Where Does God Live? #701
11/12/2021 05:35:00 PM
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
Parashah Vayetzei
“Surely, the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16)
Where Does God Live?
I want to tell you about the first time I saw God.
It was a summer day — I must have been about six years old — and as I lifted my lips from my melting fudgesicle and looked through the clouds at the partially blue sky, I was sure I saw God’s face.
Was it the vision of an old man or the puffy cheeks of an angel? Not sure. But I am sure that on that day I felt God’s warmth brush across my forehead.
I didn’t need a rabbi to point it out to me. I just felt it in my soul.
Over the years, the feeling has repeated itself. In the birth of a child or a grandchild. The changing seasons. Five-part harmony. The miracle of light. Snowflakes — no two alike. Song birds. Ocean waves. The stars. The rainbow after the storm. The wonder of DNA.
While there may be rational reasons for any of these phenomena, combined they inspire me to consider the wonder of creation and the miraculous handiwork of a divine designer.
Although my first encounter with God’s spirit was inspired by looking toward heaven, over time, I’ve learned that God and the miracle of life exist everywhere.
The great spiritual teacher, Deepak Chopra, once noted that "God cannot be found in a book of religion." I’m not even sure that God can be solely found by looking up to the heavens.
Too often we believe, that God is "up there,” while we are "down here." That suggests that we are separate from God. It implies that God must be brought to earth. Perhaps that’s why so many claim that they cannot find God.
Too many believe that the only place they can encounter God is in a formal place of worship. And while prayers and communal gatherings help focus our spirituality, I think most would agree that our most profound “God moments” have occurred within life’s smaller events and interactions.
They even appear in our dreams.
This week in our Torah reading, we are inspired to consider the question, “Where can God be found?” As Vayetze (Jacob left) opens — one of Judaism’s most inspirational figures is on the run.
After stealing the family birthright from his brother Esau, fleeing from death threats, and walking for a long day through the desert, Jacob places his head on a rock and dozes off.
And within his slumber, he envisions a stairway to heaven, with angels ascending and then descending. The dream becomes known as “Jacob’s Ladder.”
Deeply moved by this experience, Jacob awakens from his slumber and declares, “Surely, the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it.
“How awesome is this place,” he continues. “This is none other than the abode of God.” (Genesis 28:16, 17)
Really, is there a more accurate statement anywhere in the Torah?
Someone once gifted me a coffee mug which reads: “I saw that — God.” I have yet to drink from it.
There is something forbidding about it — the idea that God sees all. There are some things that I somehow hope God doesn’t notice about me — maybe you feel the same way.
My driving. My eating habits — to name two. How inhibiting it would be if we felt God was watching or judging our every word or action.
Yet there is a message in all of this: God is "in this place" each time we interact with life. And this can occur even during our most solitary and seemingly lonely moments.
Notice that the angels do not come down from heaven. Rather they rise from the bottom of the ladder. Indeed, our experience with God begins on Earth.
God is found at work in how we complete our tasks or interact with our fellow employees. God is in the way we engage in — or preferably refrain from — meaningless chatter or gossip.
God is in our relationships. We are blessed with family and friends, who may not always be perfect. Do we choose to focus on the virtues of those around us, or do we lose our patience with their imperfections?
Do we fill life’s occasional emptiness with technology’s endless noise, or do we embrace that “small still voice within?”
Do we embrace the pleasures of our lives? Some feel guilty when they experience pleasure, as if they are undeserving. But God can be found in happiness.
Most importantly, as this week’s Torah portion teaches, God can be found in every step we take, every move we make. God is more than a resident of a synagogue. God is present in all creation if we, like Jacob, envision an uplifting connection between earth and heaven.
Throughout our lifetime, like Jacob, each of us will face difficulties, challenges, obstacles and conflicts. But this is how we grow.
Jacob laid his head on a rock during one of his lowest spiritual moments, and he saw God. We can do the same as we apply the best principles — those lessons taught by our parents, grandparents and ancestors, as we navigate the ladder of our challenging and often-complicated lives.
It’s just sometimes we fail to notice.
I often recall my first experience with God. It was sweet, it was pure and it was filled with joy.
Over time, life has added veils to cover that vision. But it has grown as I have. It is always there.
God is in every place.
Sometimes we just need to look up from the hard places of our daily journey, to realize how truly lucky we are.
Shabbat Shalom, v’kol tuv.
Rabbi Irwin Huberman
..............................
