Question:
I always feel silly on Yom Kippur praying for my own little needs. I just can't believe that the Creator of the vast universe with its billions of galaxies has patience for my petty issues. Doesn't G-d have bigger concerns than little old me?
Answer:
If G-d is too big to be attentive to our every move, then that is not G-d. What makes G-d G-d is that He is intimately interested in your every little issue. And nothing is petty.
If G-d were just "big", like a powerful person, then you would be correct. Imagine you wrote a letter to the president or prime minister complaining that you are lonely and need companionship, or that you are looking for a job. It would never even reach his desk. He is too busy to be concerned with the day-to-day problems of his millions of constituents. If you are lucky, you will receive a standard response from some government office directing you to call an automated phone service that will put you through you to the correct department that will probably not help you either.
This is because even the leader of the nation is a limited human being. He only has so many hours in the day, and so much energy to spend. Only the major, far-reaching issues are brought before him to decide.
The case is totally different when it comes to G-d. He is unlimited, infinite. Being infinite means that nothing is too big, but also nothing is too small. Both a global issue and a private dilemma are equally important to G-d. Big and small, important and petty are all constructs that He invented, so He is not bound by them. There is no detail in the universe that is petty or insignificant. If it bothers you, then it bothers G-d, and He wants to hear about it.
It is sometimes convenient to think of ourselves as unimportant. It means that we can get away with mediocrity. One of the focuses of Yom Kippur is that our every action counts. When you fail, you disappoint G-d, and the whole universe is adversely affected; when you overcome those failings, the world is uplifted along with you, and G-d gets pleasure. He feels your pain with you and He shares in your joy. Not because He has to, but because He chose to. He chose to create you, and that means that you are significant to Him.
The next move you make matters deeply. You - even little old you - are an irreplaceable note in the symphony of creation.
I always feel silly on Yom Kippur praying for my own little needs. I just can't believe that the Creator of the vast universe with its billions of galaxies has patience for my petty issues. Doesn't G-d have bigger concerns than little old me?
Answer:
If G-d is too big to be attentive to our every move, then that is not G-d. What makes G-d G-d is that He is intimately interested in your every little issue. And nothing is petty.
If G-d were just "big", like a powerful person, then you would be correct. Imagine you wrote a letter to the president or prime minister complaining that you are lonely and need companionship, or that you are looking for a job. It would never even reach his desk. He is too busy to be concerned with the day-to-day problems of his millions of constituents. If you are lucky, you will receive a standard response from some government office directing you to call an automated phone service that will put you through you to the correct department that will probably not help you either.
This is because even the leader of the nation is a limited human being. He only has so many hours in the day, and so much energy to spend. Only the major, far-reaching issues are brought before him to decide.
The case is totally different when it comes to G-d. He is unlimited, infinite. Being infinite means that nothing is too big, but also nothing is too small. Both a global issue and a private dilemma are equally important to G-d. Big and small, important and petty are all constructs that He invented, so He is not bound by them. There is no detail in the universe that is petty or insignificant. If it bothers you, then it bothers G-d, and He wants to hear about it.
It is sometimes convenient to think of ourselves as unimportant. It means that we can get away with mediocrity. One of the focuses of Yom Kippur is that our every action counts. When you fail, you disappoint G-d, and the whole universe is adversely affected; when you overcome those failings, the world is uplifted along with you, and G-d gets pleasure. He feels your pain with you and He shares in your joy. Not because He has to, but because He chose to. He chose to create you, and that means that you are significant to Him.
The next move you make matters deeply. You - even little old you - are an irreplaceable note in the symphony of creation.