Message

Adding the Alef, the alef…alufo shel olam, the master of the world …turning golus, exile into geula, redemption.

…the Lubavitcher Rebbe MHM writes in a letter:

You know, I am sure, that the genius of the artist in sketching, drawing and painting is his ability to detach himself from the externality of the object he is portraying. The artist must be able to look deeply into the inner content of the object, beyond its external form, and to see the inner aspect and essence of the object. He must then be able to express that “inner essence” in his portrayal so that whoever views the painting sees revealed for him the inner aspect of the object, an “essence” which he, the viewer, had never noticed in the object itself for it had been obscured by nonessential, external aspects. An artist reveals in his art, the essence and being of his subject; the viewer examining the result can now see the object in a completely different light and realizes that his previous impressions of the object were erroneous.

The above is an exact analogy to describe one of the cardinal principles in man’s service of this Creator.

All creation is derived from “the word of G-d” which brings matter into being and sustains it every instant continuously. However, the parallel G-dly force of contraction and concealment obscures the Divine creative forces; as a result, all one can see is the external form of the physical. Service of G-d, aided by the simple belief that “there is nothing aside from Him (G-d)” mandates an honest effort by each of us to “bring to the surface” the G-dliness inherent in everything in our lives, and to remove as much as possible, the mask of physical externality obscuring the inner G-dliness.