There’s an absurdity to the situation described in that verse and the verses leading up to it. G‑d ends up hiding, but only in response to our own disappearance. What we end up with is some confused game of hide-and-seek where both of us are hiding and nobody is seeking.

My four-year-old is no good at hide-and-seek. She finds the perfect place and sits there for two, maybe three minutes, and then, timidly, excitedly, calls for her seeker. Once, twice, louder and louder, until the oldest comes in the room and—shriek—the wanton joy of discovering and being discovered.

This is pertinent now as we enter into the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Regardless of where G‑d or man has hidden the rest of the year, during these days we will find each other. And all we need to do is call out a little—just a peep, just an excitable little yelp. We’ve hidden all year behind our sofas and under our desks. Let’s be audacious now. Let’s peek out from beneath our beds—just a little—and call out. G‑d, too, longs for the joy of discovering and being discovered.

DovBer