HIDE-AND-SEEK
The chossid Reb Mendel Gurary was once traveling by train to his hometown, Krementchug. The trip was days long and he was desperate for company, so he set about searching the cars for a Yid with whom he could converse. After some time, he spotted a figure in the corner wrapped in a blanket. Sensing that this was what he was looking for, Reb Mendel approached the figure and lifted the blanket. Sure enough, inside was the eminent chossid Reb Gershon Ber Paharer HaGadol, the talmid of Reb Hillel Paritcher. He was awake, but deep in thought, meditating on some concept in Chassidus.
Reb Gershon opened his eyes and exclaimed to the chossid in front of him, "Yungerman, yungerman! Remember to tell your children that Hu levado ve'ein zulaso – There is nothing else but HaShem." (מפי חסידים, חסידים הראשונים ח"ב ע' 41)
As a young child, Reb Avrohom HaMalach, son of the Mezritcher Maggid, once played hide-and-seek with a friend. After some time Reb Avrohom came complaining to his father that he hid, but his friend did not come to look for him at all.
Hearing his child’s words, the Maggid wept and said, "HaShem, too, complains that He hides from His children, but they don't look for Him. His real intention is that they should search for Him, and then they will surely find Him. Even when they merely begin searching for Him, He helps them and eases their search.” (לקוטי סיפורים פרלוב (חדש) ע' נז)
The Torah commands us to cleave to HaShem. How do we do that? The Sifri explains that by learning aggada we come to recognize "the One who spoke and the world came into being." (שוע"ר סי' קנ"ו ס"ד)
ALL DAY LONG
At the opening of the Shulchan Aruch the Rama writes:
"I hold HaShem before me at all times" is a major principle in the Torah and amongst the virtues of the righteous who walk before HaShem. For a person's way of sitting, moving and dealing while he is alone at home are not like when he is before a great king, and his speech and free expression are not as when he is with his household members like when he is in a royal audience. All the more so when one takes to heart that the Great King, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Whose glory fills the earth, is standing over him and watching his actions, he will immediately acquire fear and submission in dread of HaShem, and will be ashamed of Him constantly. (רמ"א או"ח סי' א' ס"א)
In a letter of detailed instructions for avoda, the Alter Rebbe writes:
Always remember the Creator, as it is written, Shivisi HaShem lenegdi tamid – "I hold HaShem before me at all times." Forgetting about Him even for a brief moment should be viewed as a sin. Thus the Baal Shem Tov interpreted the possuk in Tehillim, "Praiseworthy is the man on whose account HaShem does not consider a sin," to mean, "Praiseworthy is the man for whom not considering HaShem at all times he views as a sin." (אג"ק אדה"ז ע' שעד)
The father of Reb Menachem Mendel of Kosov was a talmid of the Baal Shem Tov by the name of Reb Kopel Shivisi. This is how he acquired his interesting name:
Reb Kopel was an extremely honest businessman. Before weighing goods, Reb Kopil would say “Shivisi HaShem lenegdi tamid,” and remind himself of HaShem’s presence. At the yerid, the regional fair, the goyishe merchants would trust him to weigh their goods. Whenever he would not show up the merchants would say, “If Shivisi isn't here, the yerid won't prosper”.
From these words, the Baal Shem Tov derived a lesson in avodas HaShem: When a person is not sufficiently aware of HaShem’s presence (“shivisi”), he cannot serve HaShem properly in his day-to-day life. עעהלי צדיקים ע' סד, כתבי ר"י שו"ב אות ס', ליקוטי סיפורי התווא(דויות ע' 253)
CONSTANT REMINDER
The Czar once decreed that round hats without a brim may not be worn. The Alter Rebbe then said: "Kelipa is trying to block out the obligation, Se’u marom eineichem – 'Raise your eyes to the heavens,' as it is known that looking up at the sky is a segula for yiras Shamayim. Now therefore there must begin a new avoda – to turn the front-brimmed kazirak to the side." (רשימת היומן ע' תנג)
The Baal Shem Tov taught that a person who is always conscious of HaShem can receive practical guidance every day from what he learned that morning, for HaShem thereby guides him to reach the correct conclusions. However, if his awareness of HaShem is sporadic, he does not merit this special insight. Lacking the heavenly guidance, he may not encounter (for example) the food and clothes with the sparks of kedusha designated for him to elevate. (כש"ט סי' קצו)
CONSIDER
Why is awareness of HaShem’s presence such an important principle in Yiddishkeit?
If HaShem wants us to find Him, why does hide at all?
In merit of this publication's founder • ר' אהרן בן חנהMay the zechus of the thousands of readers bring him a total and immediate recovery לע"נ מרת ציפא אסתר בת ר' שלום דובער ע"ה
