Welcome to the Land of Your Dreams

Everyone is trying to escape to somewhere else – some place with less Corona restrictions, no lockdown, more normal life, or more economic stability. And even if we don’t have the ability to move or even visit somewhere else, deep down, most of us wish there was some fairytale land where everything is okay. 

Let me share with you a big secret: Such a place really does exist. There is a land where everything is stable, peaceful, and prosperous. And I’m even going to tell you how to get there! Don’t worry, you don’t even need plane tickets, and there is no requirement to quarantine when you arrive, either. 

Welcome to the Land of Goshen 

This mystical place is called the Land of Goshen. This is the area where the Jews lived in ancient Egypt before the Exodus.  

And just like now, where a plague has hit the world from out of nowhere – back then, in ancient Egypt, they had no idea what kind of year was about to hit them. A year of ten plagues – plagues that destroyed their income, their food, their beautiful land and everything they had come to know. Egypt was the wrong place to be that particular year. 

However, even with all the destruction and terror that enveloped the Egyptians, for the Jews in Goshen – that year was the best ever. Not only did everything pass over their heads, but already from the first plague, the situation for the average Jew had greatly improved.   

The Torah describes in a few places the day and night distinction that prevailed between the Jews and the Egyptians during that year. The hail did not fall there, the wild animals did not enter there. The clearest distinction was made already during the first plague of blood, when a Jew and an Egyptian could drink from the same cup – and the Jew drank water, while the Egyptian drank blood. 

History Repeats Itself 

I am sure you are wondering by now what ancient Goshen has to do with the here and now. The answer is that the Torah is eternal, and it is not a history book. Moreover, as much as the Land of Goshen was back then a physical place, now, it has become a spiritual place. A spiritual haven.  

You don’t need to fly there; you only need to choose to go there in how you live your life. Wherever you are currently located – you have the choice to live in Egypt, or in Goshen. The choice is yours. 

Egypt is any place where the Heavenly soul is constricted. The soul’s only desire is to fulfill her purpose of coming closer and closer to G-d and G-dliness. If the needs of the soul are subservient to the pursuit of worldly pleasures and success, then the soul is in the bondage of Egypt. It has become totally enslaved to this world. Because Egypt is a place of slavery – in ancient Egypt, even the Egyptians themselves were slaves, as we learn in the portion of Vayigash.  

However, even among the Jews in Egypt – those who stayed completely away from physical pursuits, and instead focused on their spirituality, stayed out of servitude. This is why the tribe of Levi, who never went out to work for Pharoah but instead stayed in the study hall to learn Torah, was never enslaved, even in the peak of the bondage of Egypt. And so too, when Moshe came on the scene – the more he taught them and reminded them of their spirituality, the more they became physically freed. When they just decided to separate themselves from the influence of the Egyptians – already then, they moved themselves out of Egypt altogether! 

The Land of Divine Guidance 

Let’s again move this back into the practical. In our present world, there are two mental, emotional and spiritual locations you can be in, and they are totally and utterly separated: 

Egypt. You believe in the power of nature to determine everything. In this world, you are a speck of dust in the vastness of the cosmos, your very existence hangs by a thread and even a tiny germ can wipe you out of existence. The world is a dark and cruel place, and you are filled with dread and anxiety since you have no idea if the next moment, you will become just another statistic.  

Goshen. Welcome to the Land of Emuna! Here, the Almighty G-d Himself is in charge of everything, down to the tiniest detail. This is a world filled with Torah and knowledge of Hashem. Spiritual laws, not the physical laws of nature, rule here. In fact, this world exists almost without connection to natural laws whatsoever! A world where parents raise their children without training them to be slaves, working from dawn until dusk. Ask anyone who learns Torah full time how he lives – you’ll see that his existence is totally above the physical rules that most of the world knows. 

Here, there are no worries, fear or anxiety – because Hashem chooses everything that will happen, and everything that He chooses for you is always for your ultimate best. Here you are truly calm and protected, because you really are in the very best Hands. 

You choose where you want to live! If you choose to believe in nature, then Hashem will give nature power over you. Statistics will rule you, and even a tiny virus can have power over you. But if you truly believe in Hashem, then you go up to a world where Hashem’s Divine Guidance rules – not nature. You recognize that truly everything is a miracle, even things that outwardly appear “natural.” In the land of emuna, miracles are natural! 

The Exodus from Egypt isn’t just about leaving a physical place – it’s about leaving a spiritual place of darkness, and moving into a place filled with Divine Guidance. A place where everything guides you towards your true spiritual purpose, a place filled with daat – knowledge of G-d, and where emuna is the currency, not greenbacks.  

Truly, emuna – and only emuna – is the entrance ticket to the real Land of your Dreams, and out of slavery. 

Welcome!