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The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Simha bat Hana
The grandson of Rebbe Baruch of Medziboz, Yechiel Michal, was playing hide-and-seek with another boy. He hid himself well and waited for his friend to search for him. After waiting for a long time, he came out of his hiding place, but his friend was nowhere to be seen. It suddenly dawned upon the young Yechiel that his partner had not sought him out at all. The distraught child broke into tears and ran to the study of his grandfather. As the boy complained about his unkind friend, tears began to roll from the eyes of the Rebbe, and he said, "Ineed. That's exactly what the Almighty Himself says: 'I hide myself but nobody wants to look for Me.'"
Treating the above narrative calls firstly for addressing one of the foundations of Hasidic philosophy. The central pillar of Hasidic doctrine can be summed up in the terse adage, "There is no place absent of Him." God's presence pervades all existence. Hence, it is possible to uncover such a presence in everything - every situation, every matter, every word, and every though. The Baal Shem Tov would say that, initially, it was difficult for him to sit with people who spoke of mundane matters.
However, after grasping this great all-embracing principle – the idea that even man's mundane speech possesses the inward incandescence of God's presence – it was no longer difficult for him to listen to such conversations: while people would speak of vanities, the Baal Shem Tov heard profound ideas being expressed. This is the manner in which Rebbe Baruch perceives the words of his grandchild in our story. The boy's tearful grief over the fact that he had hidden but nobody searched for him rises above the concrete realm of a child's disappointment over a game. Instead, it is transformed into the sorrow of the Almighty over the fact that nobody searches Him out.
Chassidish Stories (17)
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
8 - The Lugubrious Bed
9 - Playing Hide-and-seek with God
10 - “Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?”
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A more penetrating look, however, teaches us that though the hider desires to remain undiscovered, he enjoys the fact that his opponent searches him out. That somebody cares where you are is a comforting fact. What we have here, then, is a kind of distancing, the foundation of which is a desire and longing to return and reunite. The child's weeping over the fact that his friend does not even bother to look for him conveys the severity of the offense. It appears as if the seeker is not concerned about him at all. Ostensibly, as far as the seeker is concerned, the hider can continue to hide forever; the seeker will not miss him in the least. The offense is great. The child cries.
Rebbe Barukh does not leave things as they are, on their ordinary level. He unearths profound implications in all that he observes. The biblical verse which underlies this approach is, "I shall verily hide My face from them" (Deuteronomy 31:17). What we have here is a kind of "concealment within concealment." The first layer of concealment is one in which the seeker still senses that the Almighty is hiding from him. This manner of concealment constitutes a kind of challenge for all who seek out God. Man senses that God is hiding from him and sets out in an attempt to "find Him."
This is God's way. Sometimes He keeps at bay precisely in order to cause man to seek and search for Him. The sages teach us that God caused the Matriarchs to be barren because He longs for the prayers of the righteous. God effects deficiency in order to prompt man to turn the world upside-down in search of an answer. He wants man to pray, supplicate, and invoke Him to reveal Himself. A state of Divine concealment, with all of the vicissitudes it involves, nevertheless possesses profound meaning as far as man's nearness to God is concerned, for God's absence evokes a longing to draw near to Him.
The verse's message is a dire one: "I will verily hide..." It relates to a concealment within a concealment. When there is concealment inside of concealment the seeker is not even aware that he must search. A severance is effected. The Almighty hides Himself from us. We interpret this to mean that we must stop searching.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that people who face this kind of absence arrive at the conclusion that there is no longer anybody to search for. The questions disappear, the arguments fade out, even the spiteful cries hurled at the Almighty become weak. God, Who only hid Himself from us in order that we seek Him out, retires to His inner chambers and weeps, "Why have I come? There is not a soul to be found; I have cried out and there is no answer." We must probe the depths of this great game of hide-and-seek. We must realize that behind God's concealment exists a grand call for an intense search – a search which will finally lead to an unveiling and unification.
Rabbis in Midrash
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
