What does “it is not in heaven” (lo bashamayim hi) mean for my own life?
By Rabbi Shalom Landau.
Rabbi Landau explains that lo bashamayim hi means “it’s not in heaven, not far away, it’s right here. In your mouth, in your heart, in your action.” Who you are meant to be is not hidden somewhere distant waiting to be discovered.
That is why, he teaches, “you don’t wait to discover it, you create it.” The work happens in what you say, what you feel, and what you do, right now.
In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau writes that “the thing” in the verse is also your mission and the person you were meant to be: “It is not hidden in heaven… It is here. In your mouth. In your heart. In what you do.”
Related concepts: Personaldevelopment · Inspiration has to become a deed
In A Soul at Peace: Creating Yourself
Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level
Surface claim
What you are looking for is not far away. It is in your mouth, your heart, and your action.
Deepest human truth
You don’t wait to discover yourself; you create the person Hashem meant you to be.
More questions from this teaching
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