Close the (divinity) gap
Why we need belief
Photo by Marek Piwnicki
Introduction
When everything depends on you, you take the credit for success and sometimes take the blame for failure.
This works reasonably well when you’re in high school and through your 20s and early 30s. By the time you are in your 40s and 50s, if you are wealthy, you chalk it down to your talent and hard work. If not, then it was bad choices in career and in partners. Rarely because of you.
When you’re outcompeted by younger, more tech-savvy workers, and struggling with ever-increasing workplace demands you run into trouble.
Your career expectations in your 20s meet a hard reality in your 50s.
When your core belief is the Western economic system and you are 7 points behind the Lakers with 30 seconds on the shot clock, then it’s too late to learn how to pray.
When everything rides on you alone, there's nowhere to turn when life doesn't meet the expectations you had 25 years ago
In this essay, I will talk about a game changer called divine belief.
The Torah perspective
The Torah teaches in parashat “Vayerah”, that God liked Abraham, using the word “knew him”.
Not because Abraham kept the commandments (which would only be given much later to Moses on Mount Sinai).
Not because of something he could not do.
But because, Abraham was commanded by God:
"...so that he will command his children and his household after him to follow the way of the Lord, by doing what is right and just."
Abraham's mission is to instill lasting values in his family, aligning with God's vision for humanity. It reflects the balance between individual ethics ("righteousness") and societal fairness ("justice").
The mission is not just for Abraham; it’s for him, his family and the future generations to come.
Hasidut understands the word ‘justice’ to apply to each of us individually.
For each of us individually to judge ourselves, how much we need and give the rest to other people.
I’ll go back to this in a bit and talk about what we need to give.
The personal scale of belief - Jacob’s dream
In “Vayetze”, the portion of the Torah that we read this Shabbat, we read the story of Jacob's dream.
“Here was a ladder set on the ground, reaching all the way to the sky, with God’s angels going up and down on it”.
The obvious question relates to the direction of the angels on the ladder.
Surely, they must first go down from heaven and then go up.
I heard a beautiful explanation from Rabbi Union (who was our Rabbi at the Young Israel of Beverly Hills).
Rabbi Union explains.
Each of us has a personal scale of belief.
We work hard to go up, like we work hard to succeed in business or any other discipline.
But there are times when we go down; when our belief in God and the Torah is weakened.
It’s natural to have your ups and downs.
The importance of Rabbi Union’s insight is that these are ups and downs on your personal scale.
Not Warren Buffet’s scale. Not Elon Must. Not the founder of a billion dollar tech company. Not Abraham and not Sarah.
The corollary to the personal scale of belief is that when you are Godless, you are flatlined.
When you are flatlined, there is nowhere for you to go when you, your family or career are on the skids.
The spiritual and material side of our personal justice
We all know the concept of giving charity; giving money or helping others.
Hasidut teaches that charity is not only physical but also spiritual.
A Jew meets another Jew that knows nothing about his Judaism.
A person who is in a time of personal distress and who needs some “spiritual charity”.
We are not allowed to be self-centered.
We are not allowed to focus on our self-improvement first and withhold help from others who are in distress.
We must judge ourselves and ask ourselves -
Is refining my own personal divine belief more important than helping a fellow Jew?
Is it more important for me to go up the ladder myself and leave someone who needs spiritual and material help at the bottom?
Is it every man and woman for themselves? Even in personal belief?
The answer is no.
Summary
It’s not you.
There is tremendous strength in closing your divinity gap and accepting that your personal career success and wealth is not yours—it belongs to God.
It’s easy to give charity with someone else's money, but true charity includes both material and spiritual generosity.
By embracing this, we not only grow individually but also strengthen our families, work, and communities—both materially and spiritually.
* * *
To my readers
I had a wonderful conversation this week. She’s re-engineering her life and she’s an inspiration to me. You know who you are!
🎉 Here's to celebrating life—the highs, the lows, and the beautiful in-betweens. Whether it's refining words, learning Python, finding meaning, or connecting with others, every step forward is a win. Cheers to your creativity, passion, and the impact your work will have. Here's to life in all its richness! 🥂✨
Who or what inspires you to celebrate life today?
Share it with someone who matters to you—or with me!
Thank you to Alex Feinberg who talked to me about the divinity gap and stimulated me to write this essay and to Rabbi Mendy Hershkowitz for his lesson on Parashat “Vayetze” this week.