Devoted to G-d

[ Warsaw Ghetto, 1943 ]

Our goal is exactly the same as the hope and aspiration of every single Jew: we wish to serve our G-d, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob. Our goal is to be thoroughly devoted to G-d with our entire being, so that every capacity of our bodies and every spark of our souls is connected with the holiness of G-d, which permeates us and surrounds us.

Our Merciful Father has already stirred our hearts and implanted within us a desire to serve Him.We seek to be on the level described in the Torah: "You are children of G-d" (Deuteronomy 14:1) Whenever we do G-d's work, whether we study, pray, or perform any of the commandments, we wish to feel that we are always growing closer to Him.

When a child cannot see his father, he misses him terribly, and he is overjoyed to see him again. When we serve G-d, we want to feel just like that: our soul yearns for G-d day and night, and now she rushes out and up to dissolve in His holy embrace.

We can feel ourselves growing closer to G-d - enjoying His radiance, sensing His presence - but not only when we pray and perform His commandments. If we focus on holiness with clarity and strength for each and every moment, we can gradually take control of our sense perceptions.Not only do we want to resist distraction; we want our sensual perceptions to come around to the perspective of the heart. We can actually see the presence of G-d, which infuses all of creation. Each of us can see with our own eyes that we stand in paradise, in the palpable presence of G-d. This is the goal of our group.

Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Martyred in the Warsaw Ghetto, 1943
From "Conscious Community" translated by Andrea Cohen-Kiener, pp. 1-2