Said to Myself

I am reminded this week of one of my favorite Hassidic stories.  The story goes that a Rebbe is walking and sees a little boy standing by a wall crying. The Rebbe asks the boy why he is crying. The boy replies that he was playing Hide and Seek with his friends and he thinks that his friends forgot about him. At this point the Rebbe starts crying and the boys asks him why the Rebbe is crying. The Rebbe responds, ” Now I understand how God feels “.

In Naso, this week’s Torah portion, we read the Priestly Blessing.  It goes,

The Lord bless you, and keep you. The Lord make God’s face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up God’s countenance upon you, and give you peace.  ( Numbers 6:24-26)

In a very simplistic read, the blessing is suggesting that we will get God’s attention. Do we want God’s attention today? What would it mean for us to take a moment away from all of the distractions of all of our media to return to the game of Hide and Seek? Can we imagine returning with a child’s perspective? What would it take for us to return to looking for God in this world?  That would be a blessing.