To life, to life, l'chaim. L'chaim, l'chaim, to life. This is a Hebrew toast. When drinking wine, they’ll toast to life. What does “to life” mean? I was just looking and researching this song from Fiddler on the Roof, that popped into my head while I was praying this morning. More than the song itself, the toast l'chaim.
L'chaim means to life. What is life? In the translations from
Hebrew to English, from what I was able to understand, life can mean the Torah, or it can mean God. To say to life or l'chaim is to say to God, for God is life. Some
say that the translation is not really “to life”, that it is actually “to
lives.” Life cannot be enjoyed in solitude; life is to be shared.
Let’s go back to the
meaning of true life and understand that God is life. Consequently, our true
life is that part of God that lives in each of us. In a poem that I wrote, "Awakening",
it says:
Cocooned within our mother's womb,
Through breath of God our soul did bloom,
And now upon our dawn’s first day,
On borrowed time we here shall stay.
The toast, L'chaim, To Life, is a toast to God celebrating
the very life that He has given us. So today I say to you, "To Life". May your day
be full of life. May you take a moment from the mundane from the repetitive
tasks of everyday living to enjoy the life that God has given you. Stop getting
lost in the perceived act of living and actually live! Stop and smell the roses, no you don't have to
go to a rose bush and smell it. Take in the breath of life that is around you.
Look at the sun shimmering off a body of water, a lake, a river, or the ocean. Look
up and see the clouds floating by in the sky. Watch a bird and enjoy its
flight. See the tree branches gently swaying in the breeze as you feel its caress
on your neck. Look around you, and listen to the laughter of children playing.
Understand how simple yet powerful, oh so powerful a smile can be. Take in the
breath God today!
Though I'm not toasting you with wine, I will say L'chaim,
To Life!
