Discovering Eretz Yisrael through the Seasons

ב”ה

Discovering Eretz Yisrael through the Seasons by Idan Bergman

            How abundant are Your works, HASHEM; with wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions (Tehillim 103:24). After living at Ma’ale Gilboa for close to five months, I for the first time understand what the psalmist means here in his praise to HASHEM. I have seen the abundance in God works: the field of wild flowers on the side of the mountain, the group of grazing cattle in the valley, and the row of enormous mountains beyond the horizon. As the year has gone by, I have slowly come to take notice of the simply indescribable that is necessary to create all these magnificent creations, and as a result I can now acknowledge that all that I have seen is from the living God.

            Recognizing that our surroundings always stem from the living God is indeed one way of performing our duty in life of forming a relationship with God. The God that the Jewish people believe in is one that is in human, physical aspects--invisible. However, we on the other hand believe that God constantly leaves impressions in this world that we can see, or in other words, perceive. As such, the only way to perceive God and thus form a relationship with Him; to speak to Him, ask from Him, and even cry to Him, is through these impressions he leaves for us. In use, these impressions act as a frame of reference for us of the Divine. We humans can only fathom God through our human understanding, and us such we require a reference point similar to ourselves--something physical--in order to relate to God in our words, thoughts, prayers. If not for always attributing God for these impressions, then our intrinsic relationship with God would completely sever. God would lose His place in the world we live in, the world where are body and spirit abide, and we would lose our ability to refer to God. For this reason it is important to recognize in this world that God creates, that he continues to be, and that his creations continue to bear his name. Constant belief of God’s eternal presence in this world ensures the everlasting relationship with God as the Holy One and the Creator, constantly with us and our surroundings.