The great Rabbi's meditation was interrupted by his grandson's mournful cry.
"What happened?' he asked the child.
"My friends and I started to play hide and seek, and I hid myself very well and waited for them to begin the search. But they just decided to play something else, and I sat there neglected because no one even tried to find me!"
As the Rabbi calmed his humiliated grandson, he murmured "Now we know how G-d feels".
G-d deliberately hides the Divine presence in our world, and we are born to search for it.
G-d is camouflaged in a world that conceals meaning and shouts shallowness. When we wake up in the morning, our knee-jerk instinct isn't "Wow! G-d constantly gives me life and has given me another day. I matter. I have a purpose in this world, and I need to use the gift of another day to live my destiny!"
That’s why Jewish practice, for thousands of years, has been to start our day by proactively guiding our minds to see the world for its purpose and higher beauty; to see the light in our surroundings. To seek and find G-d's presence in the world.
From the minute we wake up, we begin a psycho-spiritual workout, by thanking G-d for restoring our consciousness and gifting us with another day.
Once we’ve gotten ourselves spiritually warmed-up, we take some time for prayer, which is a process of rediscovering our relationship with G-d, and G-d’s presence in our daily lives. The liturgy guides us – through 'prayer therapy' - to feel an appreciation, a deep need, for Oneness (symmetry, purpose, wholeness) in our lives. As we reach the zenith of our search, we call out 'Shema Yisrael…' (Judaism's ancient proclamation of G-d as the Oneness of life). We’ve found G-d, and ourselves.
Chabad Chassidic thought calls the Shema a daily call of the Shofar, because, like the piercing blasts of the Shofar, the Shema evokes our deep-seated need for meaning.
As we approach Rosh Hashana, let’s try to say the Shema (and even hear the actual Shofar, if you can) every day.
Our search for the Divine will elevate our lives and lessen G-d’s tears.