Who asks if it is? You know those people who dare to wonder out loud if the world is all an illusion? We think of them as crazy or shush them up.

 

The world of Chabad Chasidus, Jewish mysticism wants to know not what is, but if it is? Is the world real? If it is sustained by a perpetual flow of Divine energy is it even real?  Maybe indeed it is an illusion?!

 

But if it is an illusion then why the need to do any of the Mitzvot, the whole thing is not real.

 

I’ll save you the time and cut to the chase, although you are always welcome and invited to dig deep with me on Sunday mornings at Kabbalah and Coffee.

 

The universe does exist, it says so in the first words of the Torah.  In the beginning Hashem created the heavens and earth.  And it is also constantly being energized by the Divine flow.

 

G-d brings the world into existence every moment so we can have this paradoxical relationship with Him.  We see ourselves as something separate even as we are totally dependent.

The game is for us to work every day on bringing this into our consciousness through study, prayer and meditation.

 

As we become more conscious of this, we slowly begin to see through the facade of physicality and things begin to become more spiritually translucent.

 

And it all started in this week’s Torah portion when we received the revelation at Sinai.  At that time our Sages teach that we saw that which is normally heard.

 

Hearing is intellectual comprehension, seeing is awareness.  For a moment at Sinai we were able to see the truth in the physical world around us.  

 

And then it disappeared.  Well it disappeared from our consciousness but the seed that was planted, the shell that was broken, the beginning of spiritual translucency began.

 

We are empowered each and every day to live more deeply and more connected and to not only hear but to actually see the Divinity in everything.

 

Here is to living deeper and more connected!

 

Good Shabbos!