The secret of the twice-a-year Jew

Perhaps there’s a good reason most Jews only go to Temple twice a year. We go to a holy place, we go during a holy day, but we don’t necessarily have a holy experience. And if we don’t find G-d and spirituality in this place and at this time, then when do we? There are two possibilities: either our search for spirituality is an impossible one... or we’re not looking in the right place. There’s a story about a man desperately searching under a streetlight. A passerby asks, “What are you looking for?” “I lost my wallet,” he answers. “Where did you last see it?” the passerby asks. “Up the block,” the man says. “So why aren’t you looking up the block?” asks the mystified passerby. The man replies, “You can’t see anything there, it’s too dark. So I came here to search under the streetlight.” The Rebbe of Kotzk once asked, “Where is G-d?” His answer: “Wherever He is let in.” If we let G-d into our day-to-day activities, G-d and holiness become a part of our daily lives. G-d doesn’t just live in a synagogue. He is everywhere and everything—but we need to open our perceptions to Him. Jewish rituals were never meant to be hollow actions—they are meant to be hallowed actions. G-d already knows where we are; we merely have to find Him. Since G-d is everywhere, we can have a spiritual experience anytime. We hear holiness when we listen to that little voice inside us; we taste holiness when we offer a prayer before we eat; we take holiness with us when we kiss the mezuzah on our way out. We sanctify time by turning Saturday into Shabbat. We sanctify place and person through mitzvot such as sukkah and mikvah. And once we begin to experience G-d in what we do, say, think and feel, we discover that spirituality is not something that just happens, but something that we continuously strive for. How do we strive for it? By our everyday actions. Where is G-d? In every action, word and thought into which we let Him in. May we be written and inscribed in the Book of Life for a happy, healthy and sweet New Year. Rabbi Mendel Bendet is director and spiritual leader of Chabad Jewish Center. He can be reached at rabbi@jewishpoconos.com or 570-420-8655.