Spiritual Surrender - Part 3

“Vanishing Act”

With Rabbi Ari Sollish

Recorded live at The Torah Center ATL on Sunday, October 29, 2023

I remember the first time I saw a David Copperfield special as a kid. I was mesmerized. Here was a man that could make big things -- national landmarks! -- vanish. I knew then that this was magic; it wasn't real, it was an illusion. But it was breathtaking nonetheless.

Now that I think about it, what he actually did might have been the most impressive of all: making something that's here appear not here.

Copperfield is not the first to pull this off. And no, I'm not talking about earlier magicians and illusionists. The first to pull off this spectacular vanishing act is G-d. G-d -- for the express purpose of granting space for otherness -- makes Himself "disappear." Or, more precisely, G-d makes Himself appear to disappear.

Much Kabbalistic ink has been spilled explaining the mystery of Divine vanishing. In this session of Kabbalah Café, we'll head down the rabbit hole to explore just how G-d pulled off the biggest trick of all: a world that sees itself, but not its Creator, who's hiding in plain sight.