Why am I still here, and what does Hashem want from me?
By Rabbi Shalom Landau.
Rabbi Landau answers with a picture from the White House. The day after the inauguration, everybody is there for a job. In the same way, “if Hashem decided to leave you here, it's because He needs you, and only you.”
We are His staff members, he explains, sent to carry His light in this world. “His kingship is only done by us.” As the words go, “Ein melech b'lo am,” there is no king without a people. So if you're here today, you are a living example of a White House employee, with a post and a mission.
Being chosen is not an accident, he teaches. It is a responsibility: to serve, to represent, and to bring more light into the world. And if you work hard and prove yourself truly trustworthy, “He might even give you a few positions”: greater roles, greater light, greater impact.
In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau ties this to the first moments of every morning. When you thank Hashem for returning your soul, it means the King decided He still needs you. “You did not just survive another night. You were chosen for another day.”
Watch Rabbi Landau's teaching · Also taught in: teaching 2
Related concepts: A mission with your name on it · Purpose
In A Soul at Peace: Appointed Again, Every Morning
Also answered in this teaching
What does “there is no king without a people” mean?
Rabbi Landau teaches that Hashem's kingship in this world is carried out through us, His staff, who bring His light into the world. In A Soul at Peace he writes that we are the people without whom, so to speak, the kingship is not complete.
Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level
Surface claim
If Hashem kept you here, it is because He needs you; there is still a mission with your name on it.
Underlying need or longing
Why does a person need to know he is needed?
In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau describes the morning feeling of being a small screw in a big machine, and answers that being alive this morning is Hashem declaring that you are needed.
What may be behind it
Hashem's kingship in this world is carried out by His people, His staff and light-bearers. “Ein melech b'lo am.”
Deepest human truth
Being chosen is not an accident but a calling, and one who serves with loyalty may be trusted with even greater positions and greater light.
More answers: Faith, Providence, and the Jewish Destiny · All questions · Questions about Rabbi Landau and Rivnitz