THE INFINITE LIGHT
A book about God.
Author: Aryeh KaplanISBN(s): 9781879016194
Language: EN
Publisher: OU / NCSY
Soft Cover
70 pages
An understanding of G-d, His Torah and man's obligation to observe its truths.
The first man was speechless when confronted by the divine question, Where are you? We, his descendants are inarticulate in our response to man's question, Where is G-d?
Achieving an awareness of G-d is a difficult task. The pursuit of that awareness involves relentless study and questioning, as well as mitzvah observance and Torah living. As Jews, we do not rely on dreams and heavenly manifestations to actualize G-d's presence in our lives. The true appreciation of a purposeful, personal G-d can only derive from a purposeful life lived in accordance with a purposeful creation.
The first human being to recognize the existence of G-d through his own observation was Abraham. Some commentaries say that this spectacular feat was accomplished at the age of forty-six, when his mental powers had attained their greatest acuity. Others maintain that it was at the age of three that Abraham experienced the original, autoinduced personal revelation.
Rabbi Menachern Mendel of Kotzk explains that even according to the former opinion, Abraham's first 46 years were not wasted on the impotent emptiness of idolatry. They were years of searching, of questioning, of delving into the mysteries of human and universal existence. When at age 46, Abraham achieved the pinnacle of man's sensitivity to creation, it was not a thunderclap, not an apparition that preceded this discovery but rather the calm, steady reflection of Abraham's magnificent mind and gigantic spirit.
It is instructive that it was Abraham, the paragon of righteousness in human affairs, who was privileged to be the first to recognize G-d, and to understand His concern for human behavior.
In contemporary society, particularly among young people we sense a not quite conscious stirring, a movement within humanity, which searches and strives for meaning in life. Logotherapy, a school of psychodynamics, projects "meaning" as the central idea of human existence. There is a sense that man cannot achieve happiness purely through satisfaction of material goals. The high statistics of suicide in developed countries, as well as the almost universal statement that "life seemed meaningless" by attempted suicides, attest to this fact.
Ultimately, searching for meaning is striving for G-d. This book was conceived as an atlas to aid the searching Jew, in mapping his personal journey in the quest for the ultimate meaning of human existence, the knowledge of G-d. The author draws from the entire spectrum of our tradition to present an understanding of G-d, his Torah, and of Man's duty to observe the truths embodied in it.
Rabbi Judah Halevi once wrote "If I were to see Him in a dream, I would continue to sleep forever". We present this work in the hope that it will enable us to better see Him in our lives to that we may indeed seize our portion of eternity
