Who hasn’t dreamed, at least once, of the person who will change his life? In Buenos Aires, the capital of psychoanalysis, he may be a brilliant psychologist, from whom the person expects to solve all his problems, in exchange for visiting his clinic once a week, sitting in a spacious armchair and paying a lot of money. And if the treatment fails, he will replace it with a reputable psychiatrist, who will give him a prescription for a miracle antidepressant pill.
And even before coming to therapy. Who hasn’t fantasized of the prince on the white horse or the woman of his dreams, who will come and change their life completely? The person that can turn pain into joy and sadness into pleasure; one who telepathically understands all his needs and satisfies them (of course!), one who will love them unconditionally and always maintain the emotional balance, even when we are moving away from them? In short, someone who will fulfill all the desires of our hearts before we dare to say, just as happened in our mother’s womb. And if heaven forbid (as happens in most cases…) this person does not meet all our expectations, we may come to the conclusion that we were wrong, say goodbye out of disappointment, and continue the search for “true love”.
And in politics? All the election broadcasts show the face of the one and only person who promises to change the country, without the people having to do anything but vote for him. And even though history repeats itself over and over (in Argentina this is the economic reality and in Israel the national security), and even though at the conscious level most people no longer believe the promises of politicians, subconsciously most of us are still waiting for the magician and the magic formula. We prefer to ignore the fact that the leader reflects the consciousness of the nation, and therefore there can be no corrupt or violent leader for an honest and peace-loving people. And we continue to forget what Einstein has already taught, that whoever wants to change the results cannot continue to do the same thing.
An entire article can be devoted to the subject of spiritual teachers and the dependence that many of their followers develop in them. Whether it is rabbis or priests or alternative New Age teachers of all kinds, it is easy to find a cult of personality around the teacher; It is much more difficult to find free and independent human beings who walk in their own path, in the spirit of the teachings.
But going back to the first example, the role of the therapist is not to solve all our problems, but to help us understand their roots and choose a different path. True love does not come to satisfy all our needs unconditionally, but to allow us to develop and grow together, alongside another person. A true leader doesn’t make sweet promises without coverage on the eve of the election, but consistently presents a vision of recovery and peace, which requires courage and change in all areas of life. The authentic spiritual teacher does not want to be the “crutches” for his students but encourages them to use their healthy feet and walk their path independently.
And what about the anticipation of the Messiah? In this regard, Shlomo Carlebach told a wonderful story about the Rebbe Matritzker, about whom it was said that he never ate or slept and once also revealed why: “Everyone knows that my father did not say a single word before the morning prayer, but one day he woke me up early and said, ‘Abraham, get the horses ready, we need to get going’ I was only nine years old, and it was a great honor for me to go somewhere with my holy father, but that day something very special happened. I still remember how my father and I rode alone in the woods, where every tree and leaf in it seemed to glow in a bright light. Finally, we deviated from the usual road towards a rough path, until we reached a hut tending to fall. My father stopped the horses, handed me the reins, and said, ‘Wait for me here.’ He entered the hut and stayed there for more than an hour. When he left, he was accompanied by a young man with a radiant face. They talked to each other, but I could not hear their conversation. It was only as they approached the cart that the young man turned to my father and asked, ‘Are you sure this is what you have to tell me?’ And my father replied, ‘Yes. That’s what I have to tell you.’ They both started crying. They hugged and cried and cried and when the tears stopped, they said goodbye with a kiss, as if they knew they would not see each other for a long time. My father then got into the cart without looking back, lifted the reins and accelerated the horses to gallop at maximum speed in the forest. When we reached the paved road, we slowed down. My father was silent, so engrossed in his thoughts that I was afraid to talk to him. It was only when we got close to our house that I asked him, ‘Dad, who was this man?’ ‘Messiah son of David,’ he replied. ‘Messiah! He arrived? Here and now?! But what did he want from you?’ , ‘He asked me if it was time to be revealed, and I had to answer him and tell him the bitter truth, that no one was waiting for him.’
Then Rebbe Matritzker finished his story and said, “If you had seen the Messiah and known that he was never revealed because no one was really waiting for him, would you ever be able to eat or sleep?”
A wise teacher once said that “the Messiah that everyone is waiting for will not come, and the one who will come – no one is waiting for.” In other words, the Messiah that everyone imagines and expects, a kind of Superman who changes the world with a magic wand, will not come, as he is again an expression of childish longing and spiritual laziness. And the one who will come (and according to Rebbe Matritzker’s version he has already arrived!) Will show us the way to eternal happiness and will require each and every one to walk it on their own. And no one expects that.
Thus, the first instruction that the Messiah may give to one who seeks to see in him the man who will change the world, is: “If you are looking for the man who will change your life, go and look in the mirror.”
