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Can we lose God?
By helping others, improving our sense of morality, we can reveal Godly spark within ourselves
Throughout history certain individuals have always been searching and looking for G-d.
Indeed, sometimes people "find" him in the strangest and most distant of places, while others "lose" him, or their faith in him, in the most mundane and ordinary. A verse from the Torah states, "From there you will seek G-d your G-d, and you will find Him."
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Usually when we speak about seeking or finding something it is in regards to a lost object. But is G-d some object that we can loose and find? If not, then what does this verse mean? Can it shed some light on the phenomena of "looking" for G-d?
Nothing is lost
In a letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe he states that in fact nothing is ever lost.
Physically an object is never truly lost: Objects do not disappear into a dimensional void or become somehow erased from the fabric of reality. It is only from our perspective that something is lost, but more literally its status is not "lost", rather we just can't locate it.
The Rebbe goes on to state that since this is true on a physical level with objects, it must be even truer on a spiritual level. We see with the souls of the departed. After someone passes away we don't "lose" him or her, but rather our connection with him or her changes. Souls are not lost.
So, if things are in fact never lost, then why does the verse tell us to "seek" G-d and to "find" Him?
According to Chassidic thought, there is a part or spark of G-d within every person. However, this spark can become buried and hidden under all the gross physical cravings and moral deficiencies that we develop in characters. This spark doesn't get lost, but rather it is exiled within our spiritual baggage and as a result we loose our connection with it.
The verse is telling us not to look "out" there for G-d, but rather "in" here, in ourselves. The verse says "seek G-d your G-d." The word for "your G-d" in Hebrew is Elokecha, which is made up of two words.
One is "Elokah" which means G-d, and the second is "cha" which means yours. So, another way of reading the verse is: Search for G-d, the G-d (Elokah) in you (cha).
So, we see that we can't loose G-d, but rather we can lose our connection with ourselves, which in turn could lead us to believe that G-d is lost. However, we don't need to back pack to the Himalayas or live on a commune to re-connect. By trying to make our lives more spiritual rather than physical, by helping others and improving our sense of morality, we can reveal that Godly spark within ourselves and open up clear pathways of connection to Him.
