Reviewing: “Snapshots of the Divine: Seeking the Sublime in the Mundane” by Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz. Adir Press. 2024. Hardcover. 224 pages. ISBN-13: 9781962522083. English.
When it comes to being inspired by nature, there are awe-inspiring and impressive sights such as Mount Everest and the Grand Canyon. On the other side, there are more sublime and tranquil locations like Walden Pond and Haleakala National Park in Hawaii.
When it comes to experiencing God in life, there are colossal events, such as Eliyahu’s dramatic showdown on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. But as dramatic as the showdown on Mount Carmel was, the people were back to their old ways a few days later. As powerful as bolts of lightning from heaven are, their inspiration rarely lasts.
Many times, simpler, more sublime events are not just life-changing, but permanent. Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz conveys that message in his most enjoyable new book, “Snapshots of the Divine: Seeking the Sublime in the Mundane.”
Horwitz is a CPA by day, and also the founder and director of Jewish Crossroads kiruv organization. But as it is eminently clear in this book, his heart and soul are within the realm of Jewish outreach.
The stories and life events Horwitz writes of here are not the dramatic ones of near-death experiences and the like. They are the less-sensational, but equally inspiring stories of finding and experiencing God in our day-to-day activities. Often these subtle events are powerful mechanisms to effect a change in a person’s life.
Horwitz, as others have, stressed the importance of seeing God in the daily mundane events. As it’s much easier and more practical to do that rather than waiting for those once-in-a-lifetime grand events, that may or may not ever occur.
The author has a sensitive soul and the stories, with their sublimity, stress to the reader how to find God in these daily places, often with significant spiritual insights.
One particular story that does that is when he caught a cab from the Kotel to Har Nof. The cab driver told him that it was hashgacha pratis (divine providence), as the driver needed to go to the taxi office in Givat Shaul, which is very close to Har Nof. The driver was therefore able to get to his destination via a paying fare.
Horwitz jokingly told the driver that if he and the other passengers were doing him a favor, perhaps they were due a discount. To which the driver somewhat sardonically replied, “Nah lecha ul’hashgacha sheli? (What do you have to do with my divine providence)?”
Rather than being a brusque reply, the driver’s response accurately reflected some of Judaism’s most fundamental lessons about God’s providence.
After about 50 stories, the book closes with a chapter of fascinating reflections and insights from the late great Rav Yakov Weinberg, rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel in Baltimore. Horwitz had a 15-minute learning session that spanned decades with Rav Weinberg, who was one of the most underappreciated minds of the last generation. The book is worth purchasing just for that chapter alone.
There’s an observation that “surfers don’t wait for the perfect wave, they just start paddling.” The meaning is that a surfer who waits the entire day for the perfect wave never gets to surf.
Many people wait for that earth-shattering moment for God to show himself. From a spiritual perspective, they simply have not started paddling. In “Snapshots of the Divine,” Horwitz beautifully shows how it really doesn’t take much spiritual paddling to be enveloped in waves of divine inspiration. And to see God in the countless mundane activities that make up most of our days.
Ben Rothke lives in New Jersey and works in the information security field. He reviews books on religion, technology, philosophy and science. Follow him on Twitter at @benrothke.
