Just as it is a mitzvah (good deed) to direct someone onto the path where he belongs, so too it is a crime to direct someone onto a path that does not belong to him. Each person is born with a path particular to his or her soul, generally according to the culture into which he or she was born. There are universal truths, the inheritance of all of us since Adam and Noah. In them we are all united. But we are not meant to all be the same. Our differences are as valuable to our Creator as our similarities.

You may ask, “Why must I study and learn? Is not the truth already within me?” The truth is locked within you, deep in slumber. It is awakened and liberated by the truth that comes from without. Read 1 Kings 17 and see how the Prophet awakened the widows purpose when he spoke truth to her.

A mind directed entirely by its own reasoning will never be sure of anything. As good as the mind is at finding solutions and answers, it is even better at finding questions and doubts. The path of Torah is to ponder its truths, so that your mind and heart will resonate with those truths, until all your deeds are guided by a voice that has no second thoughts.

Everything that exists in your world is about communion with the Infinite. Everything is one of three: A means to connect. A path to fall away. Or neutral ground awaiting you to transform it into a connection. But if something were not part of your purpose, it would not exist in your world.