See G-d. Illustration
Why can't we see G-d?
although G-d may be hidden, he is not hidden far away
A verse from the Torah states "And I, hide shall I hide my face from them." This idea of G-d hiding himself is a notion that plagues both laymen and Rabbis a like.
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There are many verses throughout the Torah, prophets, and other writings that explicitly state there is no reality or existence other than G-d. So, if He is supposedly everywhere, including right in front of our eyes, why is he seemingly nowhere? If G-d is real, than why can't we see him?
This phenomenon of not being able to see something right in front of our eyes occurs often as part of our daily lives. For example, take the case of the disappearing car keys. How many times have you torn apart your desk, kitchen, or some other spot looking desperately for your car keys when in the end you find them sitting out openly somewhere right in front of your eyes.
This also happens on an emotional level. Often times when looking for happiness, people act out with extreme behavior like traveling the world or going on spending sprees. But in the end, they sometimes find what they were looking for was right in front of their eyes the whole time.
There are two ways we usually uncover things that are right in front of our eyes. One way is that it just dawns on us out of nowhere like, "There are my keys!" or "I really love and miss so and so!" The other way is that we change our perspective. We decide to look or think in such a way that brings us to certain realizations.
For example, we retrace our steps to find our keys or we re-examine our relationships to find the thing we want out of them. Essentially, we are able to see that which was previously an invisible presence; that which we know is there, but we just cannot find it.
We can apply how we uncover things in our daily lives to our search to revealing G-d's hiding place. As we just said, one way comes like a gift from above as it just dawns on a person in the form of some kind of spiritual awakening. The other way, which is the stronger and more secure, is to actually change our perspective.
Spiritual frequency woven into our reality
Just like there are radio and TV waves invisible to the naked eye but penetrating our physical world, so too there is a G-dly, spiritual frequency woven into our reality. And just as we need a radio tuned to the right channel to hear the radio waves, we also need the right instrument set on the right channel to pick up on this spiritual frequency.
The difference in this analogy is that we as individuals are the instruments to tap into this G-dly frequency. However, we have to be tuned to the right channel with the right perspective to see it.
Also, just as a TV or a radio are highly technical devices that must not be damaged to work, so too by refining ourselves and bringing healing into the broken areas of our lives, we can become a spiritual instrument that reveals the hidden.
Now we see that although G-d may be hidden, he is not hidden far away.
Indeed when discussing our connection to G-d, the Torah states that "it is not in the skies…nor is it across the sea…rather it is very near to you."
It is within all of our potential to see and to connect to G-d. Perhaps it is best summed up by when someone once asked a great Rabbi, "Where is G-d?" the Rabbi answered, "Where ever you let Him in."
