The God in Us

This week’s Torah portion is Chaye Sarah, which means the life of Sarah. It tells of Sarah’s death and of Abraham purchasing a cave and field in Hebron, the Cave of Machpeleh, for her burial and the burial of his family. It’s still there, a holy site, where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are buried. Then Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer, back to his family in Mesopotamia, to find a wife for Isaac. It’s a beautiful story: Abraham does not want Isaac to marry any of the local Canaanite idol-worshippers. He needs to ensure that there will be grandchildren to inherit the land, and that his household and grandchildren remain monotheists. Eliezer envisions problems in the errand, such as: should he bring Isaac along? What if the young woman won’t come back with him? Abraham assures him that God’s angel will go with him and make the task successful. And this is just what happens – the events unfold miraculously.

Eliezer approaches a spring near Haran in the evening. As he arrives, he prays to God, “Adonai, God of my master Abraham, may you so arrange it for me this day and do kindness with my master Abraham. See, I stand here by the spring of water and the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw water. Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, please tip your jug so I may drink and who replies, drink, and I will even water your camels, her will you have chosen for our servant, for Isaac, and may I know through her that you have done kindness with my master.” The Torah then immediately says, “ And it was when he had not yet finished speaking that suddenly Rebecca, who had been born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife if Nachor, brother of Abraham, was coming out with her jug upon her shoulder.” A few paragraphs later, the story is retold and the servant says, “I had not yet finished speaking to my heart when Rebecca came out with her jug on her shoulder.” The Torah also says the Eliezer was “astonished.” It was not just that his prayer came true, for it all happened just as he had requested God that it would happen, but that it happened with such great speed, before he even finished saying the words inwardly to himself.

That God hears our thoughts and prayers and knows what is in our hearts, we could call the Us in God. The Creator is not other that we, but we are within the Eternal, which allows God to know us: our thoughts, feelings, and actions. But what allows us to contact the goodness and blessings of God, so that they can come to us, as they came to Abraham and Eliezer? Perhaps it concerns us being in consonance with God’s wishes. God wanted Abraham’s descendants to inherit the land. God also wanted those descendants to be monotheists, so Abraham was took steps to further these results. Eliezer wanted to do his very best for Abraham and Isaac, to serve and to help. Rebecca wanted to be kind and to give generously of herself, by carrying water to a stranger. These three people performed acts of goodness, helping to further God’s plan. Thus, they were able to contact what we might call the God in Us, that goodness and generosity, that willingness to serve and help, that allows blessings to flow in the Universe. Miracles happen when we are aligned with God’s purpose. The Eternal is leading us to greater compassion and Oneness. When we express the essence of Holiness, through words, deeds, even intentions, we draw the attention of the Us in God, which allows us to experience the God in Us, leading to everyday miracles in our lives.

Aligning ourselves with goodness and generosity is not always easy, but knowing it is possible, knowing that we are expected to walk in that direction can help us choose the right way to go. May we all open our minds to the possibility of the God in Us, so that the Us in God feels real to us and becomes a tangible presence in our lives. May we be guided by the Holy One, our Divine parent and teacher, so that we walk, as Abraham, Eliezer, and Rebecca did, easily, joyously, and without impediment, within the mind of Divinity.