Closer Than We Think

One of the most expressed challenges in Yiddishkeit is that of making our relationship with Hashem feel real. We believe that Hashem knows everything. We say it in davening. We teach it to our children. Yet it is easy for that knowledge to remain abstract, existing more as a theological principle than as a lived reality.

The Alter Rebbe, in the Likutei Amarim section of the Tanya (sourced below), offers a mashal that helps bridge that gap.

Chazal tell us to remember that there is an "Eye that sees and an Ear that hears." Of course, Hashem doesn’t possess physical eyes or ears. So what does this mean?

The Tanya explains that when we attribute seeing or hearing to Hashem, we are not describing physical faculties. We are describing awareness. In fact, Hashem's awareness is infinitely greater than any human seeing or hearing because it is not limited by distance, darkness, obstruction, or any of the constraints that accompany physical perception. The difference between a faculty and an awareness doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when we really understand this, it can make a huge difference in perception. 

To help us grasp this idea, he offers an analogy.

Imagine touching a hot hair iron. The moment your finger is burned, you know it. You do not need to look at your hand to verify that it happened, you do not need someone to report it to you. You don’t require your eyes or ears to gather that information. You know because the finger is part of you.

Not only do you know what happened to your finger, but you are aware of the finger itself. Its existence, its condition, and its experience are all immediately present within your awareness. And if that isn’t enough- simultaneously, you can also be aware of a faint headache and a feeling of hunger in your stomach (it’s been that type of day).

The Alter Rebbe says that this is a subtle illustration of how Hashem relates to creation.

Everything exists because it is receiving life from Him at every moment. Therefore, nothing is hidden from Him. Not because He is watching from a distance and gathering information, but because all existence is continuously sustained by Him. Everything is a part of Him. 

Many people imagine Hashem as being "up there" observing events that unfold "down here".The Tanya presents something far more intimate. Hashem's knowledge of us is not like the knowledge of an observer watching from afar. It is more akin to the way a person knows what is happening within his own body.

Every thought and struggle. Every victory and disappointment. Every private moment that no one else sees.

None of it is external to His awareness.

There is another side to this teaching that I find equally powerful.

When we hear that Hashem knows everything, it is easy to imagine a feeling of scrutiny or judgment. Yet the mashal the Alter Rebbe chooses is not that of a king inspecting his subjects. It is the relationship between a person and his own limbs.

The message is not merely that Hashem knows- it is that He is profoundly connected.

The person sitting in shul feeling distracted during davening, the mother trying to remain patient at the end of a long day, the woman wrestling with a middah she has been trying to improve for years. The individual who feels stuck, uninspired, or spiritually distant.

None of these experiences are invisible. None of them are happening outside of His awareness.

(The Tanya is careful to add that the analogy is imperfect. Unlike the human soul, which is affected by the body, Hashem is not changed by creation. The world does not impact Him, diminish Him, or alter His absolute unity in any way).

I find that sometimes we search for dramatic spiritual experiences to feel connected to Hashem. We imagine that connection happening during moments of inspiration, clarity, or elevation.

The Tanya reminds us that the connection is already there, always. Equally in the mundane and the sublime. 

A person does not need to look at his finger to know that it hurts.

And Hashem does not need to "look" at us in order to know exactly where we are.

There is no moment of our lives that is hidden from Him, and there is no moment of our lives that falls outside His awareness, His knowledge, or His care, because we are One.

How amazing is that?

Perhaps that is why tefillah is so transformative. Tefillah is not primarily about informing Hashem of something He does not know. It is about helping us become more aware of a relationship that already exists.

We'll be exploring that idea and many others in this summer's Tefillah Summer Series, as we work on developing a more meaningful, authentic, and personal connection to davening.

Something to think about in the (hopefully) slower-paced days of summer,

Mrs. Aliza Feder

תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים מ״ב

וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: ״הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים כוּ׳, עַיִן רוֹאָה וְאוֹזֶן שׁוֹמַעַת כוּ׳״. 

וְגַם כִּי אֵין לוֹ דְמוּת הַגּוּף, הֲרֵי אַדְּרַבָּה – הַכֹּל גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לְפָנָיו, בְּיֶתֶר שְׂאֵת לְאֵין קֵץ מֵרְאִיַּית הָעַיִן וּשְׁמִיעַת הָאֹזֶן עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, רַק הוּא עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, כְּמוֹ אָדָם הַיּוֹדֵעַ וּמַרְגִּישׁ בְּעַצְמוֹ כָּל מַה שֶּׁנַּעֲשֶׂה וְנִפְעָל בְּאֶחָד מִכָּל רַמַ״ח אֵיבָרָיו, כְּמוֹ קוֹר אוֹ חוֹם, וַאֲפִילוּ חוֹם שֶׁבְּצִפָּרְנֵי רַגְלָיו עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל – אִם נִכְוָה בָּאוּר, וְכֵן מַהוּתָם וְעַצְמוּתָם וְכָל מַה שֶּׁמִּתְפָּעֵל בָּהֶם, יוֹדֵעַ וּמַרְגִּישׁ בְּמוֹחוֹ. 

