{"id":77270,"date":"2020-07-12T13:26:51","date_gmt":"2020-07-12T10:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=77270"},"modified":"2020-07-12T13:26:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T10:26:51","slug":"meeting-god-punishment-or-antidote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/meeting-god-punishment-or-antidote\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting God: Punishment Or Antidote?"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"77270","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":76938,"related_cahpter":"522","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"For the sin of sinning\r\n\r\n","content":"

There is an idea in Jewish thought that the punishment fits the crime (midda k\u2019neged midda). The phrase in today\u2019s chapter, \u201cPrepare yourself to meet your God, O Israel\u201d (verse 12) seems to be a punishment. The phrase seems threatening. \u201cMeeting God\u201d seems ominous. The Jews forgot about God, God\u2019s power and God\u2019s strength– and so God wants to remind them and reacquaint Himself with his people in a powerful way. So the punishment fits the sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sin in Hasidic thought stems from a total lack of awareness of God\u2019s presence. “For when the intellect that is within the thinking soul contemplates and meditates deeply upon the greatness of the LORD- how He fills all the universe and operates all the universe, and everything before Him is like naught – then the attribute of awe of His exaltedness is born and arises in his mind and his thoughts, to fear and to be ashamed before the greatness of the LORD, which is infinite and has no end, and the fear of the LORD is in his heart.” (Tanya, chapter 3)<\/span><\/p>\n

If one was truly aware of God\u2019s presence in the world, and in every aspect of their lives, there would be no sin. So many of our mitsvot in fact are there to increase this awareness. Blessings before eating, prayer, the wearing of certain garments. Judaism seeks to instill the Jew with a present moment awareness of God. The reason for this is to live a purposeful, mindful life, but it is also to keep us from sinning. Imagine living with a constant awareness of God\u2019s presence? Imagine \u201cmeeting God\u201d in day to day moments? There would be no room for sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sin of sinning is not that one has submitted to their urges, or done something wrong. The sin of sinning is that one forgot God\u2019s presence. You pushed God out of a space and created a lack. It is said that one of the Baal Shem Tov\u2019s last words were \u201cfear nothing but God alone\u201d. The phrase \u201cprepare yourself to meet your God, O Israel\u201d then is not simply a punishment. Perhaps God is offering the people the antidote to sin. Live with an awareness of God, and there will never be a need for punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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