Part 8 of an 8-part series

Over the past eight days, we have discussed four aspects of understanding the power of — and increasing — your human potential: unified will; primal will; understanding that since G-d can do everything, I can achieve anything; understanding that G-d loves me and wants to give me everything.

These four aspects all demonstrate that the power of human potential is much greater than we ever thought possible. Once I truly grasp the power inherent in my belief in my ability to succeed, I have moved from a failure mindset to a success mindset, which, in turn, alters my relationship to the world, to reality itself.

The extent to which you truly believe in the underlying principles of expanding human potential to affect reality itself, you can create miracles in your life.

The daughter of Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa accidentally lit the Shabbos candles with vinegar instead of oil. She didn’t realize her mistake until after Shabbos began, and she was distressed. Rabbi Chanina assuaged her, saying that just as Hashem makes oil burn, He can make vinegar burn; and the oil remained lit until after Shabbos.

To Rabbi Chanina, who deeply believed that everything occurs because G-d wills it to, there is no difference between a “natural” occurrence and a “miraculous” one; everything is from G-d’s hand.

For anyone who deeply believes that everything comes from G-d’s hand, nothing is miraculous, because for G-d, everything is possible. The extent to which we believe this, and truly make it our reality, is the extent to which we can live a life of miracles. Acquiring this belief is not a one-time event but rather a step-by-step journey of growth and introspection, a process through which we integrate these ideas into our lives.

The Greeks stand for teva — nature. But Jews believe that there are spiritual principles that govern the rules of the natural world. When the Greeks Hellenized the Jews, their concept of “what you see is what you get” invaded the Jewish neshamah. Matisyahu and his sons made a stand, declaring that G-d is the One Who establishes the principles by which the world is run. And since they believed that, they were able to act outside of the natural order. When they recaptured the Beis Hamikdash and the oil burned for eight days, they removed the stain of Greek reality.

This is the avodah of Chanukah, to remove the Greek philosophy from within us; to understand that it is G-d who runs the world; that ein od milvado — there is nothing besides Him. We can live a life of miracles. You just have to believe that it’s possible.

Over the past eight days, we’ve established four principles: 

• If you uncover your unified will, your ratzon, you can achieve more than you ever have before. 
• If you utilize your primal will, you unleash a power ten times that of unified will alone. 
• When you internalize that it is not my abilities or character traits that bring about success, but rather my recognition that it is G-d who brings about success (commensurate with my efforts), you have not only increased your chance of success but actually removed all limitations, making the impossible possible.
• Finally, when you accept that G-d loves you, that He wants to give you the world, and that He can do so, you become the recipient of all His goodness. 

Every one of these principals shows us the power of human potential. If we only understood the endless possibilities that lie before us, our existence would be exponentially more powerful and more meaningful.

Let’s use Chanukah to make this year different. Learning about the power of human potential is only the beginning. Now it’s time to start integrating it! 

Thank you for joining us on this journey to make the impossible possible. To continue learning more about the power of human potential, and how to achieve personal greatness and fulfillment, learn more about Rabbi Aryeh Nivin’s Chaburas.

To inquire about joining the Three-Class Trial of the Women’s Chaburas starting in January, go to www.newchabura.com, call (646) 863-4123 in the US or (02) 580-6406 in Israel, or email NewChabura@gmail.com 

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Rabbi Aryeh Nivin is the founder and director of Machon HaAdam HaShalem, a personal development Torah network. He has helped thousands of people around the world fulfill their potential and discover their unique mission in life. To find out more, visit: www.newchabura.com