Through many different events that have been going on in the world, one being the war in Israel, I started wondering how some people cling to Hashem and other people don’t see Him. From some people I hear, if there was a God, how could this be happening? From others I hear, look at the miracles that God is performing; many more Jews should have passed, but we are still in existence. Some people say that Mashiach is here, while others say there is no such thing. Some people see the war and think that Hamas is the correct side. To me, and I hope those of you reading this, it seems obvious that the Jewish people are the correct ones. How can people see the same events so differently?

In Parshat Yitro, Moshe explains to Yitro that this long line of people waiting is כִּֽי־יָבֹ֥א אֵלַ֛י הָעָ֖ם לִדְר֥שׁ השׁם which means because the nation comes to me to seek Hashem. Additionally, when Hashem offers Bnei Yisrael the Torah, they say נַֽעֲשֶׂ֑ה, we will do. They were willing to do whatever Hashem said. What did the people who waited in line for Moshe and the Jewish nation who said “we will do” have in common? They both were taking action, taking a step toward Hashem. When we go out to seek Hashem we will find Him. When we take a step towards Hashem, He takes a step toward us. If we don’t look for Him, we may not see Him because we don’t want to see Him. When we open our eyes to the truth of Hashem, we will see the truth. When we are willing to open our minds to belief we will recognize Him and all that He does. We must act in the way Hashem commands, which will allow us to connect with Him. May we all open our hearts, minds, eyes and ears to start seeing and feeling Hashem in our lives.

Shira Sedek is a passionate educator currently working toward a master’s degree at Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.