To Know

To know ourselves and to know G-d. 

The knowledge that extends past belief and surpasses faith. To know unequivocally who we are and who G-d is, is perhaps our most everlasting journey. It invades the thoughts of our days and the dreams of our nights. Forever in the background of even our most mundane doings. Constant in its evolution, it changes from year to year, day to day, hour to hour. 

How do we know who we are? Who G-d is? Are we two separate entities or are we a reflection of Hashem? Is to know one to know the other? Is this knowledge intertwined or the story of two independent understandings that come together only once refined? Or is this a story of progression as one builds upon the other? 

Most importantly, how do we build a life of knowing? 

Adam lived in bliss, wanting for nothing, unfamiliar with struggle, enjoying a direct line to, and the knowledge of, Hashem. A closeness not seen since. His days were spent learning G-d’s truth and enjoying the pinnacle of relationships. And yet, he wanted something else. He yearned to be challenged with the opportunity to elevate his days, to attain this glorious state through his actions, he wanted to work for it. He ate from the tree and was thrust into a world filled with choice and evil, doubt and insecurity. A tangible distance from his Maker and the now necessary labor required to close that gap. Adam believed in himself, in his potential to effectively merge the physical and spiritual realms he inhabited, so much so that he took this very mission upon himself. His mission has become ours. 

The facets of man are many. We are, after all, the most complex of beings - a spiritual essence enrobed in a physical frame. An anomaly at its very core. The harmonization of these yields more layers still, with each layer attaining fulfillment as it strives towards its ultimate utopian state, the complete knowledge of G-d as expressed through the complete knowledge of us.

At the base, the Guf, our bodies. The physical matter we’re made of, the dust of the earth, affirms the very essence of our earthly origins, us in our most raw form. The Guf represents life in its most simple and straightforward form. It’s as we see it. Our everyday actions, engagements, thoughts. It's here we meet life on its terms and according to its rules. Cause and effect, effort and outcome. Career and hobbies. 

Materialism and all the earthly pleasures we enjoy; food, intimacy, relationships for their own sake. We walk through the world of nature and science, we understand what we can explain. 

Life in this domain occupies our days but is hollow; bound by the physical realm. The good we do is valid and uplifting yet strictly of this world, lacking the depth of G-d. A necessary step, the first step, to building ourselves. The foundation with which we begin the progression to our spiritual selves. 

Our Nefesh is the merging of our physical bodies with spirituality; taking the Guf and its worldliness and elevating it through the infusion of holiness. Real world physical actions done with spiritual intention. The mundaneness of life is lifted and transformed into something holier. Blessing and acknowledging G-d’s kindness before and after enjoying food, soul mates who inspire growth, charity because it’s what we’ve been commanded. It’s when our Will aligns with G-d’s; creating a synthesis between us and Him. Our state of mind is paramount, for when navigated properly every area of life becomes spiritual.

It's here we see past the actions to the good in ourselves, in others and in G-d. We live in a place of transcendence, where the earthly rules of nature are suspended, where cause and effect no longer apply, and we make way for Hashem's free gifts to find us. The dialogue between us and Hashem is considerable with a generous give and take.

And higher still, our everlasting soul. Our Neshama is pure spirituality and connection with Hashem. It’s taking ourselves out of this world and living in an alternate reality. When we clear away the shell of this world, it's what we instinctively yearn for, a connection with our Maker. Through deep introspection and constant study we can achieve this state in the here and now. It allows us to break out from any physical binds and live in pure spirituality. It's accessing all the intellectual and spiritual highs and unlocking a level of bliss not found in the lower states. It's both our ultimate purpose and our reward. 

Having the clarity of intention and connection brings about a more secure now. We know and our neshama sings. We take action in the here and now, choosing the path which makes use of our strengths, all the while keeping our minds on Hashem as our deeds rise above, eliciting Hashem’s heavenly response as it reverberates down to us. 

Being one with ourselves is to live with G-d, to see G-d, to be intimate with Him. To 

know G-d we study His ways, become familiar with His values and His words. To live with Him is to see and acknowledge Him beside and within us. To see the connections and divine intervention and the guidance is pure spirituality here on earth. To experience G-d is transformative. 

The flow between man and G-d is both powerful and delicate. The knowing is in the flow between the knowledge and the experience, the flow between us and Hashem. The validity of its strength is in the experience. We do and G-d does. G-d does and we do. 

Living with a higher purpose is in itself self defining, we know who we are. We live our strengths in the Guf, we refine ourselves in the Nefesh and we conjoin with Hashem through our Neshamot. We understand and build through the lens of what Hashem wants for us. We fulfill the mission started by Adam so many centuries ago. 

To know us and to know G-d is, when done properly, one and the same.