Question of the Week
I’ve got a question for you from my kids. I’d love a simple answer they can understand but also has something deep to it:
Why do we cover our eyes when we say the Shema prayer?
Answer:
When we say Shema, we are declaring that Hashem is one. This means that there is only one G-d, and He is the source of all. E verything in the world, and everything that happens, is from Hashem.
It is not that good things come from Hashem, and bad things come from some other evil source, like the Devil, or Satan, or Big Tech. Hashem is one, the only one, and all comes from Him.
And Hashem is good. So if everything comes from Hashem, and Hashem is good, then everything that happens must be good.
The problem is, we don't see it that way. From our limited human perspective , we view some things as good because they feel good, and other things seem bad to us because we feel pain.
But there is a bigger picture, and in that picture even the things that hurt are good for us. We grow from hard times. We become more sensitive and deeper from challenges. We are given opportunities to give and to love specifically due to the problems in the world.
Sometimes we see the good in hard times, and sometimes we don't. But faith means we don't trust our superficial view, we know that there is a deeper story going on.
And so we cover our eyes when we say the Shema. We are saying that there is so much more to life than what our limited vision allows us to see. We can't always see the good with our eyes, but we can see it with our soul.
Here's a little visualisation you can try with your kids. Before saying the Shema, stop and think about something that is worrying you. Now cover your eyes and look again, not with your eyes but with your soul. See that this too comes from Hashem. Hashem is good, so all will be good. As you say the Shema, feel the worry melt away in the light of faith. The problem may not disappear, but the worry will. Now you have some clarity, you can face your problems. With your eyes closed you can see much better.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss