„A Thirst for the Living God”

"...One must show the way by which one enters the palace — through the gate. The gate is the Divinity revealed in the world, in the world in all its beauty and splendor, in every spirit and soul, in every living creature and crawling thing, in every plant and flower, in every nation and kingdom, in the sea and its waves, in the canopies of the sky and in the majesty of the luminaries, in the talents of every discourse, in the ideas of every writer, in the imaginings of every poet and the reflections of every thinker, in the feeling of every one who feels and in the surge of heroism of every hero..."

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We aspire to be close to God; we truly desire the perfection of closeness to the Lord — each of us in his own way aspires to this.

This aspiration can be a springboard to life, and it can be a cause of depression — a person who wants to be whole is liable to be disappointed all the time, broken by every fall of his own or of the world around him.

So how does one arrive at this aspiration in joy? Rav Kook's advice is that we do so by looking at everything and seeing the good in everything.

To look at a flower and think how much beauty there is in it, to see a sunrise and sunset and enjoy it. To love a beautiful song, to give a compliment to a soul close to us, to rejoice in all that exists around us and to feel how much God is present in all that exists around us.

This is the principal way to closeness with God: He is with us in all the good that surrounds us; one need only look.

A good week!

In memory of Michael ben David.