Israel’s army liberated the Western Wall in 1967’s Six-Day War
After 1900 years, the Jews had finally regained this peak of religious significance. Many of the soldiers were overwhelmed by emotion and began to cry.
They say that a vehemently atheistic soldier also began to cry. His comrades asked: "This is a HOLY – religious - site; what makes YOU cry?"
The soldier responded: "I am crying because I am not crying."
Very profound.
Depending on particular skill-set, we can sometimes appreciate a brilliant scientist’s intellect, an ingenious artist’s expression, etc. We can grasp, acknowledge and even be appropriately humbled, because we grasp what’s before us.
But sometimes we don’t ‘get it’. Sometimes we can’t really appreciate the profundity of what’s unfolding before our eyes. We know it’s there, because others see it; we’re just not equipped to ‘get it’.
We appreciate that there’s something to be appreciated. We acknowledge that there’s something to be acknowledged.
We want to want.
But that’s as far as we can go right now.
It feels like the statement/syndrome that I hear often: “I don’t believe, but I’d love to.”
I want to want.
This seems like a spiritually primitive place but it’s actually very profound. Acknowledgment that comes through the grasp of my skill-set is limited to that grasp. Acknowledgment/appreciation that comes from my LACK of a skill-set, is limited only by the extent of my heart and soul.
The religious soldier appreciated the Wall’s presence using specific tools – knowledge, training etc – and his inspiration was commensurate to those tools.
The non-religious soldier used no tools. He just felt. He didn’t really know what he felt, but he could appreciate that something special was going on. So he cried.
They were both humbled. But, on the humility spectrum, the non-religious soldier’s seems deeper and more profound.
When it comes to our relationship with G-d, this humble place – “I want to want” - has distinct beauty; because it is ultimately only through humility that we embrace G-d’s deeper existence.
‘I want to want’ is indeed low on the spiritual totem-pole, but that’s exactly why it reaches so high within the Divine.
This Sunday is Lag B’Omer, a spiritually powerful day when we commemorate the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of Judaism premier mystics.
At the same time, it’s a day associated with this [seemingly] spiritually primitive place of “I want to want” (click here to read more on the blog).
Touching the spiritually profound through the humility of being spiritually-unsophisticated?
Exactly.