{"id":68097,"date":"2020-01-04T23:06:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T21:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=68097"},"modified":"2023-07-27T14:57:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T11:57:08","slug":"seeing-god-eye-to-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seeing-god-eye-to-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing God Eye To Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[384,500],"acf":{"old_id":"68097","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":62571,"related_cahpter":"386","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"If Moses couldn\u2019t\u00a0 - how could anyone else?","content":"

Isaiah 52 contains one of the most evocative, lyrical and concise descriptions of the advent of the Messianic Age, along with the Jewish people\u2019s joyous response to this long-anticipated event: \u201cHow welcome on the mountain Are the footsteps of the herald Announcing happiness, Heralding good fortune, Announcing victory, Telling Zion, \u2018Your God is King!\u2019 Hark! Your watchmen raise their voices, As one they shout for joy; For every eye [lit. \u201ceye to eye\u201d] shall behold The LORD\u2019s return to Zion\u201d (verses 7-8).<\/span><\/p>\n

The imagery of being able to intimately \u201csee\u201d God \u201ceye to eye\u201d is incorporated into a prayer that is recited immediately after the Torah is taken out of the Ark on Shabbat and Yom Tov mornings:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026May we see Him \u201ceye to eye\u201d upon His return to His abode, as it is written: (Isaiah 52:8) \u201cFor they shall \u2018see\u2019 \u2018eye to eye\u2019 as HaShem returns to Zion.\u201d And it is said: (Ibid. 40:5) \u201cthe Glory of HaShem shall be revealed and all flesh together shall \u2018see\u2019 that the mouth of HaShem has spoken\u201d (<\/span>ArtScroll <\/span><\/i>\u201cAl HaKol\u2026\u201d, p. 439).<\/span><\/p>\n

This prayer and its placement within the prayer service tacitly suggest that while we are expected to await God\u2019s direct reappearance in our lives, hoping to finally be able to cry out: \u201c<\/span>This <\/b>is my God\u2026\u201d (Exodus 15:2), until such a time we will have to make do with what studying the Torah can tell us about God, much in the same manner as our prayers at best serve as temporary substitutes for the Temple and its sacrifices: (Hosea 14:3) \u201cTake with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I have often used the metaphor of an insect \u201cfrozen\u201d in amber, to describe the limbo-like spiritual condition in which Jews find themselves presently, both in Israel and out.<\/span><\/p>\n

But how literally should we take the idea of being able to \u201csee\u201d God \u201ceye to eye\u201d? When Moses requested of God on Sinai to \u201csee\u201d Him, God appeared to respond that this was literally impossible, \u201cAnd He said: Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live\u201d (Exodus 33:20). Was God\u2019s response to Moses factually correct for all times and places, with the idiom in Isaiah 52:8 therefore having to be understood only figuratively? Or will the Messianic era usher in such a sea-change in man\u2019s nature and spirituality, that heretofore impossibilities will become realities? I suppose that we will have to wait and see.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68119,"id":68119,"title":"is52-eye-to-eye","filename":"is52-eye-to-eye.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seeing-god-eye-to-eye\/is52-eye-to-eye\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is52-eye-to-eye","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68097,"date":"2020-01-04 21:06:25","modified":"2020-01-04 21:06:37","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is52-eye-to-eye-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Seeing God Eye To Eye","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"If Moses couldn\u2019t\u00a0 - 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