Thinking Of God

Lately, I’ve been thinking 
	of God.

I don’t think my
	five or ten daily
minutes
compensate for
the micro-mini-milliseconds
that the Ein Sof allows
for me,
Since the divine mathemathics
are such that
those micro-mini-milliseconds
from the Ein Sof,
are an eternity.
With my five or ten minutes
I guess I get the 
	better of the deal.

So while He,
sorry, the pronoun is engrained,
Spends the micro-mini
	Infinity
Giving me some heed,
I, admittedly frivolously,
image Him attending
different synagogues
on various occasions.

I think He’d come in
	a fashionable 
	minute or two 
	late
To avoid attracting
	any extra attention,
He’d not want to make
	an appearance —
He did that already
	at Sinai, and
	once was enough —
He’d sit in the rear
	quiet, humbly,
And recite the prayers
	along with us,
Modified:
“Bless Am I Who gives
wisdom and understanding
to distinguish between
day and night…”

He’d recite aloud,
	as is customary,
but in a low voice
	to avoid attracting
	any extra attention,
if one would overhear
	the textual variant.

He came to shul, after all,
	to hang out with His
	people.
To check in
	to get a sense if
	his infinite
		mini-micro-millimoment
	is time-eternity
	properly spent,
although for Him, never 
	actually spent,
another theological
	conundrum I’ll leave
	to those who better
	calculate.

Perhaps He’d come on Shabbat
	to an Israeli casual shul
	in white polo, shorts and sandals
	on a hot summer day
	down on the plains.

Or elsewhere befurred in a striemel
	to the hasidiche shteibel
	where everyone is standing
	shoulder to shoulder
	awaiting the Rebbe.

Or an elegant shul
	on an elegant avenue
	in an elegant city
	in a bespoke suit
with an absolutely
	divine cut and fabric.

Or maybe jeans and a white shirt
	joyful on the beach.

Or my shul, a sports coat and
	khakis, no tie, 
	comfortable shoes,
	ready to chat 
	in an undertone
when the service drags.

He’d stick around to hear
	the rabbi speak
	but diplomatically refrain
	from any comments.
He gave the Torah,
	the rest is our task.

After services conclude, He’d
	patiently wait in line for
	the Kiddush lunch, and
	complement the staff
	even if the hallah was
	a bit stale,
or the food bland, or
if in a Sephardi bet knesset,
overly spicy.

He’d chat with folks who 
	seem out of place
	or discomforted
	or even on Shabbat
	discouraged.
He Himself might even
	don that appearance,
Since, as we know, we’ve
	made a hash of
		the world:
We might 
assume 
He’s a bit disappointed
in our overall performance.

The clincher, of course:
	we’d never know if
	our buddy, or that 
	stranger, or the guy
	who gave me a hard time
	couple of weeks ago,
Was The Divine Infinite
	Utterly and Absolutely
	One
in disguise.

So in my five or ten 
	minute reverie
	I recall a moment
when
	I might have actually
met
The Divine Infinite Utterly
And Absolutely One
	and didn’t know it.
Oh, well, Lord, give me a
	break.
You’re pretty good
	at disguises.

I’ve already made a hash
	of it.

If You come to shul
	this shabbat,
May I ask that You
	straighten me out?

Thanks.  Looking forward 
	to seeing You.

May 15, 2025
18th Iyyar