Feeling Ignored – Parshat Behaalotecha

We all want to feel part. Even as a kid, I remember when we were choosing teams, I always wanted to be chosen. I also remember what it was like NOT to be on the team – either team. My parents tried to make sure that my needs weren’t ignored either. But sometimes certain groups are chosen. And others are left behind. Or it could even be being passed over for a promotion at work. It can be a pretty rotten feeling. How do we ever move forward or do we just forget it?

This week's parsha and the two previous ones, shed a light on this issue. The tribe of Levi was chosen for certain tasks in the Mishkan. The rest of the nation was not allowed to even enter the Mishkan. We find in this weeks parsha the ceremony by which the Levites were chosen and separated from Bnei Yisrael. They were to be the chosen tribe for work in the Mishkan. In describing this appointment, the Torah mentions Bnei Yisrael five times in the same passuk.1 Five times – count it. Rashi explains to show God's love for the people. Though I have read that explanation over twenty times over the years, only this year did I gain true insight into what Rashi was saying.

"Situational values are always there, waiting until their hour strikes

and a man seizes the single opportunity to actualize them."

Frankl

Sefat Emet, the great leader of the Gur Chassidic dynasty, writes that the people were in fact feeling left out amidst the hoopla of the coronation of the tribe of Levi. And so, God mentioned  them five times, corresponding to the five books of Moses. Through this, He demonstrated His love for the entire nation, even though He singled out the Levites for the Mishkan tasks.2

Even when others are chosen, that does not mean that we no longer have a task. We all have meaning in our lives regardless of the situation. Even if someone else "took our job", there is always something else waiting for us. "Situational values," writes Doctor Viktor Frankl, "are always there, waiting until their hour strikes and a man seizes the single opportunity to actualize them."3

We may feel ignored, disregarded, insulted, hurt or some other mix of unpleasant feelings. But we can always – yes, always - know that something else is waiting for us. Our path to meaning has simply taken an unexpected turn. It has not been closed, just rerouted.

Instead of feeling ignored we can be ignited towards fulfilling a different path to meaning.

We can turn our fate into our destiny.

 

Notes

*image by johnhain

  1. Bamidbar 8:19
  2. Sefat Emet - Behaalotecha 5636 (1876)
  3. Frankl, Viktor E.. The Doctor and the Soul (p. 55). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Have A Great Shabbat!laughing

For More Information On Logotherapy And How You Can Create A Fuller, More Meaningful Life, Or To Book An Online Session,

  1. Call Me At +972-54-589-3399, or in Israel 054-5893399
  2. Contact Me Thru my email at [email protected]