The way a teacher, standing at the blackboard,
chalk in hand,
suddenly withdraws into himself
to follow the comet tail
of a thought
more profound than he has ever known,
then, after a long pause,
opens his eyes and returns
to the world
of his classroom
to share his discovery
with his students
is the way, the mystics say,
G‑d, seemingly, recedes
back into Himself
until, suddenly, after many years,
redemption comes,
and a Divine light--
more radiant than the world
has ever known--
illuminates the universe
that thought it had been forsaken.