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Why Celebrate My Birthday?



Question:

It's my birthday this weekend but I have always felt funny about celebrating it. My birth was a bit of an accident -- my parents said I was a surprise, and I was born six weeks premature. Is there any meaning in celebrating the day that I wasn't really supposed to have been born?

Answer:

Your birthday is chosen by G-d -- not your parents, your astrologer or the obstetrician. Birth is G-d saying that the world can't go on without you. It is the day that your soul's mission had to begin.

There were already nearly six billion people on earth when you were born. Did the world really need you? Can one more soul really make a difference? Obviously the answer is yes; otherwise G-d would not have sent your soul to this earth. The fact that you were born means there must be some unique gift that you have to offer the world that none of those other six billion people could possibly achieve.

There were already nearly six billion people on earth when you were born. Did the world really need you?Your birthday is an opportunity to reflect: This is the day that my soul was dispatched on its mission. How is the mission going? Have I been contributing my part to the furthering of G-d's purpose to create heaven on earth? Have I been doing my bit to enhance and improve myself and my world? How much time and energy do I spend on meaningful pursuits? How much time could I add to that amount in the coming year?

Far from being an accident, your birth was clearly a deliberate act. The fact that you surprised your parents and arrived early just shows how urgently the world needed you -- your soul couldn't even wait a few weeks for the due date to get down here. G-d had another due date in mind.

Your soul was sent down by priority delivery. Make sure your soul always remains a priority.


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By Aron Moss   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author

Rabbi Aron Moss teaches Kabbalah, Talmud and practical Judaism in Sydney, Australia.

About the artist: Sarah Kranz has been illustrating magazines, webzines and books (including five children's books) since graduating from the Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan, in 1996. Her clients have included The New York Times and Money Marketing Magazine of London


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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Mar 26, 2008
Intruder in the universe?
We can all feel that we are "out of place" in the world - because we are - because the world is not yet the place it should be . We are sent to do our work to help to make it right. If we feel "at home" then, there is something wrong with us. So, all of us "out of place people" have to work extra hard to love our fellows and do our work even though we are not always comfortable.
Posted By Pnina Usherovitz, Mercaz Sapir, Israel

Posted: Jan 9, 2008
I am a single mother who thanks G-d everyday for the honor of motherhood. While my circmstances are not ideal, G-d knew me well enough to know that no circumstance or relationship would have (at the time) ever lived up to my standards and that I would have perpetually waited a lifetime before "planning" such a precious event. Whether or not a child is "wanted" does not depend on whether or not the parents were married, loved each other or even planned to conceive; it has to do if they in fact wanted you to exist or not after learning of conception, period! Having said that. It is of my opinion that depending on the circumstance (as mentioned) if parents rejects their own child then at least that child must assume G-d wanted you here so much so that your existence was of greater importance than the convenience or happiness of that child's parents.
Posted By Anonymous, Woodbridge, CT

Posted: Dec 12, 2007
Excellent!!!!!
This article is excellent, we really were sent by G-d..and everyday we have to fight against the Ietzer Hara forces to survive in this world and to do what we have been sent to.

Thank you!!!
Posted By Juliana, Bogota, Colombia



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