ONLY YOU

Courtesy: Rabbi Rami
Referred to: Levi Yitzchak of Berditchov, Hasidic Jewish Mystic

Wherever I wander—You!
Wherever I ponder—You!
Only You everywhere, You, always You. You, You, You.
When I am gladdened—You! When I am saddened—You!
Only You! Everywhere You! You, You, You.
Sky is You!
Earth is You!
You above! You below!
In every trend, at every end,
Only You, everywhere You!

If God is infinite can there be a place or a thing that is not God? Can it be that God is everything but you? Are you so strong as to be the boundary that holds the Infinite in check, making it finite?

You may, of course, not believe in God at all, let alone one who is infinite. Or you may believe in a finite god who lives somewhere rather than everywhere; a god to whom you can direct your attention because he is there rather than here. This is not Levi Yitchak’s God. For this Hasidic sage God is infinite, unbounded, Ayn Sof (without beginning or end), and hence right here, with you, in you, as you.

God does not reward you with joy, God is the joy and the enjoyer. God does not punish you with sadness. God is the sadness and the sufferer. You cannot go to God because you cannot leave God. You cannot be separated from God because God cannot be any less than all.

When you look in the mirror you are looking at God. When you pass an oak tree in the courtyard, you are passing God. When you smile at a fellow pilgrim at lunch you are smiling at God and God is smiling back! When you sit in prayer alone and with others, you are sitting with God. You are not here to seek God, but to find God. God isn’t hiding. You only have to look. Where do you look? How do you look? What do you see?

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