{"id":40836,"date":"2026-07-01T20:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T03:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&p=40836"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T04:15:15","slug":"2026-greater","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2026-greater\/","title":{"rendered":"Something Greater Than Ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Then the LORD said to Moses, \u201cGo up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was<\/em>\u2026\u201d \u2014 Numbers 27:12-13<\/p>\n

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Each week in synagogue, Jews read through the\u00a0Torah<\/em>\u00a0from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The\u00a0Torah<\/em>\u00a0portion for this week is\u00a0Pinechas<\/em>, which means \u201cPhinehas,\u201d from Numbers 25:10\u201330:1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m often asked how I cope with the long demanding hours of being President of one of the leading nonprofit organizations in Canada, Israel, and The U.S. AND being a wife and the mother to four children. Aren\u2019t I tired and stressed all the time?<\/p>\n

My answer is simple, really. I\u2019m able to manage because of the joy I get from knowing I am part of something bigger than myself. There\u2019s a reward in seeing the face of a Holocaust survivor light up when we bring them much needed food and medicine. I\u2019m revitalized every time I witness a family who has faced poverty and persecution in another land arrive in Israel, kneeling down to kiss the ground. Carrying on my father\u2019s legacy and partnering with God to do good in this world is a holy privilege that gives me energy.<\/p>\n

Moses knew all about being part of something bigger. Toward the end of this Scripture, Moses was commanded to ascend a mountain in Moab so that he could see the Holy Land. However, God also told him that after seeing the Promised Land, he would die. Moses would never enter the land.<\/p>\n

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We know that Moses wanted nothing more than to enter the land of Israel. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses poured his heart out to God asking for permission to enter the land, but his request was denied. Despite this, Moses was content to see the land and then die peacefully. It was a comfort and a gift just to have been able to see the land. But, after all that struggle and leading the people through the desert, how can that be?<\/p>\n

The answer is because Moses\u2019 life was not about Moses. It was about something bigger than himself. It was about the nation of Israel, bringing God\u2019s Word to the world, and setting in motion the wheels of history that would ultimately lead to the perfection of the world. Moses\u2019 passion extended beyond his personal agenda and included God\u2019s plan for the world.<\/p>\n

We live in a society that has become overly concerned with fulfilling oneself, finding oneself, and satisfying oneself. However, the truth is that happiness is achieved not by finding myself, but by losing myself in something greater than myself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Then the LORD said to Moses, \u201cGo up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[29],"class_list":["post-40836","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/40836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/40836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40840,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/40836\/revisions\/40840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40836"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=40836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}