For Friday Night
Close to G-d

By Tali Loewenthal

How should a person strive to come close to G-d? Should he leave behind him ordinary life, and retire to a secluded, protected atmosphere where he or she can meditate on profound ideas?

The story of Joseph in Egypt tells us about someone who was very much a part of the daily world: he worked as a servant; then, unjustly, he was thrown into prison. But throughout this time he was close to G-d. The Parshah tells us that while working for Potiphar, "G-d was with Joseph" and as a result he was given a position of responsibility (Genesis 39:21-2). Even when he was in prison he retained his spiritual quality.

The Jew seeks to be close to G-d even when in a crisis situation. Through this we fulfill our goal to make this world, with all its problems, a dwelling for the Divine. The story of Joseph, who goes through dramatic ups and downs but in an intriguing way is always with G-d, is our story too...

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By Tali Loewenthal More articles... |

Dr. Tali Loewenthal is Lecturer in Jewish Spirituality at University College London, director of the Chabad Research Unit, author of Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School and a frequent contributor to the Chabad.org weekly Torah reading section.

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Latest Comments:

Posted: Nov 26, 2010

but it depends what we call an "ordinary life", and what it means to be secluded.

For example, a community of people who practice voluntary simplicity, would not be secluded from each other, so it is not a question of solitude vs community. But that community will be in some degree distanced from the "mainstream", which is largely a culture of power-based relationships driven by acquisition of symbolic material wealth.

So, one big question is, should we try to emulate the mainstream culture in order not to find ourselves too distanced from it?

Posted By Mark R, Reston, VA