Tzipiyah.com

For years now, I’ve been struggling to understand one of the basic concepts of Judaism. This concept, outlined in a number of books but most prominently in the Kuzari, explains that in order to meet God, we do not go back to the creation of the world but rather to the redemption from Egypt. Therefore, when speaking about our obligation to believe in God, the Torah speaks of the God which took us out of Egypt, not the God which created the world.

The reason usually given for this is that while anyone can make a rational argument for the existence of God which is independent of his participation in our world, this argument always carries doubts which any healthy skeptic will point out. If we really want to see God, if we want to meet with God, we need to look at his active participation in our world. This participation started with the redemption from Egypt and continued throughout the history of the Jewish People. The Jewish People, who met God in Egypt, then became “ambassadors” for God on this earth and Klal Israel became the vehicle through which one can meet God in our world.

I’ve simplified this concept a lot, but for years now, while I kept repeating and sharing this idea, I never really understood it deeply. I got an answer while watching “House” on TV last night.

In that show, the always interesting Doctor House spoke about how one can find a tumor which is so small that it cannot be detected in a regular scan. He then said: “If you want to find something you cannot see, you look at the effects of that thing. If you want to know that the wind is here, look at the leaves which move from its strength.” The same is true with God. While we can and should engage in rational discussions as to God’s existence, these discussions will always hold an element of doubt, because all rational discussions hold a small element of doubt (skeptics have always existed). However, if we want to meet with God in a meaningful way, we have to look at his effects on the creation we live in. These effects are numerous. The Rambam famously speaks about finding God through the contemplation of nature, and seeing God’s hand in it. However, the number one effect of God’s presence on this earth is Klal Israel and its history. I do not need to speak of how miraculous our history is! Everyone knows this. It is through this history and through our miraculous rebirth on our land in the past century that we can see the effect of God’s presence and through these things, we can know and meet God himself.

In other words, if someone wants to meet God, meet Klal Israel. If someone wants to connect to God, connect to Klal Israel. If someone wants to feel God, feel Klal Israel! If someone wants to live God, live Klal Israel!

We are quite lucky to live in a generation where this connection to Klal Israel is so easy to be established, through our active participation in its renewal on its own land. From participating in our military, to living on our land, to voting in our elections, all these things are ways for us to enhance our connection to God.