Close Your Eyes – and See

Rabbi Arush recently discussed the importance of opening our eyes to see Hashem’s miracles and wonders. How He is fighting for our soldiers in Gaza. How He is protecting us from the constant bombardment of missiles first from Hamas in Gaza, and now also from Hezbollah in the north. Thousands and thousands of missiles, each of which could kill even tens of people. Instead of tens of thousands of dead God forbid, which statistically should be the reality in Israel today, we have thousands of miracle stories instead. 

In his recent article Lift Up Your Eyes! Rabbi Arush also discusses the idea of closing your eyes, and internally, looking up to Hashem. The Tur says that when we close our eyes and “look” up to Hashem in our mind’s eye, Hashem looks back at us, so to speak. And when our eyes meet, Hashem is so happy that He then thinks about us in exile and speeds up our redemption. Although the Tur discusses the importance of doing this when we say “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” (Holy, Holy, Holy) during the repetition of the Amida, Rabbi Arush says that closing our eyes, and looking to Hashem with our soul, is very important to do all the time – as much as possible. 

When I tried it for the first time, I was totally blown away. The incredible feeling of closeness to Hashem is beyond even my professional writer’s ability to describe. The feeling of Hashem truly seeing me in a way I haven’t felt before, not even during personal prayer. Not just around me, surrounding me, hugging me, listening to me – but looking at me. You have got to try it, since simply writing about it is just not doing it justice. 

Another excellent piece of advice that Rabbi Arush recently mentioned in the name of Rabbi Aaron Stern – to connect to Hashem on a different level and bring a feeling of closeness to Hashem into every mitzvah you do, simply have the following in mind just before you do a mitzvah: 

1. Hashem, through this mitzvah [name it] I am about to perform, please connect my soul to You.
2. Hashem, through this mitzvah [name it] I am about to perform, please put Your spiritual light into my soul. 

To remember it easier, I think about it as asking Hashem to connect us in both directions. That my soul down here should be connected on High, and that the light of Hashem up there, should come down into my soul. 

I heard a story from Rabbi Yaakov Ades that someone once complained to him that he had put on tefillin a few times in the past, but never felt a “click,” never felt a special connection. Rabbi Ades recommended putting on tefillin but this time, having these two things in mind. The man came back and exclaimed, “Rabbi, this time I felt it! Wow!” and began putting on tefillin every day from then on. 

These two simple ideas – to think about connecting to Hashem before a mitzvah, and to close our eyes and look to Hashem – could be easily dismissed as being simple, obvious things to do.  

But like emuna, which is so simple and obvious that people unfortunately make fun of The Garden of Emuna saying things like, “Oh everyone knows Hashem runs the world, what’s an entire book for?” Well, anyone who actually reads the book knows that emuna is both abundantly simple and extremely difficult and complex to really live! For example, saying thank You to Hashem for your suffering – sounds easy, until you try to do it! We have books (The Wonders of Gratitude) and articles and CDs with all the different advice to help you do The Law of Gratitude properly because yes, it’s actually that hard. 

So too, don’t dismiss these very precious pearls of advice offhand. Try them right now, and then try to remember to do them tomorrow also, and next week – and you’ll see just how much the Evil Inclination will try to stop you, because they really are that powerful! So maybe make a little reminder for yourself somewhere right now too, to help you remember. It’s so simple and easy, you might just forget.  

Rabbi Arush promises that not only will it help bring the Redemption even sooner, amen – but it might just change your life too! 

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Rachel Avrahami grew up in Los Angeles, CA, USA in a far-off valley where she was one of only a handful of Jews in a public high school of thousands. She found Hashem in the urban jungle of the university. Rachel was privileged to read one of the first copies of The Garden of Emuna in English, and the rest, as they say, is history. She made Aliyah and immediately began working at Breslev Israel.   
  
Rachel is now the Editor of Breslev Israel’s English website. She welcomes questions, comments, articles, and personal stories to her email: rachel.avrahami@breslev.co.il.