Kiddush Levanah continues with chapter 67 of Tehillim: “For the Conductor, upon stringed instruments, a song with musical accompaniment. May Hashem favor us and bless us. May He display His luminous countenance with us, Selah. To make known Your way on earth, among all the peoples Your salvation. Then nations will acknowledge You, Hashem, the nations will acknowledge You, all of them. Nations will be glad and sing for joy because You will judge the nations with fairness, and the nations on earth You will guide, Selah. Then the nations will acknowledge You, all of them. The earth has yielded its produce, may Hashem, our own Hashem, bless us. may Hashem bless us and may all the ends of the earth fear Him.”

This chapter of Tehillim is a part of Kiddush Levanah, in part because it describes how, ultimately, Hashem’s actions will cause the nations of the world to praise Him and to accept His Majesty. However, the main reason it appears in Kiddush Levanah is because of the second verse: “May Hashem favor us and bless us. May He display His luminous countenance with us, Selah.”

Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Avraham HaKohen HaItamri (1640-1729) was one of the most prominent Rabbis in Izmir in the Ottoman Empire (today’s Turkey). Among the many works that he authored was one titled Tehillot Hashem on Sefer Tehillim. In Tehillot Hashem he writes that the “luminous countenance” refers to the fact that we are created in the “image of Hashem.” And this is our task in this world: to reflect the Divinity of our being to those around us. The way of achieving this goal is by using our Divinely given intellect to permeate our lives with spiritual meaning. By keeping the mitzvot and living Hashem’s Torah we are able to imbue our reality with holiness. We can elevate our existence by changing the mundane into an encounter that transcends the physical. Our obligation is to show ourselves and those around us that the physical world is simply a vehicle for exposing the myriad spiritual dimensions in this world.

Our Sages teach us (Kiddushin 29) that a father is obligated to circumcise his son, to redeem him [if he is a firstborn], to teach him Torah, to find a wife for him and to teach him a trade. Some add that a father is also required to teach his son how to swim. Rabbi Shmuel Bornstein (1855-1926), the second Rebbi of Sochatchov and author of the masterpiece on the Torah and Chassidic thought called Shem Mishmuel, asks a simple question. What possible connection can there be between teaching one’s son a trade and teaching him how to swim? He answers that swimming means that a person is completely immersed in the water, moving their arms and legs around vigorously to both stay afloat and to swim. But, points out Rabbi Bornstein, the swimmer has to constantly take their head out of the water so as not to drown.

So, too, when we are engaged in making a living. Rabbi Bornstein teaches us that we should never make the mistake of thinking that there is nothing amiss with being so completely immersed in our profession that we are no longer connected to our spiritual identities. We should not err and imagine that making a living and living a spiritual life are two distinctly separate entities. We must always remember to “keep our heads above the water” in order not to lose sight of what is truly important.

Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson (1834-1882), the fourth Rebbe of Lubavitch, would tell his Chassidim that they should endeavor to think about holy and spiritual concepts while involved in their business dealings. One of the Rebbe’s followers, a prosperous manufacturer, told Rabbi Schneerson that, in his humble opinion, what the Rebbe was asking of him was entirely unreasonable. “After all,” he said, “if I don’t remain completely focused on all my many dealings, how can I ensure that they will all continue to be profitable?”

The Rebbe responded with a sharp critique. He told his wealthy Chassid, “I assume that if you are capable of thinking mundane thoughts during your spiritually elevated moments, such as when you pray the Amidah, then you must be capable of having elevated spiritual thoughts when you are involved in the mundane!”

What a lesson! Thinking that there are moments in our day that are only physical is a terrible mistake. There is no moment that does not contain within it the most extraordinary spiritual potential. And by recognizing this fact – and by learning how to live it – we are able to reveal Hashem’s “luminous countenance” to the world continuously.

To be continued…