It’s not always possible to fit everything you want to say into a two minute animation with two nutty characters, so this blog let’s me fill in a lot more of what I really want to say. Think of this as a sort of guided meditation. Really—sit down and relax and read it that way:

Think of someone you greatly love, respect and admire. Someone before whom you feel hopelessly insignificant and asininely redundant. Imagine squeaking open the front door of your subsidized-housing, derelict, one-room apartment and this very person trots in, a sparkling smile on his face and a bottle of champagne in his hand, gives you a big hug and exclaims, “Let’s celebrate that we are together!”

Now imagine that this is the Author of Heaven and Earth standing at your door. You’ve attempted to fathom the unfathomable ingenuity of His awesome works in your science textbooks. You’ve google-eyed in fascination and wonder over those Discovery Channel documentaries. You’ve studied Jewish metaphysics that describes the entire universe—every galaxy, star, organism and atom—as a zero-sum entity relative to its Creator’s reality. In all your creative works, in music, art, prose and computerized simulations, you’ve feebly attempted to emulate some tiny iota of His ultimate masterfulness—and always come out feeling oh so inadequate. And now, yes, He’s standing there smiling and He grabs you, all of you, in a bear hug embrace.

Why? Because this is a mitzvah—a celebration of Creator-meets-created-and-the-two-become-one. For the Creator of the Universe, nothing is more significant. Better: nothing aside from this has any significance at all. Because this intimate union is the entire motivation behind Creation into which He has invested His entire essence and being. For Him, nothing else exists.

Which makes, really, every moment a moment for celebration. Because every moment He is with you, and you—with your deep faith in His singularity inherited from your forefathers and foremothers—are there with Him. Nothing else exists for you other than His presence; everywhere you turn you see nothing but Him. And for Him, all that exists is there only to facilitate the union of the two of you.

Okay, so half the time you’re messing up. So there are rocks along Paradise Road. Get your priorities straight: the road and the paradise, not the rocks. Make up, say you’re sorry, and get on with the celebration of life.

Besides, those bumps along the road provide even greater reason to celebrate: That your relationship with the Master of the Universe runs at such an integral, core level that it cannot be broken; that even when you walk away from Him, He awaits anxiously your return. No love could be deeper, no joy could be greater.

Getting down to particulars, the classic chassidic work called Tanya describes how you’ve been provided unlimited opportunities for your soul to connect with the Author of All Things with all its three garments: in thought, in speech and in action.

• Thinking thoughts of Torah: A oneness of mind and spirit—since these are His thoughts, dressed within the artifacts of your world.
• Speaking words of Torah and prayer: A kiss—since He speaks each word in concert with you; your mouth is His mouth.
• Doing a mitzvah with the limbs of your body: A deep embrace.

Or another way of looking at the love-affair:

• Prayer: sharing your deepest concerns.
• Torah: sharing deepest thoughts of the soul.
• Mitzvah: Fixing the world together.

Yet at every sentient moment, the greatest reason of all to celebrate is vibrantly present: The very fact that He is there with you and you are there with Him. And that’s just where He wants to be.