When Did Tzvi Yehezkeli Leave Egypt, and What Is the Cherry on the Cake for Him?

In his weekly column in the 'Karov Eilecha' newsletter, Tzvi Yehezkeli describes what meditation (hisbodedus) is. "In a world full of tasks, achievements, and running between commandments, an hour of nothingness and everything is such a special space that is one big gift just for you," writes Yehezkeli.

The column, written during the week the Exodus from Egypt was read in the Torah, led Yehezkeli to reflect: "What is your song? What is your Exodus from Egypt? This week I think about these two words: song and exit. Exit and song. Have I left somewhere? Deep inside, I feel the answer. I left Egypt when I recognized the Creator of the world. Indeed, He has always existed, and I always heard about Him, but I only left Egypt when I realized there's a possibility we are going to be partners in life: Hashem exists in the world. Hashem manages the entire world down to the last detail… do you get it?!" Yehezkeli marvels.

"Initially, and even long afterward, it's a jarring fact. It shakes up life. Changes everything. No longer the 'me' but from now on the 'nothing'… everything… the infinite, blessed be He! Well, billions in the world might think, what is the novelty? He realized Hashem exists in the world… every American and Chinese and even Indian knows that. But my leaving Egypt happened when I grasped that only I have the license and the visa to be in contact with Him. Only me. And to my people, it's permitted to be called the children of Hashem. Therefore, the whole story is about getting closer to Him. I want to feel Him in my heart. I want to constantly see my reality as a unified reality with the blessed Hashem. That, for me, is the Exodus from Egypt," Yehezkeli continues to beautifully convey his feelings into words.

"And here is the cherry on the cake," Yehezkeli continues, "the exit leads to a song. The Exodus from Egypt brings me to sing to Hashem. To write to Him every day my song, in short lines, to express the point. The most important point in the world."

It is indeed hard to grasp, but the blessed Hashem is with me, stops everything, and listens to me

Yehezkeli refers to the gift of meditation (hisbodedus), explaining why he defines it as a 'song'. He quotes the words of Rabbi Nachman, who says that "meditation is a superior and greater virtue than anything else," and elaborates on why meditation is a fundamental and necessary element in our relationship with the blessed Hashem.

To that end, Yehezkeli reached out to friends who practice meditation and asked them to define that moment in the forest, in the field, or in a room, when a person leaves everything and turns to talk to the blessed Hashem like with a good and loving friend.

Yehezkeli quotes his friends' responses: "Meditation. Because all day we serve Hashem, and only at night is there time to sit together over a coffee with the Creator of the Universe," said one. The second replied: "Meditation. Because it's our only chance to tell the blessed Hashem what happened to us and how we feel."

The third response was: "Meditation. Because it's the place to talk to the blessed Hashem about our relationship, whether as sons or as servants," and the fourth defined it as: "Meditation. Because it's the only time when we can zoom out on the whole day's flow and understand how we look from the outside."

Other responses Yehezkeli received: "Meditation. Because we are not genuine with anyone like we are with the One who created us and knows what's in our hearts"; "Meditation. Because there's no one in the world willing to listen to me at any given moment of the day. And for free"; "Meditation. I wake up every morning in Egypt, and meditation takes me out of there"; "Meditation. Because only then do we drop all our facades, all the roles we've burdened onto our shoulders"; "Meditation. The moment when everything stops, and you climb the stairs to a special flight just for you. There is no criticism there, no tasks. Just being."

"Meditation. An hour of Shabbat on a weekday," defined another friend. "Meditation. Because it's the place where everything gets the proportion close to the truth and not to your imaginations. There's nothing and there's everything." Another definition was: "Meditation. In a world full of tasks, achievements, and running between the commandments, an hour of nothingness and everything is such a special space that is one big gift just for you"; "Meditation. Because that's how you slowly build faith"; "Meditation. Because there all the anger, objections, accounts, and foreign considerations we didn't want to encounter throughout the day float"; "Meditation is the place where we can feel Hashem's love for us. Although it's hard to grasp, the blessed Hashem is with me, stops everything, and listens to me, and until we go out into the field and overcome the embarrassment, we won't understand how many gifts Hashem wraps for us and waits for us to open," Yehezkeli finishes his wonderful words, encouraging us to try meditation with the Creator of the Universe and receive the gifts He lovingly wraps for us.

Rabbi Zamir Cohen explains what meditation is and gives tips on how to do it. Watch:

Additional content on meditation:

• "Just Come": The First Time I Spoke to Hashem. To read, click here.
• Sometimes it seems to us that talking to Hashem is just a jumble of fumbling and mumbling. Is it really so? To read, click here.
• "If you don’t have a connection with the Creator of the Universe, if there’s no meditation, if He’s not in your life, and you don’t speak to Him - then you’re just checking off commandments, you’re confused, closed off." To continue reading, click here.
• Is meditation mentioned in Jewish law? To read, click here.
• "If a person is strong, the Creator of the Universe answers them in their heart," the rabbi reiterates with force. "The Creator hears us and answers us. That’s why I see miracles every day." To read more of Rabbi Shalom Arush’s words, click here.