We always seem to be struggling with some crisis or problem in this life. We imagine that if we can just overcome this problem, then finally we will find a little peace and well deserved relaxation. But things never seem to work out that way. As soon as we begin to resolve one problem, then another one appears. The health problem is immediately followed by a personal crisis and then by an employment worry. Can we ask if there is a reason for this or would this be considered a stupid question? It seems almost as if somebody is deliberately creating these situations in order to drive us out of our minds.

The ancient wisdom of Kabbalah tells us that this is not so very far from the truth. The explanation from Kabbalists is very simple and yet very hard to come to terms with. Everything that befalls us is sent to us by an upper Force (or the Creator or God, however you prefer to think of it) in order to prompt us to eventually advance to the point where we question the purpose of life. This is the start of our journey: a journey to transform our nature so we can participate in the world of peace and harmony that Kabbalist sages tell us awaits us.

We are being asked to accept that all the catastrophes that occur are actually well intentioned acts meant only to help us make essential inner changes within ourselves. Most people find it difficult to accept that cancer and other calamities can come from a benevolent intention.

The difficulty here arises because we are relatively immature in our spiritual development. Consider the relationship between a young child and a parent. The child is totally incapable of understanding the motivation of the parent - he can never understand that the needle that is stuck into his arm is for his own benefit. In the same way, we must accept that we cannot, in our current state, possibly understand all of the actions of the upper Force that controls our world.

This is not a permanent condition, however! In our example above, the child will grow up and learn about diseases and vaccinations. At some point, he will understand that the shot that made him scream as a child was truly an act of love. In fact, he will quite likely subject his own child to similar suffering. In a similar way, we have the opportunity (and the responsibility) to learn more about the Forces that operate on us from above. At that point, we will understand the purpose of the suffering in our lives, just the way we can now understand why the child was subjected to the pain of the shot.

Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) explained it this way:

This wisdom is no more and no less than a sequence of roots, which hang down by way of cause and effect, in fixed, determined rules, interweaving to a single, exalted goal described as, "the revelation of His Godliness to His creatures in this world."

These rules are hidden from us now, but through study and internal work, they can be revealed to us. Kabbalah holds the map or the knowledge of how these hidden forces are structured, and the laws by which they influence us. It teaches us how to develop a sense of these forces, and finally, discover their only purpose - to bring us to the revelation of the Creator, while living in this world. Then, we will discover the peace that we have been searching for all along.