How do we know if God is present in the world? Whether we are believers or not it is a question many of us ask ourselves. Or we ask for a sign that God is real. This is one of the fundamental challenges to the believer, for in the end belief in God is an act of faith; a willingness to believe that something exists whose existence cannot be proven.
However, this week’s Torah portion provides an intriguing answer to the question of God’s presence. After the sin of the Golden Calf and his destruction of the original Tablets of the Law, Moses returns to Mt. Sinai and asks God, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!” (Exodus 33:18) and God answers him, “you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live… you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:20 and 23)
We learn from this that we experience God indirectly. We cannot see God’s face, but we can see God’s back, the impact of God in the world. When we experience love or selflessness, we are experiencing God’s presence. When we see someone doing good in the world, we are experiencing God in the world. When we see someone soothing someone’s suffering, we are witnessing God’s action in the world. We cannot see God’s face, but we can bring God into the world by the ways we work to make this world better.
Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11-34:35, Parshat Ha Shavua for Shabbat, Saturday, March 6, 2021
March 5, 2021 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
How do we know if God is present in the world? Whether we are believers or not it is a question many of us ask ourselves. Or we ask for a sign that God is real. This is one of the fundamental challenges to the believer, for in the end belief in God is an act of faith; a willingness to believe that something exists whose existence cannot be proven.
However, this week’s Torah portion provides an intriguing answer to the question of God’s presence. After the sin of the Golden Calf and his destruction of the original Tablets of the Law, Moses returns to Mt. Sinai and asks God, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!” (Exodus 33:18) and God answers him, “you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live… you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:20 and 23)
We learn from this that we experience God indirectly. We cannot see God’s face, but we can see God’s back, the impact of God in the world. When we experience love or selflessness, we are experiencing God’s presence. When we see someone doing good in the world, we are experiencing God in the world. When we see someone soothing someone’s suffering, we are witnessing God’s action in the world. We cannot see God’s face, but we can bring God into the world by the ways we work to make this world better.
~Rabbi Dean Kertesz