Please join us on Zoom or Facebook,
Friday - 7:00 pm ET
for candle lighting, followed
by live Kabbalat Shabbat services:
https://zoom.us/j/97188243757
(Please note that the Meeting ID has changed as of Jan. 1)
Click link below to view or download
the abridged Friday Shabbat siddur: https://bit.ly/2JjvlL3
or: https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
Saturday Shabbat & Musaf Service:
10:00 am ET
https://zoom.us/j/97188243757
(Please note that the Meeting ID has changed as of Jan. 1)
Sim Shalom Shabbat & Musaf Siddur: https://bit.ly/2zMtxJ3
You can also dial into these services:
646-876-9923 (New York)
Meeting ID: 971 8824 3757
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adPkXfg2VY
Tue, July 5 2022
6 Tammuz 5782
Rabbi's Last 50 E-Sermons
Are We Grasshoppers or Giants?#732
Friday, Jun 24 5:17pmDo We Deserve Second Chances? #731
Friday, Jun 17 6:07pmThe Blessing That Changed Me #730
Friday, Jun 10 5:29pm"It is what it is" - Not #729
Friday, Jun 3 4:34pmUvalde Tragedy: What do we do?#728
Friday, May 27 4:40pmShabbat for the Earth #727
Friday, May 20 5:08pmThey Stood For Him #725
Friday, May 6 5:28pmWhich Goat Will We Choose? #724
Friday, Apr 29 6:49pmThose "Dayenu" Moments #723
Friday, Apr 22 3:59pmCall for a Newer Seder #722
Friday, Apr 15 3:06pmClearing “Chametz” from Our Souls #721
Friday, Apr 8 6:50pmThe “Real” Jewish New Year #720
Friday, Apr 1 4:56pmBrought to You by the Number 8 #719
Friday, Mar 25 4:33pmSacrifice for Ukraine #718
Friday, Mar 18 4:44pmGod Calls Us By Name #717
Friday, Mar 11 12:50pmThe Torah vs. Corrupt Leaders #716
Friday, Mar 11 12:37pmThe Torah vs. Corrupt Leaders #716
Friday, Mar 4 5:50pmA Time to Reboot #715
Friday, Feb 25 12:34pmThe Golden Calves of Our Lives #714
Friday, Feb 18 1:40pmThe Sound of Silence #713
Friday, Feb 11 6:29amWhat is Your Gift? #712
Friday, Feb 4 5:59pmWe Are All Strangers #711
Friday, Jan 28 5:33pmWe Were All at Colleyville #710
Friday, Jan 21 5:51pmWho is our True Enemy #709
Friday, Jan 14 4:40pmToward a More Diverse Judaism #708
Friday, Jan 7 5:51pmWhen Does God Step In? #707
Friday, Dec 31 2:02pmWithout Women, There is No Story #706
Friday, Dec 24 5:32pmHow Should We Visit the Sick? #705
Friday, Dec 17 6:06pmLoving Those Who Can’t Change #704
Friday, Dec 10 5:17pmChanukah — More than Candles, Gifts and Latkes #703
Friday, Nov 26 5:14pmWhat “Israel” Truly Means #702
Friday, Nov 19 5:18pmWhere Does God Live? #701
Friday, Nov 12 5:35pmAre We Becoming Our Parents? #700
Friday, Nov 5 5:56pmHospitality – and the Fort McMurray Miracle #699
Friday, Oct 29 5:22pmWho is "Truly" Religious? #698
Friday, Oct 22 5:38pmLeaving Stale Things Behind #697
Saturday, Oct 16 5:51pmMy American Citizenship Exam #696
Friday, Oct 8 11:04amProtecting the Environment – and Israel #695
Friday, Oct 1 6:09pmWho Wrote the Torah? #694
Friday, Sep 24 5:33pmMoses’ Last Song #693
Friday, Sep 17 5:46pmApologies: Real or Hollow? #692
Friday, Sep 10 6:06pmOur Children in a Divided World#691
Friday, Sep 3 3:14pmSince My Bar Mitzvah #690
Friday, Aug 27 5:47pmThe Case Against Hoarding #689
Friday, Aug 20 4:50pmStory of the Sinking Boat#688
Friday, Aug 13 5:00pmYes, No. Calling Women to the Torah #687
Friday, Aug 6 2:34pmThe Pursuit of Kindness #686
Friday, Jul 30 6:44pmWho Inspired Your Judaism? #685
Friday, Jul 23 6:35pmAre Jews the Eternal Victim? #684
Friday, Jul 16 4:50pmMind Your Own Business #683
Friday, Jun 25 4:42pmUpdate this content.