Rosh Hashanah, the Baal Shem Tov taught, is a game of hide and seek. G-d hides, we seek.
But where can G-d hide? Wherever you go, there He is. As the Zohar says, "There is no place void of Him." So perhaps what the Baal Shem Tov meant is more like peek-a-boo -- when the parent hides behind his or her own fingers. So too, G-d hides within the guise of an awesome, indifferent king, judging His subjects
strictly by the book until the most sublime angels shiver in dread.
And we seek. We seek the father within the stern voice. We are the small child who climbs into the king's arms, tears off the mask and says, "Daddy!"
Which is just what he was waiting for.
