A famous adage says, “You can run, but you cannot hide.”
This is true when it comes to our relationship with G-d—He actually comes looking for us. In the words of the Zohar, “If we initiate the relationship then G-d responds in kind. If we don’t do so on our own, then G-d initiates the relationship on His own.“
If that is the case, then why should we try to initiate at all? The answer is, that when G-d responds to our effort, the relationship is stronger and more powerful than if it comes from G- d’s initiation.
However, upon closer examination we will find that if G-d initiates a relationship, then that means it is coming from a higher place to begin with! Then when we respond, we are connecting on a much higher level with G-d, i.e., a higher source within G-d.
To understand this better, we need to first address a basic concept in Judaism.
We are taught that G-d created this world so that WE could make this world a dwelling place for Him. This is a very tall order. How is it possible for us to accomplish this? After all, we are just human beings.
G-d gave us the power by giving us a soul, a part of G-d Himself, and we CAN be “G-d-like” if we try. True, we cannot make something out of nothing (like G-d does) but we can make nothing out of something! (I don’t mean by destroying something.) This means that we have the ability to bring out the true essence of this world, revealed in a way that all can see and comprehend that it is all G-d’s. Hence, it becomes nothing; it becomes totally nullified in G-d’s greatness.
In other words, we have two options in our approach to connecting with G-d: First, to simply do what G-d asks of us, and by doing so, initiate a relationship with Him, with the result of that relationship being that G-d responds and then we respond in kind. The second approach is that we tap into our infinite soul and create a world for G-d within this world, hence bringing down an even greater revelation than what we could have through the first approach.
During the days of counting the Omer, let us think more deeply about our relationship with G-d and what Passover really means to us.