indicates that our ultimate spiritual station will be a product of what we
were and what we did in the course of a full range of lives. Not just this
one. Yet despite all the factors that impinge upon our spiritual struggles
life, after life, after life, our standing in the World to Come will depend
on our own efforts to achieve what G-d expects of us.
It also needs to be said that our situation in this life may be a product of
our last one. That often explains some of the seemingly "unfair" and
"inexplicable" factors in our life. Understand as well that our situation in
this life also helps to prepare us for the *following* one. In fact, the
interplay between one life and another is much, much more far-reaching than
we know.
Trust though in the fact that all that G-d does is truly fair; that "all His
ways are just" (Deuteronomy 32:7); and that all will be as it must be, in
order to bring about the great redemption.
This series is dedicated to the memory of Yitzchak Hehrsh ben Daniel,
and Sarah Rivka bas Yaakov Dovid.
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