Dusting Off Our Souls: The Key to Living Authentically

Nissan is the month of freedom. We celebrate Pesach — one of the most significant Jewish holidays. We gather around the Seder table and discuss the importance of the miracle we experienced in Egypt. In many ways, it’s the centerpiece of Jewish life. We’re reminded of G-d’s love for us and how He, as our Father, dove into the depths of Mitzrayim to take us out Himself.

This is also a great time to think about what you’re enslaved to in your own life. Maybe it’s not being able to stop binge-watching TV at night, going overboard on the Instagram scrolling, caring too much about what others think of you or giving in to the limitations you put on yourself.

Pondering how you can be free from these temptations can become a time of personal renewal. Nissan is the first month of the Jewish year. The first commandment given to the nation of Israel before the Exodus from Egypt was that Nissan would be the first of the months. So, creating a fresh start, free from any restraints, whether self-inflicted or otherwise, is in the air.

The other day I was reading Positivity Bias, a book by Mendel Kalmenson that features “practical wisdom for positive living from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.” In one of the chapters, it discusses the fact that anything that makes us stray from who we want to be — from our pure Jewish soul — is just external. In order to come back to our true self, we don’t have to find what’s lost, because nothing is. We just have to dust off what’s on top in order to reveal the beauty of who we really are.

What does this mean, exactly? More practically speaking, our souls naturally want to connect to others, to love others, to connect with G-d and to live according to Torah values. Sometimes, societal distractions, pressure from friends or family or even our own questions get in the way. Just like during Rosh Hashanah, Nissan is a time of teshuva (repentance), where we can return to the self we really want to be. Maybe we find ourselves judging others negatively, speaking lashon hara (gossip), getting jealous or becoming too invested in social media when we’d rather spend our time being present with our families. Maybe we keep going to sleep super late when our soul really wants to be able to wake up earlier. Maybe we’re getting lazy with saying brachot (blessings) even though we really want to feel more connected to Hashem.

The examples are infinite. In order to find ourselves again, we need to look at each situation and try to remove what is distracting us from doing what we really want—“clean off the chametz,” if you will, so we can see the truth that we’d like to live underneath it. Your true, higher self is one that is always there—she might just get a little buried at times. 

To help, you can try and set boundaries in a positive way to help you really live as the person you want to be. Leave your phone out of the bedroom or put it on airplane mode when you go in to avoid the before-bed screen time, actively look for positive things in the people around you or say daily affirmations to lift yourself up.

If this seems a little difficult, it’s important to note that Nissan is also the month of miracles. The name of the month stems from the same root of the word in Hebrew for miracles, “ניסים or Nissim.” Hashem is there, giving you an extra boost, and will help with whatever goals you set out to achieve in order to live as a truer you. The best part? He’s always listening and you can always ask Him for that help through prayer.

So, stop treating your neshama (soul) as the chair in your room that all your clothes end up on when you’re not sure where to put them. It’s time to break free from any sort of enslavement, emerge more authentically, live purposefully and shine brightly with that sparkly, clean soul. 

xoxo, Alex