וּכְעֵין יְדִיעָה זוֹ עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, יוֹדֵעַ הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא כָּל הַנִּפְעָל בְּכָל הַנִּבְרָאִים, עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים, לִהְיוֹת כּוּלָּם מוּשְׁפָּעִים מִמֶּנּוּ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כִּי מִמְּךָ הַכֹּל״, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים: ״וְגַם כָּל הַיְצוּר לֹא נִכְחָד מִמֶּךָּ״, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ״ם, [וְהִסְכִּימוּ לָזֶה חַכְמֵי הַקַּבָּלָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמַ״ק בַּפַּרְדֵּ״ס] שֶׁבִּידִיעַת עַצְמוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל, יוֹדֵעַ כָּל הַנִּבְרָאִים הַנִּמְצָאִים מֵאֲמִיתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ וְכוּ׳. 

רַק שֶׁמָּשָׁל זֶה, אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא לְשַׁכֵּךְ אֶת הָאֹזֶן, אֲבָל בֶּאֱמֶת, אֵין הַמָּשָׁל דּוֹמֶה לַנִּמְשָׁל כְּלָל, כִּי נֶפֶשׁ הָאָדָם, אֲפִילוּ הַשִּׂכְלִית וְהָאֱלֹהִית, הִיא מִתְפָּעֶלֶת מִמְּאוֹרְעֵי הַגּוּף וְצַעֲרוֹ, מֵחֲמַת הִתְלַבְּשׁוּתָהּ מַמָּשׁ בַּנֶּפֶשׁ הַחִיּוּנִית הַמְלוּבֶּשֶׁת בַּגּוּף מַמָּשׁ. 

אֲבָל הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, אֵינוֹ מִתְפָּעֵל חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מִמְּאוֹרְעֵי הָעוֹלָם וְשִׁינּוּיָיו, וְלֹא מֵהָעוֹלָם עַצְמוֹ, שֶׁכּוּלָּם, אֵינָן פּוֹעֲלִים בּוֹ שׁוּם שִׁינּוּי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם. וְהִנֵּה, כְּדֵי לְהַשְׂכִּיל זֶה הֵיטֵב בְּשִׂכְלֵנוּ, כְּבָר הֶאֱרִיכוּ חַכְמֵי הָאֱמֶת בְּסִפְרֵיהֶם, אַךְ כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל מַאֲמִינִים בְּנֵי מַאֲמִינִים בְּלִי שׁוּם חֲקִירַת שֵׂכֶל אֱנוֹשִׁי, וְאוֹמְרִים: ״אַתָּה הוּא עַד שֶׁלֹּא נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם וְכוּ׳״, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל פֶּרֶק כ׳: 

וְהִנֵּה, כָּל אָדָם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, יִהְיֶה מִי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, כְּשֶׁיִּתְבּוֹנֵן בָּזֶה שָׁעָה גְדוֹלָה בְּכָל יוֹם, אֵיךְ שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מָלֵא מַמָּשׁ אֶת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים וְאֶת הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, וְאֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ מַמָּשׁ, ״מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ״ מַמָּשׁ, וְצוֹפֶה וּמַבִּיט וּבוֹחֵן כִּלְיוֹתָיו וְלִבּוֹ וְכָל מַעֲשָׂיו וְדִיבּוּרָיו, וְכָל צְעָדָיו יִסְפּוֹר, אֲזַי, תִּקָּבַע בְּלִבּוֹ הַיִּרְאָה לְכָל הַיּוֹם כּוּלּוֹ, כְּשֶׁיַּחֲזוֹר וְיִתְבּוֹנֵן בָּזֶה אֲפִילוּ בְּהִתְבּוֹנְנוּת קַלָּה, בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל שָׁעָה – יִהְיֶה ״סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב״ בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה דִּבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁלֹּא לַמְרוֹת חַס וְשָׁלוֹם עֵינֵי כְבוֹדוֹ, אֲשֶׁר מָלֵא כָל הָאָרֶץ, וּכְמַאֲמַר רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי לְתַלְמִידָיו כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.