Why We Close our Eyes When We Pray
We close our eyes
Turn in
Listen people —
listen carefully
Let God be God
This way that way –
He is she
You are me
With all the
attendant
difficulties
To hear implies blessing [Sefat Emet on Re’eh]
Blessing – when we attach
To the life of all Life
Ego ciao
The I recedes and we meet there
Elevated by the diminishing self —
Attached to the heart of the world
Essence to essence –
Bittul
We become little
This is blessing
The I is a thief [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk]
It snatches the partial and mistakes it
For the whole
Only Everything is everything [Marvin Gaye]
We not only close them –
We take out the I’s entirely
When we pray
jsg, usa