Let My People Know

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz: “the most exalted things can be found not above, but below.”

Contrary to our expectations, the most exalted things can be found not above, but below.

As we read in Psalms, “God is exalted above all nations, His glory is upon the heavens.

Who is like God our Lord, who is enthroned on high, who sees what is below, in heaven and on earth?” (113:4-6).

The other nations believe in God as well, but they take the opposite perspective.

They say that “God is exalted above all nations” only when “His glory is upon the heavens.”

For the other nations, God’s dwelling place is in heaven, and He remains there.

In contrast, Israel says, “Who is like God our Lord, who is enthroned on high?”

God is higher than the nations think, higher than the heavens, and that is precisely why He “sees what is below, in heaven and on earth.”

He can reveal Himself equally in heaven and on earth, even in the smallest earthly details.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz