“Who am I?”

[Originally posted by Admin1@S6K on May 31, 2013 in OPINION with No Comments Yet]

In Les Miserables, a film based on a two-decade old broadway musical, which in turn was based on a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1862—there is a song titled “Who am I?”

Significantly, it is sung by the main protagonist Jean Valjean at the closing of Part I when he experiences an epiphany of sorts that would change his life direction.  He had been a convict  identified only by the number “24601,″ unjustly sentenced to two decades in prison for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving sister, then released. Outside of prison, he experiences hospitality from a priest who feeds him and gives him temporary shelter, but he responds by stealing valuables, gets caught and taken back to the priest who, unexpectedly tells a ‘white lie’ that he had given the items and that they were not stolen.  The puzzled thief who had known nothing more than apathy from his jailers is taken aback; the priest then explains to him in private that by giving him yet another chance to redeem himself,  ”I have bought your soul for God.”  And in a way, he had.

This totally unexpected act of forgiveness, grace and mercy on top of earlier kindness and hospitality stuns Prisoner #24601 who, up to this point, has been living outside of prison without having shed his ‘convict’ mentality and criminal inclination. This leads him to introspection (in song of course), a review of his life and his essence  — “Who am I?”  Greatly touched by one person’s treatment of his worth as a human being, he declares his new-found identity which would henceforth determine his destiny. He chooses to follow a different path.

Many more twists and turns would develop in his lifetime but in the final scene as he is about to die, there is a reprise of the melody “I dreamed a dream of days gone by” with different lyrics; perhaps the most memorable line reflects a Torah principle:  ”to love another person is to see the face of God.”

While that is described from the point of view of the person choosing to love others by showing it in action and deed  (as opposed to mere verbal declaration), the impact is even greater upon the recipient, not to forget others who witness something out of the ordinary. They become aware that this is not the norm in human behavior and relationships.  Ultimately it does translate to catching a glimpse of something ‘not of this world system’, call it Godliness or Godlikeness.  To those of us ‘in the know’, we associate the standard of goodness or better yet, RIGHT-ness with the self-revealing God on Sinai who requires right behavior from His people as recorded in His Torah.

Unfortunately, correct behavior and right choices do not always translate into desirable consequences in a world whose systems and values run counter to Torah.  Often those who choose the right path, do the right thing, consistently live as righteously as possible in a world system where, unfortunately, wrong, ignorance and misinformation prevail—often find themselves ill-fitted, even and especially among ‘religionists’.

So how does this relate to the original question “Who am I?”  Ponder this: You are not your thoughts, your emotions, your body, your money, your career or your property. You discover your essence usually in life-threatening situations such as natural calamities like devastating earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes when you are reduced to wanting only to survive and nothing more and you fast realize what is of supreme importance to you.

There is an article that well explains ‘who am I’, here are some select quotes:

• Who are we, after all? Are we our work, or are we eternal souls? If we fear that we’ll become nothing if we let go of our persona, then we are in a state of spiritual exile. If we have always defined ourselves in terms of our career, property, social status and what others think of us, then we are not our own person. Our soul is then in exile. We are trapped in our thoughts, our feelings, our body, our money, our social status, and everything else that makes up our transient character. The soul is lost in the ego and we will feel estranged to our true selves eternally connected to God.

• We need to reclaim our self — our individual “I” — and redirect it to its source, the “Ultimate I.” When we do this, we experience the mystical meaning of the first commandment heard at Mt. Sinai 3,300 years ago: “I am” God your Lord, who took you out of Egypt.” This is the true path to personal empowerment, spiritual liberation, inner peace, and fulfillment.

• We naturally want to experience the truth of who we. We seek a connection to a greater whole because we are connected to a greater whole. The spiritual disciplines of a commandment-driven life enable us to consciously center and anchor our self in God and live in service. They empower us to disengage from the outer trappings of our persona and feel at one with God through the joy of service.

• A Torah life is all about freedom and self-actualization. It is not about changing who you are, but being you.

• To be all that you can be, you need to know who you really are, who is your eternal root, what is your divine purpose and service on earth.

• To serve God means to embody and channel into the world God’s love, wisdom, understanding, kindness, justice, compassion, beauty, truth, peace, etc. When you act mercifully, you are serving to make manifest the source of all mercy. When you act intelligently, you are serving to make manifest the source of all intelligence. And when you serve justice, you are serving to make manifest the source of all justice. You experience the joy of ultimate meaning when you make your life a means to an end, greater than yourself. But when you make your life the be all and end all, then that is the end of your life.

• We will not be punished for our sins, but by our sins. Nor will we be rewarded for our service, but by our service [underscore added].

Notice the wording of the last entry.  Dabariym/Deuteronomy 28 spells out blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.  The consequences are ‘automatic’ as in ‘built-in.’  

For a good article that further elaborates on this, please go to this link: http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/48939787.html?s=rab