The World is One- And it is you

The World is One
Based on a talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
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We have each been allotted our own "portion of the world" -- the material resources we possess; the talents and capabilities with which we have been endowed; the circle of family members, friends and colleagues whom we interact with and influence.

Transforming the nature of reality in our own slice of the world, will transform the nature of reality in the entirety of G-d's creation.

Yes, feeding that one child, will mitigate the hunger of every hungry child in the world. Saying that one kind word, will soften every insult uttered on the face of the earth. Doing that one good deed, will nullify all the evil in the universe.

Because the world is one, and you are the world.

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The World to Come

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains, that the world to come is a world of truth. It is a world, in which what happened yesterday, and what will happen tomorrow; cannot be divorced, from what's happening today.

And what's happening to your fellow man; cannot be separated, from what is happening to yourself. Peace in our still unperfected world, viewed from the perspective of the "World to Come", is a lie.
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Many are content to live this lie: to forget what happened yesterday, avoid thinking about what will happen tomorrow, ignore the sadness in a neighbor's eye, the poverty on the other side of town, and the bombs in the other time zone.

But then there are the righteous: men and women, who cannot enjoy their meal as long as someone, somewhere, remains hungry; who, if there is ignorance in the world, know their own wisdom to be deficient; who, if there is discord anywhere in G-d's creation, cannot be at peace with themselves.

Yes, you can have some peace in this world, and then experience the real thing in the World to Come -- if you're willing to let the World to Come, come whenever it comes.

But the righteous are not patient. Their physical selves may be stuck in this limited world, but their minds and souls inhabit the World to Come. They refuse to close their eyes; and thereby make this world, the World to Come.