JANUARY 20 • 2022 | 37

Adam, which comes from the 
Hebrew word adama, meaning 
“earth” or “ground.” What is 
the connection between the 
two? The Maharal explains 
that humans are similar to the 
ground in one essential respect: 
They are both pure potential. 
Whether or not a piece of 
land will produce fruit depends 
on what is done with it. Even 
the most fertile piece of land 
will not produce fruit if it is 
left to lie fallow; it needs to be 
ploughed, fertilized and culti-
vated. So, too, the human being 
is pure potential, and to live a 
fruitful, productive life requires 
great and continuous efforts. 
We arrive in this world as 
pure potential and, through the 
process of life, we actualize that 
potential. And it’s up to us. We 
have been given free choice to 
turn that potential into person-
al growth and spiritual great-
ness, into becoming refined, 
elevated, moral and holy — but 
we can also choose to squander 
it and simply let it lie dormant.
The Maharal (Tiferet Yisrael, 
chapters 6-8) says the 613 
mitzvot are a blueprint for 
us to “create ourselves” — to 
access and actualize our Godly 
potential. The mitzvot have 
been specifically designed by 
our Creator to catalyze our 
latent spiritual energy. At its 
heart, this process of self-ac-
tualization — of converting 
potential into actuality through 
performing the mitzvot — is 
an act of sublime creativity.
What are the mechanics 
here? How exactly do the 
mitzvot unleash our Divine 
potential? The Maharal 
explains that the mitzvot 
have been formulated by the 
Creator of everything, and 
therefore have the spiritual 
energy to develop the full 
potential of the human being. 
There is a natural bridge 
between Torah and the soul. 
With every new mitzvah we 
perform, we create a corre-

sponding extra dimension 
within our soul. In essence, 
by living in tune with Torah, 
we live in tune with our soul; 
by living a true Torah life, we 
nurture and expand our spiri-
tual selves.
Living in harmony with the 
soul brings with it a deep sense 
of spiritual connection and 
tranquility of spirit. Indeed, 
the Midrash says the union 
between body and soul is 
fraught with tension. These 
two constituent parts of the 
human being come from dif-
ferent worlds and have differ-
ent needs. 
The Midrash illustrates this 
with the analogy of a mar-
riage between a farmer and a 
princess; the farmer brings the 
princess all the produce from 
the field that is so precious to 
him, but which is meaningless 
to her. So, too, the body brings 
the soul all the physical plea-
sures of this world, but the soul 
remains empty and unsatisfied. 
The soul originates from the 
palace of God and requires the 
goods of the spiritual world to 
feel satisfied and fulfilled. It 
requires a life of meaning and 
good deeds, and a connection 
to God, which the Torah pro-
vides. This is what gives us 
satisfaction and pleasure at a 
deep level.

REACHING OUR 
FULL POTENTIAL
There are many ways to 
demonstrate this. For example, 
we’ve all experienced the warm 
glow of satisfaction that comes 
from giving to others. A recent 
research project conducted by 
Michael Norton of Harvard 
Business School found that, 
regardless of income level, 
those people who spent money 
on others reported greater hap-
piness, while those who spent 
more on themselves did not.
On the other end of the 
spectrum, there is the feeling of 
guilt — the deep sense of spir-

itual unease we experience — 
when we do things that are not 
in harmony with the soul.
Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 
known as the Ramban, 
explores another way the mitz-
vot are catalysts to unleash the 
full potential of a person. He 
emphasizes that the mitzvot 
are not for God’s benefit, even 
though He commanded us to 
perform them. He says God 
gave us the mitzvot for our 
own sakes — to mold us into 
better people. 
According to the Ramban, 
each mitzvah refines us in a 
particular way. He gives the 
example of the mitzvah to send 
away the mother bird before 
taking the chicks or the eggs 
from the nest, and how this 
helps us cultivate the quality of 
compassion. 
He also refers to the mitzvot 
of commemorating the great 
miracles of Jewish history. 
These are not, he says, for glo-
rifying God, but rather for our 
own sake, so we should under-
stand and appreciate these for-
mative moments of our people, 
and so we can reinforce our 
faith and clarify our worldview.
According to this, the 
mitzvot are a comprehensive 
program of thought and action 
designed by God to help us 
become wise, compassion-
ate, refined, loving, idealistic, 
giving, courageous, spiritual, 
ethical and holy. To help us 
become better people in every 
conceivable way.
So, from the moment in 
history when we received the 
Torah, life would never be the 
same. From that moment on, 
we had a blueprint for how to 
live life, how to love life and 
how to fulfill our awesome 
potential. 

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, who 

has a PhD. in Human Rights Law, is the 

chief rabbi of South Africa. This article 

first appeared on aish.com.

JARC Supporters 
Raise Over 
$1.3 Million

To kick off the new year, 
JARC, a Metro Detroit-
based nonprofit agency 
that serves 150 individ-
uals with developmental 
disabilities, announced 
that their fall fundraising 
campaign netted more than 
$1.3 million for the non-
profit. 
The funds raised will be 
used toward aiding peo-
ple with developmental 
disabilities and cognitive 
impairments at 80 different 
locations in Metro Detroit. 
Assistance is provided by 
JARC to individuals who 
live independently with 
minor needs, to those in 
group homes of which 
some residents have com-
plex medical needs and 
those who require 24/7 
staffing. 
For over 50 years, JARC 
has worked to ensure that 
all persons served can 
live their life to the full-
est. Throughout their fall 
fundraising campaign, 
JARC encouraged Metro 
Detroiters to show their 
support by getting involved 
through volunteer oppor-
tunities and donations. 
 “Like many organi-
zations, the pandemic 
presented JARC with a 
unique set of circumstanc-
es relative to how we best 
serve people with devel-
opmental disabilities and 
cognitive impairments,” 
said Shaindle Braunstein, 
CEO of JARC. “The finan-
cial support JARC received 
from the community and 
businesses has been vital to 
enhancing and continuing 
the programs and services 
we provide JARC’s persons 
served.” 

