12 Elul 5784

Cantor Michel Laloum

Temple Beth Israel

Beholding Your Presence: an interpretation of the Ve’ahavtah [1]

“When justice burns within us

like flaming fire

when love evokes willing sacrifice from us,

when, to the last full measure of selfless devotion,

we demonstrate our belief in the ultimate triumph

of truth and righteousness —

then Your goodness enters our lives

and we can begin to change the world.

And then You live in our hearts,

and we, through righteousness, behold Your Presence.”

What does it take to “behold God’s Presence”?

It is not in awaiting a dramatic miracle, a burning bush or a splitting of the sea.

Rather, when we find that “flaming fire” within us, when our devotion is truly selfless and our sacrifice is made willingly and with love, suddenly we begin to see how God’s “goodness may enter our lives … and we find that God truly lives in our hearts’.”

These yamim nora’im, may we find the selfless devotion and love of God necessary to help us behold God’s presence within our hearts.

[1] From Mishkan T’filah page 235