Daat Elyon Rabbi Yoel Glick

The experience of the reality of God is the activating principle that underlies all faiths. It is the inner foundation upon which the outer edifice of the world’s religions has been built. The prayers and rituals of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, that begin on Rosh Hashanah and reach their culmination on Yom Kippur - are structured to break us out of our mundane physical consciousness and lift us into the expansive awareness of the living presence of the Divine.

None of us realize the power of forgiveness. The negative energies it dissipates, the good will it builds. This is why it is at the center of the High Holydays that take place during this time of the year. It is the gateway to rebirth and renewal. It is the key to letting go of the past and moving into the future. It is the vehicle for the evolution of humanity.

If we turn our mind toward the Higher Power and dedicate our actions to the divine, then all of our thoughts, words and deeds will become sanctified. Everything we do will be transformed into ‘spiritual glue’ that binds us to the Infinite and Eternal.

The natural state of the soul is an intense longing to return to its supernal source. This longing is the spiritual force that lies at the heart of the religious life: the hunger for God, the desire to bind ourselves to the Infinite, the urge to annihilate our lower self in the light of our higher self, the yearning to become one with all that exists. 

The power of the Spirit reaches beyond the body and the mind to touch our Divine essence. It is the stillness of the Self, the peace of Pure Consciousness, the silent presence of Eternal Life that underlies all that exists.

The Baal Shem Tov asks: if the divine is peace and stillness, then why is our world, in particular human beings, so restless? He answers: because we are disconnected from our soul, from our true self. In our modern world, especially in this time of uncertainty and turmoil, the need for peace and stillness is profound. This podcast is about how we find that place of stillness within ourselves and then live our lives centered in that inner space. In conversation with my son, Rabbi Adir Glick, of Temple Har Zion in River Forest, Illinois.