| A Jew must rejoice that God has made him dwell in the lowly and dark world of Asiya so that despite the darkness he will be able to perceive the divine light hidden within.
The verse “Let Israel rejoice” indicates that this is the characteristic quality of Israel: Every Jew accepts simple belief in God’s unity not as a philosophical conclusion nor as the apex of the mystical ladder, but in the same way that a small child does. He acknowledges that God is one not only in the higher worlds but in the lower worlds as well. A Jew accepts this not as the conclusion of his life, but as the starting point for his life. “Let Israel rejoice” because the end point and purpose of a Jew’s life, to make a dwelling place for God below, is also imprinted upon every starting point of his life, in his soul and in his body. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz |